jdowney

My only experience selling stuff is in wood also. Lucky for me, what I make can't be made overseas. I figure that the only advantage I have is in creative thinking - coming up with unique products and unique jigging to make those products quicker. Those people who copy probably can't come up with their own stuff, so if you start feeling the pinch, the best route is new designs rather than competing with the imitators. Easier said than done, I know, but it is about the only way I know of playing to your strengths rather than wasting time and effort fighting a fruitless battle. In leatherworking, I'm just making stuff for my own use, so my perspective may not apply.

That is pretty cool, I hadn't realized you could use it for leather too (silly me :D ) I use this on maple to get a nice amber color without muddying up the grain with pigment stains. I follow the dip in ferric acetate (or vinegaroon :D ) with a dip in lye and then linseed oil. Kinda off topic I know, but I'm struck by how some of these long time recipes have such varied uses! I suppose it is really the same use - the iron reacts with tannin in each case, no? Neat!

A friend of mine makes these for cutting soft sheet metal, and while discussing other things it occurred to both of us that these would cut leather too. The die is a flat piece of steel with a shape plasma cut in it, a heart in this case: The die has a long lever arm cut out on the end of the shape, and this is pushed out so the material to be cut can be slid in the die and cut like a big flat scissor using a hydraulic press. Probably wouldn't need the hydraulics for leather, I bet a broach press would do it. The disadvantage to this type of die is you have to complete the pattern where the arm blocked the cut (the point of the heart in the above pic), but on the other hand, the dies are durable and cheap to make, and can be set up to make cut outs very quickly.

They're easy to salt dry, never tried anything else. Just did a rooster neck (for fly tying). It's a bit hard to find a whole turkey skin as a skinless turkey makes an awful roaster I've seen pheasant skins for sale from tying distributors, try Feather-Craft, they usually have them. Other than that, maybe a taxidermist, though they mostly seem to have scraps of stuff rather than whole skins up for grabs. The few times I've done bird skins they tend to be thin, and I'd imagine they're less durable than a fur pelt in the same application. They're not especially fragile though.