JLSleather

Now I gotta buy a horse??????????? LOVE the colors, sue-weeeet.

No, they aren't. Belly leather is too "stretchy", doesn't carve or hold the design well. It generally dyes just fine, so it CAN be used, but not for tooled items. Be fine for small cases that don't take much/any stress (NOT for belts/billet straps). Often enough, the belly is the part I use to test how a particular color is going to look on THAT hide ... The best carving leather you want a "back" or a "bend". I usually buy the side just for the reason above.

Yeah, that's what I thought, too. I'll offer to sell them NEW bags with a painting. Recommend dyes or paints for that?

I like the oak tooling leather shown, good clean "natural" color and that's a good price if the leather is good. But, in the end, I've seen pretty pictures other places and then received crap. So, I've been just paying the extra and buying it where I can SEE it. I'll go ahead and be the jerk who says it out loud. Apparently, everybody loves Tandy, and to alot of people Tandy=leather goods. Not sure why. At one time, they had some stuff that I used fairly frequently. But seeing what they have now - at their store down the street, on Ebay, around here - I'm SO not impressed. You'll be able to tell when I'm getting ready to put a cheezy tin chunk of junk with some shiny plating on a perfectly good piece of leather... it'll be really cold that day. And no, sending a free "doodle page" with it will not make up for it. Really?!?! ... $60 for a purse "kit" (as in it makes ONE) with holes punched so big I can park my truck there??? NOTE that the picture of that is nice, too. Their pictures are wonderful, and their catalogs are nice - both priinted and online. But I suppose mine would be too if I had someone else paying for it. You always see other leather companies talking about how they "carry the entire Tandy line" of stuff. Who knows, maybe I'll order something from them anyway. My point is, it's best to see it for yourself. At the least, talk to someone you know who has ordered there (AND been satisfied). If you're going to go with a name, that name should be someone you know. "Customer service" is useless to me. I have a small shop and not much room to stock rolls and rolls of leather ... and I don't have time to wait for the hide to show up, wait while I send it back, wait for the "customer service" replacement to show up. Oh, I'm sure this won't be popular, but one more thing ... I don't particularly understand the "B" or "C" grade hide. When the "A" grade is $1.00 more per foot, it looks like you're saving money. But every time you buy a side, you're talking about a diffference of $20-25 for the top of the line. Not worth $20 to me to have any problems.

Suddenly, I have a rush on the gals wanting me to "paint" on their handbags. No carving, just paint. So I need a recommendation (yes, I searched ... this entire section). I can paint, that's not a problem. On the new ones, I'll use the same Fiebing's spirit as always, but some of the others will have already been sealed, so I guess I'm going to use the acrylic (much as I love that idea). Acrylics hold up to you gals? What I need to know is which acrylics we like and a sealer. They'll be sprayed, if that matters. Ladies?

Had my experience with this ... and THEN started printing out the "warning". Made a painting for this girl ... lake scene in the mountains, fall colors in the trees, reflected in the lake. Nice, even from my worst critic (me). I carved it in 5 oz leather (18x24) and set it a couple inches deep in a beveled, cove-cut oak frame. TOLD her to her face ... not in direct sunlight. A year later I saw it ... on a display easel in front of the window (uggggghhhhh). Apparently the frame had been broken, so she did this instead. Fiebing's spirit dye had faded to basically nothing. Told her I'd repaint it, but the leather itself had darkened considerably. I offered to make her a new one, with the understanding that she won't do that again. But, since the thing was originally ordered for her as a gift she didn't want to replace it. Ordinarily, I probably wouldn't be quite that outgoing, but this is a girl who is always paying me (just called yesterday to say her boyfriend needs a new belt).

Not even a suggestion, just thinking out loud, really ... Your shading looks good, nice even flow from deep to nothing ... when you do that, I think it blends and keeps the overall design flow when your background fades the same way. In the end, though, this looks good - and the boss has already approved it

I know that feeling, and I LIKE the full border. But Storm is right, the blanks are cut to suit buckles that have a radius on the inside (full width doesn't clear the corners). This MAY be viewed as cheap marketing ... you know, 5 cents for the bottle of soda, $3.50 for the bottle opener. Lots of my belts, though, the customer has picked out the buckle they want to use, and I make the belt to fit that. Since you're talking about such a small distance (but a big difference) you can center the design within the borders ... you'll just have a litte less background on the outside, or you can swivel cut on the inside of the outside lines (from the craftaid) and save the background. For those who want a carved belt and didn't select the buckle, and since I really like the full-width border, I generally use a full 1 1/2" belt with a 1 5/8" buckle. You can cut down a wider strap, but it wastes leather (unless you have need of a 1/2" strap that heavy) and the new strap that measures 1 1/2" STILL has to fit the buckle ... ONE NOTE: When you go to dye the background, give any 4-year-olds in the house something ELSE to paint ...

I'll take the 4060 and the 2240 if you still have 'em. Send me a message with email address for PayPal and I'll get right on it.

Don't let me crowd what the doctor said, but as someone who has had a similar ordeal, the sooner you start using the arm the better. Years ago I had torn the whole area pretty badly (boxing mishap, so insurance was out). I'm right handed, and tore the left shoulder badly. Since I was a tennis player, I switched to handball -- thinking that was better "bilateral" exercise. It was, and now I have good use of the joint, every which way but back (with some thought, I learned to turn around to grab things that are behind me ). Granted, this was back when you and I were both considerably younger, but it also used to be a MUCH more invasive surgery. I got Frankenstein-looking staples about 5" down the muscle... the guy with the same problem 5 years later got a "bump" about the size of a dime.

Years ago, I had cutting patterns for wallet liners. This was "adjustable" with removable pass case. Now, I need it again and for whatever reason don't have it. I thought it was in the "Lucky 7" book, but they have rerprinted that book a couple of times since then, complete with changes, and it's not there. It's possible that I'm wrong about the source (yes, I know, but it COULD happen). Posting sketch of "sorta" what it looked like. Send message if you have this set-up. Need this in a day or so, at which time I'll have to be less lazy and cut some paper TIP: Ask for money. I'll pay you for the full-size cutting patterns, or if you're determined to share them freely then I'll make a donation to the site for you.

Sorry, just saw this post. Send me a pm or email with what you have, and I'll see what I can do. Let me know the size you're wanting. Work doesn't come with a guarantee, but the price does (it's free).

Been leaving this one alone, thinking one of the "sewing people" would take this. Since nobody has replied, maybe I'll jump in. The bags I make don't contain any fabric (all leather, 'cept for the thread), but I think most of the fabric people use a spray adhesive. At least, the ladies around here that do that sort of thing use it ... one down the street says Elmer's. I know for the longest time we used "skiver" to line where the lining needed to be soft, yet very thin. When we get it, this is glued to a cloth backing, to keep it from stretching. With a little care, this can be (and is) removed without damaging the leather (sheep). When removed, the leather is still "tacky" on the back, but we didn't care because it was getting glued in. This type of leather might be something you want to look at , whether to use as is (which should work) or to see the backing I'm talking about. Like I said, I'm guessing ...

At the risk of dragging this out, I wanted to give Ray an "attaboy", an "Amen" if you prefer. That in mind, here's my short [ish] take. We all have some patterns. If it's YOURS, you can do what you like with it -- sell it, lease it, share it freely, throw it away. Suit yourself. If it's Al's, or Tandy's, or Walmart's, you can use it because you purchased the right to use it - for your own use, not for resale, and there are legal issues that could be raised from "disbursing" it, which - worst case - could involve you, the recipient, the LW site, and so on ... DON'T get me started on using pirated software to alter a few lines on someone's design ... One last word about A.S. I learned MUCH from his instruction. Personally, I still prefer his series on leather cases. This is because Al went beyond the "here's a craftaid" or "cut the leather 7 x 7 1/4", to "here's how to make stuff to suit what you need". Wonderful. And a pattern IS worth something. If it weren't, then why do we charge more for the "special order"? For ME, if I'm charging the customer for an "original" design, then I certainly can't complain about giving that fee to the designer if someone else came up with it. I would actually PREFER to know that my money helped someone who really needs it (as opposed to paying for the new paint striping in the leathercraft mall). That said, in the end I can only speak for myself. I know more about leatherwork than copyright and patent law, and I prefer it that way. In the future, I may need and ask for a pattern. In that event, he who has the pattern is welcome to "shoot me a price" with no thought of offending me, and we'll take it from there.

If you have kids, or grandkids, or know someone who does - take 2 minutes to read this ... regarding drugs marketed to children (article appeared in Dallas). "Strawberry quick"

Personal observations, tips, and a list of the tools to do it. All in 3 lines.

I agree, too. Hope I didn't say anything that made it sound otherwise.

Oh, yeah ... one perhaps more concrete note: If I'm making a purse, at ALL, I am already copying SOMEONE ELSE'S idea. Wallets and belts have already been invented. If I change the tooling, I'm still in someone else's business.

Wow, Ray, that sounds so ... European. Maybe it sounded different writing it than it does reading it, but if you read your own post - that sounds like an artist to me. I don't know any "design professionals", but I have known a few artists (though they didn't see it that way). One guy - Jim - would, given a piece of #2 pencil lead, a wad of toilet paper, and 45 minutes, draw a landscape so real you'd think you could walk into it, except you didn't need to cuz you were ALREADY IN IT. And Howard - aka "Curly" - could play a 6-string acoustic guitar all day and never use the same note twice (at least it seemed that way to me) and in my opinion should have abandoned that labor job for a concert hall. I develop my point further ...Much has been said, and rightly so - about Mr. Al Stohlman. Al's books - there's some beautiful work in there. While I think Mr. S. had a legitimate desire to aid other crafters, the bottom line here is that Al made REALLY good money, for a long time, carving someone else's leather for discussion more than for practical use. Perhaps worth mentioning, he got paid BECAUSE the distributor knew they could make money by "subcontracting" Al's work (and disposition). THEREFORE ... I think it's good for the guy who is learning to carve, bevel, and shade to use these "patterns" -- in the sense that you then have something to compare your work to. But I also believe that most are too "stuck" on the pattern ... I know it shows a V400, but use the 404 if you like that look, thus adhering to the principle with your own preference. Craftaids are a good example... I've known guys who had - well - I think ALL of them. Maybe they're collectors? Personally, craftaids are only beneficial if I have 10 of something to make, which rarely happens. To your other point ... some folks are just rude. I used to have a bunch of these "my idea" things ... police say to forget it, my "ornate" doorknob precludes a good finger print. More than the money ($300 US for the new beveled glass in the door) is knowing that it will take hours and hours to replace them. Some of those books and tools probably found Ebay, but those designs and the computer back-up probably wasn't any good to anyone but me ... now THAT'S rude. Personally, I LIKE to see other people using my ideas. Infrequently, it's like mine and I gained nothing. Usually, though, it's either not as good as mine (meaning I helped someone) or it's made better (meaning I haven't "arrived" yet and need to continue to improve), either of which is good for ME. Much of the time, I have customers who want to see a book so they can point and say I want that one FOLKS, if you need a picture of a horse - go to google search and type "horse pic", you'll have more than you know what to do with. if you need a design, layout, construction that isn't readily available - show some consideration for the person who has it - may be payment, an exchange of ideas, or a simple thanx keep in mind, that when someone helps you, it may be more in spite of you than because of you. I run the snow blower down the neighbor's sidewalk EVERY time it snows. He's a rude obnoxious jerk, and it's cold out there. I don't want to do his because I know he has 2 snow blowers but figures if he leaves it long enough I'll do it for him. He does say thanks when he sees me, but in the end he EXPECTS me to do it again next time. Perhaps one day he'll find out that it has nothing to do with him ... the mail lady who comes down our street is dating my buddy, and I clear most of the block FOR HER. Boy, does he get woke up when she gets a new route ... But, it's wonderful to talk about helping each other, long as we all act like a bunch of kids in the school yard ... (No YOU go first, no YOU go first, No you... ) That said...DaCoda ... still have your address, send you some PRACTICAL stuff on Monday.

HEY, for what it's worth, I agree with YOU. I don't care for the letters, but the rest of the belt looks pretty good. So, I gotta ask ... why didn't you do the name in the same fashion you did the floral? This sounds like crap, of course, but it's intended as a compliment ... I LIKE the belt. Sometimes I hear stuff around here about dyeing projects taking days, and I personally don't get it. Once the leather is dry, I brush in the background (if there is one), and paint the design immediately. Only thing I put on that ever sits more than overnight is neatsfoot, and that's only so it has a chance to penetrate and spread. As for NeatLac, I had some bad experiences with it like 22 years ago and have never used it since (though I do rather like the SaddleLac). Then, I'm probably the odd man out in that I don't use "resist" (whatever that is) ... I simply don't paint where I don't want paint. Any, that medicine from the dentist must be doing all that talking, but the bottom line is the floral looks GOOD.

I used to have Vol 2 around here somewhere. If I remember right, A.S. used 6/7 oz for the main bag. By the time you line it with a 2 1/2 oz, ya got 9/10. Your bag will be - what - 20-21 inches? You might be okay, but I'd want a young guy with me to carry it That's my take ... 6/7 and line with 2/3 oz veg tan (goat?). Maybe a couple of sewn-in dividers around the laptop, keep it in place. You could always add wheels, and a harness that would attach to the dog's collar. This - or course - should be discussed with the dog ...

Pro'lly not gonna make it down too much, seein' how all my exes are down that way. Well, no, actually is no "ex", just a pretty good step from here Wanted to let you know I viewed the site, though ... that's some nice looking stuff you got in there ... keep at it!

Sounds like you have it pretty much under control down there. I'm going through stuff (new work bench) and found that I have [yet another] "Lucky7" pattern book for bilfolds, key cases, pocket secretary and a little whatever-that-is plastic craftaid pattern. PM or email with address and I'll send it. Couple of handbag patterns (cutting and carving), not sure what else yet, and the kids won't let me look at the moment

Help a girl out ... put in down there in the "Pay it Forward" section so she has it all in one place (?).