Thumper

Looks really good to me. Your artwork is good and appears that your tooling is good too. I really like it. Can't wait to see it completed.

Maaaannnnnnn!!! You folks are GREAT.!!!!!! I'm searching around now. I am a woodworker with a fully outfitted shop (www.beautifulwood.net) but I never thought about Grizzly and granite. I'll check them out.

Good Morning, I'm looking for a more affordable way to get 2 of the 1-1/2" thick slabs of marble or granite for doing my tooling. Right now, all I have is a large piece of corian and it's loud when tooling. My daughter has taken off on leather work now and I need to get her one as well, so now I'm trying to find an affordable way to get 2 piece of stone to tool leather on top of. Tandy get $40 per sq ft for the slabs and I know that St. Louis Leather gets like $20 each for marble slab...but shipping would bring it up to what Tandy is charging. My daughter and I are getting started in this and trying to keep our costs low...so I'm trying to be frugal with what we have and trying to find resources where we can for the items we need. Is there an alternative to the 1-1/2" slabs? What do you use if you don't use a slab to tool/carve on? This fall, we hope to have a dedicated part of my shop for just doing leather work and upholstery. So a work area will be great, but I just gotta get the money together to buy materials to finish the room in my shop for the leather/upholstery part of the shop. I guess I've rambled on long enough. If you can help with advice or pointers, I'd greatly appreciate it.

A good thread going right here with good info in it. Thanks for the reading and learning.!!!

Welcome from a newbie to another newbie.

Awesome list Bad Hide. I will start looking around for some of those items. Much appreciated.

I don't know about that machine, but I did find more info about it here - Bernina 950

Our local Hobby Lobby had the pro set on clearance for $129...so we go it. Sometimes, shopping around at your local shops, you can find even better deals.

OK, my kids and I have now got a starter kit and I got some extra tools off of eBay for a decent price. Now I'm looking around for some scrap leather for all of us to try out hands at this leather craft. My daughter has already made the key fob and the coaster in the kit and done really well with them. I've found a few scrap leather sales on eBay, but I just haven't educated myself enough on leather to get the right stuff for my 2 sons and myself to try out hands at this. Can veg tan leather be tooled no matter if the ad doesn't mention that it's tooling leather? What about the weight to learn on? Are the sources on eBay good places to get decent scrap leather from so we can learn on that before spending bigger money on larger, better quality leather? As always, thanks in advance from someone just learning about all this.

Thanks Mike. Appreciate the info. I have an old handsaw around the shop I could use for that. I'll have a look-see next week when I get some time at home to look through the shop a bit.

I have a couple of those laying around in my shop. Should be hard enough steel to hold a decent edge. I'll have to look into that.

Greetings, I'm pretty good with my hands and I hate having to pay full retail on a head knife when I can maybe find the metal blank and then make the handle and such out of wood for myself. Just looking to safe a bit of money and to contour a handle that fits my hand nicely. I'm a woodworking trying to learn and teach his kids leather work....so I'm just trying to gather up tools to get started. Anybody have a head knife blank that I can buy or know where I can order one from?

Jim, That's "excellent" info right there!! Thanks for sharing that. I'm 51 years old and have always worked for someone else. Professionally, I'm a computer systems engineer but my love is working with my hands. I've done electrical work, plumbing, house framing, roofing, vinyl siding, painting, small engine repair, landscaping, woodworking / custom furniture, and woodturning as all side lines. I've tried running my woodworking as a business once and I sucked at it. Where I live, people want/expect real nice custom pieces at Walmart prices. I get that all the time. The last custom piece I did for a lady...I sat and calculated up my total cost of making that piece (to include my time) and I averaged $1.17 per hour. So to add to what Jim has tossed in here.....location can make a huge difference on your possible market as well as affect your selling price point. I still suck at running a business and I closed it all down. Now I'm back to woodworking for family and friends when time permits. I've always admired leather work and my curiosity has gotten the best of me...which is why I'm getting into and learning leather work. I have 2 teenagers (out of 4 kids) that are here at home and are interested in leather work to make stuff for themselves and to make stuff to sell. I have a LOT to learn and I'll keep working the day job to help support my hobbies, but I can at least teach my kids from the mistakes I've made in hopes that they find the right combination to be able to run their own business one day...if that's what they dream to do.

Well, given a little time, I can build you one as I build me one. I've been building custom furniture for family and friends for 20 years now. It's a passion / hobby of mine and yes...I have a full time job that keeps me more than busy....but I will be happy to build you a horse that is of your design. Just PM me if you are interested. Maybe this will be a good way to repay you for the help you are giving to me in getting started in leather work.

They are wanting to make wallets and belts to start with. One is 19 and the other is 15. I know carving will be required, stamping, and some lacing. so let's start there.

OK...I'm going to step out here and get ran over. I've been looking a LOT today online and trying to figure out some tools to start with, even used off of eBay would be fine with me. My daughter and one of my boys is interested in learning leather crafting with me. So I need to figure out what are the "name brands" I can look for used or new at a decent price that I can try and get for a lower cost start in the world of leather craft. Advice, tips, pointers, and experience verbiage is all welcome.

Howdy Greg, I'm a new guy here too and new to the idea of leather crafting. All that aside.....WELCOME to the forum from another newbie.

Thanks Billymac, Good info there and I'm trying to do research and reading and I get time. There's so much to learn and so little time any more. I'm going to look at Tandy Leather for a good starter book and kit and see where I can go from there.

Luke, No, I don't think I have a relative there. However, I lived most of my life in Alabama and moved here to Arkansas for my job. I pass through Memphis a few times a year on the way to visit family. I normally go from I-55 south to the 240 loop and then off on HWY-385 to HWY-72 into Alabama. I'd love to look ya up sometime, meet, and talk leather work for bikes. Thanks for the welcome. Now...back to my original questions:

Greetings, My name is Dennis and I've been riding motorcycles since I was 6 years old. I've always been good with my hands and have learned to do MANY things all on my own. Electrician, house framing, plumbing, roofing, landscaping, ornamental horticulture, farming, computer work, Unix Systems Engineering, IT Disaster Recovery, mechanic work to keep my stuff fixed, and one of my long time loves, woodworking and custom furniture. I've been working wood for well over 30 years and I've been turning wood for about 6 years. I love to work with my hands and I've always wanted to learn how to do leather work for myself and my family to start with. I'm just reading and learning right now, trying to figure out what tools to buy to get started in small leather work. I'm wanting to make my own tank bib for my newly acquired VTX-1300. I'm trying to find out what weight leather to buy, lacing, and what tool stuff I'm going to need and then learn how to make my own tank bib. I'm not afraid to trying anything and when I set my mind to it, I'm pretty tenatious to learn and get the job done and done right. I want to learn how to do leather work and teach it to my kids. They are all teens now and loving motorcycles as well. I'm an acitve member of the CMA and I'm also a local Patriot Guard Rider (when I'm not stuck at work). The LOML and I have a commercial sewing machine for upholstery work (that we are learning that too) and I have a full 1800 sq ft shop for my woodworking stuff and my motorcycle. Well...that sums me up in short order. I'm here to learn and to find out what I need to get myself start in the craft of leather work. So...thanks for listening to me ramble on and thanks for allowing me to join what appears to be a fine bunch on a very informative forum. Thanks, Dennis Peacock