JLSleather

Nobody? Well, okay. Duncan's was closed for a few days anyway... guess I'll call 'em up and see have they got another one.

Yep, tha's still awfully wet. "Smooshy" and heavily darkened where ya bopped it. Flip it over on the other side, and note the "negative" of the pattern on the other side. A wide, dark outline 'drawing' is a sure giveaway yer toolin' too wet. Yer pattern aint centered on the leather, but the cuts look purdy smooth .. not broken 'n' choppy. FYI,, FWIW kinda thing... I use a "shader' or "thumbprint" before a beveler (as a rule, more often than not) but each his own. And I AIM to get a project completely done once I start. On those times where it's not going to happen, I FINISH the part that I can. What i mean... I generally would use (on a pattern like that one), a 'shader' (likely 2 or 3 different ones), then bevel, then selective modeling (too long story to include at the moment), then camo tools, veins, then background and decorative cutting. So, if I know I'm running low on time, I might do the flower where you did, and all the stems / leaves leading up to that, and background, and cut, so that whole side is DONE, then cover the other side with a piece of (plastic) tracing film and leave it right where it is on the marble block. Come back tomorrow, uncover the work, and wait 'til it's ready. With marble under it and plastic over it, it AINT gonna dry out. Truth is, doing it 'in one shot" uses less time. Tooling, I know. But I didn't reply here cuz I don't know that resisty / paint / antstreak / wax off thing

I don't like thick wallets. I prefer a 3/4 "back" or outside, and generally line with about a 1 1/2 oz chrome tanned goat or kid. I make my own "innards" AND I buy them pre-fabbed. Particularly if I need one or two, it's nice to be able to 'throw an insert' in and ship it. If I need 10 or more, I'll likely make them here. The Chaylor inserts sold by SLC are decent quality. The ones they make down there, I don't care for (too thick and rigid). The Chaylors look a bit pricey, but calculate the time it would take you to make one and they don't seem so bad I need to get back on the horse with these, actually. "Back when", I'd make 20 or 30 of 'em just to have ready... all glued and stitched and ready to go. Lest I bore you to no end, here's a couple pics. I'd add a link ot the Chaylor inserts, but I see that web site is boogered at the moment! Here's a couple I sometimes 'do up'...

Welcome!

I'll have to get out a measurin' stick or somthin' to check the holes. Without giong to the machine, I'm gonna guess they's 6mm holes, one vertically above the other, right in the area that lever will swing (IF I was to ever use it). Too bad I don't have a mill or a lathe any more.... as a former tool 'n' die guy, I know 27¢ worth of steel when I see it But this little slidin' thing that came with the machine, pain in my back. I checked... they're like $85! Somebody can have this one (I did try to use it a dozen times or so) for HALF that price. Shoulda bought the cb4500, I guess (again)... which would have come with that.

You may be worrying too much. I sometimes oil before dye, but usually the dye is before the oil. Sometimes I dye the leather and then assemble -- sometimes not. I don't use a LOT of resolene, but when I do I like to give it a whole day to set up. Probably longer than it needs, really. Point is, don't get carving this in stone. A lot of the "order" of steps is just personal preference. In fact, I often don't apply a "final" finish until AFTER stitching. You'll get a feel for what you prefer before long.

Awe.......... Er,.. ughhh.. I mean... yer welcome

2 tapped holes on the back of the cobra... do these fit the drop-down edge guide available with Cowboy machines? Looks like they might, but guessing from pictures, and I admit I don't care for $100+ guesses.

It LOSES an inch? Wait.. what? Purdy sure when my wife came from NZ she GAINED an inch

Well past the 20,000 downloads mark (there's not really a mark, tha's just an expression ) but maybe now can get back to designing something new and different. Maybe get back to them '80 / 20' things I talked about in FEB!

What type of strap cutter? IN teh interest of time, some folks seem to prefer just running it through the strap cutter, letting that first piece go where it wants

2mm roughly 5 oz .... about right for covering with salty croc?

70 shoulders.... so yer talkin' like 850 sq ft.... er.. I mean -- 80 meters to you. That gonna be enough to keep you busy all week?

The more strippers I install, the less work I get done

Yeah,I don't think that's a dye issue. Looks more like a loose-grained leather issue from teh picture. I'm not familiar with the products you used, so couldn't swear that didn't affect it. But I do use Fiebing's dye, and have not had what you show.

Yeah, I hate those terms people invent for flaws. "distressed", "rustic", or even (gulp) "hand made" ...

I like leather as clean as I can get. Most do, actually. But I have seen multiple marketing speeches about marks "add charm" to the finished piece. This is of course low-rent hustle .. it's a grift. I dont' want my leather "charming" A few 'growth marks' and 'fat wrinkles' is expected. If they're across the hide, you can keep that.

Nah, I don't want the holes in it until AFTER it's tooled (the ones that are tooled). I just want the ends cut quickly and cleanly. Plus, on a narrow strap, punching the outer edge and the holes at the same time could certainly result in binding - which in turn can "booger" the grain of the leather. It "could" be done, but you'd likely want a stripper to hold the leather down while the punches back out. I mean a spring loaded presser plate, not the girl with no clothes Plus, you'd likely want it made with replaceable punches, too. And I like OVAL belt holes, not round ones, meaning that the punches would have to be aligned somehow... As you can see, that could get complicated ... !

What clone are you talking about? That may make a difference. But ya gotta admit, this does look a bit familiar ... http://en.czzgfr.com/products_detail/&productId=38609b12-f2e3-4329-b698-400632be621d.html

Well, actually I was thinking about a die to hit all of this in one shot ...

Yikes. Forgot to put this up on the site! Fixing today ... Hey, not my question, but a GOOD one!

Oh, yeah.. we're in the money.. I DO get to have lunch tomorrow

I learn the hard way apparently. Hand cut the first 5000 or so and THEN have dies ordered

YIKES! Did I sell a holster and mag pouch on Ebay while I was out .. for $24.99?#!@#! Draw all ya want ... we'll make more

Yeah, I got templates for cutting -- never was big on those "end punches". But I want to have dies made for tapered billets and ranger belts, so IF there was a "right" point I'd have 'er done that way. I'll just lay out something that looks good. By the time you narrow the strap ends, point the tip, cut the radius where the narrows are -- two ends of all that -- a die that 'clicks' it done looks pretty sweet.