BIGGUNDOCTOR

As small as that is don't worry about scales. Be more intent on showing lateral lines, or other coloration differences on whatever particular species that you are doing. Rainbow trout have different colorations than say a German Brown, or Cutthroat--bands vs spots. On any of those you would not see scales as they are pretty small to begin with. About the only one that you might see them on would be a Tarpon, but even then I wouldn't do individual scales unless it was a REALLY BIG piece. Try one without scales, and try coloring , or burnishing to get the right look.

LilRay, if you have a Tandy store close by you may want to see what classes that they have scheduled. Having someone there with you can really speed up the learning process. With my tooling I have tried to get the impression set in one blow to avoid double impressions. Only practice will tell you how hard to hit it the first time. If you do have to re-strike the stamp realign it very carefully. What I do is slowly rotate, and move the stamp till I feel it drop into the previous impression. When it drops in it will feel like it has locked in, and doesn't move easily. For adding grip to the tools, or building the diameter up some I would suggest some rubber tubing that fits snuggly over the handle. As to being crooked, a good faint straight line as a guide will really help you out. A good source of lighting is needed to help you see the line, and do not rush yourself. Take your time placing the tool before striking it. I used to teach Boy Scouts, and that was one of their biggest mistakes, rushing the work. If you are gripping the handle with your whole hand instead of just your fingers it will be a bit harder to judge vertical on the tool. With larger stamps you can rock them back and forth, or side to side depending on the shape to feel when it is flat. What I mean by that is lightly place the stamp, say a veiner, on the leather. As you slowly rock it side to side you will feel a point in the movement when it stops, it is then that it is flat against the leather. Hold steady and strike. Larger stamps may also need to go front to back after side to side in order to get the entire stamp perpendicular with the leather. You need to adjust your grip so that you can see the stamp against the leather as this will help in alignment, as well as perpendicularity. Good luck , and ask all the questions that you want.

Sounds to me like she is just trying to fit in with your group by doing what you are doing, but going about it the wrong way. At any time have you, or your wife, asked her WTH? Don't you realize what you are doing to our business, and our friendship? She may be totally clueless. Is she single? If she is find her a boyfriend. As Stewie on Family Guy said one time "She needs to get laid big time." In all seriousness though she may just be looking for attention. Whatever it may be I would sit down with her, and talk this out. Explain to her what her actions are doing to your relationship, then threaten to unfriend her on Facebook if that doesn't work

A BSA summer camp that I taught handicrafts at one time had one of those, but didn't use it. The next year I had some extra stamps that I was going to trade for ii, but someone broke into the lodge, and stole the stamping tools. That was the only one that I had ever seen until now. I figured that it was pre WWII due to the design. Swastikas are very old symbols, and have been use by many cultures. I would have no problem using that stamp today, and use it to educate people about its historical usage.

Welcome to LW from Southern Nevada USA Malaysia is quite a difference from Germany, how did you end up there?

The leather case books are available at your local Tandy Leather store. I got mine second hand from someone who was getting out of leather. I would drill, and install a threaded insert into it first.This will have to be dead on center too. If you know someone with a metal lathe, a milling machine, or a height gage it would be easy to scribe the center down to .001"-.0001" depending on what method is used . Plenty close for stretchy leather. I am a machinist, so to me this is an easy option for me. A friend in high school had a buddy who put a tanned deer scrotum over his shifter. The girls liked it up until they found out what it actually was. Take the shifter knob, and form the leather over it. 2 times so that you have 2 halves formed. Bore a hole in a piece of wood, or other suitable material so that the leather wrapped ball stops at its equator. Take a knife, and trim the leather off flush with the board. Repeat. It is better to be a little short, as the leather can stretch to fill a small gap, and pull tight onto the ball. Another option would be to lace it up, and the lacing will cover a larger gap, and form a grip ring around the shifter knob. Yet another option is to trim it tight, and just glue it on without stitching. Do a decorative overlay on the seam.

Never used one, buy they look easy enough to make.

You could also do it like a baseball, Stohlman's book on cases shows how to do these. Funny that you are covering a billiard ball, as they are usually left so you can see it.

I am only werkin in LaVerkin, live in Nevada.

So ya saying I got a good deal on my big plate for $150? It measures 36" x 60" x 10" thick. For those prices I would look for free granite counter top pieces. I usually see granite on the local Craigslist, may try freecycle too along with the usual stoneworks castoffs. ENCO had an outlet in San Jose CA, and I would have guessed one in L.A. too.

Knives, Forged, or stock removal? What Rockwell? Nice job. Member of IFI ? Sheath, Belt loop, or clip? In comparison to the quality of the knife the sheath looks a little plain. Could be it is just the basketweave makes it look a little .........................what is the term? Dated, maybe commercial? Is the blank section for the owner's initials? It may be the angle that it is shot, but the sheath looks bulky/thick for the size of the knife. Do you have one with the knife in it, or from a different angle? How much of the handle is exposed when it is sheathed? Of course, a knife is one of those items that is best evaluated when holding it.

A couple of things. The folks that would buy something like this are not leather people, but more of the Ed Hardy look at me crowd. To me they look cheap, and plastic, even if they are on leather. Part of the allure of leather is seeing the leather, and its grain. Where is the CRAFTMANSHIP in these items? I have a Cordura nylon wallet with the Ruger logo silk screened on it. The logo is still in excellent condition, and the wallet has been used for well over a decade, closer to 2 now. It was a gift from a dear friend, and I have gotten a lot of good use out of it. Now when it gets time to replace it, or if I decide I want a dress wallet I will make one. The products that K47 is pitching are for non leather people. The ones who look to store shelves for a wallet instead of thinking "Hmmm, should I go Sheridan, or maybe Peter Main this time?". I feel pitching these items here is akin to trying to market Duncan Hines cake mix to a pastry chef. These items have no soul, and I award you no points.

My main concern would be reliability, and ease of service if it goes down. What can you afford for downtime? The machine is practically worthless if it isn't working.

Tiger Pal beat me to it. I would also do various old rail cars. Maybe see if you can dig up some old pics of this particular rail line for rail car designs. The cars will be a lot more work than track though.

Sounds to me that you are a candidate for braided items. No noise there,and you don't have to dye. Some of the items that I taught in my LW merit badge class at summer camp included key lanyards, whistle lanyards, zipper pulls for backpacks, and lanyards for pocketknives. You can also do necklaces, bracelets, whips, quirts, and various BDSM gear. There are other items, but they are horse related. There are several books out on braiding that have many ideas for projects. Unless you can find a location to work in , you are severely limited in what you can do. If you can pick up a used van, or motorhome, it could be used as a working area. When the weather gets nicer you can also work outside. You may have to think outside the living space.

Instead of winding it, try stacking discs up on a shaft that is threaded. That is how my big maul is made. The top screws down to tighten the whole mess up. I was also going to suggest dog chews. Any wood will eventually splinter since the hardest wood is still softer than the softest steel. Be careful with the plastic fitting, it may fracture under use. ABS, and PVC are tough, but they do shatter. For plastics, look for an industrial supplier in your area, or try McMaster Carr, or MSC. Most soft faced machinist hammers are made from a nylon. Delrin is hard, but brittle. Plexiglas (acrylic) will shatter, so Lexan (polycarbonate) is a better choice since it is used in some bullet resistant windows. This can be found in sheets, and you can sometimes turn up scraps that you can get for free. I have bent up to 1/4" thick Lexan 90 degrees cold in a brake. UHMW (ultra high molecular weight) is used for wear strips in a lot of industries, and it is ductile. May not be real hard, but it won't shatter either. HDPE, and LDPE ( high, and low density polyethylenes) are what 5 gallon buckets, 55 gallon barrels, and other containers are made from. Grab a hole saw and get perforating. Stack, and clamp. HDPE as well as other thermoplastics can be formed when heated Thermoset plastics will distort when heated. Generally thermoplastics are also heat weldable, and cannot be glued, whereas thermosets can be glued, but not welded. When turning plastic you need to keep the speeds down so you don't get it hot. If it gets hot it will melt ,and cause you problems. When I am turning plastic on a lathe I prefer HSS tool bits that I grind with a generous back rake. The chip will come off in a long ribbon. If you get sheet stock, and cut discs out with a hole saw all you should need to do is trim it up.

Is here any way to contact Craftool and see what information that they may have?

I think of the pop rocks candy i used to get.

If ya can't find it, make it! A tube trimmed into a half round on one end will do the trick for a simple scale effect. For more details, piece of metal, plastic, or even a harder wood will work.

My first business cards were inexpensive matte stock, bright yellow, with black lettering. When we moved we got new "nicer" cards. The customers liked the old ones because they were really easy to spot in the stack of white cards. Why was the Sears catalog deliberately smaller then the Monkey Wards catalog? How do you stack books? Smallest on top. A unique card can have its advantages. I have wooden cards, playing card cards, and various shaped cards in my collection. They can help someone remember you. I have a Rolodex, but a lot of people scan the cards into their computer then toss it. I hate glossy cards because they are difficult to write notes on. Think about where the card is headed. A Rolodex, binder, computer, etc. how durable does it need to be? I have a couple in my wallet, but that is just to bring them home where they are tossed on the desk with many others to be sorted later. Whatever yo do do not use an ink jet to print them out. The ink runs at the slightest hint of moisture.

Sounds like either the punch is not sharp, or that the surface underneath is not correct. I use end grain (not cross grain---end grain) wood blocks to punch into. Look at the cutting edge under a good light. When looking directly onto the edge, you should not see any light reflecting, if you do it is dull in that spot.

That is what I would use. I just wanted ti illustrate the fact that you don't need anything special to do this. I have some of the old Foxfire books, and the folks in the Appalachians didn't have anything fancy, but they did some neat work none the less.

This is where a computer can come in handy. If the pattern is on your computer you can enlarge it to any size you want, and print out the larger pattern. I blew up an old Al Stohlman picture of a flying eagle that started out around 2", and ended up with it being 18" or so. ended up taking up 5 sheets of printer paper to get it all. Even without the math, patterns can be made with basic stuff like string. Wrap a piece of string around your head, that is the circumference. You can make some big calipers out of cardboard to get the width, and length of your head. Then do this http://www.mathopenref.com/constellipse1.html Hope this helps, and remeber

My thoughts are that braiding, and leatherwork cover a LOT of ground. You may want to put down some specifics like braiding of bridles, hondas, quirts, whips, whatever ,and for leatherwork put down what you do specifically IE; saddles, purses, repairs, wallets, holsters,etc. Some folks still are not connected to the net, or have very slow dial up connections that make searching a picture heavy website difficult. Use the card to separate you from all of the other braiders, and leatherworkers out there.

My first thoughts for Dover are Delaware., and the White Cliffs of Dover. I would think that your name would be the best bet. What I like to see on a business card is; Company name Person's name Telephone number website Address Description of work done, if it isn't part of the name. My old business was HP Machine, and Fabrication, so the name pretty well covered what we did, although some still thought we did automotive engine machining. So, we probably should have added milling, turning, welding,and grinding to the card. No website back then, so we used the yellow pages. Today though most folks go straight to the computer to search your company for information. You may find that a good website will bring you more business than cards will. What I like about business cards are that they help me remember who I talked with at various events. I deal with a lot of artists now, and when they put some of their art on the card it helps me put the name with the style of work that they do. If there is a special thing that you do, or are known for, showcase it on the card. That should help others separate you from the other folks that they talk with when looking to make a purchase. It is nothing more than a mini billboard for your business. Forget the fluff, pack it with details. Leave the fluff for the website. George B custom saddles Specializing in handmade Western/English/Australian/0show/ whatever saddles. Proudly made in the USA George B owner/craftsman (555) 555-5555 1234 Main St Dover, TN 11225 Georgebcustomsaddles.com