LNLeather

Yeikes... Pressure washer? I can gently get the dirt off, no problem. The question is what to put on them after they are clean.

Hello, I appreciate all of the great information I've found here and I thought this would be a good place to ask this question... I have a job coming up to clean some old sports equipment and I was wondering it there is anyone with experience with how to make an old dried out baseball glove look and feel like new again? Everything looks like it was used hard and put away dirty and wet. There is the body of the glove that says it is real leather and also the rawhide laces that are so stiff you can't untie them. Sooo, is there anyone out there with ideas about this? Also there are old basketballs and foot balls. They also look like they are made out of leather. I was thinking of starting out by just wiping off all the dirt and then cleaning them with a solution of Murphy's oil soap. But I can't guess what would be best to do after that.

WOW, Very Nice! New mouse Pad?

That is an Awesome & Inspiring Bag! Love the overall color you got & on the billets, ...the latch is perfect. I like the mix of hand stitching/machine work..... I'm 100% sure the owner of that is very proud to carry that!

Hi Cheryl I read and understand your post, and can totally relate to what you are saying... Congratulations, btw on your choice to become a leather worker. You are gonna love it! I just did recently, and I Love the new found freedom to be creative in my own way. I too have lots of friends that have lots of suggestions of what I should make. Also I find, no matter where I go and show what I am making... Everyone has an idea or preference for something other than what I have just made. Don't get me wrong, they like what I have made, it is just that they have their own creative ideas too. This reminds me of the time I was at the Post Office showing someone in line what I was making. I had different items with Horses, Dogs, the Moon & one with the Sun, and they said hey that is nice, but do you have something with a Black Crow? I was pretty proud of what I had, and they wanted something else. You are just going to find a lot of people will want What They Want... Heheheh People are funny, aren't they? Whether it be Close friends or Complete strangers, some ideas will jive with what you're thinking/making, and some wont. But that's OK... They are just expressing their own creativeness too and most likely don't mean to have had their ides come off as criticism of your work. I think everyone has their own Favorite Thing. You probably don't even have to say much, or you could say "Oh, that a good idea". And then just tuck that idea away in your list of ideas... Whether you mean that or not isn't as important as just making your friends feel like their thoughts are OK too. Most everyone is just trying to be helpful. They are just ideas, and not orders. ......... Unless they are actually asking you to make something specific for them. It is probably wise for us to decide whether we are only going to make what we want to, or down the road, maybe we are going to take "Special Requests"... Everyone has a little different idea of how they are going to conduct their leather business. But........ it might be wise for us to be open minded, to a certain degree. Let others have their creative ideas, with out taking it like a personal affront. And maybe........ down the road....... you might just change your mind about one thing or another. And that is OK too. As far as leather workers go, even the masters have a few different ideas about how to do things. Although the basics are probably going to be the same, you will find some differences. And that is OK. Some of this leather work is done the same by most, and some is learned through experience and your own personal preference. and that's OK too. Thank Goodness for Leatherworker.net and how all those folks share their ideas and experience with us. There is soooo much to learn... so what ever you do...... Have fun!

I missed this 3rd one yesterday too. Wow, It is fun to see how you have progressed with this. You might think you were concentrating on the nose, which is much better, but I think you have got everything better... You almost have a set! I have looked at your dog so much, I feel like I know him... heheheheh Good work TR

Thank you Kevin! In the beginning, I was hitting the letters too hard and there was a faint square outline of the metal stamp, So, I would turn the tooling coaster forward till I could just see the corner edge of the stamp outline. As I went along I learned to whack the letters a little less hard... and just got a feel for how far to turn the tooling coaster. You could also just tip the stamp a little to make a very slight mark to turn to. I do Hope this helps. Thanks Bob. and Thanks for the pdf link for the Typography in Leather Article! There is a lot of great info in that article! Thanks so much for sharing that! Thanks Pete. Clear plastic is a grrreat idea. I used leather because I have a clicker and it is easy to cut leather rounds all the same size. I do have some thick plastic, so maybe I will try cutting some of that. I like my tooling coaster to be made of thicker material, I think it will last longer and so the metal stamp is real easy to put in place and not slip. HI Moe You are welcome. Have fun!

I put this information in one of my first posts, but I thought I"d put this in a How to.... to make it easier to find. I was working on some coaster designs, and I remembered seeing a gizmo that someone 'here at Leatherworker.net' had made - to attach to a coaster with a pin in the center, that would swivel around the coaster so you could stamp letters in a circle. Well I didn't want to have to put a pin in each coaster. And I have never seen anything else written about how to do this. Soooooo, I figured something else out... Some of the coasters I am making have no border, some have a straight line edge, some have a straight line edge and a camouflage stamp etc. Sooo I have made a special tooling coaster to line up the letter stamps with to use with each different border design, because the distance from the edge will be different with each different design - and also for your different sized stamps... So- for the coaster with just a single line border, make 2 coasters just the same (with just a single line border) and one of those will be the tool to line the stamps up on all the other coasters with the single line border. To make the tooling coaster place your stamp on the coaster where you want the letter to be - exactly in the position you want the letters to be in. Cut out the leather directly beneath the stamp - straight up the left side of the stamp and straight out along the bottom of the stamp. I am not an engineer, so this might sound confusing, but the pictures should clear up any questions you might have. 2 on one. I use the cut out at the top for coasters with the single line border, and the cutout at the bottom for the single line with a Camouflage stamp Take the coaster you have just cut out and put it over the coaster you want to put letters on in a circle. Put the letter stamp into the corner of the tooling coaster and just stamp a letter and then turn the tooling coaster in a circle as you go. With a little practice you will get the feel for how much to turn the tooling coaster to get your letters to line up with the same amount of space between them, and get perfectly positioned letters. *Before I get started putting letters on a coaster, I line up all the letter stamps in the order I will will need them, so I don't make mistakes in the spelling… Learned that from experience…

Hey, you are right. I had to copy your pic and then zoom in to see it better. I had a thought and did a Google Image search for dog nose close up It is amazing to look at the close ups...... Why don't you try that and you will see that the nose has a different shape than just 2 holes. and a slight crease up the middle. This is interesting! and maybe a modeler will help to round the edges?

I have bought many things from Patty & Raymond Tipton from their Ebay Auction DUCKCREEKTRADERS AND ALSO from their website BUNKHOUSE TOOLS. You can check out what they have available on their website BUNKHOUSE TOOLS and send them an email. tiptoncompany@gmail.com You could ask them if they would sell you what you are interested in. These folks are easy to talk to and have Super Customer Service! Really, it wont hurt to ask if they would sell you something...

Hey, wow, that's even better! I am not very good at it, but probably the next thing is to learn is how to make fur... Great job though... I would use those coasters every day! Oh, and I could tell Jes is a Good Dog, by the way he's lookin at you with those big brown eyes. That is a great breed of dog - loyal, affectionate & great with kids.

Wow Chris, I think I'd be pretty p----d off if it were me, Especially since you were so good as to give him instructions on how to make it. What he has done is just plain wrong.... In so many ways! Too bad there isn't a way to let every one here at Leatherworker.net know about this guy. Hey, how about you put yours up on ebay, for less..... and make it clear that the design is all yours! YOu can be sure if I need another burnisher I will get it from you!

I just thought I'd mention that DUCKCREEKTRADERS has another one of these up for auction. Safety Draw Gauge Leather Strap Cutter/Lace Cutter You can see it here on ebay I have one of these & it is great... Super design! It is made of a very tough polyurethane resin and has a metal reinforced handle plus fiberglass reinforced bars.

I like your carving, and it looks like you've got a great dog there too!