tboyce

I just got a call from someone who is a paid speaker for business conventions and the like. It seems as if he is in a society of paid speakers and one of them is retiring. He wanted to commission me to do a tooled leather binder for the retiring speaker. I don't do this for the money but purely for a hobby so I told him that I would do it for the cost of materials. Since I don't have a double shoulder handy, I told him it would require me purchasing one and the cost would run him about 100 dollars. He informed me that was acceptable but that the last person he had gone to had quoted him 350 dollars and he thought that was outrageous. I asked him how much he got for one of his speeches and he said that he cleared a minimum of 500 dollars for an hour speech but that reflected years of training and preparation. Then I told him that the person he wanted to hire had also spent years training and honing his skills, buying very expensive tools and that the tooling and stitch on the project he wanted represented anywhere from 15 to 20 hours of his time. After deducting the 100 dollars for materials, that left a profit of about 250 dollars which means that he thinks it outrageous that a skilled craftsman should get $12.50/hour

LOL I wonder how many of us got our start in this craft because we couldn't bear to use Naugahyde faux leather for our OA costumes.

I'd be happy to

So, Opus56 posted a messenger bag that has appropriately wowed everyone in the showoff forum and has graciously consented to let me draw up a pattern for all here. I drew up the hard stuff...all that's left is a (2) 2" straps (1) 28" long for the buckle end and (1) 52" long for the other end. As to how it all goes together, go over to his thread on the showoff forum. It's all pretty self-explanatory slotted messenger bag.pdf

just posted the pattern over in the patterns forum

My wife just informed me that she was re-caulking the kitchen sink and that she used my 1" bag punch as a tool to remove the old caulk. I informed her that such a crime was dire indeed and the most dire of punishments needs to be applied to it. So, I'm going shopping now and the only question is should I buy another bag punch or something else and resharpen the one she used?

Perfect usually I have to approximate dimensions by seeing something relative (like the distance of the average female forearm is 10 ") This will me easier than I thought I'll post something this afternoon

Opus, I like the bag and so do others. I can whip up a pattern for it to share if you don't mind. If you do, I understand

Looking forward to it

I just realized how this concept can be incorporated into a design for a sleeve that would hold an iPad or (in my case) an LG Tablet....stay tuned for updates

Here it is. I forgot the barbed wire but there are some stamping tools that would do great with that. The print size is 11x17 POW-Paper.pdf

I saw this on Pinterest and it looked like just the thing for all the scrap leather I'm always collecting. It's about the most useful keyring I've come across, super easy and fast to knock out. The print size is 8-1/2x11 keyring.pdf

Thanks for posting! It looks great!

I'll work on it tomorrow

what size do you want it?

It looks great! It's always fun to see this art take root in the heart of a young one. I remember working in my shop(garage) last summer and a kid from the neighborhood stopped by to see what all the pounding was going on in there. I showed him the western belt I was making for a niece and he knocked on my door a couple nights later asking me if I would teach him. One of the most rewarding things you can do

I'd use 7-8 oz for the main body and straps and skive the gussets to about 4 oz. However, I'd defer to Monica's opinion on that one. She makes the best looking bags here

ah

Was that one of your designs, Monica?

Spitfire asked me for help designing a bag like the one pictured below: The bag is 9"x 6" x 2-1/2" The plot size is 36"x 24" Enjoy SMALL SHOULDER BAG-Paper.pdf

LOL...I recently was introduced to Walking Dead and have consumed the past 4 seasons in the space of 5 days. I saw Monica's location as Georgia and my first thought was, "Oh I hope she's okay"

Actually, I had already worked this one out a while back. Saw it on Pinterest and decided I liked it. It makes a tote that is 14"x 8" x 8" high. The print size is 42"x30" storage tote.pdf

If you find out, let me know. Looks like an easy pattern to make

I'd love to help but I have no idea what the dimensions would be

I've never been able to make them exact. Sanding is like ketchup, it covereth a multitude of sins