mugwump

great looking belt. i do have a question or two though, what did you use for the resist on the belt (neatlac?tankote?) and,is the bee natural saddle oil a paste or liquid? is it a bee's wax&neatsfoot blend? or carnuba? i've been looking for an alternative to neatsfoot and olive oil, how do you like the bee natural stuff? have you used any of their other stuff? , thanks for taking the time... eric

holy schnikes!!! i just looked at your braiding stuff... very cool! i wish i could help you out with your other project... the only suggestion i can make is to find and print out a lot of 'line-art' photos on the net, and transfer them to the leather for practice work, you also might want to check out your local tandy (if there is one), they usually have 'free' classes (free class, you pay for/bring your supplies) to teach tooling basics... anyway... until you can find someone local to hook-up with, you might just want to continue looking in the how-to section here on this board... good luck... later... eric

sherman oaks... you? your burnishing idea/tool is kinda cool, i've made a few myself close to it if you want to discuss it... later... eric

cool looking logo... but it kinda reminds me of the 'invader zim' logo a bit... eric zim logo if pix doesnt show up...

wow! talk about sticker shock on the tandy... it wouldnt be so bad if you didnt know/see the 'elite' price next to the 'gold' price... oh well... in my opinion, for $50 it's worth the effort and work to put the time into tweaking it, but @ $120... i think i would seek another option/brand/etc for a head knife... ymmv, guess i'll get off my soap box now, and be quiet... eric

does leffler's ship to the U.S.? i must be tired, because i couldnt find the info... the blade seemed 'cheap' enough to try out... eric p.s. does anyone reading this have an extra plastic/nylon bevelling blade they might want to part with? thanks...

cool idea: ... i think i'm gonna try it out later... just got to round up a cork... ... thanks for the idea... eric

did you get the idea from that pisode of doctor who? i cant remember the name of it right now, but it was a couple of seasons back... anyway... it looks kinda cool, not too creepy... are you planning on selling them for decorations or just for personal use? take care... eric

how about a string and a thumb tack to mark out the circle, and then cut it with you shears? that way you can make any diameter you want, and are not limited to the tool/wing divider size? just a thought.... eric

:jawdropper:wow! just when i start to think i'm doing o.k.... i see this post, and realize what a primative i am at tooling... eric

i've always used an old toothbrush, (or go to the $.99 store and stock up), to clean the top surface if 'stuff' get's into the grooves... besides, if you get a bunch of the 'cheapies' you can modify them by cutting the bristles to the length you need to attain the desired stiffness of the brush. eric

ohh, i don't know... the other one is great as a cheese slicer... esp. some perfectly aged swiss... eric p.s. +1 on the straight skiver, rather than the draw/drag version... slightly more controllable...

in a pinch, you could use some cord/string/twine, and two push pins for a temp straight line.... it could also be used to make perfect circles.... and of your careful not to push or distort the tension on the string, you would be limited only by the length of the string... sorry, it was just a quick thought.... take care, good luck... eric

"...... i saw a squirrel... and he looked like this...." congrats on the case.. .that was one of my all-time favorite shows... but the 'filthy humans' got their hands on it.... ohh well... zim lives in dvd... eric

take it with a grain of salt, but i also would suggest getting an osbourne for your oversticher over the tandy's in general if for nothing else the quality check when it was made. the main problem with the tandy's is twofold (again ymmv), one is the hardness/composition of the metal used for the wheel (too soft), and how the tines are shaped (or actually mis-shaped/blunted too much). if you do opt for the tandy, make sure to look at and carefully examine each overstitcher they have in the place, and compare the tines to find the one(s) that came through the mfg process and shipping still useable. also, the multi-wheeled one they sell has the spacing closer toghter than the individual overstitchers, so a '6' in one, might not be a '6' in the other... hope i helped and didnt muddy the water too much... eric p.s. i mainly use the '6' for general use, and use either a '5' or a '7' depending on how the actual product will be used, and the stress the stitched area will receive and the material.

on the subject of using 'stuff' to aid in the transfer of dyes/oils/etc... how do you feel about using vinergaroon (vinegar black), the baking soda bath, and following rinses... and reconditioning? what would be your prefered method of neutralizing the vinegar(acid) and replaceing the 'oils' that leeched out during the process? eric p.s. it's great seeing and having you here on this board. take care...

so.... you finally added some real reptile:rolleyes2: .. hehehe.... the strap really ties it all all together (sorry 'bout the bad pun). i know it's been said before, but it is a praiseworthy object, and i hope the owner of it will appreciate even a 1/10th of the work/thought that went into it. take care and..... :notworthy: eric p.s. i found the emoticon button... sorry...

you could use an acrylic paint, and then seal it up with a clear coat, or wax... or you might want to try 'tinting' bag or tan coat? i havent tried the last method yet... (i will a little later today on some scraps), but i have used the first one when i needed to have yellow, red, blue, and orange for some watchbands i was making... hope it helps... eric

thank you for the reply. now that you mention it, i can see that purple was added, but i wouldnt have caught it until i try to make my own witches brew up, and not reach that tonality... so thanks for helping out there... take care... and, again the mask looks great! eric

hello, wow! that looks great... if i may ask... what kind/color/brand dye? (paint?) did you use? thanks... eric

huh? why did this pop-up in the 'view new content' list? odd.... eric

very cool, i love the thread color choice... and the scales... eric

i wanted to 2nd that... it doesnt look like a dye was used, maybe just neetsfoot or olive oil was used... or maybe some sort of conditioner only... in my opinion, if a dye was used, it was so thinned out to make it more of a 'wash' than a traditional dye. just my take on it, so take it with a grain of salt... eric p.s. cool panerai...

i know it's astupid question, but did you dye it before the stamping with an airbrush and template? or freehand? eric

how i did it before was to use foam just wide enough to to be stitched on both sides, and glued down on both sides with contact cement. the burnished the edges. it gave the 'puff' in the center, and the flatness from the stitching to the edge. hope the helps.... eric p.s. i forgot to add, the foam i used was the craft foam that you can get in any michael's/ joanne's/craft store/etc.... it comes in either 1mm, 2mm, and 3mm.... i used two 1mm sheets for my straps.