Spinner

Thanks Wayne, I'll give that a try. It's tough to find that sweet spot when casing if you haven't seen someone do it yet and know what it's supposed to look/feel like (moisture content wise). Looking forward to the class so I can see how some of this is supposed to look when done correctly!

Hey Ed, here is an example of how I am beginning to plan out my project templates. First I do the line drawing and then I can apply the layers and bevels & textures to it to get a rough idea of how it will look. I don't know if I'll have one of these finished yet Anne, here's the practice piece I will likely bring Sunday (hopefully with more progress on it): http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=17186

Hey Bob, that's pretty slick looking. I love the detail you put into the tiniest details making each stem & vine jump out at the viewer and not just focused on the flowers. Very inspiring and educational to look at.

Thanks Luke. I'm in Los Angeles...your post reminded me to add some details to my profile. LOL

Thanks Rick. I'll definitely post how they work out when I get them. Wayne at Standing Bear's showed me a number of knives Saturday that felt so much better (larger barrel & 10x smoother bearing action) than Tandy's and the blade quality was visibly better.

Hey Ed, If it ain't broken, no sense in fixing it...sounds like your method is pretty much the same as mine with a bit more manual manipulation. This is the first time I have some this sort of template but last week I used this technique for drawing and will be starting to use it for carving patterns. Xara has a 3D beveler tool that allows me to get a very good approximation of what the carving should look like without having to test it out on leather to see if I like it. When I get home I'll post something I did last week as a test to show what I mean.

Hey Ed, I drew the whole thing out in XaraX. It's a program I have been using for about 10 years now. Unlike Corel or PS, it does everything in vectors, not pixels or vector conversions. How I do a drawing is this: Lay out a layer for guides (grid lines) for my major and minor measurements. Then I draw one half of the piece to the spec I want. From there I will clone, flip and move the half into position on the opposite side. Xara's line tool has an option to select two lines and connect them at ending points as an editable join. By connecting the two sets of ending points, it gives me the full shape and I simply have to smooth out the two joins to make everything look right. As I add pieces, I add reference guides to use in lining up future pieces of the template. I also work in layers, using a different color for each piece so I can overlay them on top of each other to make sure each piece is the right size and fits accordingly. For items that have multiple pieces that use the same set of curves like the front/back, back/flap, etc. I simply take the last drawing of one piece and slice it up/add to it to create the next piece. This ensures all of my curves on the new pieces are exactly the same as the first one. To do this drawing, I had 7 visible layers & 7 different colors going. Using different colors for each layer/piece ensures that I can identify if one piece is deviating from the rest without having to figure out which piece is off. As to what you were asking about on curves: The initial drawing does take a bit of smoothing to get the exact curves I want sometimes. One thing I learned is to play with the number of plot points in my lines. I have a general idea of how tight a curve I can get from nudging a straight line and so I will plot my line and then nudge it into place. If I still can't attain the curve I am looking for, I will add a plot point into the middle somewhere and then nudge both sections until I get it. The fewer plots points in a curved line, the smoother the final line will look.

No problem Ed, it's also the less expensive way to do it which is why I like it!

Thanks for the feedback Bob. I can only honestly blame the knife for a small portion of it, I know that a major part is lack of experience as well. I printed 5 copies of the same pattern (yes, I'm a glutton for punishment) to practice on. I did a practice piece that had nothing but bigger longer lines and felt fine with it. It seems that the smaller cuts, especially where two cuts intersect that I need a lot more practice to get them right. Hopefully the BK knifes with the larger diameter handles help, holding onto the smaller knife started killing me after a while.

Dremel has a number of grinding type stones to use in varying grits. The grey are pretty soft and act more like a polisher/punice stone. General purpose stuff. The orange colored ones are aluminum oxide and will remove more material with less work. Key thing to remember is to use the whole stone surface otherwise you will burn a groove in the stone. Also, use a lower speed setting (around 1800-2000 rpm) and just enough pressure to remove material. Let the stone do the work. Another trick that works is if you have a collet small enough to hold the needle, simply load the needle in the dremel and then put sandpaper on a flat surface and grind it that way. Start with 80 or 100 grit and work your way up the grits once you have the size you want. Just use the same speed/pressure theory.

Hehe...as soon as I make one Ray, I'll be happy to post it! I kind of suck at sewing/lacing still so I'm practicing on test pieces right now. I hope to have one made in the next week or so and will post when I get one done.

I don't have any finished pieces to post yet as I have only done 2 things so far, this being my third attempt at tooling but after meeting and talking to Wayne, Anne and Sandy at Standing Bear's Trading Post Saturday I thought it would be good to start seriously practicing (even though floral isn't really my thing) to determine where I am and what tools I am missing. About half way through cutting I went inside and ordered 2 Barry King knives, the Tandy one was killing my hand and I had to strop it every 10 minutes or so. And, Wayne will like this, after getting this section done I realized there are a number of tools I could really use for the fine detail work. It still needs to be completed, including some work to refine the edges, smooth things out with the modeling tool and such, but at least it's something to show where I'm at and get some feedback. Thanks! Chris

I got my dad into Black Powder shooting last year by accident. He's now getting into the spirit of the hobby and attending rendeavous and such and needs some period style gear. So, I am trying to make a few things for him and am finding there is a lack of templates for possibles bags online. So I sat down at the computer on Saturday and using a number of photo references put together a template/cut-sheet that I thought I would share. These are the major pieces for a 'beaver flap' style possibles bag minus the side strip. I figure it will change depending on the size bag one wanted to make and it's simply a straight strip that would be sewn in, so don't forget to make one to your size preference. Hope it helps someone! It's full size, which unfortunately won't print on most printers so you may have to either print it in pieces and cut/paste them together after printing or simply adjust your print settings to 70-80%. Just make sure to adjust them all to the same % so the pattern pieces still work together. Chris

Thanks for answering all those questions David, appreciate it!

Thanks for the clarification David, so then one more question...is it stitched after the top and bottom are arranged around the pan? I guess after your comment about no glue I am wondering how you get them to sit so tight and only appearing to have 2 pieces + lacing. Sorry for all of the noob questions...

This is great info on burnishing for a beginner. It's amazing how many techniques and theories are shared between woodturning & leatherworking. I know what attachment I'll be making for my mini lathe this weekend! Thanks for sharing this.

Your seats are truly inspiring David. Seeing them on bikes and online are what got me started thinking I wanted to do this. A couple of newbie questions if you don't mind...what style of lacing is that for the sides? Looking at the finished photo, I'm thinking the lacing not only holds the top and bottom together but also acts as a hinge/expansion joint, is that correct? Thanks, Chris

Hey Folks, this is the first full project I have made in leather. Actually, it was the first thing I have made in leather ever. I did one practice piece to make sure I had the basics at least understood and then jumped in. I enjoyed the project so I have purchased a number of books and tools and plan to have more to show soon after I practice, practice, practice! So in the spirit of sharing, here is something to show: pic 1 - test piece pic 2 - side view pic 3 - top view (not a great picture, but shows the basic design) What I learned - lacing is spread too far apart & too thick, Testor's model paint works nicely, I need to be more creative in my 'fill areas', the piece wasn't quite cased enough for the background area so it doesn't show up as well. Things to improve next time! steer_head.bmp seat_top.bmp steer_head.bmp seat_top.bmp steer_head.bmp seat_top.bmp

Thanks, I'll check it out. The deer-tanned cowhide sounds like the way to go, I have read that true deerskin may not be tough enough and I'd like this piece to last for years.

Thanks for the welcome and comments on my work. Anne, I'll check out SBTP soon as I'm hoping they have more materials to check out than Tandy does or at least different stuff. Unless something comes up I'm also planning on checking out the Guild meeting, maybe someone can answer a few questions I have been coming up with...

Hi everyone, my name is Chris and I'm in Los Angeles. I stumbled into leatherworking about a year ago when I read an article online about making a motorcycle seat and decided, "I can do that!" Yeah, well...kind of worked out that way. I was previously very into woodturning and played with metal spinning but after 7+ years decided to move on to something new. (you can see my woodturning work here: woodturning gallery that's the website I founded 7 years ago to help share/spread woodturning. So, I'll be lurking around here leeching information off the forum until I have more worthwhile things to show you. Here are pictures of my first (pretty much only) successful project, the seat. Plans to make a nicer one are in the works, for both my bike and my fiance's. Seat Project regards, Chris

Hi folks, I've been lurking around here for a few weeks trying to find information on various things. I've learned quite a bit but am still struggling with a few things like leather types. I inadvertantly got my dad addicted to black powder shooting - bought him a kit for his birthday last year and in 12 months he's gone to thinking it was neat to owning a rifle, 2 pistols and attending period retreats. Anyway, he asked about me making Possibles Bags for him and possibly for him to trade for us at retreats for goodies. I don't know much about leatherworking yet, been reading and experimenting quite a bit, but I'm curious what is the best leather to use for this type of bag (1800s style) and what weight to use? Also suggestions on suppliers would be great. I am in L.A. and the nearest store is a Tandy that pretty much only carries a good selection of Veg Tan but only randoms of other leathers. Thanks in advance, Chris