wareagle

The Basic 7, swivel knife, seeder, camouflager , beveler, rawhide hammer, backgrounder, and pear shader those are all you really need to do any carving, all the other tools do is make it easier to do. as for me never enough tools .... never!

looks like it is a locking post page 79 of ohio travel bag link:http://www.ohiotravelbag.com/FlipBook/P212_BOOK_1.indb/index.html#/79/zoomed

I think for the leaves a lot depends on what part of the country you are from, here in New England, we sell a lot of Maple leaf designs.

the "rule of thumb" I use when unsure of how to price a product is cost X 3 = retail. cost x 2 = wholesale. cost breaks down to: cost of materials + cost of labor + 20% overhead.

our sales are up about 30% with some repeat customers, we use PayAnywhere for our CC processor rates are costing us more as sales increase we are going to be moving to a different processor that is integrated with our e-commerce site.

the way I have seen it in the business world is: A Leather works is the place where people that work with leather do their craft. A Leather crafter is a person that works with leather from scratch (cut, pattern, prepare leather for what is being made and finishing). A Leather worker is a person that works assembling pre-cut leather into a finished pattern. A Leather Artisan is a person that creates and embellishes what he has made.

I use both, flesh side for stone mark removal, hair side for final polish.

fold the exposed edge over and glue it down or use seam tape

You should have transferred the "costumer" to the "boss" "Peggy"

I have not been able to find it. it is made by craftool part number 3079-00 the pro strap cutter. edit FOUND IT: http://rowensworld.com/store/Craftool_Pro_Strap_Cutter_3079-00.html OR http://www.shopmania.com.br/outros-esportes/p-fieira-craftool-3079-00-2848314

6/7 would work fine for the idea you are trying, and like the idea of 2 4/5 leather glued back to back for a more finished look

Thanks for the replies, it does help. will go with Handcrafted in the USA

How do you tell where a "side" of leather came from? in other words what country it originated in. Had a customer ask this this weekend and All I knew was it was from one of three countries that supply my supplier. That is why I am reluctant to claim "Made in the USA" I know all of the metal parts come from Asia but never sure where the leather comes from.

Ace Steel Rule Dies is the east coast distribter cost is $1699 plus $75 UPS site is http://acesteelruledies.com/diepress.html

In My culture (Native American .... Mescellro Apache) we traditionally give the first new project away to friends and or family yes they may not be perfect or all the bugs worked out but it is the first edition and will bring us good returns on our next endeavors. So far it has not lead me astray. I think is a good first attempt at this item. I know some of my first attempts I wanted to burn or shred but followed the teachings and each attempt after that got a little better.

here is a guide to leather ..... http://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php/topic,24427.0.html

good site, video subscription is a bit high but a lot of vintage patterns on it for sale..... a few are free .....lots of e-books for sale too

There seem to be only two steps in tooling leather that are set in stone(maybe)..... 1 pattern to the leather (tracing, freehand what ever you method is). 2 cutting in the pattern. after those two it is personal prefference and what the pattern calls for.... I generally follow 3 beveling 4 back grounding 5 shading 6 decoration 7 decorative cuts.

The key to noise control is to isolate hard to hard surfaces that move or bounce. what is usually done is vibration pads to break the path from the table legs to the floor, a foam mat like they use at the checkout works, if budget is a concern wash cloths or towels under the legs of the table. the next thing is mass you need a lot of mass to keep the the vibrations down the marble helps but I would think about a heavier table or a log at table hight to absorb the inertia of th4e hammer blows before it gets to the floor. as to the punches I use the tandy pro and it works great .

interesting technique knots are hidden on the inside between the layers and I would not call it stitching more like a lashing. in my opinion that creates a weak point for the strap I would rivet it or saddle stitch it.