Bob Blea

I have a wooden burnisher I got from Ed the Bearman that mounts in my drill press. It makes burnishing edges a breeze.

I met her at the Sheridan show this year. She seems very nice and she is making up custom colors of lace, so she has some unusual selections. I think she is happy to work with you if there is a color you want that nobody else makes. I plan on ordering from her in the near future. Bob

Very cool work!

Very impressive work. Well done!

Thank you for sharing this info! Bob

Thanks Dwight, I think I'm inspired enough to try and make a conduit punch! And thanks WyomingSlick too!

Hello and welcome to the forum! Normally I would say use something like Resolene or a lacquer based sealant (Neat Lac, Wyosheen or Clear Lac) to seal this, but I'm pretty sure that Resolene would not adhere to that oily surface. It's water based. The lacquers might work since they are based on a petroleum based solvent, but I don't have any experience with trying this. Maybe someone else here has tried this and can provide better help. Bob

Dwight I love that idea! I've always wanted a bag punch but I rarely have a need for it so I haven't been willing to spend the money for one. But I think I can find a piece of spare conduit somewhere. Did you have any trouble getting your sides to be straight and parallel on the punch? Is there a trick to that?

C.S. Osborne makes something called a bag punch, and they come in up to 2 inches.

You can get much of the same effect of the steeper beveler just by tilting the tool towards you when you strike it. I would probably leave the tool alone and see if I could achieve the result just by tilting it. However, if I was going to try to modify the tool I would do like Electrathon says above and start with a bolt or nail, grinding the surface down to see what you can make. I wouldn't recommend starting with the existing beveler just because if your not experienced at grinding tools it will probably take you a few tries to get something your happy with.

First off I would talk to the supplier to see what they are willing to do to correct the situation. Most suppliers know they need to maintain a good customer service reputation and will do everything they can to correct a mistake. Also, contact the shipper. You can probably file a damage claim against the shipper, so their insurance can pay for the damaged leather.

You will also want to make an allowance for the thickness of the leather you are using. The spine part of your cover should extend past the spine of your actual book by one thickness of the leather you are using to get the fold in the right place. The 1/4 inch margin will probably work OK if you are stitching the pockets to the cover, but if you are planning on lacing you may want to allow for a little more room. The Art of Making Cases by Al Stohlman (vol 1 I think) covers making a cover like this. It is a very hand set of books to have. Bob

Hello again, I like this design! It looks like it will translate to leather very well. The only problem I see is around the small flower on the left side. The flow of the vine on top goes away from the flower towards the big flower on the top left, but the flow of the vine around the big flower is in the opposite direction. Also, the flow of the vine around the bottom of the small flower is in the opposite direction to the vine at the top part. If it were me I would just turn around the vinework just above the small flower so the flow is in the other direction and coming from the big flower on top. Otherwise I like it and I think it will look pretty cool! I like the flower buds you are using. Bob

Hello and welcome to the forum! In my experience with painting I have painted after applying Neatsfoot oil and letting it soak in thoroughly to the leather. I let it set for at least 24 hours. I've never put a resist layer down then painted, but I don't think that would hurt anything. I've also never tried painting after antiquing, so I can't speak to that. Your success would probably depend on the type of antique you are using. I think the Eco-flo products are based on acrylics, so I think you would be OK once they are completely dry, but I don't know anything about Feibings. If you want to achieve the color white, I think you are limited to using acrylic paint. I don't know of a way to get a pure white from a dye. And yes I would make my shade of grey just from mixing a little black in with my white till I had the tone I wanted. Hope this helps. Others here with more experience might have different and better recommendations. Bob

Welcome to the forum! I wish you all the best for your business! It's been a while since I've been in the Pagosa Springs area but if I find some reason to be there this year I'll try to look you up. Bob

Welcome, and glad we can help. That's the whole idea of this site.

Thanks aermotor!

Thanks Rohn, that means a lot.

That looks very cool. Bob

Thanks all, I like carving oak leaves too. I should do it more often but seems like I only do it when a customer requests it. But I've got two notebooks on order now that are oak leave carvings, so I'm going to get more practice. Bob

This was a 5x8 notebook I made recently. It was for a gentleman that had recently received a promotion at work, and his wife wanted to surprise him with a personalized notebook. She wanted an Oak leaf design that incorporated his initials. It was a bit of a rush because he works away from home for long periods of time and she wanted to give it to him the next time he came home. Fortunately I was able to get it finished and sent to her in time though it took a night with almost no sleep to finish the lacing. Both she and her husband loved it! It's nice when you get that kind of feedback. Bob

I apologize I didn't see your response until today. Here is a picture of a flower with a stem. This is just one way to do it, people have lots of different ways of carving their flower stems. The stem is the part coming off the flower at about 10 o'clock. It's wider than the leaves and I ran the veiner along the side to give it texture.

First off, welcome to the forum! Second, your off to a really good start! I like your design. The only suggestions I have would be 1) to add a distinct flower stem for each flower and 2) shade in your background areas. The flower stems give the flowers a visual anchor to the rest of the design and keep them from looking like they are just floating there. It also adds another visual element to the design since the stem is usually carved/stamped differently than the other leaves to make it stand apart. For the background areas, I always have problems with my background areas looking bigger on the final carving than they do when I draw it. Shading the areas in the design that will be backgrounded helps you visualize how much negative space you are really going to have, and you can decide if you want to break those areas up more or if you are satisfied with them the way they are. Hope this helps! Bob

Could the name you were thinking of be Rick Bean? He's a saddle maker that uses finger carvings a lot on his saddles. I know I have some pictures saved away on my computer but I can't find them right now. Try searching on his name.

Try: http://www.leatherwranglers.com/images/IMG_2009-1.jpg Had to type it in manually. You can see how his scrolls are like the vinework you would see around the flowers in a floral carving.