bison

Try denatured alcohol...

She made sure we had a cash deal before she agreed to help! Mike, I like the way you think!

I'm posting this here not because the work is anywhere near as good as what I usually see here, but because I'm proud of how much I got done in such a short time. I got a call from a purchaser for a super yacht on Wednesday last week. She wanted eight trifold padfolios with the name and image of the boat and eight binder covers with the image of the boat as well as a hand sewn book with 240 pages in it...and she wanted it by this Thursday...could I do it? I said I'd try. Well, got it designed, got the boat image knocked down into some simple lines (they gave me complete artistic license with it), and got them all done in just five days! Shipped them out this morning. My daughter even sewed two of them to help me out...and she'd never done leather work before! We figured there are about 15,000 stitches in all...and all by hand. Anyway, I owe a lot to the folks on this site who've inspired me. Hopefully, this will help someone realize that if they love this enough, they need to just go for it. They'll be amazed at what they can accomplish! Dave

It's just beautiful Bob. I really like the the way you work the profile design of the spine and even the profile of the snap flap into the cover design. And there is a real sense of fun in the way your leaves and stems intertwine with each other. And the carving on the interior is exceptional. I also appreciate you telling us the weight of the leather, etc. Could you also share what you've done for the finish...dye color, antique color, finish? Your work is a real inspiration. Thanks for posting. Dave

What you're showing looks like it is done with a dark dye and a small paintbrush. You can find some good info on the technique in several books, but basically you're going to dye the entire piece light brown. Then get your darker dye, dip in the brush, then start in the middle of one of the tooled background areas. The dye will spread out from the point where you touch the brush to the leather. Then just work to the edges of that area and repeat for each part of the background. It takes a bit of practice, so work with some tooled scrap first. Once you get the hang of it, it'll go pretty quickly.

Great work, Mark. I especially like the bargrounder work in the first pic. It's seamless and has a beautiful flow that compliments the rest of the design. Well done. dave

Depends on how much oil you've applied. I usually apply an even thin coat, let it dry for a few hours, oil again if necessary and then let it dry at least 24 hours before doing anything else with it. Other folks have different routines, but that works on most of what I do. Dave

Thanks Noah! I really appreciate your help. Dave

Do you have a photo of your case/ I just got a request for a Blackberry 3G Curve case...not a smartphone guy myself, so looking for guidance. Thanks, Dave

Hi Noah, I got a request for a Blackberry 3g Curve. I'm not a smart phone guy...wil your pattern work for that phone? Thanks, Dave

I wonder if you might try treating it like you were burnishing an edge...sort of. After dying, try rubbing Fiebings Liquid Glycerine Saddle soap on it...put it on a clean cloth, then rub vigorously into the leather. This should smooth it down pretty nicely and give it a nice surface. Then coat with Neat Lac/Clear lac. Give it a shot on a scrap piece and see what you get. Good luck up there in the Last Frontier! Dave

I started with Tandy too. As I got better at leather work, I grew increasingly frustrated with the limits of the tools. I have been switching over to Barry King tools for about a year now and couldn't be happier. His tools are reasonable in price...not the $80 tools you might think. And the way I'm looking at it is that these are the tools I'll never replace and that will allow me to grow as an artist as much as I want. I am now selling quite a bit of my work, and some of the income is going into increasing my stock of King tools. When I am where I need to be with them, I can invest in other aspects of my business. If I went with a 'mid-grade" tool, I'd end up replacing them in a few years and going to King anyway. Just one experience to add to your thinking. Good luck with the leather work. It's just about the best thing I could have gotten involved with. Dave

The best all around sealer is clear lac (used to be called neat lac). You can buy it from Kevin at Springfield leather. He advertises on this site. Dave

Yes, it's probably something like Fiebings pro oil dye (also spirit dye). I suspect that the color is just the natural result of the dye. I would wipe it on with a piece of wool (I trim my wool to about 1/4 inch). Yhe holes and groves will pick it up a little differently and that's where you'll get the color difference. I'd try it out on some scrap leather to see what I get. And it looks like saddle stitching as Boertjie said. Good luck. Dave

Leather workers are just like shoe makers...always put ourselves at the back of the line! This is a fine belt. Well finished edge, nice stitching and I love the color and texture of the top hide. Well done! Dave

Beautiful! I love the design and tooling, especially on the fenders. The color is great. I'd be proud to own a saddle like that. Dave

It's hard to tell from the photo, but it looks like you polished off the cutting edge. The stitch groover (the part that does the cutting) is placed, hole and nib down, on the leather and pulled toward you while holding the center post (coming out of the wooden handle) against the edge of the leather. In the case of your photo, you would flip it over and use it. Like I said, it's hard to tell, but you might have polished off the cutting nib. If you have a Tandy store nearby, they will have replacement cutters and will be happy to demonstrate it for you. That's how I learned. Good luck. Dave

Here's a link to the wallet interiors John mentioned. They are sold at Springfield leather, and made by a company in Australia! Wallet interiors Dave

The groover has a small hole, with a "nib" sticking up. That is the side you place against the leather and pull towards you. You'll get the long strip of leather you've seen others getting. If you have the Tandy deluxe groover, perhaps you don't have the groover blade in, but are using the creaser. If you have the regular groover, you may need to lay the blade at a lower angle to the leather. Hope this helps.

Very well done. Ditto what Palomino said, and having two pen/pencil holders is a great idea. Is the center ring-binder salvage from another piece or did you purchase it? Dave