BIGGUNDOCTOR

Well if you want to use the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign on something it is up for grabs. Betty Willis came up with the design while working for Western Neon, and it was never copyrighted. Back in 1959 they were just trying to get people to come to the desert to gamble. Betty lives down the road from me, and she is 86 I believe. In one interview she said that it would have been nice to have gotten some royalties since she sees it on everything including underwear now. Betty also said that in a town where big casinos come and go, her little sign has remained, and that makes her proud. As for artwork. One artist that I know who specializes in pinups doesn't go after people using his images. He looks at it as free advertising, and has even gotten work from people seeing his images on Facebook, etc. It would be nice if companies wouldn't go after one off uses, like Disney going after the guy who used Dumbo on a saddle. The maker had to cut the image out of the saddle, and show Disney that it had been done.

As a small business man you look at it from a different perspective. You recycle boxes etc, that doesn't work for large companies that streamline by conformity. New boxes of certain sizes, bubble wrap, etc Speaking of bubble wrap, have you priced a roll of that stuff !? They were paying something like $50 a roll where I used to work. New boxes can also be higher in cost than believed. Tape, etc, it all adds up. On the other hand I have seen exorbitant shipping costs. I was going to order a manual for a double convection oven I bought off Craigslist. Called Sears, yep they have it $4.95, OK--and $6.50 shipping! Slap a couple stamps on it and send it out for pete's sake. I researched it online, and got the info I needed. Customer service is not dead, you just have to find it.

Yep, monument shops are a good source. On another slab related thread a few folks mentioned getting complete headstones for free. Some of these were cases where the military headstone was not used in favor of a more standard one.

No one says that you have to buy tools. If you need a smaller beveler-make it. I have a 1970's leather working book, and they hated the store bought tools. They used all manner of homemade, and found tools to do the work. You are working with damp leather, so a tool doesn't neccesarily have to be made of metal. Try making some from plastic, wood, or even modifying ordinary items in the home to use. Nice work BTW.

I feel the same way. Make it. Some companies like Disney, and Harley-Davidson get real uppity about their logos / designs being used without permission -$$$$. Some colleges may be the same if they have a big following. It is all about $$$$$. I know an artist who does not worry about people using his images. The way he looks at it, it is free advertising, and he has gotten work by people seeing his art that has been use by folks on Facebook etc. BearMan, I am curious as to how Disney corporate came to know about your use of Dumbo on a saddle.

Clamping wouldn't have helped much, but peening would have. Depending on how much warpage you have you may need to have it machined flat. A Blanchard grinder would be the best way, but milling will do to. Check with a high school metal shop, or community college to get it done inexpensively, that is if you don't have the machines, or know someone with them. Work like this is good for bartering. A regular machine shop should be able to deck it flat pretty quick. When you run the 6011, are you whipping the rod in and out? With 6011 you get the puddle started then pull the rod back some to let it cool then back in with the rod. Not far enough to break the arc, just enough to let the main part of the puddle cool. Also pay attention to the edges of the puddle, and do not pull back until you see the edges fill in with weld material. Once the metal flows to the edges, then you pull the rod back some , and let it cool.

We never had a problem contact cementing items in my machine shop. We use it for gluing down plastic wear strips to stainless conveyors. In most cases we had to roughen up the surface some for maximum bond. The UHMW strips had a coarse fiberglass weave molded onto the back side. The freebie granite slabs I have here are actually pretty smooth on the back side. For Fredo's purpose it should work just fine. The item will be stationary, the forces are vertical, and if he frames it there is no way it will come apart. The only thing that the contact cement has to do is keep the 2 pieces aligned. I don't see any problem for this application, then again I may be dreaming As for cost, there are pros and cons to what he wants to do. Machinist's surface plates can be purchased inexpensively, granite slabs can be cheap to free in most areas. If he has to have it cut by someone else that can run the cost past the cost of a plate. On the other hand if he has a saw , or a buddy that can cut it, he can make a slab like he wants. I say use what you got,and try it out. What do you have to lose?

That bench will probably make a lot of noise with any pounding on it, rivets or anything else for that matter. Do you have a rec room that you could use to do your work in? With that little anvil you really can't give the rivets a good smack to set them. Even a large chunk of steel from a scrap yard would be better in my opinion. Even though it might ring some, you will be able to set them with fewer blows. A squeeze tool will work. Google riveting jaws for AK 47 rivets, and see what you come up with. Also check Craigslist for tools Craigslook will search all CL for you.

They can be squeezed since a lot of home builders of AK-47's use modified bolt cutters to squeeze the STEEL receiver rivets. Those are a lot cheaper then those tools too. As I have done some blacksmithing I can tell you some of the ways we deaden the anvil"s ring. Use a cast iron anvil, not cast steel, or forged steel. A lot of inexpensive anvils (ASO's anvil shaped objects) are pure cast iron, and lack the tool steel top that smiths need for serious forging. A cast iron anvil like my 260# Fisher has more of a thump, than the deafening ring of my 306# Sodefors anvil. An anvil is essentially another larger hammer that backs up the hammer that you are swinging. Having more mass under the hammer will increase the effective impact of the blow by the hammer. Chain wrapped around the waist, large magnets attached under the heel/horn, and mounting solidly to a heavy, and sturdy base will also help deaden ring. The chain, and magnets help by dampening the vibration in the anvil as it is hit. When an auto machine shop turns brake drums, and rotors they wrap a rubber belt around the exterior to dampen the vibrations. With a small anvil a big rubber bungee cord may do the trick. All of that is moot if the bench it is sitting on amplifies the sound. Wood is an excellent conductor of sound. Some smiths put their anvils in cut down barrels filled with rock, and sand that comes up over the feet to kill ring. It is all about dampening vibration. If the bench is on a wood, tile, or other hard surface it will be loud for the neighbors even during tooling. You will need to isolate the bench from the floor, and wall in order to contain the vibrations. I take it that you are upstairs in the complex. Depending on how many rivets you will be setting, time of day, etc it may be an unnecessary concern. Talk to your neighbors, and let them know that if you are too loud to just let you know. Who knows you may get someone else addicted to leather working.

Be careful running long beads like that on a part that you want to stay flat. I have warped 2" thick plate just by welding beads on one side. What happens is as the weld bead cools it contracts which puts tension on the metal it is attached to. You can get away with short 1" stringer beads for this application. Look at the forces, and how they are being applied. If anything, the edges will bend up as all of the force is applied to the center under the jack. If you look at commercial clickers, as well as other presses, you will see gussets used to distribute the force, and maintain rigidity / flatness. In reality though, even at 12 tons you probably won't have anything to worry about. Like a chain, it will only be as strong as the weakest part.

Keep it simple, use contact cement. CC has some flexibility even when dry, and it can easily be spread thin , and evenly. I would think with a grout type material that it might eventually start crumbling out of the seam.

Hey Chazbot, you are not that far from me being in Kingman. My old business partner just moved there to be near his dad who has 40+ acres on the edge of town. Back when he bought the property it was $1,000 per acre. Moapa Valley is 50 miles North East of Las Vegas as you head to Utah on the 15. I too know about the heat, and we run a bit hotter then you do since we are only 1,500' elevation , and it is only muggy during the July monsoon season, so I am OK with it. I just had another large hairy scorpion ( 4" ) pay a visit. I catch, and release because they eat the cockroaches. The only 2 things I miss from Northern CA are trees, and fresh produce.

I have seen some that are plain aluminum, left in the raw. no color added.

Thanks, I didn't want to come across as a knuckle dragger. Even though I live in NV, I fully support AZ in this decision. Whereabouts in Arizona are you?

All you need to do now is study other holster styles that you like, and apply those design ideas to your holster. The pattern does not have to be perfect on the exterior, just make sure it is at least too big, as it can be trimmed as you go. It is a lot tougher to make it bigger if it is too small to start with. Take your time, ask questions, and good luck.

I too like your style. The one has a Steampunk feel to it, and I really like the whimsical use of the frogs. It really breaks up the monotany of plainly carved items. Well done, and congratulations.

Umm let me preface this by saying I don't want this to sound sexist. Items like garments really do look better when modeled, It isn't like a saddle, or a purse where you can look at it as it is. A corset on the other hand is hard to evaluate on a table because you cannot tell how it fits the person. It looks interesting, and well made. I'll keep an eye out for the other pics.

You have the gun, so why don't you make your own pattern? If you do that, it will fit you, and the gun perfectly.

I second Tandy for starters. It is nice being able to see , and pick out what you want. My closest Tandy (Las Vegas) has a great manager, and Dee is always very helpful. They also teach classes, and the leather guild meets there too.

Looks like you have some sewing machine attachments. They are similar to some of the ones that I have for my Mom's old Singer. The one series of items I believe are for attaching different width piping ( not sue if that is the correct term) to the edges of fabric.

Seeing how Adler is a German company I am going to say that it is a metric screw. If you don't know already, a metric screw is sized by the diameter , and pitch (spacing of threads). They differ from inch thread identification in that the pitch is the actual measurement from say one tip to the next one, as opposed to however many threads per inch for an inch thread. Example of Inch threads 1/4"-20. 1/2"-13, etc... Diameter is the first dimension followed by the number of threads in one inch of length. Metric threads 8-1.25MM. 12-1.75 MM Diameter in MM's followed by the spacing of the threads in MM's. Smaller threads will be .5, .7 etc. mm With that being said, do you have a hardware store near you that can get an accurate measurement of the thread s for you? At work I use a micrometer, and a thread pitch gage as some metric sizes are very similar to inch sizes (we have both in use ), and some metric sizes are also close to each other like the 3mm, and 3.5mm screws.and some pitches are also very close between the coarse pitches, and the fine pitches. Other folks who may be able to help would be an auto repair shop, machine shop, or tool supplier. I have an Adler patcher , but I don't know if the screw would be the same. Hope this helped, and good luck.

IMHO I would pack a different pistol, as I was never enthused with the Jennings, Davis, etc pistols. Check local gun stores, or pawn shops. They were $20-$50 pistols not too long ago at the gun shows. If you find one that wasn't turned in for concert tickets you can trace it for a pattern.

If the shop is too small to have a counter, have some sheets/blankets handy to lay over the tools, or saddle, or tell them that the only time you want to see their hands out of their pockets is when they are handing you the money. My Dad's friend who owned a gun store made up some "custom" rounds and left them on the counter to distract the patrons who liked to fondle everything. One started off with a .50 BMG case , proceeded to a 300 H&H if I remember right, which was topped by a 55 gr .22 of some variety. After it was soldered ,and polished it looked like it was just one piece. He got some interesting comments on it. Maybe you can have a distraction set out for the customers. As for the dogs chasing livestock have a sign, or just tell them that dogs caught chasing livestock will be shot, and tanned. Have a shotgun by the bench to prove the point. In a lot of areas dogs are fair game if they are harassing livestock. I can't stand irresponsible dog owners.

You can regulate the temp on a soldering iron with a rheostat. Just make sure that it is for the correct voltage, wattage/amperage.

From what I understand, after watching a show that covered shark leather, the tanning process is very guarded, and not given out.