Bob Blea

I think it's looking good! Bob

Great info, as I've been thinking of sending along a conditioner as well. One (dumb) question: Where do you get virgin beeswax, other than asking around the bee hive? Bob

So I've been meaning to follow up on this and post the solution I eventually came to. It was a much more elegant solution that trying to tap out the hole in the concho. I realized that part of why this didn't look good was because the snap itself had a small ridge on the back that make it look like it was standing away from the leather. Add that to the overall height of the snap and it really stands out and makes the strap stay well away from the notebook. My solution was to use two layers of leather for the strap. The inner one is about the thickness of the body of the snap and I punched a large enough hole so the snap could fit down in it. I also used a thicker piece of leather for the outer strap so the screw would sit properly. The first picture shows all the parts and the other show the assembled product. I haven't glued the strap together yet, I was just test fitting everything. Thanks again for your help.

Thanks Mike and Chief! Mike, I was stuck on the idea of having the attachment point on the back that I didn't even think of having it right on the top, attached to the carved outer part, until you posted your ideas. Thanks, I think I like that idea the best. Doesn't require any modification of the interior. I'll try to mock this up in cardboard and see what my wife thinks of it. When it comes to purses she is my design and usability expert! Chief, I had considered putting the snaps in the interior but after talking to Springfield and also based a bit on Ferg's comments, I'm not sure there is room inside to allow for them. It looks from the way they did the seams that it might be hard to fit the snaps inside without punching though the seams. After Aaron's post I had the idea to insert a D ring between the layers and lace around it. I first tried it with the D ring right on the edge as shown in the picture. That didn't work to well and I tried setting the ring further back, using a round ring, etc., but never got the lacing to look all that great. I'm thinking adding the attachment tabs on the very top makes the most sense. That design could come with either a short purse handle for carrying by hand or a shoulder strap. I think maybe we're on to something! Thanks all for your help! Bob

OK, I get it now and I see what you mean. That might be the ticket. I'm going to mock that up with some scrap and see how I like it. Thanks for the suggestion! Bob

I'm not quite following what you have in mind. It will need to have laced edges so I'm not seeing how I would lace around the loop. Are you saying make the loop small enough that I would just lace around it? Sorry, being a bit dense right now. Bob

Thanks Ferg, looking at them that's just what I was afraid of. Bob

Both the braiding and the engraving are superb. I would like to try engraving someday but I have tried a little bit of braiding and I can't imagine doing anything that sophisticated. Bob

Hello all, I am looking at making a clutch purse for a customer using a clutch purse interior from Springfield Leather. Here's a picture of the one I have in mind. I'm wondering if anyone out there has used this and attached a shoulder strap to it. The strap is a requirement from the customer, and the purse will also be laced around the edges. Most of the clutches with a similar interior I've looked at would have the strap attached (usually sewn) under the closing flap but I'm not sure there is room for that with this interior. Talking to the folks at Springfield they weren't sure there was room for that either. Has anyone tried attaching a strap to this interior in this manner? Another idea we came up with was using D rings sewn to the back near the top and attaching the strap there. The concern with that is the purse might hang funny. And the lacing rules out adding the D rings between the interior and the carved exterior leather, unless I began and stopped the lacing on either side of where the D rings attach. I don't think that would look very good. Has anyone out there dealt with this problem already? Thanks in advance for your experience and advice. Bob

One other suggestion for you: try using the search box in the upper right hand corner and search for threads on 'sealing leather' or 'waterproofing leather'. It will bring up many past threads discussing how to seal leather, probably more information that you can stand. Also, I wanted to make sure you knew that the sealer I use wouldn't work for tack at all. It's OK for small personal items that won't get a lot of wear, but it probably wouldn't hold up too long for horse tack. Resolene would be the much better choice. Bob

Hello Country, and welcome to the forum! I'm not an expert in this area, particularly when it comes to horse tack. However, I do have experience with painting things other than leather plus some experience using acrylics on leather. You will find much better recommendations from members here like Spinner who does a lot of work with acrylic on leather for bike gear, which also needs weather resistance. Try looking through his posts because his knowledge will be better than mine. When it comes to acylics, there are differences in quality that might affect how well they work with leather. I haven't used FolkArt myself, but I have used Liquitex for both leather and non-leather things and I find them OK. I know there are better higher end products out there though. I usually oil projects before doing any coloring or finishing, so I will oil with neatsfoot and allow it to dry overnight (24-48 hours preferred) before trying anything like painting. As for a final seal, I use a spray on acrylic called Blair's Artist Fixative, and I get the matte finish one. It is intended for fixing artist chalk drawings to the canvas, but it's an acrylic so it works well with the acrylic paints. There are other spray acylics out there that work OK too. You can brush acrylic on too though you want to be careful not to get too thick of a coat and not to accidentally rub off any paint or especially dye. The product that the motorcycle folks seem to use the most is Acrylic Resolene, and it seems to give them a good water resistant finish. With Resolene you want to cut it 50/50 with water and put it on in several thin coats. Be careful of finishes like Clear Lac or Wyosheen, as apparently they can dissolve acrylic paints and ruin your artwork when brushed on, or so I am told. I haven't experimented with that yet. Hope this helps, Bob

Dwight, that is an awesome outfit! Long before I became interested in leather work I had though what a great Halloween costume a Roman Centurian would make. Your process sounds pretty simple, just one question: I believe any carving I would do to the armor would need to happen before molding? Bob

Hi Ray, I guess I'm in that club that would like to make a shield someday. I would love to make a full set of chest armor, leg protectors and a shield. I was really impressed by a Cetlic Targe that someone had posted here when I first joined LW.net, and have wanted to make one ever since. Tandy at one time produced an instruction sheet that said how to make a targe, including a Celtic design for the front. I'm pretty sure I got it from the leathercraft library, and it may have been a free download when I got it. Regardless, it's probably a good place to start if a round targe is what you had in mind. Hope this helps, and whatever you make please post pics so we can see the results. Bob

Welcome to the forum. You will find lots of people here willing to share their advice and experience. Bob

Simply Stunning!

Amazing work! I love how you did the basket weave across the different sections. Great finish on it all too. And the leaves look amazing too! Bob

Just my $.02, I've seen other questions along these lines on the forum, and as the comments here from Johanna, Alex and others can show, for some people prolonged contact with the chemicals involved in tanning, dyeing or otherwise treating leather can bother some people. I don't know if there is evidence these chemicals are carcinogens, but it's possible. However, any sort of foreign substance that is inhaled enough (leather dust, chemicals, etc) can be very bad. I've known a couple of people that were life long bird owners that are now having respiratory problems. The dander the birds produce has been causing their problems (to the point they had to get rid of their birds) and one person now needs a double lung transplant. I think having a dust mask when sanding, a respirator when using chemical solvents, or just working outside where there is good ventilation is just a good precaution. Bob

Have you tried an antihistime (Benadryl, Claritin) to see if they have any effect? If it's an allergic reaction Benadryl would usually help calm things down. Bob

I was just talking with someone at work about tapping this out. He used to work in a machine shop and apparently they would grind to pointy tips on their tapping tools flat for just this sort of situation. He recommended getting a tap from Harbor Freight and trying to grind the tip off so it could reach the bottom of the hole. I just need to be careful because even the Harbor Freight tool will be made from hardened steel and if I'm not careful I might break it. It still would be easier to just make a thicker strap, but I'm kind of into the challenge of fixing the concho now. Thanks all for the help! Bob

I thought about grinding the screw down a bit, but figured I would mess up the threads. I don't have a metric nut to clean them back up, but might try getting one today. I tried getting a tool to tap M4 metric threads but the only one I found had a pointed tip, so unless I drilled the center hole deeper (which would risk destroying the concho) it wouldn't be able to cut the threads any deeper than they are. The nylon washer works, but it does make the snap a bit looser. So far that's OK because the snap was very hard to work the way it was. I'm still going to look for a tool to tap these all the way to the bottom. I checked a few of the other conchos and I could only get about half of the screw into them. So, it's a common problem with these. Bob

Yea, I thought this would be more straight forward than this. But I won't end up wasting anything except the small leather strap, which I can probably save and use somewhere else. But now I know I need more than a 4 oz. piece of leather for the strap. Bob

I wish mine would do that, but I can't quite drive it that far on any of the conches I have. I ended up putting a very thin nylon washer I had lying around between the screw and the snap. It makes the concho and the snap fit tightly enough that it doesn't feel loose, and it doesn't interfere with the action of the snap. However, next time I'm using thicker leather for the strap!!!! I might even just remake this one with something thicker. I still don't quite like the way the snap sits. Bob

Thanks Cheryl and Kevin, at least I can tell now I'm on the right track. Thanks for the pictures. Cheryl, thanks to your pic I can see I definitely have the right hardware in the right places, and thanks for the compliment. Kevin, thanks for your pic and suggestion too. I'd like to eliminate the washer but the screw for the concho is bottoming out before the concho is tight. It's just a 4mm screw and I just measured the hole in the concho and it should be the right length, but it's just not tapped very well. Guess I'm going to the hardware store this morning to either get a 2mm long screw or I'm getting the tool to tap threads in the concho. I tested another concho and was even worse, so I think I just need to get the tool. Thanks both for your help! Bob

Hello, I am using conchos snaps on a notebook for the first time. I am using a screw back concho that is attached to the female part of the snap. After installing, there is a big gap between the strap with the concho and the notebook. I'm wondering if I did something wrong, or used the wrong hardware? It just seems like there shouldn't be such a big gap between the strap and the notebook. The pictures aren't the best but hopefully they show the problem clearly enough. I would appreciate any feedback. Bob