JD50

Thank you all. Great info. Bruce, the tutorials are really helpful. JD

I recently picked up several edge bevelers (sizes 1-5) and a French edge skiver at an estate sale. They were all very dull. I have tried unsuccessfully to put an edge on them using small strips of sandpaper wrapped around a finishing nail ground flat on one side. Any help on how to sharpen these things would be appreciated.

Learn how to use and sharpen your tools. Get the book "Leathercraft Tools" by Al Stohlman

You are a master!! I am absolutely fascinated by the buffalo skull. Would like to know more about how you did that.

Frank, Great job. I really enjoy seeing well done period correct gun leather. JD

I just finished a checkbook cover for my wife. I've been having a hard time getting the hang of floral carving but I finally did one that I think is passable. It did make a big difference tooling on Herman Oak leather instead of the cheap stuff that I had been practicing on but I still can't seem to make my backgrounding look even. Critiques are welcome. JD

I guess this is a dumb question but I have to ask... Today I was trimming some sheep wool for applicator pads and I looked down in the trash can and realized that about 80% of the stuff I paid good money for is going right in the trash and is never used. The pack-rat in me took over and I picked it out of the trash and put it in a plastic bag thinking it's got to be good for something. But to save myself from moving it around for years thinking someday I'll need this stuff, I thought I'd ask if anyone can suggest any practical uses for loose sheep wool. JD

Thanks to all who responded. I'll give it a second chance and ask for an exchange. jhinaz, just for the record...when I stated that the blade was VERY dull, I wasn't referring to the modeling spoon blade but to the groover blade. Granted, the spoon should be nice and dull. I currently use a Craftool adjustable groover which was very sharp out of the package and only requires a little stropping to maintain the edge. It does a fine job but I thought the chuck on the Pro groover looked like a time saver when adjusting widths. Also, your suggestion of asking them to inspect the replacement before shipping is a good idea...I'll do that. JD

I just received a Tandy Pro Stitching Groover Set. Right out of the package there are several issues with the tool. The main problem is the small set screw that is supposed to hold the blade in place. Either the allen wrench or the hole in the set screw is rounded off so that I can't tighten the setscrew. Also, the blade and the guide arm seem to be lined up at a rather odd angle to each other (not sure if it's supposed to be like that); the blade is VERY dull and will not even cut a groove; there is a rough spot on the guide arm right where it would rub against the edge of the leather; and there is a small chunk out of the wooden handle. This tool looks like a reject that should have not made it out of the factory! I am not sure whether to return the tool in exchange for another one or just get my money back. If anyone has this tool and would share their experience and opinion I would appreciate it. Up until now, all of my tools have come from Tandy and I don't have any complaint against any of them. JD

Aaron, That IS a good idea...which gives me an idea. I'm thinking a turned wood base with a tooled leather rounder might look nice. Hope you don't if I borrow you idea. JD

Thanks Brother Dwight. The Resolene worked. My vinegaroon is ready so I'll be using that from now on if I want something black. Thanks to all who responded. JD

I don't do much black leather but I decided I wanted a black slim jim holster, belt and cap pouch. I made the cap pouch and dyed it black with Fiebings dye. It turned out great with a smooth finish with no black rubbing off. Then I cut out and tooled my holster. After it dried I lightly oiled it (outside only) with EVOO because it seemed a little too stiff. After the oil dried I dyed it black and after the dye had soaked in I buffed the excess off with sheep wool.. After a couple of days drying I was going to start sewing but when I picked it up I noticed it felt kinda tacky instead of slick and smooth. I started buffing it with sheep wool again and the black just won't stop coming off. It is getting less with more buffing but it still feels tacky. I dyed a belt and cell phone case about a year ago with the same bottle of dye and of course the cap pouch recently and none of the other items have any black rubbing off. I didn't oil any of the other item before I dyed them so I'm wondering if the oil is the cause of my problem. I didn't oil the inside of the holster though and the black is coming off of the inside too. I usually use British Tan or Tan and often lightly oil between tooling and dying and don't have any problem with other colors. Any suggestions as to what happened or what I can do to fix it? I'm in the process of making some vinegaroon now so I won't be using black dye anymore but I need to figure out how to fix this mess! JD

I started out buying from the big "T" before I knew about Springfield Leather but most of my business will be going to Springfield now. I just received my second order from them a few days ago and I am very impressed. I placed my order online and the next day a man (sorry I didn't get his name or I'd give him a little publicity here) called me to find out how I wanted my leather cut. He really went out of his way to understand what I was planning to make and what I needed. The best part is when I received my order it was cut exactly the right way! JD

Up until now my experience in leatherworking has been holsters, knife sheathes etc made from veg tan leather so I'm moving into an totally unknown area here. I'm thinking about trying to make a Western style vest and I have lots of questions. Is there a source for patterns for these vests? I would like for it to be made from a very soft leather...what would be a good leather to make it out of? Would I be able to use a standard sewing machine to sew it? If so, are there special needles that need to be used? What type of thread would I use? Hopefully I successfully attached a picture of the type of vest I am interested in making. Thanks for any info. JD

George, I have Dusty Johnson's DVD on holsters. I don't mean to knock it because as a rank newbie I did learn a lot from it and keep going back to it. But now, after making a few holsters I am wanting more info than his video provides. I am wishing that I had put my $30 toward Bianchi's DVD set. Hidecrafter has George Hurst's videos: https://www.hidecrafter.com/hci/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse&category_id=2&Itemid=35 I would also be interested in hearing comments on Bianchi's DVD's from anyone who has them. JD

I'm in the process of learning to make Western style holsters. I am looking for different ways to make & attach the hammer tie-down & thong. Most all pictures that I find of holsters that have a hammer tie-down don't show the holster from the side so I can't see how it's attached. I did find some great pictures & instructions on Will Ghormley's website for making one with a braided thong that ends with some kind of round knot (Turks Head? I don't know...trying to braid makes my head spin) but I'm not quite ready to try that. In case anyone is interested here is a link: http://www.willghormley-maker.com/MakingHOGRig3.html. I have Dusty Johnsons's video on holsters but he doesn't include how to do this. Can anyone provide pictures, patterns, tutorials, etc for other methods? Thanks, JD

Thanks Tom & Tree Reaper for the replies. The quarter sawn wood idea is interesting...I do have a piece of quarter sawn red oak laying around the shop somewhere. But I have just about concluded that most any type of wood will eventually began to flake off as it is used. Of course that wouldn't be all bad...it would just give me an excuse to go do some turning and make a new maul! I did consider the rawhide idea. It looks like that has been used for many years for mallets by alot of leatherworkers. But since I don't have any rawhide I had to move on to other ideas. If I come up with some rawhide sometime I will try that out. In the meantime...I kept looking at the idea of using some type of impact resistant plastic. I kept looking around the home improvement & farm stores trying to find something made out of nylon or other plastics that might work. I finally ran across some poly pipe fittings at a local farm supply. About the only fitting that looked like the right size and shape was a 3" threaded male nipple. That is really a little to big in diameter but they didn't have a 2 1/2". It cost about $6 so figured I could afford to give that a try. I turned a new maul to the ID of the fitting, took the maul off the lathe & tapped the fitting over the wood, put it back on the lathe and turned down the threads until smooth. I had to stop before it was as smooth as I thought it should be because a few little holes started appearing. The whole thing is sort of a test piece so I figured it would do just to see how it held up. I been using it for a couple of weeks now and it seems to be working much better than wood. Attached is a pic...I know it's ugly...but it will have to work till I can affort a "real" one. JD

Sherman

Welcome. It's nice to see someone else on here from North Texas. I'm about 50 miles north of you. JD

Welcome fellow Texan. I'm still a newbie and have spent ALOT of time reading on this site and have learned a great deal. There's lot's of experience and knowledge here to tap into. JD

When I was infected by the "leather bug" just about one year ago, one of the first things I did was to turn a wooden maul on my wood lathe. I have wood mallets but prefer the maul for tooling. The first one I made was from elm which I have made woodworking mallets from in the past. Elm works relatively well as a mallet where the striking face is end grain since it will not split easily but on a maul the striking face is the edge or side grain. After several months of use I am getting little bits of wood chipping & flaking off that is a bit of an annoyance and becomes a mess on my work. I also turned another maul out of bois d' arc (otherwise known as osage, hedge apple and several other names) which is a very hard wood that grows here in N. Texas but even that one has began to flake off as I use it more. I have looked at the poly mauls from Tandy and Barry King but my leatherworking budget is just about reached it's max (I don't even want to add up what I've spent in the last few months!!!). I would consider using poly or some other type of plastic but I am not educated in the plastics area so I have no idea what type of material would be appropriate to use or how to find a source for that material since I would only need a small amount for a maul or two. I also have no idea how to work it if I had it. I know there are some exotic woods that are very hard like lignum vitae but I don't know if any of these would work any better in the long run than what I have already tried. Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. J.D.

Thanks Gary & Ben for the info. It sounds like I need to get a chuck for my lathe. JD

Gary, I turned a couple of burnishers this past weekend out of walnut. The first one I turned first and then drilled the hole thru the tailstock of the lathe. The second one I drilled the hole in the stock, put a dowel in the hole with a couple turns of masking tape to keep it from spinning around the dowel and then turned the burnisher. I drilled the hole in both about 3/4 the length of the burnisher. When I chucked them up in the drill press they both kinda wobbled. Got any tips on how to make a burnisher that will turn true??? Thanks, JD

Hey Happyhermit - your burnishers look great! I've been a woodworker & woodturner for a long time & have just got into leatherworking. So I'm enjoying making some things in my woodshop that I can use in leatherworking. If you don't mind, I'd like to copy your work. Can you give me a tip on how you put the steel shaft in the wood so it will spin true? Thanks, JD50