Spinner

Give Robert a call at http://robertdoerr.com/ He's a buddy of mine and does great work.

Citadel, GameWorks (GW) and P4 brand acrylic paints all offer a nice array of metallics and they adhere to leather extremely well. I use those three brands exclusively now along with Golden Fluid acrylics to fill in any holes in the color wheel. The main three I mentioned though are made for the board gaming industry (Warhammer 40k, etc.) so you'll find their lines revolve around armor, fantasy creatures and weaponry. They are bit more pricey but after having tested 15 different brands of readily accessible paints, those three have the best color ranges and longevity on leather I have found. Here's a sample of the Citadel color line: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Tb5RNCujmA4/T2zt064BGSI/AAAAAAAACRI/vSfwoDVBOz8/s1600/m2320032a_Citadel_Conversion_Chart.jpg

Thanks Renee! Actually if I had the time, I actually have room in the shop for two people to work but they'd definitely get their fill of work...haha

Hey Moto, No worries, I have a bunch of them from the over buy so just drop me a line, My email and phone are on my website listed below. I'm just a leather guy for the most part but have done custom metal fab work like brackets and such like for this folding cane holster I did that mounts to the side of an Electra-Glide trike. The bracket is made out of 3/16" thick 1018 Aircraft Aluminum and was a bear to fold but is lightweight, strong as hell and polished up nicely. Too bad you're not closer, I could use a good tech to look at my wife's 750 Spirit, she let it sit too long last year and the carbs got dirty. I pulled & cleaned them, got it back together but during the process must have nudged the sync screw on the dual carb connection pipe and now it runs like crap. Yeah you've been around long enough to know I usually end up giving up a source or secret, but you're exactly right...the day I start worrying about competition is the day I start doing something wrong! It's funny, I don't get much of the pre-97 crowd knocking on my door, likely cause I hate making seats but the post 97 folks keep my bell ringing. I don't know about Shovelhead snaps but look at the header of the site, they take custom requests for the snap heads and gremlin bells, might be worth a call. They do have some of the old standards like Buffalo & Indian head nickels, etc. and I ordered a few of those to check out the quality. Not sure what they do differently but the clarity on theirs is much better than what I have found elsewhere. They also have some cool one of kind ones like the 3 dimensional blooming rose snap head. Damn thing stands almost a 1/4" high and has fully rendered petals!

Thanks Benlilly! Thanks Cheryl. The FLHX is commonly known as the Street Glide. Hehe, I knew at least one of the biker guys would want that site. I actually had to think about whether or not to keep it a secret as I've set up a wholesale account with them (which I highly recommend by the way) but in the end, I'm just not that into money if I am comfortable in life so I here's the scoop: http://www.gremlin-bells.com/ I never would have stopped normally but I saw the WillyG skull on a gremlin bell and thought it needed a closer look. I then found the custom snap heads they do. After playing with them a bit, the rivet tube is long enough that if you use a line 20 setter but no back, it will mushroom enough to hold nicely on items that don't flex and they can be used as conchos like on the bib. Once note though, the chrome is epoxy plating which handles well in the elements and such but when setting them , don't try to cushion the blow with thin leather or anything. Just put down a paper towel and set the back with more, edium taps versus a few hard ones. Putting the skull on a piece of leather causes the rivet tube to push through the pewter core thus deforming the front. Too much deformation and the epoxy cracks, ruining the concho/snap head. Don't ask me how I know this....but I am glad I bought extras. Speaking of extras, pay attention to ordering on that site. Some items are sold in singles, some in lots of 3 and some in lots of 5. I ordered 25 of the skulls not knowing this and now have about 42 extras lying around after the job was complete...haha. If anyone wants to buy 1, 2, 3 or a few more just to try out, hit me up. Cheers, Chris

Hey Folks, Just thought I would share a few pics of recent projects that I have gotten back from clients. This month also marked a new addition to my line-up: custom embroidery. Was introduced by one of my corporate clients to their embroidery vendor so I'm now adding that to the list of offerings. Also came across a site that does custom gremlin bells and line 20 snap heads, some of which I have never seen before like the WillyG skulls on the tank bib. Enjoy! ~Chris 2010 Harley FLHX rear fender bib 2010 Harley FLSTF "FTW" rear fender bib (custom fit for LePera seat & 9" rear fender) 2000 Harley FXDX custom tank bib with 12mm chrome spots and 3/4" WillyG skulls 2006 Harley FXDi35 Anniversary Edition rear fender bib - the embroidery has to be done on 3/4oz chrome tanned petite calf or goat so I married it with the 6oz H.O. bib body with a raised inlay. The contrast of textures made for a cool combination when finished. 2010 Harley FLSTF rear fender bib - this client sent me pics and drawings of his factory seat and asked that I design a bib to match all of the aspects, texture, lacing ribs, etc. Was quite a bit of work but came out nicely I think.

I second Trigg Brothers, they've always done right by me.

Another winner Roo, looks awesome!

I second all the comments above. The lettering being off keeps it from looking mass produced. I have done a few pieces with super straight block or logo lettering and it kind of bugs me every time that someone asks which catalog it came out of. Coloring looks great with a bunch of small details which can be a pain. Keep up the good work bro.

That's pretty cool, will need to look up their videos when I get home. Oh and by the way, from their website:

The wheel on the table under the belt is the bobbin winder. The right side pedal is the presser foot lifter.

http://www.Ostrichmarket.com nice selection of exotics and have never had a complaint about what they send me. direct page to the stingray: http://www.ostrichmarket.com/id73.html what you're looking for is called row stone stingray.

Received my order from Amazing Lace, only 8 days mailing time from Australia to L.A. Price was a touch more than what we'd pay buying from Y-knot but that was mainly due to shipping across the Atlantic. Looking at the lace, I'm thinking this is Y-knot's supplier or somehow related as the thickness and quality is almost identical. Will definitely make a great source for hard to find colors and when Y-knot is out of stock. The part I really like about them is they will sell almost any color in increments of 10 yards so if you only need a bit and not a whole roll you can save some serious money. Here's a pic of the burgundy compared to Springfield's red kangaroo on black chrome tanned cowhide for contrast. Definitely a nice wine/burgundy color, the client loves it.

Looks good Renee, glad you're sticking with the armor thing and enjoying it! What ever happened to the armor you were making yourself, I seem to recall pics of two pieces on a mannequin and mention of more pieces in the works...

Good idea. I do something similar when I am experimenting to try and discover a new technique (haven't done it yet, but one day...). Poster board and ribbon work well together and the ribbon is cheap. That way if I screw up or pull too tight there aren't any kinks in the lace.

very cool idea, I like it!

Hey JJ, Nice work brother! And here I remember not that long ago sending you some lace so you could practice and look at you now! You've definitely stepped up your game in a short amount of time. Cheers! Chris

+1 to buying cheaper lace for learning/practice. Superior Lace from Springfield or Tandy runs about $18 per spool, the nice Springfield pre beveled calf lace runs $25 per spool versus the kangaroo at $41-48 per spool. Once you get comfortable with the lacing & spacing & techniques, break out the kangaroo and you'll never go back.

I have a Made in America stamp from Studio-N and the quality is great. Makes awesome deep impressions if I want it to and the detail is excellent. Funny enough, it just happens to be the right size to fit in the head end of my 21oz. Bearman Maul so I can hammer it or use it in the shop press. I've thumped it dozens of times this way with a 28 oz. maul and not a single issue with cracking or chipping. Cheers, Chris Studio N - check your PMs later today, sending over a custom request in just a bit.

Check out Sav-Mor Leather in Los Angeles. I'm local and get all of my garment lamb/lambda/cowhide there, great selection and quality and some huge hides depending on the type. They primarily serve the garment and Hollywood makers so they focus on garment grade and chrome-tan material, not much in the way of veg-tan. Their website is so-so but if you call, any one of the three guys there can help and have been doing it long enough that they all have a good eye for filling requests. I usually stop in once every two weeks or so and can snap a pic of the selection if you're looking for something in particular. Hidehouse in northern CA is another good one.

My pleasure guys, it worked out to be a good time as I realized I pretty much had an example picture for everything I was talking about. One thing I need to put together is a step by step of how I run two opposing runs of double loop lace into each other, maybe something to work on this weekend.

Looks good, you got a nice aged look to the coloring. Any reason why you didn't lace the whole thing (flap and all)? Just curious. I like the tie out idea for closing the flap, gives it a look that it's been around the block a few times and the straps just plain aren't there anymore but were once upon a time. Cheers, Chris