Gawdzilla

BTW, if you do the Tandy pattern for the large top hat, be advised there are two more holes in the brim than in the matching part. I skipped those two and evened out the rest by finding the opposite side and lacing in both directions from there. I did one with a cowhide cover, hair on, and stiffened it with a 4-5 liner of leather. I also did one with horns. I inserted plugs into the horns when I got them cut to the right length and put matching piece of wood on the inside to screw the horns to. Came out looking rather crazy, people called it my "buffalo hat". Sorry, no pix on that one, it was back in the '70s.

Tandy put out a top-hat pattern. I made a couple of hats from it. Here's a photo of PZ Myers wearing one of mine. http://rationalia.com/gawdzilla/2viewtopic.php_files/file_005.jpg I hope that works, let me know if it does.

I'm in St. Loser almost daily, so it won't be hard to consult with the experts. There are several tanneries in the area, perhaps I can get information from all of them.

Thanks, TLL! And I'll have to make a trip to N. First Street, sounds like my kind of place!

Post for a friend: Just wondering: do you know whether or not the tanning and treating process latigo leather goes through would render it toxic? I've seen it used in dog muzzles, which the dog can presumably safely lick, and I've seen it used in stuff for human use too. As well as horse tack. The reason I ask is because someone wants me to have an experimental go at making a leather bit for her horse and I thought latigo leather seemed the most sensible since it's robust and already used for tack but I want to be sure it's going to be safe.

You can use a rubber bath mat or the foam rubber mats they sell for people to stand on at the sink. As for the tree stump, I use a 6"x6" post about three feet long. It has the mass to absorb the pounding. Lay it flat on the mat, and the mat on the table. You can also get rubber "sliders" to fit under the legs of the table to further dampen the noise.

Blue painters tape would be my choice then. It doesn't leave residue behind. Thanks kindly!

Try googling "CAD software".

bkingery, when you say "shipping tape", what exactly to you mean, please? The brown cellophane tape? The fiber-inserted "strapping tape"? I guess I'm asking, "what's the name on the label"?

Candle shops can supply you with red wax. Either as candles or in bulk. If you get the candles make sure they're red all the way through and not just coated.

I noted elsewhere that you can have patterns printed from disk at a professional copy shop, as well as having large patterns scanned to a file. There's another way to save a back-up copy of your patterns, by using a digital camera. I use a Nikon Coolpix 12.1 megapixel camera and a stand I built myself. (See here for pictures of the stand.) You can put a camera on the stand and get plumb pictures of patterns up to 4 feet on a side easily. For really big patterns I put them on the floor and use the stand on a table.

Excellent! I'll keep an eye out. To compound my "fun" I broke a rib coughing last night. Four hours at the VA. Happy blinkin' New Year.

Thanks for the suggestion. I have a few more months before I know if I get full use of my arm back. So I'm still uncertain about what I will need in the long term. I already have the attitude, time will tell if I have the tools. The compressor sounds interesting either way, however. Can it be used to set 5-6 stamps at a time?

Last Halloween I had a stroke. Face down in the driveway trying to reach a cell phone that was in the wrong side pocket while the planet went into spin cycle. This thread is not about that, however, not directly. When I got out of the hospital my left side was weak and I couldn't stamp leather because I couldn't hold onto the stamp. So I sat down and considered my options. I came up with a way to stamp without hammering and in the process found a better way to keep the stamp where I wanted it and make impressions only as deep as I wanted them. How? I used a C-clamp. I'm sure you can picture how that would work, but if anybody wants pix of how I do it, just let me know.

Ever tried linoleum? Tough, but easy to cut, and you can roll it up when you want to store it. The guy at the local Tandy's uses this system for most of his patterns. The price per square foot is reasonable.

Thanks. I've located everything Tandy has and will be using them. I want to focus on the low ticket items so a family can buy each child something to remember the place by. I think the bracelets will be the upper end of it. Once I get the carving classes under control I'll be looking at carving the Wolf Center logo into mousepads, folio covers, that sort of thing.

Professional copy shops can print your pattern on very large stock from a disk. I did a vest that the buyer wanted to be in one piece, no seams except at the shoulders. It was 56" when done and I had it printed on heavy stock measuring 48"x60". These shops also have large-format scanners that will digitize a pattern so you can modify it in a computer program. The one I use charges $0.50/square foot for a scan.

Hi, I'm new here so if this goes somewhere else, including folding into an existing thread please notify me where it went. I'm hoping to make and donate several kinds of small items for sale at the Endangered Wolf Center near St. Louis. I have dyes and wolf-related stamps, and have signed up at the local Tandy for carving lessons. I'm a novice at leatherwork, some basic skills and I know which end of a mallet to use. What I'd be interested in hearing from you good folks is what I should make for sale. Key fobs? Bookmarks? Mouse pads? Pendants and necklaces? Bacelets? I want to do things that will sell, not waste leather and shelf space at the EWC store. Thanks in advance for any feedback and suggestions.