bison

From one David to another....you are a real artist. Thank you for posting this...it's beautiful David

Glad to help. Happy burnishing!

The best tutorial you'll find is right here: Bob Park Tutorial Good luck!

I use the Tandy adjustable V-Gouge. I use my straight edge and just run it along side for a nice straight line. I use it a lot since it is adjustable and makes any depth groove in any thickness of leather.

When I cut out the leather for the business card holder, I use my "V-gouge" and run a shallow groove across the center on what will be the inside of the case (see illustration). This allows you to get a tighter fold since you've removed some of the leather. Hope this helps.

If it's a business card case, I make sure to put in a shallow gouge line inside, then after tooling and dying, while it's still a little damp from the dye, I fold it and put a little weight on it. The stitching then takes care of keeping it tight.

I'm fortunate in that there are always rodeos going on here in Oklahoma and there's plenty of saddles to be had. It's just a matter of getting the gumption to go from sitting on one to working on one! Good advise on the tree and starting with what I'm comfortable with. I sort of figured it's be pretty rewarding...glad to have that confirmed. With winter coming on, I just might have to get started. Thanks for the encouragement. Dave

Well, I'm not going to be of any help, but you're doing something I've been thinking about...re-working old saddles. I'll be very interested in seeing how it goes. Keep posting pictures if you can and good luck! Dave

Good luck! Be sure to post pics when you're done. Dave

Hi Joe, If it's leather I think you'll have better luck with burning. Once leather is dyed (and in this case I'm guessing it's a finished case) you really can't get any good tooling into it, in my experience. Isn't it nice to be the "go to guy" in the family? Dave

I'm no W&C expert, but my guess is that you do need to seal it. I expect that you're only getting dyed leather, not sealed and it'll have all the same issue it would if you dyed it yourself. And it couldn't hurt, right?

Tragic. What goes on in their heads?

Welcome aboard! I'm looking forward to seeing more of your work. Dave

Very nice work. I really like the color combination. Why go to straight slots and folded edge?

You can find Craftaids here:Tandy They're listed under Leather Craft Patterns> Craftaids>Individual. They also have patterns and books listed under Leather Tooling Patterns. Good luck! Dave

Hi Sharvo., I'm very sorry for your loss. I am glad you still have some of his work though. You are doing what I hope my daughters will do when I pass on...make sure those things that brought me such joy go to where they will be loved and continue to be used to make beautiful things. God Bless, David

I use a razor knife...boxcutter...that I strop and then cut the leather holding the blade against a metal straight-edge to get a straight line cut. There are better leather workers on this forum than me though, so I'm sure you'll get some great ideas. Good luck. Dave

Fantastic! Thanks for posting this Ray. Just what I needed today. Dave

Tina, that's just beautiful. You're a real artist! Dave

Thanks for sharing. I now have some more Christmas gift ideas! David

Mousepads!? What a great idea. Any patterns you'd recommend? Leather weight? Finish? Dave

Looks great! Nice carving and looks like good depth on the background. And I wouldn't worry too much about the strap. I've found people tend to fill those things up with things I'd never imagined!