Ferg

As I stated previously, I built a burnisher similar to the one Bob Park uses in his shop. I have been making some Note Book covers while trying different methods. I know, that is a large piece of leather to be experimenting on. Except for one I threw away I have kept them for myself. I lined one with Oiled leather about 3/4 oz. The "Innards" of this leather is very much like suede. I knew going in that the edge would be a problem. I followed Bob Park's "Edge Tutorial" and really worked the saddle soap and glycerine soap into the edge, then applied paraffin wax. Except for a small section that seemed to separate on the inner part of the oiled leather it doesn't look too bad. In fact, it looks good enough to use that leather again for the inside liner. For any of you that have not used this leather before, it "marks" easily and may not look good to some folks. The vintage look it has suits me for some items, this piece included. Will be interesting how well the "soft" edge withstands use. I don't have the stitching on this piece complete. I am going to burnish it again with Paraffin Wax after. ferg

Bobby, I wasn't impressed with the construction of the wheel. Seems it would be "short lived", maybe not. BTW: I made a burnisher similar to your shop set up. Works great. If I need to renew the surface canvas it is very easy to do so. ferg

I am concerned about the longevity of the photos being against the leather. I think the natural oils from the leather may destroy the photo paper. My suggestion: Place the photo in a clear plastic envelope or laminate the photo. ferg

I read so many references to Pricking Irons by folks that have no idea what a true Pricking Iron is. I do not necessarily mean folks on this forum. A well known Japanese site lists the Pricking Irons for a tool that is obviously a diamond hole punch. Another site insists that you must buy a "Pair" of irons to properly mark the stitches. That is pure bunk. $375 for a pair of No. 9's plus shipping from England. Expect your product in over 30 days. BTW: A No.8 iron marks seven stitches to the inch not eight. The number of stitches is one number less than the number of the iron. You DO NOT punch through the leather with a Pricking Iron, only mark the leather for your stitches. I have read several notes saying you must use a Pricking Iron to get a perfectly even stitch. I'm sorry, that simply is not true. I have a background in measuring all kinds of distances and angles etc. so perhaps I can visualize a 45 degree angle better than some. I own Bob Douglas Awls and Haft. The haft has a smooth cut on two sides. You can align the awl with the smooth cut so visually aligning the awl is a snap, you just have to do it the same way every time. Now that shouldn't be too difficult for most folks. I know there is definitely a certain level of expertise needed to make these tools but I see faults in the way they are made, I believe anyone can learn to use the awl without the slanted marks and have a beautiful stitching pattern. Okay, that is Tuesday September 28 rant for me. LOL ferg

Bobby, You understood my first question better than I stated it. Thanks for the clarification. On the burnishing wheel: Do you glue/attach the canvas to the wheel? I assume the canvas needs to be pushed down into the grooves or does the saddle soap put enough "give" in the canvas to make it conform to the grooves? Regards, ferg

Bobby, I have two questions: When you apply the dye to the edges are you intentionally keeping the dye from the very edge the edging tool makes? The edge next to the flat surface of the leather, if that helps me clarify my question. I find it easier to apply the dye without getting on that very narrow portion of the rounded edge. You showed a photo in your shop on a post, of your burnishing apparatus. Motor attached to a shaft with a wood dowel, perhaps, that you filed/sanded the grooves into. Any particular kind of wood used and did you attempt to impregnate it with saddle soap, glycerine soap, or any other product? Thanks, ferg

Welcome Kayla, I grew up on a farm with most of the family staying with it. I had to laugh about the milking. My dad taught me to milk at the age of five years. He was milking 45 Guernsey's at the time, he cheated though, he used milkers I had to do it by hand. It is like riding a bike, you never forget how. As others have said, "Show us some of your work". BTW: I would also be glad to test some of your cookin- ferg

Boy! I like simplicity more all the time. Beautiful job. Great color and just the right choice on tooling. ferg

Excellent job all around. Did you use solvent based dye? Your brother will be proud to carry the knife and sheath. ferg

Tandy has one with an aluminum handle catalog number 3084-00 $39.99 if you are simply a walk-in. ferg

My wife would say I am not the one to give anyone else advice on this subject but here goes anyway. I have high blood pressure (corrected with cheap medication), over weight (I try to make sure I get all my veggies every week, french fries has to be one of them), Sugar corrected with cheap medication, and I have no cholesterol problems. I will soon be 77 years young. I love sweets, my wife is a fantastic baker and cook. BACON !!!!! never give it up. I have never smoked so that is a "non-consideration for me and I am a Tea-Totaller, don't drink and never have. I watch my salt intake, no problem, I seldom add salt to food after it is prepared, love black pepper, drink more than my share of Pepsi and orange juice. I have never drank caffeine free soda pop, I always thought you were supposed to use it for charging wet cell batteries. I can still outwork most people I know that are less than half my age, I love my life and my family and am looking forward to living to be 100 years old. Especially since my wife is twenty years younger than I. LOL LIVE IT UP BOYS and GIRLS!!! The politicians are tryin- to get it all and I won't let 'em. Have a great Weekend folks. ferg

Eric, There are many free tutorials noted on this forum and at Tandy's Web Site. I suggest you should look at those and download as many as you like, they are mostly PDF format. Great information and How To's and it is free. You can look at some of the "Pay" tutorials also of course. My .02 worth ferg PS: You have a good start on your Leather Worker Library, I have a bunch of them.

I guess strictly speaking it would be but in the case of the AWL, that is not true. Suppose you could call it a flat diamond ferg

Greg, Always keep this in your mind and heart. Never give up. Remember it is all "Pay Ahead". Good luck and have FUN! with your new toys ferg

My .02: You certainly do not need a laser to make holes, hand punches are relatively cheap. 5-7 oz. Leather for wallets and small items. 6-7 oz. for purses and notebook covers and items of that type. The heavier weight leathers are for holsters, saddles, tack, etc. 2-3 oz. Lining leathers. Vegetable tanned cowhide if you are going to do any tooling. Best all around part of the hide is the shoulders. You can buy Single (about 8 square feet) or Double Shoulders, (13 to 17 square feet) Tandy carries most anything you need for starters. One beginner kit is normally $200 on sale for $60. The very basic kit is normally $90 on sale for $30. Take your pick. ferg

Bobby, If you write a book I will be first in line to buy one so get over the "Writer's Block". LOL ferg

You are designing and making the art of leather for tomorrow. Thank you for sharing your talent, let us see many more. ferg

Hi Johanna, I had some leather sent to Greg Ditton from Tandy. I sent him an e-mail telling him he would be getting a package from them, not to refuse it. Obviously, he didn't read the mail. I think he returned it to Tandy. I cannot get in touch with him. Telephone is disconnected, it was a Land Line so maybe he is using a cell. If you have any way of contacting him and in all your spare time, LOL can you "push" a message to him that it was from me? Thanks a million ferg Marion Ferguson Name: Marion Ferguson UserName: 50 years leather IP Address: 64.56.112.27 Email Address: marion@donet.com

Greg, I forgot to tell you there are a lot of Tutorials on this forum for beginners and everything else. Good place to start. Your Goody box should get to you Monday or Tuesday. ferg

You are a true artist in every adjective I can think of. Your family must be very proud of you. Viewing what you do with art and leather is breathtaking. Some of us have a God given talent that flourishes with age, I hope I live long enough to see many more of your productions. ferg

I love it!!!!!!! ferg

As long as the item is not too big to fit into your mailbox at home or where ever, you can ship PriOrity. We haul shipments every day from September through January to the Post Office. We have an account with Endicia Buy postage electronically which is posted to our designated Credit Card account. I wrote a program for Any and all Mail over 13 oz. The Endicia software takes care of all first class plus International, we ship lots to Canada. We printout the labels for UPS and International. Our clients send us the mailing labels attached to each order, BUT !!! We do all the printing since we receive all orders via computer. I wrote a program to transfer most all orders we receive into Excel then into our Data base that I wrote also. Piece of cake We don't even bother with insurance or tracking with the Post Office, too much hassle. Yes, we ship larger packages via UPS. Our customers routinely receive their merchandise from Ohio to the West Coast in no more than 5 days via PriOrity Mail. ferg

Nice job. Might make the water a little more pastel. ferg

This forum and the other aspects of it stay real nice, friendly, and homey just as I suspect Johanna and Kate fit that description. PLEASE!!! Remove the "Human Leather" postings from the forum. That actually makes me very ill as I am sure others feel the same way. Name: Marion Ferguson UserName: 50 years leather IP Address: 64.56.112.27 Email Address: marion@donet.com

The UPS stores are traditionally higher than if you have an account with them. We used to ship thousands of items with them but they have gotten so high priced, we send 90% via the post office. They do not lose more than 4 or 5 a year out of 20,000, we just cover that. Still cheaper than UPS. ferg