Ferg

Terry, I may get the single bends I ordered today but more likely Monday. I will post results. BTW: I got them for $100.00 each ferg

I bought the board from Tandy with a 50% off coupon. I used it to punch deco holes in some 3/4 oz the other day. The holes are clean on the back. The board is heavy and about 1 1/2" thick, 12 x 18 inches. Didn't harm the punches at all. This board was made in Germany. ferg

Monty, Enter "Tom Threeperson" in Google. There is quite a lot of info. ferg

I am not bashing Tandy. I have dealt with the Tandy store in Cincinnati since it opened. I believe Michael was the original manager. This past summer Michael either was dismissed or he quit, don't know, don't care. He was replaced by a young lady that I had no prior association with. My wife gave me a Tandy Gift Card for Christmas of a substantial amount. I called one day and ask if I had to be at a store to redeem the card for merchandise. Was told yes, I couldn't redeem it over the phone or the Net Tandy has recently obtained some single bends that are said to be 100% better than the Live Oak Premium which has become pretty bad. Thinking the store in Cincy would have them I didn't call first, drove down to find no Bends and little else leather wise. Ask one of the girls if they had any, she walked away from me and was conversing with her manager. Clerk did not return to me so I went to her again asking the same thing. "No we don't have any, Tandy only had a few of those and most of the stores never got any." I looked through the leather they had and concluded there was nothing there that I would take home if it was free. Manager approached me at that moment and ask what I was looking for, DUH! Explained again. "No, we don't have much leather in the store because of inventory, Tandy won't let us order yet." Ask if I seen anything I wanted, told her there simply wasn't anything worth taking home. When I got home I called the store in Columbus, OH which is probably about the same distance from me. Asked if they had the single bends. They have an ample supply of all thicknesses. I ordered two. BTW: There are three sets of numbers on the back of the card, you can indeed use it on the net or over telephone. ferg

Stainless Steel ferg

Eric, If fifty folks answer you there will likely be fifty different methods. This is what I do and it works for me. Do all your carving and stamping, oil, allow to dry overnight, dye, allow to dry overnight, apply finish( I like Neat-Lac), allow to dry, burnish the edges, dye edges, and stitch. ferg

Several people have been interested in availability of Shell Cordovan leather, Horse Hide. This video is very interesting and will give everyone a look "Inside" the Tannery in Chicago. Enjoy: ferg

Seigle has the Cordovan shell listed on their website if that is what you are looking for. They also have horse hide butts, the quality isn't fantastic on these. Be prepared to pay close to $150.00 for each 1 1/2 to 2 sq ft shell in Cordovan. I used Cordovan shells years ago. Cannot carve it, some of the most beautiful leather I have ever used. ferg

Bobby, I love those puffed flower centers Excellent job as always. Do you see any problem with 7/8 oz lined with 3/4 oz "finger carved" ? ferg

Yep, you fixed it You wanted a critique...... If you are going to do that much carving and stamping on your leather piece that will be inserted into another unit, You need to cut the leather oversize, do your cutting and stamping and then cut to exact size of opening. Your woodwork is a little rough which makes it very difficult to make the leather insert fit properly. Use a piece of tracing film/vellum to trace the outline of your recess in the wood. Transfer that to your leather, you will have much better luck. ferg

Welcome Jeff. You will find a friendly and helpful bunch on this forum so dive in. BTW: I am sure you are aware that you live in one of the most beautiful places on this great earth. ferg

It is difficult to peruse your work when the image is so large. I assume you are using a digital camera. Some free software is available to downsize your photos. ferg

I understand where you are coming from, I was talking about patterns not holsters. ferg

I done this with fairly good results but I agree with particle, buy a professionally made awl and handle, they are many times worth the money. ferg

I assume you are not clamping your leather piece in a stitching horse or similar? Did you glue the two pieces of leather together first? Barge cement works best. You need to stroke a strop embedded with jewelers rouge with your awl, all three sides of the diamond. If you hold the awl level your stitches will line up from one side to the other. Sounds like you need to practice on some scrap. Practice is always a good thing ferg

Help your self. Seventy five dollars is a lot of money for those patterns. ferg

How many actual patterns are in the pack? ferg

When you applique you need to sand the edges of the pieces with 220 grit sandpaper (we use nothing but cloth backed sanding medium), and burnish those edges. I know, it is tedious, but that will make your pieces look better plus they won't have any "fuzz" on the edges ferg

Probably an airbrush. There are other ways also, I think the airbrush is the easiest. ferg

You need to maintain a 30 degree angle on both sides The jewelers rouge makes it "slip" nice an easy in the leather. Less expensive swivel knives are not necessarily sharp. You can buy swivel knife blades of different thicknesses to accomplish different size cuts as well as do filigree work. Also angle plades. ferg

http://www.goodsjapan.jp Simon Bennett is the administrator. He has many, many items for sale. ferg

The problem with trying to find a fault with Bobby's work? I am personally so amazed at his constant attention to detail, perfection of line in the designs, and his obvious abilities otherwise. I do truly enjoy observing and studying this gentleman's work. ferg

Hi Ann, I was sure that completely dry leather was going to be too difficult for the deco punches to handle. I was simply testing how the different amounts of water saturation would effect the design. With the leather fairly wet the design had a tendency to shrink although after the test piece completely dried I do not see that effect at all. Second time was with the leather still too wet to stamp or carve well, I wanted to see if there was any improvement in punching the design. Third was obviously the best time to punch the design. It was still easy to punch the holes with a 16 oz maul plus the design was clean and never appeared to shrink or change shape as I punched all the holes. Personally, I think these punches offer an opportunity to make some really great additions to an overall design of a piece. ferg

Bobby, I follow your procedure for burnishing edges with great results. I seem to have the best luck finishing the piece before I dye the edges. The Neat-Lac seems to help my unsteady hand from messing up the finish side of the piece. I have never used the gum tragacanth since your method works. "Ain't Broke don't fix it."

I understand you had bad luck with your punches. Simon told me the manufacturer of the original punches had gone out of business. The punches I have from him are from a different manufacturer and do not appear to be brittle at all. The first punch I used was in dry leather. I do not believe they should be used without the leather being cased and allowed to dry as I did with my third design. As I stated before, I bought the entire set of three different sizes . Simon gave me a discount and the shipping was free. At this point I am very pleased with the punches and they do as advertised. ferg