Fredo

That is pretty cool.

Thanks for the tip, do you recomend waiting for the spirit to completly dry before i use the acrylics?

Is moisture from my still wet COVA staining my spirit dye? As I was making up a cpl of samples I noticed something very strange. If the COVA I am using is not allowed to completly dry then when I go to use spirit based dyes on the same leather it will cause a "foggy" stain of the black dye. The fog is only about 1/4 inch around the perimiter of the area where I had used the cova acrylics. For a cpl of hrs I thought it was bad leather reacting with the spirit based dye. However after a couple of experiments the truth was shown. I'm only guessing here but I believe that as the dye "off gasses" it will pick up moisture from the cova drying. This in-turn becomes heavier then air and the fumes (now mixed with moisture) will settle on the dyed area. This causes a distinct foggy stain in the still wet black dye. I will try to get a photo of this wierdness later for your viewing and input. *Twilight Zone theme music*

Hi, you can get the 3M spray at any home depot type store

Thanks for the link Hilly, that''s exatcly what i was looking for. I think I will try to dye my own. I would go broke if I wanted to buy every color though. The tip on wax management if perfect. I tried it last night with very good results. LOVE THIS SITE!

What, two seats in the same issue of CS? Nice work, congrats.

You do nice work for sure, The tight edges on your script really makes that seat pop. I've never been a fan of laced seats, but after looking at a cpl of yours I'm thinking of a laced seat for my shvl. A bike can never have too many seats right? PS: Congrats on the spread in CS.

Spinner that's real nice work I've never have been a big fan of those wrap around tank bibs. However you have done a real nice job of fit and trim on that one. The lower wrap under the compound curves looks very tight and evenly fit to both sides, they must have been a bear to get tight since most bikes dont sit level unless your ridding them. The cross work looks great, I know your client will be very happy with this. I agree on the colors If you havet done it yet, show him the bib without the dye work, he may agree with you and let you go with antique browns.

I just want to add...........call your mom.

Hi ya'll. I have a cpl of questions that came up while I was making a cpl of collars for my buddy's little dog. First, I am getting a large build up of wax from the prewaxed thread I use. I buy the thread at Tandy because it's close, it's fairly priced and it's pretty strong. However when I stitch any item I get a large amount of build up at the stitch holes. I can actualy live with that as long as I can find a decent way to clean it off. On the the question, how do you folks clean thread wax off of your projects? Am I the only one that has this issue, am I doing something wrong? Question #2. Again while making the collars the thought came to me that it would be nice to custom dye my own thread for certain items. Can I use a white cotton thread and dye it to match the colors I'm using? Where do I find this white cotton thread and how dificult will it be for a beginner like myself to wax it (does it need to be waxed)? Thanks in advance for your help and thoughts. GO CHARGERS!!!! Fredo San Diego CA

Ha! The brown one is for hanging in the garage, the pink one is for tarting up on saturday nights. Thanks ya'll

Didn't have a project pending so I tried my hand at a cpl of dog collars for a freind's chee-wah-wah. Submitted for your viewing horror, feel free to share your thoughts.

Yes they are, most flamable liquids give off fumes that are heavier then air. this is the driving reason behind the code that says all gas fired water heaters must be a minimum of 18 inches off the ground.

Pete nailed it. It turns out that I need to pay more attention to my casing technique. I was getting too excited and not allowing my leather to dry to a proper cased sate. That combined with info from everyone else has allowed me to improve greatly. It is not perfect but I can definately see it'sa butt load better then it was just 24 hrs ago. Also as a added bonus last night in class over at Tanndy. I learned a good technique for making a tri-lobe basket weave really pop. Thanks again everyone!!

Thanks Daniel, I'm walking and tapping, looks like that might not be the right option. I'm in class tomorow over at Tandy, I'll hit up Jan for sure. I have a few diff bevelers. I'm trying to decide which ones are the least crappy of the lot. think I'll take them all in with me since tomorw all I have to do is stitch up a wallet for class. Let's hook up sometime and I'll pull a couple of robustos out of the humidor.

Thanks for the input guys. ALl in all it looks like I need more practice and possibly slow my work down to make sure I see every strike and to make sure I have my leather cased correctly (not too wet when I start. Pete: I maybe a bit short on patiance, As my leather dries a bit more the tool marks are less noticiable. I have been noticing that I am holding on pretty thight ot the tool. I'm trying to get my timing down, but when I hold on loosly (that reminds me of a song) I tend to wonder off course. Yes it is Veg Tan, however I did not set my camera's white balance so there is a yellow color cast to my photo from the over desk flourecent lamp. Also shot hand held in macro mode so the pours of the leather show up pretty good. Camera was about 3 inches from the leather when I took this shot. Clay: I'm pretty sure that most if not all of my problem is technique, or a lack there of. I noticed last night that I tend to focus on the cunction of the tool and the leather. So if I'm not holding the tool plumb I may be missing that by not looking at the shaft of the beveler. Will practice some more. Biggun: Yeah, I've been using the tool as a modeling tool to smooth out my ridges, however I'm still wondering why I'm having this problem to this extent. Still pleanty to learn.

Hi everyone, I'm hoping to get some input about the problem I'm having with the fundementals of using a beveler or beveling tool. I've been at this pretty steady for 4 weeks now and I can not understand why I cant get past this problem. I'm attaching a few shots for your crtique and guidence. I continue to practice but still get the hatch marks everytime I use the beveler. I'm concentrating on keeping the tool plumb and I'm checking for a good over lap between strikes. At first I thought my leather was too damp, but even when I allow it to dry for a bit I still get the marks. I'd appreciate your feed back. Here's a piece I did to show you what I mean. Fredo San diego CA

I'll add WOW!!!

thanks guys. Great tutorials

Hello everyone, I'm new here and new to leather working too. I'm fairly happy with my progress however I can not for the life of me run a decent basketweave pattern. Everytime I try I end up with a real mess. I have tried laying out my grid like a tile floor (starting in the center and working out to the edsges) but it's not working. I'm sure the problem is my technique. I'm using a craft tool USA BBW stamp thhat I bought in a lot at a local yeard sale. It does not seem to have been bent or chiped in anyway. I have marked one side to make sure I always stay with the same orientation etc etc. Any tips or advice would be highly appreciated. Thanks in advance; Fredo San Diego CA

Very nicely done, I am still strugling with fit and finish on most of my projects. You seemed to have mastered that part quite well You get bonus points for the choice of the rocky-p's. I'll take a maduro robusto please.