Ed Miller

And a long time lurker crawls out of the depths haha. So basically I got started in leather some years back and have done lots of small peices of the years. Everything from gear for my ren/pirate costuming to sheridan style and all points in between. ANYWAY about 4 months ago I started playing drum in the band I am in. The Musical Blades - pirates, tradition irish, sea songs, originals... etc. So I need a strap to hold the drum where I prefer to play it. Technically the drum is a Djembe but I am more comfortable in the side position more common to the Dumbek.... for awhile I literally just used a old bag strap I had laying around. Just something to hold it on. So I started trying to figure out how I could get a more piratey looking strap. So I cut out some basic pieces and tacked together the rig. No dye no nothing just bare leather to test the design. Played the drum with it for a few weeks to determine that yea the design was mostly solid but needed some adjustments. Mainly for adjustable length and angle of hang on the drum. I unfortunatly don;t have any pics of my temporary rig. So about three weeks ago I decided it was time to put together version one of the final rig. I had all I needed I was pretty sure. Big buckle, some nice looking smaller brass buckles, leather.... but the drum has no mountings and I did not want to drill the shell. About three weeks ago now I cut the first peices at lunch then that night(the night before hitting the road mind you haha ) I got it all dyed, assembled etc. Consists of two straps around the drum one on the shell stem and one just under the head that runs underneath the tuning ropes. and here is a pic of the rig in context ie.. on stage Last night I went back and increased the thickness of the straps that hold the drum itself. I was having lots of problems with the leather stretching. Basically the bottom strap around the shell is now 8 maybe 9 oz leather secured with 6 chicago screws as opposed to the twine I used originally. The strap with the brass buckle is 4 oz. Wanted a bit heavier but didn't have anything long enough to secure it to the main strap at that thickness The strap that goes under the drum head and under the tuning ropes is about 4 to 5 oz leather. Secured with 5 chicago screws with another buckle strap to attach it to the main over the shoulder strap. The over shoulder portion is about 4 oz leather and 3 inched wide. The big buckle is iron. Which really does a number on the leather but it looks really good in context. I can lengthen the strap a bit via the secondary straps if need be depending on much other gear I have on that day. Whole thing is dyed with good ol Febings dark brown and has a very weather look already. Probably because it took all of about 5 minutes to sweat thru three layers of sealing haha. I have the leather cut to redo the main strap. Want to clean up the edges a bit more than on this one.

sweet jeebus that is amazing

nice work. I am just getting into a little mask making myself. Nothing near as fancy as that just basic half masks at the moment

that is nice. Very rockin looking

thanks all. Everyone was indeed quite happy with them. The HP initials are my grandfathers name. And that is my fav of the peices as well And I agree we are always far more critical of ourselves. It is odd...in my music I have developed the ability to somewhat hear what others hear when they listen.. But then I have been doing music for 20 years and leather for just over one So maybe 19 years from now I won't be quite so critical? nah hehe Again thank you for the kind words. It is good to hear. And feel free to provide suggestions for making my carving better

If anyone is near Tulsa you know we had an ice storm recently. During that storm I had a full house cause for part of it we were the only ones in the family with heat. And I discovered something. You cannot really make Christmas gifts for someone who is sitting on the couch with you So after everyone got power back I had to carve like the wind After a year of doing leather I am still ...STILL trying to get decorative cuts to where I am pleased with them heh. Just can;t seem to get the draw right on the cut to get the look. But anyway here are a few pics of the things I am working on. Hope these images are not to big. Finished most of these up last night. Which is good cause they go out today to the folks I am giving them to heh.

Hi all long time no post I too have had CTS surgery and after the final eval by the employers doctor was reported at 16% permanent disability in the right hand and 14% in the left. Which is way better than before the surgery. I had to stop playing guitar entirely, could not hold a pencil or a pen for more than 10 seconds before my hand was completely numb. Was bascially unable to do anything with out intense pain and numbness. In addition to the CTS in the wrist I have compression of the ulnar nerve in both elbows. I am however able to play guitar and carve leather. I just have to watch how long I do it. I have to stop and do my stretching exercises many time during the day. After your surgery do everything the physical therapist asks. Religiously, it will help I did switch from a hammer to a maul but that was really only because a tool maker offered to custom make me one at a really good price So I gave it a try and decided I liked it. I wouldn't give up all hope of your leatherworking until after the surgery and some progression on the therapy.

that's some nice stitching. You do that by hand or on a machine? Its NICE either way I am just curious

Would love a copy of the pattern. Will PM my email address Nice looking wallet

Got this pattern from an old issue of LCSJ. Came out okay. Didn't put the slot for the tab in it though. couldn;t bring myself to cut across the carving the full size pics are kinda large. sorry about that. will try to reduce them more next time. Was fairly pleased with it for no more experience carving than I have.

Over the Halloween weekend I was involved in an event at our local aquarium. Basically tossing on the ol' piratical gear and playing with the lil' kiddoes and giving out candy. We were told they wanted over the top Pirates of the Caribean type stuff so I made these to give a pirate touch to my costume. :biggrin: The black one is head on by two buckles and straps. The brown ones by lacing only

The tandy store here in Tulsa is the only place I can find to buy leather. We do have a biker shop for finished products but no other store to just buy leather that I have found. Will probably try to at least get into the wholesale club fairly soon. Most likely I will save back the 35 it costs a year to get in.

I discovered a nifty thing tonight. My lexmark printer will print directly to tracing paper without chewing it up. That should shortcut a HUGE amount of time on many patterns. If they are built on the computer I won't have to retrace them to the tracing paper. If you have what I call a single turn printer which are most deskjet/inkjet type printers it should work. i tried it on the laser at work but the paper gets turned tomany times and kept getting hung up. The only thing I do have to do is trim the tracing paper down to 8.5 x 11. Anyway just thought I would share if someone else wanted to try this.

Thanks for the comments. Yea that is pretty much about the most basic knot you can make with the font And thanks for the tips. Like I said this was only the third thing I have done So I am just beggining and learning.

Hi all. I am new here but I had to chime in and agree about the Celtic Knot font. I picked it up tonight and for practice I blasted out this small bracelet http://shadoespace.net/leather/bracelet.JPG The knot was created with the font then printed,traced,transfered,tooled. I am a very very begginer. I think that is the third pattern I had tooled.