Spinner

At a similar hobby shop or (board) gaming store that sells the miniature battle sets you can find acrylics by Citadel, P3 and Game Works. All three make a full range of metallics including silver, gold, brass, lead and a few others. I use them often on motorcycle tank and fender bibs and I can say they are awesome. Great color, adhesion and UV resistance. My preference is the Citadel brand but I've used the other two as well with great success. Here are a couple of pictures of pieces with metallic accents using these paints: Flag pole done using Citadel "Red Brass" Brass Ring done using P3 "Brass Balls" Pistol bodies done using Citadel "Mithril Silver" over "Leadbelcher" Unfortunately they don't show the metallic "shine" due to phone cameras/non-optimal lighting but they all have a great luminescence & light to them when the sun hits them. Cheers, Chris

http://www.google.com/search?q=acanthus+flower

There are also the Hidecrafter tools available from SLC that are around that price and much better than Tandy's Craftools with heftier shafts too. I own a number of the new Tandy Professional line of hole punches and lacing slit punches and they've been pretty nice so far. Last quite a bit longer than the Craftool versions and the sizing on the holes/distance between prongs appears to be more correct (the Craftools have too much space between prongs).

LOL! Susan, I have had a couple requests for stuff but generally the sport bike guys aren't into spending a few hundred bucks for a good leather tank bag when they can get the mass produced ones for $50. The guys that do spend serious $$ on their rides typically spend it on engine upgrades and the exterior plastics. Once in a while you'll come across a guy with a strictly show bike that has custom leather done but the market isn't that big for the most part. If anything, seats would be the area to focus on for sport bikes.

If you're using the standard set, I believe the largest channel is 3/8" and should burnish a double thickness of 9oz without issue if it's prepped correctly. If your leather thickness is more than a total of 18oz (9/32") then yes, the 1/2" channel would be the way to go.

Back when I was shopping for a new sewing machine I called Artisan to inquire about their products and if they carried used machines. They are only a 1/2 hour away from me so it would have been perfect for service and such. All it took was one phone call to realize I never want to do business with them and if I have a serious machine issue I will drive twice the distance to see Steve at Cobra for service and will order my supplies online from other retailers.

Agree with Glendon & Tina 100% and this is the main reason... If you just want to have a cool logo, the tat works but if you want a logo folks will recognize easily and be able to recall the the current one is best.

Chief's got it dead on. What's happening is the channel is too narrow for the piece you are working with so the edges are burnishing in the transition from vertical to horizontal in the burnisher channel. By stepping a size or two on the burnisher channel you're using it will allow the leather to edge to get to the bottom of the channel and burnish the edge effectively. The most common misconception is that the channel that is the same width as the leather is used when folks should be using a channel that is 1.5-2 times wider than your leather. The next question that used to come up was, if I used a wider channel, the corners don't always get burnished completely...Well, the best method is to simply "walk" the burnisher when making one of the passes. A good burnish usually takes a slow hand or 2-3 passes with a dremel burnisher. While making your pass, if the high side of your beveled edge isn't being burnished, simply make another quick pass using the transition curve to burnish those corners. Or even easier, simply step down the channel size a notch so the transition is contacting instead of the trough. Hope that helps. Chris

Hey Andy, Two things, just realized you changed your business name! Second, I just saw you're in La Verne...you're only 20-30 minutes from me, we should hang out and talk shop sometime. Chris

Beary's pretty quick most of the time but as a rule of thumb I usually give small shops like mine 24-48 hours to get back to me...then again, it only takes that long for me to forget I sent the request in the first place most days so the reply is a pleasant surprise. LOL

It's good to see the legacy carry on... I'm a bit biased since I designed the original ones (Beary has added more designs to the list) but you should be pleased with them Rooster. Bearman's leatherworking mauls can be found on the same site if you haven't checked them out, they are also great tools. Cheers, Chris

Same here, Cheryl and her son are great to work with an consistently pick the hides I am looking for. I have a standing order for "extra clean A grade HO" and tell ya what, what they send is great to work with. On the off chance they are sold out my second choice is Sheridan Leather Outfitters. SLO also delivers great quality, clean hides consistently. Why Goliger over SLO? Simply because they are closer and therefore shipping is faster & cheaper, aside from that, both have excellent service and hides.

try http://imgur.com/ if you're having issues with the photo uploader. Just upload them to http://imgur.com/ (click computer, then browse for the images, select and then click "start upload". Once uploaded, copy the link under "BBCode" (looks like [iME]hllp://i.imgur.com/aQyT4.jpg[/img]) and paste that into your message. The photo will embed into the message where ever you put the link, like so:

Cool design, I like how you appear to have used full interior overlaps at the sides and such instead of simply sewing at the intersections, should be quite strong that way. My only negative comment would be to agree with Ferg...with such care taken in the construction and using such a nice piece of leather, to not burnish the edges leaves it feeling incomplete.

They are simply called "Fabric Labels" and come either printed, embroidered or hand woven. Here's the website of a company local to me that makes them so you can get more familiar with them: http://www.fabriclabels.com/

Short answer is definitely. You'll want to apply the paint in multiple thin layers though to ensure good adhesion. The block-out and super sheen will fill some of the pores of the leather and reduce the 'tooth' of the surface so the paint won't have as much to grab onto as it would bare leather.

Yeah, they'd do well at Sturgis...that many people, some with a gob of cash burning holes in their pockets. I'd add a "medieval biker" style just to try and capture more of the market though. Basically like the black one without the horns or earflaps, just the brain bucket & a chin strap. That way you'll get the orders from the guys who want a cool looking, semi-functional helm for riding in those states that don't require helmets. Make sure though, that you get stickers or tags for the inside that state "not DOT reviewed or approved as a protective helmet, use while riding at your own risk". Always CYA with things like this.

Wow...how they plan to stay in business charging prices like that is beyond me. It would seem to me that a water based product would be cheaper to manufacture based on the fact that water is almost free, I'm sure they pay something for shipping, etc.) whereas some solvents can be quite expensive and definitely cost more than water but yet they are charging $1.66 per oz. versus Barge which is $0.53 per oz. at most places. The process to make the stuff can't be that technologically challenging that they have to charge more than 3x the price for the same amount.

Here are the links via Tandy. I use 12mm almost exclusively as that's the standard size the seat companies use for their spots but I have them all from 7mm-15mm just in case. Domed Rivets: http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/search/searchresults/11322-12.aspx 12mm Domed rivet setter: http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/search/searchresults/8084-02.aspx You simply punch a 1/8" dia. hole in the leather, attach the rivet to the back of the dome through the leather, put the setter on top of the dome and give it a good hit with a maul, done. Actually, I'll do a light hit to get everything locked & centered loosely and then a heavier hit to set it. This way if I notice the rivet went crooked on the first hit, I can cut it off and set a new one. A solid surface like 2"+ thick marble slab is all that's needed underneath. If you want to err to the cautious side, use one of Tandy's rivet setting plates like the one in this set (http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/search/searchresults/8105-00.aspx) underneath the piece but I've never had a problem with a rivet scratching my granite bench top.

A hairdryer with a high heat setting will work with most and an automotive heat gun will definitely work but as you mentioned, you have to be careful not to burn the leather. Another trick is to lay a light thickness towel over the piece and iron over the towel. This keeps the iron off the leather but provides enough heat to heat set the paints. Experiment on scrap first to find the right setting for your area.

I noticed no one mentioned the rivet back spots. I use them exclusively after having issue with folks pulling the tabbed spots off their tank & fender bibs when a boot or bag hit them right. The rivet back get on there really secure if you use the right length back for the leather thickness and if a replacement is needed, a pair of dikes will snip them off at the post. In situations where I need even more holding power, a drop of epoxy into the rivet hole before riveting them together keeps them solid. And being rivet back, they simply need a single round hole for mounting which making lining them up and installing them much easier & faster.

Yes it is...but when compared to many of the available brands out there, Cova Colors lack a serious color range, are too thick out of the bottle, have a lower UV resistance and cost more per ounce. Even the high quality Citadel & Golden Fluid Acylics I use are the same or less expensive per ounce and perform much better. GFA has a true artists color range so mixing colors or just finding the right one out the bottle is much less of a headache and Citadel has some of the coolest mixed colors out there and a color palette of around 150 colors. Cheers, Chris

Check out Clay Banyai's web blog for a quite overview he does on a swan carving: http://badlandsleatherart.com/swan%20lesson.html As for the tool, get a 1/2" dowel and drill a 3/16" hole 1/2" deep in one end. The take some epoxy & fill the hole just shy of full. Next take one of the 5 blade exacto knife packs available at Tandy and put the blades into the dowel (pointy side out of course). Using a piece of soft wood like a cut off from the dowel works well to sink the blades in. Try to keep them sticking out the same amount. Let the epoxy cure for a few hours and you have yourself a 5 blade hairblade tool capable of long, short, angled, choppy or whatever other cuts you might need just by adjusting the presentation of the blades and it only costs about $3. Lasts forever too, still using mine I made 2 years ago and it gets used pretty often. I'll look for a pic of it to share. Cheers, Chris