Northmount

Yes, all things the same ... Identical setup each time so all your processing can be consistently the same. Tom

Laser engraving is definitely more flexible and faster. Have so many fonts and graphics available to use without having to have custom plates made or spend time setting up type. I guess I should find someone around here that can do it. Tom

If you take all your pictures under the same lighting conditions and do all your editing with the same color and contrast/brightness settings, you should be able to add photos later and have them all look the same. Try to do the same with camera position, zoom, aperture, speed and any resizing in PS. Then sizes should also be relative to each other. Tom

A finish should be applied over the laser work too. Another way of adding text or even graphics is hot foil stamping. My son used to have a setup for doing business cards and such. Stamped people's names on bibles too. After he lost interest in it, we gave it away. Now I wish we still had it! Even just the press action without the heat would be nice to have. Had several sets of type with it. Used to get plates made up too. Oh well! Such is life. Tom

When taking your photos, keep the lights low, raking across the surface (from one side). This will show the 3D effect much better than the typical setup. Gives deeper shadows in the impressions. Google some landscape photos that are taken when the sun is low towards the horizon. You will see what the low angle light does. And yes, use leather for your samples. That's what it is all about. Tom

I find that by the time I glue and stitch, I need at least 3/8" extra for each stitched side, else it gets too tight. 1/8" for stitch, 1/8" for glue beyond the stitch line, plus 1/8" to allow slide fit. You should be able to find the dimensions for the Macbook on Apple's website. Then cut a piece of wood to the same dimensions to test fit. Tom

Nail polish remover is acetone. It is also used as lacquer thinner and for cleaning up fibreglass resin. So is available at hardware and paint stores, also automotive stores that sell lacquer paints and fibreglass resins and cloth. It certainly does soften and remove many glues, paints and other surface contaminants. Tom

There are some older threads about cutting and layout surfaces. Somebody is getting 4x8 or so sheets of some sort of polyboard. Do a search if you are interested in more info. Tom

I think this is pretty neat! The baby is the part that catches my eye. Colors are good too. The only distraction I see is the slightly inconsistent border. Remember to have fun with your work. If it is getting you down a bit, go onto something else for a while, then come back and take a fresh look at it. Tom

Looks like an interesting little project. I've seen some others here that are fancier, but fancier isn't always better. I would like to see a shot from the stem side as well. Some of the petals have a lot of hair from the flesh side and rough cut. Need to try to get a cleaner cut edge. All the petals have the same curve. Try cutting some with a small depression midway on the petal and see what it looks like. Are all the petal pieces the same size? It looks like they are. Try narrower petals for the center, and gradually wider as you build up the next petal layers. I remember some 55 years ago making similar roses with thin coloured foam sheets. Brings back memories. I think you have a really good start here. A little more experimentation with petal sizes and shapes, maybe even some colour, and you will have an outstanding rose to show off, sell, etc. You can start making bouquets of long stemed roses. And keep having fun with your roses and such. Tom

If it must be punched from the outside, take a short length of 2x4 or 4x4 wood. Round the edges down somewhat and use it. Punching into the end grain gives cleaner cuts generally than into face or side grain. I like the idea of punching from the inside better. Less work, less to have to hang onto while punching. Tom

Do a search. There are a couple threads here about the same problem. If I remember right, burying it in a bag of cornstarch removes oil. Takes a few days. Tom

Homedepot has several diamond sharpening "stones" like this http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=203381318&R=203381318#.UMU9BXy9KSM You need extra fine, so need to research a little to find the best. Also consider higher end woodworking tool stores. There are several threads here on sharpening swivel knives. Do a search for them. Tom

Very nice. Very neat work. Tom

Get a heater! My hands don't work at 33F. Bring what you need into the house as you need and take stuff back out before the next step. Lots of trips somedays, but a lot more comfortable. Things don't apply and dry as well in the cold either. I usually wear old denim jeans and shirt. When working in the garage/shop, I often wear an old leather jacket. I set the T-stat at about 63F, so it's a little on the cool side, but good for heavier work. Sitting doing close work, I raise the temp so my hands aren't cold. Tom Wood stove is a good idea if you have lots of cordwood or scrap around to burn. Used to use an old sheet metal wood heater ... sort of like a big tin can.

Is the edge truly sharp, faces polished so there are practically no scratches? Is the leather properly cased? Too wet is no good, and of course dry isn't any good either. Close up in-focus pictures of the blades both profile and flat, as well as of your cuts would help someone here to give you good direction. Tom

Great job. I like it. Now for the purse? Tom

Nice job, cute cat too! Tom

Looks great! Have you a view of the inside too? Tom

Thanks for the update. I think you are doing an extremely great job. Tom

Asked again last week. Do a search and you will find a lot of posts about wood stain and wood dye. Search box is in the upper right hand of your screen. Tom

Very nice, makes a bit of a tutorial for others interested in building their own wallet including the liner work. Will be much appreciated by many, not only for showing the steps, but fine craftsmanship too. Tom

You can make your own (if you can get the ingredients and I think you should be able to), take a look at this thread http://leatherworker...ipe#entry258687 Searching LW will probably find several other recipes too. And for an oil/wax finish, note the tip above to use a hair dryer to help melt it in, especially with any tooling. Saddle Lac should be okay as a spray ... so you don't have to rub it on. I haven't used it. As Sylvia has noted, an acrylic floor cleaner/polish cut 50/50 will work too. But needs to be sprayed on, else it can lift your water based dye as well when you are swabbing it on. I haven't had much luck with ordinary spray bottles. They spit too much instead of leaving a nice overall spray. An airbrush works well. You will find lots of info here if you do a search for airbrush. Tom

All finishes have a solvent of some sort. Lacquer finishes have a very strong solvent, acetone, toululene, or other similar chemicals. These strong solvents work really well at lifting dyes, especially water based ones. So as mentioned above, make sure the dyed area is really dry, at least 8 hours. Buff well to remove any surface pigments, then if possible, use a spray finish. Other options 1. Use a brush and paint your finish onto only the dyed area. If you have multiple colours, then clean your brush between areas and don't overlap. Let that finish cure and dry completely before applying your finish over the whole article. 2. Use a wax/oil based finish. Less chance of dissolving any surface dye. An option for cleaning up your problem piece is to flood it with lots of your finish, working fast so you can soften and remove the tinted finish, using lots of fresh rags or even paper towel, and keep adding new finish, diluting and scrubbing off the old finish. You should be able to remove most of the tinted finish. Acetone or deglazer will remove finishes too, though they tend to dry the leather out a lot and likely will give you a bad headache. Worse than the finish. Need lots of fresh air! Tom

You can check out the scrap bin at Tandy or other sellers a buy just the one piece you want. Scrap bag gets more pieces but might not have what you want and becomes more waste. Tom