bison

Thanks Keith. You've given me some great feedback. I can see most of what you've pointed out. I'm going to spend some more time tonight sitting down with your comments and really focusing on them. I really appreciate you taking the time to help me. Dave

Thanks. It's always great to have other folks look at these things. It's really helped me get better. Dave

Thanks Ferg. It's a good thing you didn't see the first sketch...reverse circles everywhere!

I found out a few weeks ago that I'm going to be a grandpa. I thought I'd make my daughter and son-in-law a baby book. This is the design I came up with. My apologies to Bob Park for copying his little flowers, but my wife really likes his work. Bob, I hope it's ok with you. This is a photo, since my scanner isn't big enough to scan it. It looks a little out of square, but that's the photo, not the design. I'd like any feedback on this. What doesn't look right? What needs fixed? It's about 10x11 and is the cover on a 3-part notebook. I'll have a 3-ring binder inside. It will be lined. As you can see, I've had to do a lot of erasing and even copied and pasted back one of the flowers because it was in the wrong position (I'd made the mistake of inking it before I caught the problem...now I have a white-out pen!) Thanks for any comments. Dave

Hard to say. What kind of dye are you using? Are you thinning it? Spraying or wiping on? I'm no expert, but will be glad to try to help. Dave

I just finished making myself a new bench. I made it 6' long, 30" wide and 30" high. I had an old sheet of 3/4" oak plywood, so I cur a 6'x30" piece out of it, then used the waste pieces to put another layer on the bottom and screwed it to the top piece from the bottom side.. So now I have a 1-1/2" thick work surface. I made the frame separate from the top, so I could take it apart easily and move it if needed. I faced the edges with 1"x3" oak. I built the frame out of some scrap 2x6...I used three pieces the length of the table. I used some scrap 2x4 cedar to make the legs. I built them in an "L" shape and put one at each corner and one in the middle. Moved it all into the leather shop, placed the top on and secured it with a few screws and started pounding away. I have a concrete floor, so everything sits solid. No trouble with bounce anymore, even on big stamps. This spring I'll take the top off and take it outside to apply a good coat of polyurathane. As far as what I'd do different...hard to say yet. I've only had it for about two weeks. I know I'll find something out though as I use it more. The good thing is that it's built with screws, so i can take it apart and fix whatever I don't like. In fact, the idea of insetting the granite sounds like something I might just be doing! Good luck. Dave

HI Michael, I'm no braider, but those look great to me. Dave

You might try a woodworking store for the rouge. Here in Oklahoma my local Woodcrafters store sells several grades of rouge. I apply it to my strop and draw my edger backwards across the corner. I do this after each use and it has stayed nice and sharp. Dave

No problem. I think that art is worth paying for, and when it's functional art...well, it's really worth paying for! Keep up the great work. Dave

I do the same as Vikefan. I draw the shape of the stone on the back of the leather, then cut it about 3/16 inch smaller than the stone. Case it then work it down around the stone so it is nice and tight. I don't use anything other than my fingers, since I don't want any sort of line in the leather around the stone. Keep working it until it holds it's shape. I don't glue the stone, as mine are glass and I want to see the leather through them, so I glue leather to leather and it holds the stone in place. I make Celtic style book covers using 4-5 stones depending on the design. Dave

Hi Scott, Welcome to the world of posting! I'd say the carving doesn't look too bad. As you say, you can tell where it looks a bit rushed. I would suggest looking at something other than a ceramic blade swivel knife. If you can save up some money, you can find a great swivel knife here: http://www.leatherwranglers.com/products.html When I was able to purchase mine, it made a world of difference in my carving. Also remember to case the leather well so you can carve and bevel more smoothly. There are pinned tutorials on the site about it...just search casing leather. The only other thing I'd say is keep practicing your beveling. Getting a nice smooth bevel from "walking" the bevel tool takes a lot of practice, but once you've mastered it your work will really start to shine. Good luck. Dave

I'd like to know what it is you're unhappy with. I think it looks pretty good. The stitching is nice and tight, even through all those layers. The texture of the leather is interesting, and the inlay is nice. Your edges look pretty good, but you may want to look at Bob Parks pinned article on burnishing. As for eating it and giving it away...we are always harder on ourselves than anyone else will ever be. We will never feel the piece is 100% because we are so invested in it. I don't think you should ever give a product away to a customer (a gift to someone you care about it different). Once you start down that path, it's hard to get off. One customer tells his friends that he got this for free, the friend expects the same thing, and so on. Charge them what they agreed to pay. If they are unhappy with it, fix it, make them happy with it. If it just won't work, give the money back and take the product back, no harm done. Just my thoughts about your nive work. Dave

I make my covers similar to Pete's. I measure the book closed with a cloth measuring tape from front cover edge, around the spine to the back cover front edge. I then make a template out of heavy board (I use Mat board from Hobby lobby). I add 3/4 inch to the measurement around the book and the same for the measurement top to bottom (3/8 inch per side). Don't be afraid to add more...you can always trim it..in fact, I usually add more if it is a size I haven't done before. I place the template on the leather-7/8 oz, scribe it then cut it. Flip the leather over for the rough side and find the center line top to bottom. Measure the spine of the book and add about 1/4 inch. Divide that measurement in two and measure that distance to the right and left of the center line. Gouge those two lines with a V-gouge about 1/2 way through the leather. I do this by laying a straight edge on the leather and running my gouge along the line against the straight edge. I then skive out the middle with a French Skivver. This helps ensure the leather will bend and not crack, and that it will stay closed when it's on the book. I then tool the cover, front and back, stain, oil, edge. Then I use a thin leather, 2-3 ounce to make the inside flaps that will hold the cover of the book. I rough cut them about 1/2 larger on three sides, but make sure I have a nice straight cut for the inside of the piece. I place the cover on the flap, rough to rough and outline the cover on the flap. I remove the cover, put contact cement on the cover covering about 1/8 inch from the edge in on the area the flap will cover. I put contact cement on the flap the same way, using the line I drew as a guide. When they're ready, I put them together and make sure the bond is good and tight. Then trim the flap on the top, bottom and outside edge. I don't always dye the flaps, but if I do, I do it before I attach it to the cover. After trimming, bevel the flap edges, then burnish and seal. Then grove and stitch mark the cover if you haven't already...I usually do mine before it's dry from tooling. Punch or drill the holes and stitch. Put the cover on the book and enjoy! As to tooling pattern, I'm not the guy. I use patterns I purchase mostly or cut and paste. Just started making my own. I've attached a photo of a cover I made for my wife for Christmas. She likes it! Good luck, Dave

Looks like an extra "r" crept in there. Try this: http://www.prorodeooriginals.com/

Beautiful work George. I hope you post more pics in the future...and maybe even a set of pictures of your work in progress. That'd be pretty interesting, I think. Dave

Sounds like you hit on a great idea with the samples on the containers. Sorry, but I have no advice on the wife issue. Mine has a great eye for color and composition, but is sorely lacking in the skills necessary to make corn whiskey!

Thanks for your help!

I've made the changes you all were kind enough to point out needed to be made. If anyone has any more critiques, I'd love to hear them.

I haven't used it, but if the ad is correct and it's Carnauba wax, then it should be ok. I don't know if it would be superior to Aussie, or Leather balm with Atom Wax (which is what I use). It might be worth testing it and then posting your results, like others have done with certain types of leather. Dave

Just wanted to let you know I paid $25.00 via Paypal yesterday, but didn't think to go through the subscription page to do it...just clicked on the Paypal button on the Forums page. Dave Name: Bison UserName: bison IP Address: 32.176.65.126 Email Address: dbyland@earthlink.net

Thanks for posting that photo Jason. It's great work. I've got the book and have been reading through it for a while. I finally got to the point where I was ready to put something on paper and needed the eyes of other more experienced folks to point out what was missing. I really appreciate you taking the time to help me with your comments. Dave

Thanks Pete, I appreciate it. The older I get, the less "clicks" there are! Hilly, you are right on about that top group. And I can see where that applies to the second group as well, now that you point it out. I appreciate the comment, thank you! Dave

This is my first original Sheridan style design. It is for a small notebook cover. I started out trying Sheridan carving about a year and a half ago using Tandy Craftaids, then Chan Greer's patterns, then copying bits and pieces of some of the great work here. I got pretty good at copying others work. Yesterday, I was visiting the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum here in Oklahoma City (I live about 30 minutes away) and was looking at some of the saddles and it was like something clicked. I suddenly "saw" the patterns in the leather. I stayed awake last night thinking about this and drew it this morning. It obviously has a lot of Chan's influence, and it's pretty traditional, but it finally "makes sense" as I put it on paper. I know there are things that I need to correct and improve on, and that's why I posted it here, so please point out where I need to make those corrections. Dave