SimonJester753

I'm planning a dog leash. My current dog walker has tied a couple of knots in my very crappy store bought leather leash. I don't like the looks of the knots, but they do serve a function in aiding grip. I'm thinking of putting some trick braid sections in the leash to give gripping points instead of the knots. I'm working with some heavy latigo, (3/16"thick). I've cut the strap to 3/4" wide, so I'd be cutting a slit at 1/4" intervals. Do you see any problem with a trick braid on a strap this thick that is only 3/4" wide. Another option would be to punch some holes down the center of the strap and do some lacing over the areas I want grips. Any other ideas for achieving my goal of attractive gripping sections would be appreciated.

I'd like to know where you got the angular spirals. Looking around the internet you keep seeing the same old conchos, most of them western themed. I've found http://www.antik-group.com, and while I like their designs I would still like to find more variety. Also, they use rivet backs and I prefer screw backs.

So if I hand stitch, it shouldn't matter?

That's what I'd like to know.

Anyone ever try using copper wool? http://naturalpigments.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=656-7071020 If so, what was the result?

I don't dye my leather, except the edges. I got a pre-dyed black latigo side. Next leather purchase will be undyed and I'm going to try vinegroon to blacken it.

I would put this on the flesh side? From what I saw on the website, it's a top coat to seal in dye, but it seemed like it was for the finished side.

Looks like I might need it. I put it together with red loctite and now I want to change something and I can't get it apart.

Thanks!

I'm using Chicago screws to join 2 pieces of leather. I have the holes punched, put the screws in and start tightening with a screwdriver, but the back side just spins. I don't want to mar the finish on the screw. How do I keep it from spinning? The back side is smooth.

I found something called Patina Gel. It's stabilized liver of sulfur. It works on silver, copper, bronze and brass. http://www.cooltools.us/Cool-Tools-Liver-of-Sulfur-in-Gel-Form-p/pol-800parent.htm?1=1&CartID=0 I've only tested it out so far, to darken copper rivets. The heating and quenching in oil is interesting. I've found that any patina method I tried tended to rub off easily. The gel gave me the best results. I'll have to try heating and oil quenching with it.

Thanks for the info. Now, what's the deal with left twist vs right twist thread? Would you choose one or the other depending on if you were left-handed or right-handed?

I bought a black latigo side from Tandy, (https://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/search/searchresults/9056-05.aspx?feature=Product_2&kw=latigo+side?). I made a dog harness for my white dog. I bathed him Tuesday, By Wednesday evening I could see a gray band on his fur where dye from the harness had rubbed off. Before I'd bought the side, I bought straps of latigo and didn't have a problem with dye rubbing off. I rubbed mink oil and Fiebing's Aussie leather conditioner into the leather, and followed up with beeswax. I did that to both the leather that I bought as straps and the leather that came from the side. Any suggestions about how to treat the leather to stop the dye from rubbing off?

I'm a graphic artist by trade. I use a professional drawing program called Adobe Illustrator. I draw what I want, print it out, them use spray mount adhesive to mount it to thin cardboard. Then I use my leather punches to punch the holes in the cardboard. Then I can place the template over a strap and use the hole punch to mark the strap where I want the holes. I find it much more precise than using a flimsy paper template. I can even scan in pieces of hardware, like halter squares and include them in my plans.

I have a light weight black leather jacket. I snagged it on something and ended up with a tear near the hem. I took it to a place that does leather repair and they quoted me $175 to fix it. Since I only paid about $200 for the jacket I didn't think it was worth it. They said they'd have to take the lining out, glue a patch inside the ripped area and put the lining back in. I don't see why I couldn't put glue onto the inside of the jacket through the hole that's been ripped into it, then slide the patch into the hole and clamp it in place, all without removing and replacing the lining. I bought some scrap leather and Eco-Flo Tanners Bond leathercraft cement. Is this the right cement? It's water based. Should I use contact cement instead?

OK. I got my order in from Tandy. I got the book "The Art of Hand Sewing Leather" by Al Stohlman. I also got a variety of needles and 4 oz waxed polyester thread. Of course, I look in the book and he says don't get pre waxed thread and he's using linen thread. I guess I'll give it a try any way.

Thanks for clarifying things. Has anyone used a carpenters vise as a stitching pony? I've been looking for a bench vise, I do some wood working and I figure if the jaws are lined with wood it could serve as a pony.

I'm fairly new to leather working. I've made about 6 dog collars and one harness. I thought I could forget about stitching and just use rivets, but now I'm feeling that some projects would come out better if I sew them. As far as I know, there is machine stitching and hand stitching. There's also the sewing awl. Is the awl considered machine or hand? From what I've observed, the stitching with the awl goes similar to how it goes with a machine, while hand stitching runs differently. Is one type of stitching more durable than another, (hand vs machine vs awl)? The tools I have so far for sewing are a sewing awl, an edge groover and thonging chisels. I'm assuming if I wanted to start, I'd use the edge groover, then use the thonging chisels to set up the hole placement, then poke through both pieces with a scratch awl and then sew through with the sewing awl or hand sew with 2 needles. I'll probably order a book from Tandy tonight. Have I made any wrong assumptions?

Beautiful work. One thing I'd worry about is the leash attachment ring. Make sure to use red lock-tite on the threads. From what I can see, you're using a threaded nut with prongs that bite into the leather to keep it from spinning. If the nut can't spin and the post that holds the ring does, it will unscrew. You may want to grind the prongs off so the nut will spin along with the post.

This is my anvil: https://www.tandylea...duct_2&kw=anvil It's mounted to a piece of 3/4" plywood held down to my workbench with "C" clamps. The bench is a formica over particle board counter on top of metal file cabinets on wheels. I've got one apartment above me, one below me, it's a brick row house. It's funny how I can hear the neighbors next door. There is a gap between the buildings, (couple of inches at best), yet the sound comes through 2 brick walls. I assume they hear me as well. I thought about a squeezer tool because I have a tool to work with cable that crimps the ferrule to make a loop at the end and I figured that kind of leverage should be able to flatten a rivet.

The squeezer tools are for tubular and solid rivets. TOOL CAPACITY Solid aluminum rivets up to 1/8" diameter Solid mild steel rivets up to 3/32" diameter Tubular mild steel rivets up to 3/16" diameter Stroke: .355" I don't know how copper and aluminum compare, but steel is harder than both and it can handle up to 3/32" solid steel rivet and it will do 1/8" aluminum. Right now I have #12 copper rivets, which look to be about 1/8" diameter. They're the kind with the countersunk heads you see sold for leather work. I'm thinking about some other head styles, just for decorative reasons, (domed, nail head, etc.). I'm thinking it should work. What I'm really curious about is what does the peened end look like when it's done with this tool?

Why would the width of the strap have a bearing on the spacing and shape of the holes? Wouldn't you space the holes according to how fine an adjustment you want to be able to make? Wouldn't the holes be shaped to match the shape of the tong? I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm just curious.

Has anyone used a rivet squeezer tool like any of these to set copper rivets rather than hammering them with a rivet set? https://www.ustool.com/store/cart.php?m=product_list&c=613 http://www.hansonrivet.com/w82a.htm I'm looking for a quiet way to set copper rivets, as I work in an apartment and don't want to disturb the neighbors.

I've heard great things about Zack White Leather, but most of the pictures on their website don't load. Is anyone else having this problem? This has been going on for over a month. I'd love to check them out, but I can't.