JLSleather

I like big cardboard - like ya might see on a pallet. Smooth surface wont scratch the leather, light weight, easy to place and remove, and the cardboard will tend to absorb some of the moisture in teh air (to a point) if it's humid. Only down side... sometimes seems like the hide you need is the one on the bottom

NO HEAT index. My little girl irritated she can't swim cuz the water TOO COLD. Meanwhile.. you southern boys must sit in the shade on day like this comin' up with some new "sayin's" ...

I saw the applicators in THIS thread. Didn't catch the "edge solution" thingie, but no matter --

'Bout ONE MORE rain, and you can bring your equipment up here and PUSH WATER.

You seem defensive -- did you take that as some kind of attack?@! Weird. I have no idea what "they teach nothing about how to interpret complex data and then manipulate or apply it" means. You seem to miss my point. The point of doing those "templates" is not so you can do the template... it's to get the experience with the leather. Even the ones which were "fail" in carving, I still used for practice coloring - even though I knew I was going to pitch it when I was done. The idea was always learn the principles needed to carve leather. But if there were "paint by numbers" instructions for those, I have never seen them Kathy's horse thing was well discussed and well carved -- I've recommended it to several people. I could do that, but I don't have that "small man complex" that causes some to duplicate another's material for the attention (or pay, or whatever). I've never met her, and wasn't looking to date her - I just recognize that she did that little discussion very well. Horses are hardly "original" in leather, though THOSE horses may be her original art. You posted a number of pics.. is one of them Kathy? She may be a "swell" gal -- but I wouldn't pay somebody to show me that ... just show me the finished picture and I'll figure it out "Many people find a piece of art that looks awesome" ... This doesn't sound particularly "original" either. And in fairness, those USCG notebooks I made a couple of were not a "jeff original" (though I carved and colored them) nor was your "iron maiden" thing.. really not different that a stohlman scene or "figure".. just a different one. And no "paint by numbers" tutorial for either The pics are gone, but I was quite proud of one I did of a Santa Fe train locomotive coming down out of the mountains passing a sign (like you'd see for the name of the town you're approaching) with the guy's name on it. Guy retired from 35 years with the RR and his son asked me for that. BEAUTIFULLY done, painstakingly colored. Yet, neither the mountains or the locomotive were "original" (making it look like something EXISTING was the POINT). You know, and I know, - but for those who don't know.. there's a reason a "shader" is called a "shader".. bop it where the "shade" is, and you got 'er. Tooling is simple enough.. I can teach a monkey long as he aint TOO drunk.

That horse carving discussion IS amazing - but don't thank me, thank HER.

I just like it... never really thought much about the 'why'. Long time ago, when I started out - I sucked at it. At some point, I decided to improve the skills, so I used those 'craftaid' templates so I could spend the time learning the CARVING technique, not spend the time tracing / drawing / designing. Get the carving down, then I could worry about content. And at some point, I decided to do a BUNCH of those templates - idea being that if 10 people all do the same design, then it should be easy to compare the skill level of those 10, side by side. So if a person wanted one of those, I could clearly do it, but - more important -- if they wanted something ELSE, then here's a guy who can carve (well) those birds, and horses, and fish, and deer, and .... so on .... Here's a couple of small pics from some of those templates. Every so often, though, you find someone who is skilled at both the carving AND the ability (and tendency) to teach it to the next guy. If you haven't already, I absolutely recommend checking out Yaklady's horse carving on this site:

Always be able to find somebody to re-invent the wheel, and charge you for doing it. I've tried a few types of edge "coatings" over the years - still don't care for em. I do use a little wax on occasion, on the stubborn ones, melted over leather dye (usually Fiebings Pro Dyes). These have been around for years - and work great. Available in wide and fine point.. and available in a zillion places. Since some of you already shop SLC, here's a link to theirs ... http://springfieldleather.com/search?keywords=angelus marker On belts and holsters, and other such "broad" items, I dye edges with a standard wool dauber (like the one that comes with the small bottle of dye).

I often recommend these guys. https://www.ebay.com/str/proleathercarvers The Craftool stamps they sell are the older "vintage' ones -- built far better than the stuff tandy has over the counter these days. They also sometimes carry more expensive models, but I don't see a benefit from the higher price tag. The exception would be the geometric and basket stamps... some of those by Beard and Linnell are more CRISP impressions - which is desirable from a "pattern" design. But for floral, figure, scenic carving, crisp is not necessary and some would say undesirable. Each his own - all the projects shown on the site - and about a bazillon more - were tooled with the older Craftool brand stamps. http://www.jlsleather.com/gallery/

Stored flat is best. Lays flat when working on it. Grain side down so you don't get a tan on the surface before you're ready. I've seen it rolled both ways, didn't seem to harm anything - long as it wasn't rolled too tightly.

Not sure the process, since it aint my thing, but I know it's done for making leather gloves in about 2-2.5 oz goat.

At various times, I've been known to fail to provide a reference for SLC, even when specifically asked (I understand patience and "community", but I think they kept a couple people on board a bit longer than I would have). But the other day, I did place a small order from them, and though it fair to state that went very well. The gal on the phone was polite, knowledgeable, and helpful. She verified my billing and shipping address and card on file to make sure everything was current. My order was processed immediately, the package arrived quickly, correctly filled, and correctly billed. This is how it SHOULD go. Whatever they did down there, they absolutely should continue.

Well, you have a clicker, so our opinions are just about useless to a guy who could simply TRY IT, and see if you like the results. Truth is, I don't like the results I get with flesh side up - that's using a shop press - like you'd see for pressing bearings 'n' such - and a very sharp die. The "break" on the edge is not clean enough. I am sure the appearance of the back (in this case the grain side) could be improved with a higher speed press. But I don't know that you could eliminate it. INSTEAD, you might consider dies made double edged. This is fairly common for items made in pairs that need to match. You "could" have dies made for "left" and "right", but that wouldn't always work out. Most die makers offer 1/'32" accuracy - so depends on if that will work for you. What I mean ..... you order left and right dies. The "left" die arrives 1/32" UNDER size, which is what the maker agreed to. And teh "right" arrives 1/32" OVER size, again within what you agreed to. But put the two together, and the right hangs over 1/16" all the way around. If you're going to fold it over and stitch it down, may be less critical. But if what you're making will show, maybe not acceptable. You could trim, or sand, or smooth... but that defeats the purpose of having the die. OR, have ONE die made with steel sharpened on both edges. Then place leather grain up, then the die, then another leather flesh up on top the die, and click. Spits out a left and right that WILL match (assuming the die isn't distorted). The places I've spoken with tell me that presharpened steel comes only in 3/4" height, which might mean a quick slight adjustment in clicking height.. otherwise, kind of a no-brainer.

That's going to depend on what it is you're wanting to do. There are some videos some will find helpful. BUT you've probably already noticed how many "leather videos" and "how-to" are just an ad for the guy in the video (sometimes by "experts" who clearly have no idea what they are doing). To begin, I suggest you identify the type of work you are wanting to do. I recommend checking out http://www.leathercraftlibrary.com/default.aspx? and https://www.youtube.com/user/TandyLeatherFactory/videos Some of that will be helpful to you, and some may not. Either way, it should give you an idea of the direction you want to go. Beyond that, I try to answer questions as honestly as possible. Videos CAN be useful, but pay attention to the CONTENT. One clear example -- I use the restroom every day. I could make a video, in high-def and 1080p , and add some background music, maybe pay a "celebrity' to tell you how great the video is going to be for you. In the end, it's still the same thing.

'Preciate the 'thanks' - glad to hear something I said did some good.

Absolutely IS doable. But not worth it to me personally. If I'm making ONE of a model, then just use the gun. If I"m making 50 of some model, then the "dummy" gun is about $1 per holster (and I still have the dummy after). Meanwhile, I could be making another holster or two DURING the time I'd be molding a gun -- so just not worth my time AND SPACE. My buddy built a new 36 x 130' shop .. but he didn't build it for me. More equipment, more materials, requires more room. And then the holster work (and belts, and wallets, and handbags, etc ...) is crowded and needs to adjust ...

Anyone "self-identifying" is simply and quickly asked to leave. My party and I'll snub who I want to.

Wait.. is that pen REGULATION?@! Looks good.

First one might save a fella 14 minutes of what I'm having for dinner and my dog's friend's hair color -- how to adjust bobbin tension in 30 seconds. Second pic an old one of so holster pattern testing, using #24 LL needle, natural thread in 277. Third pic is pure propaganda I would have preferred to use natural thread there (to complement the rope) but went with the dark brown requested.

Wait.. so to be clear .. what you did is this? HOW did I know the pink pig is a "she"? My little girl said so.

Why them holes look so big?@! Turn yer needle just a tad... rotate it in the bar. Looks like maybe a tad clockwise.. your thread may be a bit "behind' the needle. My buddy Robert had the greatest fix for backstitch issues. Don't backstitch. Turn the project around, stitch back in teh same holes in forward. Solved. No git ya a towel, dry yer eyes, and tell us what ya did for the next guy goes through that

Sure.. a number of places will sell you a CREASER embossing roll and the machine to use it in. Hand crank or motorized .. guess it depends on teh money you need to spend, volume you need to do.

This should show the stitch well enough. Just by changing teh needle from LL to LR, with everything else the same and unchanged. The LL is a tight, straight stitch. The LR is a 'higher' - less set in stitch, with that slightly feminine, angled, "frilly" look that the girls seem to like Stitch length is the same, but the angle makes it APPEAR that the stitches are longer. The bottom shows the way teh LL needles close up the hole so well. 6 per inch shown (under a sig P938 slide)