Spinner

Baldwin Park, CA recently changed managers too (4th one in as many years) and the new manager Jessica is a pleasure to deal with. Her and the staff are still a bit green on actual leatherworking processes but she seems to know the product and is working on bringing in better picks for the leather. L.A. area Tandys have been plagued with middle to lower end of the pile quality leather, even in the Royal Meadow, and she's working to change that. The last shipment was actually pretty nice. She's also working to improve the educational classes in the area and bringing in guest instructors to do topic focused classes. Among others, I'm going to be doing an introductory leather coloring class on 11/19, should be fun. We'll cover everything from Eco-flow to pro oil dyes and acrylic paints; brushes & sponges to air brushes and everything in between.

Sounds good Casey, I'll drop you a line. No hurry (yet) but one may be for a job I'm doing next month. Client is looking at POW/MIA conchos but we can't find any that are good quality & round. The other set would be for my own bike so no rush there either...still working out what to do on them.

Hey Casey, Do you offer your engraving services? I might have some $ to pass along for work, if I can afford it that is... I have a couple of conchos in mind.

This is where I started looking into them back when I was browsing. I called to ask a few questions and the gentleman I spoke to didn't know squat about sewing machines and said they don't have a tech or support staff and that all warranties, questions, etc. should be directed to the manufacturer. For me, avoiding that kind of headache is worth saving the extra money to buy from a real sewing machine dealer/repair shop. Good luck with the search.

Hey Dink, check your PMs sent some specific info on the site. Chris --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Update: Your PM inbox is full...I'll try again later

They are basically a drop-shipper. I checked them out awhile back because their prices seemed pretty good and they're local to me. Do a google maps search on the address: 1049 e 32nd st Los Angeles, ca 90011 and you'll see the building. It's in a crappy run-down area of L.A. and the building is in poor repair. The BBB shows them as non-accredited with one employee. My guess is someone bought the business and simply put up a couple of websites to resell & drop ship machines. So the machine will likely show up in a box direct from the manufacturer and not be set-up or looked at by a tech which means either you or a local tech will need to set it up, time it, etc.

I second that...I'd have a hard time choosing between Bobby & Peter Main, both are what I'd consider the "Idols" if there were such a thing in leatherworking.

Just curious Dave, this is the first time I've remember you mentioning a collaboration...special request or did it just work out that way? Chris

I've actually tossed the idea around a bit myself as I used to turn dozens of wooden salad bowls a year for a local gallery. One thought I had for forming was to turn a form using two bowls of corresponding thicknesses and then once dry, you can simply use the forms to support the leather bowl when finishing. They should hold their shape rather well if made with 5/6oz or thicker without squashing but most folks that would buy a leather bowl should know that it will be more fragile than a wood, plastic or ceramic one. The other thought was waterproofing. There's a product for wood called mirror coat which is essentially a brushable liquid epoxy finish for bar tops, and other furniture. When cured it's actually gasoline and fire proof (yep, tested it...doesn't hold up if yuo apply fire to the gas soaked wood though...LOL) and stiffens the fibers quite a bit. Only drawback is it completely seals the grain texture so it would end up being a leather bowl encased in epoxy. Just some thoughts...

Well thanks Ferg. Funny thing is, most of the stuff I have done on leather to date has been pretty tame! Things got weird in the later years in my woodturning career for sure though. I did a three piece series called "Darkness" that was definitely out there, but they also opened people's minds to new ideas. That's what art is all about, right?

All good points X, in the case of skulls, I'd also venture to say it's part of the progression to mainstream society of the biker persona as well. Think back to the 50s and 60s and "Bikers" were a subculture that was considered hoodlums & bad, scary guys. The average person didn't have tattoos, piercings ride around on noisy Harleys, wear black leather everywhere, etc. As the biker persona has permeated the masses and become not only accepted but a glorified status symbol for many a wanna-be weekend bad boy they've brought with it many of the icons, styles and symbols. Anthropology 101...to be accepted as one of the villagers, you adopt their likes and tastes. Back in the day, many of the 1% or hardcore clubs adopted symbols that involved skulls not only because they look cool but they also have an ominous message to 'outsiders'. The biker part aside, skulls as an icon are also prevalent in many religions and is a part of everyday life for some groups. Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is chock full of skulls & skeletons, ancestral skulls are a large part of Haitian Voodoo, heck, look back to the days of sea fairing pirates and you'll find skulls aplenty. So as you said X, while for some it's simply a matter of skuls being the "in" thing, they can also mean something more to the individual...I tend to like dragons more myself, no special meaning, they just look cool.

That is a great looking bag Boma! My wife would love to have one like it. The card holder design is nice as well, simple yet stylish. Chris

Hey Dave, the seat looks great as usual. The lettering you designed is pretty slick. I always meant to ask, do the dollar coin conchos on the bottom have any significance or do you simply like them? As for the biker gear interest question, I have noticed that responses to motorcycle topics have wained a bit unless they are really over the top or have something new going on. Doesn't help that we're already a 'minority' as far as subject specific interest groups are concerned. makes one wonder if a motorcycle piece had some really nice saddle style sheridan floral done on it, would it garner more responses? The world may never know...lol. Chris

Being part of the "I like skulls" crowd, I'd have to agree it's likely due in part to the culture/generation. But to flip it around...what's with all the flowers? It's kind of funny when you think about it, leather is commonly associated with durability, toughness, being rugged and typically involves cultural icons such as the "Old West", True Grit type cowboys, motorcycles/bikers & Medieval armor/weaponry yet it's most often decorated with floral arrangements & scrollwork. Being mainly a "city boy" raised by my small-town-gone-techie parents, my cowboy exposure was limited to a few summers on my Grandfather's run-down ranch property in my teens and Spaghetti Westerns so naturally when I first got into leatherworking and saw so many holsters, sheaths, saddles, etc. adorned with flowers & vines my first reaction was WTF?! LOL. A few years later I'm older and wiser on the subject and understand the tradition and heritage (and skill required) but I still find it very interesting how perceptions can be formed. Little known fact - I do 100% biker & motorcycle gear and to date have had only one request for skulls (and one floral)...now U.S. Military icon, logo and insignia requests? I can't even count how many of those I've had/done. Go figure. Cheers, Chris

Looks like the official company Pyrotek Corp. either went out of business or stopped making it under that name. They let the Trademark expire in 2006. After 7 pages of google searching, I did find several references that either the same product or one very similar is called Lanyard Lace. KitKraft carries some of the colors: http://www.kitkraft....rd+lace&x=0&y=0 They're a cool little family run shop about 45 minutes from me, give them a call or email and if it still exists and that stuff above isn't right, they'll try to find it for you. Good luck, Chris

Like Denise said, I simply have the Active Posts bookmarked. Easy way to do it: find the Active Posts link at the bottom of the home page, right click (instead of left click) and select "Bookmark this Link". Change the bookmark name if you wish and then click "OK". All done. On Firefox I have the Active Posts and New Content as separate bookmarks on the overhead toolbar so I'm simply 1-click away from either one depending on my mood. Cheers, Chris

Depends on the type of spray & type of airbrush you're looking for/using. Bottom/bottle feed (jar or cup hangs from the bottom): Full coverage dying: 15-22 psi stipple/thick coverage: 10-12 psi spraying of acrylics/thicker fluids: 18-25 psi Gravity/Top feed (cup is attached to the top of the airbrush): Full coverage dying: 10-15 psi stipple/thick coverage: 5-8 psi spraying of acrylics/thicker fluids: 12-18 psi Your mileage may vary depending on your set up but those should give you some good ranges to start with. Chris

Too funny Mike...be glad you didn't go with me on any trips to Rockler for cocobolo when I was at the height of burnisher turning; ou would have gone into convulsions... $180 for 6 "sticks", none longer than my arm.

For something that is going to be strong enough to hold up as a stamp, give a good edge/shape profile, hold small detail and not leave color/residue on the leather I'd try: Boxwood, Alternative Ivory or any stabilized wood blank. The stabilized wood blanks are simply wood that has been soaked in Pentacryl solution Pentacryl is a penetration resin solution, it soaks into the wood fibers and hardens basically making a wood/acrylic hybrid that cuts & power carves pretty well but it's like working with Ironwood. Take you a little longer to work it to shape but should provide nice results and can be polished to a glass like finish. Stores like Woodcraft and Rockler will have pen sized blanks of at least two out of the three woods above in stock. Cheers, Chris

Deft makes a good wood finish that is water based that works well over acrylics (Deft Clear Wood Finish) or for something from Tandy, they their Super Sheen in a aerosol can...also water based so it will work over acrylics. Resolene is good too but doesn't come in aerosol form so you'd need an airbrush to apply it (cheap set up at Harbor Freight will run $80-90 and includes a compressor) Wood lacquer is solvent based and will pretty much eat through an acrylic paint job that isn't completely cured. Curing takes longer than drying and is what makes acrylics semi-solvent resistant. Most lacquers, especially spray lacquers have acetone, toluene, acetate and at least one petroleum distillate = bad news for water based colors & finishes.

That's pretty much the jist of it Bobby. I actually just found out the current versions of Xara have a photo import tool that will essentially trace the picture or drawing for you from a jpg or scanned photo and convert it to the vector format so the hard part is taken care of, it's just a matter making adjustments/clean-ups. I'm seriously thinking of upgrading and will let you know how it works out if I do. Funny thing on the color version of my drawing, looking at it now I realized that if someone is paying close attention there's a flub that shows it's artificial. The Ace of Spades was changed and re-added to the picture after I had made it and in my haste to finish up, I forgot to add the primary level shadow that separates it from the Ace of Hearts (notice how the edge is not detectable between them but it is on the other overlapping cards). That's what happens when I work too late into the night! LOL Chris

Well thanks for the unintentional compliment Bobby. The picture in the upper right is actually a color added version of my line drawing, not a real photo. I started with a color scan of actual playing cards from a $2 Bee deck and then drew everything in with it as a reference as seen in the upper left. From there I created the other three views including the full color one in the upper right. As with floral or any computer based drawing, it is a bit labor intensive (took 2 hours to do the drawings on this page) but for me it's a matter of necessary prep work and personal enjoyment. Why spend two hours on a simple drawing of 5 playing cards? Well, now I have the basis for any playing card or casino themed pattern and on future projects I can simply take the cards, suits, etc. and orient them anyway I like in a matter of minutes as shown with the set on the lower left with the skewed Ace of Spades. I use a vector based program called Xara to do the drawings. For most things like this it's simply a matter of tracing the original photo using lines and plot points and from there the lines can be pulled and stretched to form curves. For things like the club, it's simply three ovals and a cross and then the shapes are "added" together to form one solid shape that can be modified. Vector based programs are better versus older pixel based programs as the drawings are based on mathematical calculations for the points versus fixed pixels. This allows a drawing to be scaled or skewed to any value up or down with no resolution loss. As for doing florals, the prep would be the killer for most folks since a skilled Sheridan pattern maker would be able to draw them pretty quickly. The advantage comes from ease of repetition & modification. With a pencil drawing, if you decide on a change, you either have to erase or start over whereas a computer model could simple be adjusted. You'd want to sit down and draw each of the elements so you have references for each pedal, center, vine, etc. Then with these items, you would construct your flower and group them. From there, the whole flower could be rotated, replicated, flipped, skewed, etc. There is a learning curve with any program but for something straight-forward like this it wouldn't be long. Here is the latest version of the program I use: http://www.xara.com/us/products/designer/ many folks like Adobe Illustrator as well but since I started out with Xara in 1997 I've grown to love it and stuck with it.

No problem Dennis, glad to help. Here's even more alternatives via a thread I did on testing the new Tandy printable film: http://leatherworker...showtopic=34899

Nothing spectacular, but here is a drawing & rendering I did tonight for a bib I'll be tooling tomorrow. Client asked for this version of a "Dead Man's Hand" All 3 color views are based on the line drawings and simply manipulated from there...lines, shadows, backgrounds, etc. Cheers, Chris