Penden

I think I am not letting it dry enough. I'm an impatient person and also can only do tooling when the baby is asleep. I ain't staying up forever after he goes to bed so I need to know how far ahead to wet the leather. I do already walk the tool... imagine how much worse it would be otherwise

Thank you I cut it this time. the swivel knife is my friend now I think I mostly just need more practice hitting the tool with the same force each time. also there were some places where even though they are small bevelers they didn't really fit-- these badges are only two inches wide. my practice painting > my practice beveling

painted! http://picasaweb.google.com/mr.mulington.the.3rd/Leatherwork#5459447424244571586 http://picasaweb.google.com/mr.mulington.the.3rd/Leatherwork#5459840202536905314

I like the stuff that has a 3D twist to it, like the roses! Your design is very good for all the pieces

I have an order for a guitar belt with these two badges on it. www.1starmy.com/uploadimages/Product_4456_enl.jpg http://www.specialoperations.com/Army/Special_Forces/SF_Info/sfpatch1.gif And here they are! http://picasaweb.google.com/mr.mulington.the.3rd/Leatherwork#5459435185148125298 http://picasaweb.google.com/mr.mulington.the.3rd/Leatherwork#5459447424244571586 I'm going to be dying the guitar strap black, then painting them. The customer is very happy with the in-progess pictures so I am excited to finish it up for him tomorrow

Not all grocery stores have a canning department, unfortunately. I would suggest an art store where they sell things to make candles. Michaels is ok but see if you can find a "real" art store where it might be cheaper. Craft stores are generally more expensive than "art" stores. Try some online places like blick

I love the Bbear!

Cool, that is basically what I did, and so now I know some of the things I can do to make the one I'm still working on better :D

Here is an experiment I did today, but I don't think it would be nice enough as is for a wedding ring. it might still help: 1. I traced the inside of my ring on the back of 6oz leather. 2. drew a circle slightly smaller and a circle slightly bigger than my tracing, so that the line I traced was dead in the middle and the two new circles were as far apart as I wanted the width of the ring to be. 3. Cut out the O, using scissors for the outside and a chisel for the inside - this made it kinda rough so later I would want to sand it or something 4. wet it 5. twisted it so that the top grain was on the outside and the rough was on the inside. At this step the leather stretches some but not as much as you might expect 6. Squished it flat underneath that 30lb marble slab we use for hammering If I had a wooden dowel the right size, I would have cut a slice off of that to put in the center of it and put the whole thing under the marble Now I'm going to let it dry, and maybe figure out a way to sand it some before I finish the edges. I might even harden it in hot water so it won't stretch any more. ----------------------------- Based on how I understand the instructions and my experimenting, here is what I think you can try: 1. You need a core for your ring which you can make following the steps above. 2. Cut out a larger O out of some sort of garment leather and wide enough to wrap all the way around the first O. 3. Wet it and stretch it around the first O so that it becomes the skin of the ring all the way around 4. You might need to peel it up and tack it with cement once it dries? I have not tried this yet, and maybe I don't understand the first instructions. Good luck and tell us what you end up doing!

I found the parts manual online for free http://homeappliance.manualsonline.com/manuals/mfg/singer/132k6.html and it looks like you can buy the manual you want on ebay for $5 http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Singer-132K6-manual-PDF-CD-Rom-/220560970692

Looks nice If that were my present, I'd be happy

Wow! The color on this one really brings all the fine detail work out

Looks really cool

I love that anchor the best

doesn't match that nylon sling at all! looks like I'll need one of those in leather, too

It's my understanding that resolene is very similar to acrylic paint so I agree that that would be your best bet

Just center the design, wet the belt and run it through. Be careful that it is centered and that you have nice and even and straight cut blank or else it will twist. Sounds like you might be missing the keys, though. They are plain shiny metal disks about the size of the design wheels. I think you can pick up a set at Tandy? And then you will see the major $ you saved!

I use the hefty handle and a rubber mallet! Haha

I just happened to read about a tried and true method in a book today. Take a block of wood bigger than the piece you need to mold and take some small nails or tacks. Brass tacks won't leave black marks but you can do it either way if you are careful. Mold the leather over the item and tack it down in the crease around the edges as you go. You should be putting the tacks where you will later end up sewing, so black marks there don't matter. So you are tacking the leather to the wood. Let it dry and tada that part is molded and can be removed from the wood, trimmed, and sewn to a flat leather back.

What I'm imagining is that you can either use a stiffener when you mold such as the plastic they sell to keep purses stiff or you can make a regular molded holster and then affix a flat, hardened or stiffened piece after the molding part is finished. I am not an expert in molded pocket holsters but I would imagine that it is more desirable to have it molded to both sides of the gun on the inside of the holster.

You did that eagle?! I love it!

Oh, gosh! I responded to the wrong thread somehow and that is why my comments did not make any sense! I would still have preferred a dark brown thread, or white if you want contrast instead. I don't know why but personally I do not like black thread on brown dye.