Spinner

Typically, if you're getting the big dark spot with colored edges it means that either the reducer/solvent isn't fully compatible with the dye type or the mix is too thin/not fully mixed. The brush/brushes could also be loaded with solvent from their last cleaning and are further diluting the mix. Personally, I prefer to use solvents I know already from having them in the shop instead of reducers. For acrylics & water based dyes - simple water works fine. For Spirit based I like denatured alcohol. For Oil dyes and the special colors like Fiebings white & gray, I used Specs Paint Thinner. What is the mixed dye/paint doing inside the container? Does it look evenly mixed or does the pigment look blotchy, congealed or separated (one floating on the other)?

Since there seems to be so much interest in the liquid masking techniques, I'll pick some up and give a good test with photos and everything to share with my LW buddies. They have a 2oz bottle for $7 which could well be worth the risk if it ends up being as good for leather as the online reviews say it is for delicate papers & canvas. On the airbrushes, keep in mind this guy is a detail model maker so his needs will be far more detailed than most of ours. As he mentions on the lower priced airbrushes, they do so-so on the fine detail but spray wide patterns and solid coverage applications just as well. If all you plan to do is solid color or two-color fades on larger projects like holsters, belts, etc. the HF, Badger and Paasche starter guns are a great way to get started. Radar - yep, the Badger 200 is a good workhorse airbrush, should work just fine. Just be sure to clean first it if it's been sitting awhile. Side note - I'm going to have to stay away from Coast Airbrush's website. Looking through their classes they have a airbrushing class with Noah from Noah Fine Art/Disney Vinylmation. That would be awesome (and expensive).

Solid core doors from the home supply store are great for table tops and sometimes you can buy one with a damaged corner for cheap.

My pleasure, have fun with it!

The justifications make sense George. I think you'd be fine on the Dover part since you're including the TN in the name. Have you also considered Dover Tenn. Saddlery? Could lead to a nifty play in words for possible logo designs later on.

Nice find Kate. From their website: "An Open Source vector graphics editor, with capabilities similar to Illustrator, CorelDraw, or Xara X, using the W3C standard Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) file format." I use Xara X for my patterns and layouts and if this is a free version that is actually up to snuff with Xara that's a darn nice deal.

It was one of those rare finds when looking for parts for my Badger 155. I couldn't figure out why I couldn't get fine lines until I read through and examined mine more closely only to find the tip of the needle has the slightest bend to it..most likely from dropping it sometime. Making a trip to Coast Airbrush in Anaheim, CA Saturday for a replacement and to check out the fun stuff there. I'm also going to check out a product they carry called Incredible White Liquid Mask that is like liquid latex but is supposed to be even more low tack...it specifically mentioned leather in the 'safe for us on' list.

this is a great website I found on an airbrushing forum while looking for needles for my airbrush. He talks about everything from tuning tricks to how to disassemble and clean an airbrush with lots of pictures. He also compares a good number of airbrushes from the Harbor Freight starter set all the way up to the Badger Rage. Navigation is old school, having to go through the pages in order but worth the read. The reviews are done well enough that the president of Badger has sent him various airbrushes to have reviews done. http://airbrushtips.110mb.com/index.html

I'd give Oxalic acid a try before round filing it. I know what you mean on the medium brown though...nothing medium about it. I have found that mixing it into a jar of Saddle tan gives a better 'medium' color.

It may seem strange to compare the subjects, but check out Paul's Victorian style carving lessons. My tooling, especially skulls & celtic improved vastly after reading them.

Yeah, that's how I found I liked their leathers. As I mentioned above though, pic the leather you want and have it split instead of buying the specials or overstock. I've had more consistent results with leather the split specifically for me.

Very nice! The blue really jumps out and grabs your attention.

Sorry Red, I'm not sure about that. First I'm not quite savvy on wallet construction and second, the weight I'm using from them is 5-6oz. I can say that it holds shape very well and wet forms nicely around compound curves and on the first batch I didn't have the color problems that Ellen seems to be having.

Checked my receipts last night as I was curious after this discussion. As suspected, Art is correct about the sale stuff. The piece of W&C that I was really happy with was not on sale and I had it split from thicker stock which gave me a very even & consistent thickness. The second piece I bought that was so-so was on overstock sale and already in the thickness I needed.

Here's the latest project to come off the workbench. A gas tank bib for a 1998 Shadow Aero 1100. Client supplied the artwork but didn't like the red in the picture so he asked I remove it and simply make the stone look aged & cracked in those areas. Personally, I really liked the gray on natural (would have looked sweet with gray lacing) but he wanted it black so there it is. I was looking to expand my line of bibs s I bartered with him for an old gas tank he had for the bib and some cash...even then I ended up with the better end of the deal - the tanks sell for $400-800 and this one was in almost perfect condition. I also included the progress pics for better viewing of the skull & cross areas. Enjoy! Chris

The reason they say 10-20% is that the prices vary per product, For instance, Kangaroo Lace doesn't get a discount even for wholesale folks but the Fiebings dye is about 15% disc. All depends on what you're looking to buy. Their wholesale club is pretty much the same as Tandy's so if you want an idea of what price differences are, check Tandy's site on a couple of items to get an idea. Either way if you plan on buying any amount of materials from them the membership is worth it.

Hehe, thanks TG. That was a fun 'for me' project that ended up going somewhere.

Sounds good. USPS is normal but I can do faster shipping if needed. I just shipped a set to Ottawa last week via USPS and that covered it just fine took about 4-5 days. The JET, Ricon, etc mini lathes will do the job just fine. Most of the run between $80-150 and are generally quiet. Even my big 24" lathe made very little noise, I used to give symposium demonstrations and you can have a regular conversation over most lathe noises.

Welcome Poboy, looks like you're off to a good start. If you haven't already, check out Paul Burnett's tutorials & old newsletter on Paintingcow.com. Some great stuff in there.

Interestingly enough I recently made 2 orders from W&C, one of their 'special' (#3 grade) and one of their utility (#2) grade. Last time I ordered the special was gorgeous compared to the local Tandy offerings so I went with what I know and added the #2 side hoping it would be even nicer. Turns out the #3 was better than the #2 by a long shot. The orders were a month apart, the #3 being first & from their overstock so something may have changed. I'll give them one more try when I need a hide again in a few weeks and if the same thing happens I'll be looking too.

Here is a link that might help you: http://forums.wester...owtopic=3001222 The thread talks about the Billy Cook saddles pre-1981 and post and how to indentify. Hope it helps. From the looks of it, Longhorn (who bought Billy's name) can't use the word MAKER in their stamps. They say to also look for a serial number as an original Pre-1981 Billy Cook from Greenville, TX will have his name, the word MAKER and a serial number as well as model number. Models made after 1981 by Longhorn will not have the serial number stamped in them.

Thanks so much for sharing RT, that was kind of you! Look forward to giving it a try. Chris

Looks good RT! I'd love to get a copy of that pattern if you're going to make it available. Been wanting to make one like that for myself for quite some time but haven't found the right pattern.