TimDreamer

Yay!! Wonderful news!! Our God is a great God!! May He pour out His blessings on George's recovery.

Welcome to LW! Looks like you've got some great ideas in how to use leather for projects already. Especially like the arm band with the iron crosses in it. Keep us posted on your progress, we'd love to see more pics of your work.

I tried pulling up the website www.speedstamper.com and it did not come up with anything at all.

I think that the turnback on the leaf on the right is too big for the scale of the leaf. Either the turnback should be smaller or the leaf a little bit bigger. Other than that this looks great. When are you going to tool it?

Hmmm, it seems to me like ya'll are working this out like a science project or something. Got some questions for everyone and I know the answers won't be the same. How much do you have invested in your tables, racks, display cases, spinners, storage bins, tents, etc. Did you buy new or used? Did you purchase a truck or van just to haul things around to different places with? I can see from the posts here that things evolved over time as each person learned what worked for them to attract customers. Have you ever gone to a show/flea market/event and not sold enough to cover expenses? How did that make you feel about returning to that same place in the following years? Was it worth it to just get your name out there and let people know that you are in the business? Where is your break even point at an event and what percentage of the sales of merchandise do you think it took to make that? Do you do mainly event sales or do you also have what they call a brick and mortar store (shop) to sell from between events? Do you also have a website where you post representative pictures to generate sales? I can think of a lot more questions to ask, but I don't want to make a pest of myself..... LoL. Tim

Very nice work! Isn't it always the repetitious work that makes the most money? And if you're still a rookie, I'll eat my tooling bellies!! LoL.

Is this open to anyone? I'd like to try one out, if you don't mind. I've sent you a PM.

Ellen, Like Ray said in the last post... don't be afraid to ask!! The people here are very knowledgable and most if not all of them are willing to help you through your project. You just need to be specific in what you want to do, i.e. purses, cases, wallets, checkbook covers, saddles, tack, etc. Don't ask me though, as the only real thing I've made is a strop for my swivel knife..... lol. (It's those darned round toit's that are hard to get when you've got a job in RL and interferes with having fun.) Tim

Ed, another stunning piece of work. ETW Grumpy said: Looks to me like it is "SLW" worked into the design, but I could be wrong. Ed really got them to flow with the vines. Whoever paid for this work got their money's worth and then some.

Another fantastic project, Josh. I think that these are just teasers, can't wait to see your version of a Grand Prize. More pics, please!!

Wow, Hilly..... that is a great tutorial for drawing Sheridan flowers! In looking at other patterns I have noticed in most of the patterns that other people carve that they take the stem of the flower and curve it either (from the one you have drawn) up and to the left reversing direction so that the next flower mirrors the one you just drew or else down and to the right again reversing direction and mirroring the flower below it. However if you have a large enough area to work with you can use "S" shaped stems and incorporate large leafy areas. Am I wrong in this?

Josh, what a wonderful work in leather! Once again you show your artistry.

Ya'll are just so awesome when it comes to creativity. Your use of the different geometrics really create an appealing pattern!! Top notch work, Mark.

I have one that was in the tool set that I inherited from my FIL. I had never seen or used one before. Tried finding the company who made them but had no luck. There is a similar one made nowdays that have a scalpel like blade in them and look wicked sharp. I think they were made for actual surgeries but the use has bled (no pun intended) over into scrapbooking for carving out cuts in paper. I imagine it would be hard to control the depth of the cut with that kind of blade, but it might lend itself to filigree work. Thanks for the background, Mr. Johnson, I'll think twice about using it without lots of practice beforehand.

You could check out the awls at C. S. Osborne, they have hafts as well as the various awls to go with them. I had one of their tools (a creaser) handed down to me and it was still in great shape even after years of disuse and neglect. Whoops!! Springfield Leather carries C. S. Osborne tools, too!! Call Kevin!!

Wow, Josh, sweet shop. I'm like leatheroo, only I have to use the kitchen counter...... hehehe. Man, with all this going for you, you must be close to needing an apprentice! (Me, me, pick me!!)

Welcome to LW, Bonnie, glad you're here! You'll find the folks that make up this board are all wonderful people and love to share. When you get a chance show us some pics of your work if you're not shy, we love to see projects of all sorts! If you have questions there are plenty of people here with loads of knowledge that are willing to help. Me, I"m a "newbie." I can offer an opinion, but take it with a ton of salt....... LoL.

Sweet!! That is a gorgeous Hibiscus. How did you get your wood grain look on the leather? Oh, that flower in your original post might be a Narcissus which is of the Daffodil type flowers. Narcissus <---------- Linky Plus, your guess of white petals with a yellow inside is pretty spot on...... LoL.

Cool. I'm looking forward to seeing your end product.

Not a dogwood, dogwood flowers are four petals and the petals have a single scallop in the middle. Dogwood flower

Tandy does have a lifter. It's called the undercut beveler. B892 is the number. Just sayin', not promoting one tool over another.

It says Slidell. The biker's hometown must be Slidell, Louisiana. It is just outside Noo Awlins. Same place rickeyfro hails from.......

Thanks for the tip, Johanna!!

Ok, sorry for the double post but I realized that Jim's email to me had more information that you might find useful. To the mod's.... sorry for the double post. Hello Tim, Hopefully I can give you a general idea on where tools are used on this pattern to help you. The bevellers are pretty easy to understand except for the B204. This tool has vertical lines on it and is used to bevel around the outer edge of the seeds. This is done before the seeds are put in. The lined pear shading tools are used in the flower petals and if you look closely, you can see that they are heaviest against the seeds and fade toward the tip of each petal. The smooth shader is used on the broad leaves. The F924 is used to create the hollow area in the seed centers. The very end of the V707 is used like a stop where the petals touch the seed pod. The F899 matting tool is used around the entire design to feather out the halo created by the beveling. The hair blade is used to put fine lines on the stem of the flower. Hopefully when you look at the carving closely, you will be able to recognize where these tools are used. Good luck, Jim Linnell Store Operations Tandy Leather Factory (817) 872-3136 - office (817) 872-3120 - fax email: jlinnell@tandyleatherfactory.com website: www.tandyleatherfactory.com

Good, I'm glad that Jim responded to you. This is the pattern that my wife wants me to put on her Bible cover (that I'll make for her someday) and I had contacted him through his website. He wrote me an email back (I won't copy it here unless you need the rest of the information he gave me.) I have purchased all the tools necessary to do this pattern and I practiced with the F924 a little bit. One recommendation, when you strike it, strike it very lightly as it has a narrow head and is very sharp. This tool will penetrate very deeply and will damage or even downright puncture through your leather. I was using my AS 16 oz Mallet and the tool was tearing up the surface and leaving rough edges until I found the right force to use (very light taps for me.) Basically he's using it as a matting tool to depress the inside of the seed pod. Once I got the right force figured out the results were very nice. I suppose you could make one of your own if you took a nail, flattened the end and then filed V shaped notches to make a shape of a cross or plus sign on the end. It was easier for me to buy the tool...... LoL. Good luck, whatever you do! Looking forward to seeing pics of your project.