JLSleather

The 936 is HALF the size of the 701. I wouldn't be without the small bevelers -- you can hit it twice where you need to to fill the size of the 701, but you can't hit the 701 in the space of the 936. And the 803 is easily twice as wide as the 701, so on those long, less curvy sections you can move faster. Here's the tools involved here.... 936, 701, 803. And ABHandmade is correct... a smooth tool or two doesn't hurt a thing BTW: I used to have a set of undercut bevelers - long time ago - and also those "lifter" tools with wooden handles. Gave them all away to somebody else who THOUGHT they were needed

I lace with these, even with flat lace (those wallets were done with this). Size 'regular' works with 3/32" or 1/8" lace. https://www.tandyleather.com/en/product/perma-lok-needle I HATE those "2-prong" needles.

Those are good basic tools. I would recommend getting a B936 and B803 also. The wider beveler is going to let you move down those broad lines more quickly and smoothly, and the smaller one is going to let you turn the corners easier. If I remember rightly (?) the B60 is an undercut beveler, which I wouldn't care to use personally. IF you ask me, I'd get the 936, the 701, and the 803.

Hardly worth a subscription to ANYTHING just for that. As a rule, you have to make the pocket for something the size of the item plus the thickness of the leather. General guideline. But with a card, really just a matter of putting your material over the card, crease the ends/sides down, and measure the creases. Add 1/4" each side and you're fine (1/8" to the stitch and 1/8" to the edge). I swear -- ask what day it is and you get somebody wanting to sell you a calendar

Guess I'm the "other guy" (again). I much prefer the ANGLED slots... both for strength and for the look of the finished goods.

I like it. No worries.

I like the old Craftool stamps, probably just because that's what I learned with. I don't care for the ones Tandy currently sells - not very sharp, crisp impressions. But the old ones can still be found on ebay, amazon, estate sales, etc. Some prefer some of the newer "brands", though I think much of that is the HYPE of todays easy marketing techniques. But, some of the currently available geometric and basket stamps are sharper than the Craftools. Come with a bigger price tag, too... but if you're going to do basket / geo stamping, then certainly do the best you can do. NOTE: I do NOT think that more expensive = better, but in some cases that is true. For those particular belts, a guy might get an EMBOSSING PLATE! But if you wanted to hand carve those, a guy could go with a couple of bevelers - one wide, one narrower - with the same texture on the face. Many available, and I like the "checkered" face tools. And then a couple of "shaders" (some call "thumb print" tools) again with the same texture, and A couple sizes of "seeder" tools, and maybe a "mulesfoot"... and you should be in business. Wanna "jazz" it a bit, maybe pick up a couple of different "camoflage" tools, and/or a "veiner"...

Oh, if I had a nickel for every time somebody asked me if I have "dealer pricing" ...

Pretty sure this was a CD / DVD rack in it's day. Found in thrift store for $3. Holds about 100 guns. But I'm in the process of building something more substantial that will hang on a wall, freeing up floor space (even though this only takes about 1 foot out and 3 feet wide). I'll upload a sketch of how to make it if anybody's interested, though I imagine it's simple enough anybody can do it quickly without my input

The LCP 1 is included at https://www.etsy.com/shop/JLSleather?ref=seller-platform-mcnav&section_id=19233123

If you're covering large areas, just apply the 'stick-em' to the back of a piece of card stock then stick the card stock to the design. Don't even need to "glue" the whole piece.. just maybe 1/2" along all edges. Some of you may have heard of "masking"? Leather people like to call it "resist" or "block", but it's the same thing. And, no need to find an art supply store and spend the morning's wages on something to "mask" with. Most places have a small bottle of RUBBER CEMENT which works great for this. An 8 oz bottle is a couple bucks at any hobby lobby or home improvement store, and lasts a LONG time. Note I have tried a couple different versions of "painter tape" as well - from the blue stuff in paint stores to "pro" stuff sold in art stores. SOme are better than others, but a few can leave a residue that can be very difficult to remove, so I don't recommend those unless you're familiar with them. The insignia in the center of this notebook is about 5" x 7" (just the yellow gold part). I assure you I did NOT "paint" that with latex Because it's largely "straight", the rope was "masked" (or "frisketed" or "blocked" or "resist"ed) with TAPE (red art supply tape). And the lettering, which needed to be hand cut for the scroll, was done with... well... that's another time

One popular publication says a general rule is to gauge the distance from the edge equal to the thickness of the pieces being sewn. That's a good starting point.. and you can fine tune your preference from there. On my holsters, the outside stitch is "a strong 1/8 inch" from edges, though the holster edge is frequently 1/4" of material. But I'm talking about that distance from a FINISHED EDGE, not as some who might sew that close, and THEN finish the edge, removing material so the stitch is closer than that. Distance between stitches would be governed mostly by awl and/or needle size. Holes too close together is called a cut. Again, general "starting point" might be distance between stitches equal to thickness of material. Just to see -- I have sewn 2 layers of 2 oz (total thickness approx 1/16") at 22 spi. Using #42 thread and #16 machine needle. I did not use the resulting assembly - clearly a bad idea, but at least i knew. It didn't tear upon sewing, but it does with any stress at all.

Exactly the problem - for years. I have never found a white dye that WORKS - just too translucent to get a true white. So i don't do white, except in small areas of items that don't get "use", and even then I use PAINT. Some acrylics are a bit more forgiving than others, but I wouldn't use it on anything that will get flexed, stretched, bunched, scuffed....

Yup, purdy tough. Shark certainly easier to work with (and less money).

Hey, I 'get' it. Some folks not big on chocolate elephant. For those, may I suggest a cherry shark

Thanks I really like to TOOL leather too, but often holsters are made to be concealed ....

'Preciatecha fellas Oh, I didn't get picks of that part of it, but the back panel of this was lined with tooling leather after it was dyed.

Uh, yah... elephant is a bit of a pain. Knife needs to be WAY sharp to cut cleanly, or the elephant tries to flex out of the way. Great LOOK, and DURABLE stuff, but just requires a little patience to use. The veg tan cow is easy to use.

Curved panel holster for the Bond Arms Bullpup 9, by request in chocolate brown and brown elephant hide. Dark brown nylon thread a la CowboyBob (link below).

That "pin" in the top disks is to keep the disks from spinning around... the thread doesn't go on that. Looks like you have the thread direction right. Be sure it snaps down in to the disks (there should be tension on the thread if it's in there). And then, as rburson states, hold on to the ends of the thread when you start... keep some tension on the ends ... until you have a few stitches in the work

Yer thread path doesn't look right. See can we find a pic... The thread should come OVER the top set of discs (between them) and then go down the RIGHT SIDE of the lower disks. Go all the way around the lower disks to like 12:00 position, and the spring will "snap in" on the thread, then up to the take-up lever and back down.