Vwoodard

I just read that Eric Myall passed away last December at age 89. i've talked to him a couple times and purchased tapes years ago. the videos are great, and he is a hoot to listen too/talk to. The leatherworking community is definately at a loss if you knew him or not...

That explains why I cant find ANY of the belt embossing products on tandy's site. Anyone happen to have the diminsions for the older model 3800 rollers? I am going to see about playing with electoetching some designs on blank rollers im having a friend make, but not sure how big of diamater roller the machine can handle? I know that the inside hole is 1" and i believe the key channel is 3/16 wide, but thats about it...

one of the problems I have with Tandy's Chicago screw post rivets (other than the bad finish) is the packaging on the brass ones. it says Brass, but is just brass plate over steel, but unlike the nickel, isn't marked that way. Their retail price for that junk is around $30 for eliete pricing, and places like Zack white sell actual solid brass ones for around $18/100. im sure they are imported, but at least they are solid brass, and less than 1/2 retail price of tandy's for plated. sorry to rant.

Hi all, I am in need of some advice regarding tagging leather goods. I am producing 1.75 in. leather discs that have designs pressed into them for use as award medallions in a historic re-enactment group I belong to. they do not have holes in them anywhere, and I need to be able to put a tag for inventory and pricing purposes on them, but don't want to use something that's going to leave a lot of gum behind on it... table space is usually limited, and I already have standing cases with other goods in them, so bagging them isn't the best options. I use a modified set of slant wire shelves to display them with a hanging display above, or have them in the open organizer boxes with the lids off so people can see them when I can. it wouldn't be a big deal for just a few, but I have more than 100 different designs now, and keeping track is a pain. Any recommendations on tagging these or other types of small leather goods like this? Greatly appreciate any advice from folks that have been at it at while... Thanks, Vince Woodard

I have never tried a box on the tippmann, and I am not quite getting what you are talking about. Do you have a way of taking a picture of it set up in operation? Thanks, Vince

i have recently found myself making alot of debossing dies, and the need to resize and manipulate graphic and pattern pieces lately. My 2cents on the subject. For the drawing of a pattern (raster/bitmap) or editing, I use Paintshop pro 9 - it tends to be bundled in with alot of different things like memory cards for cameras, but you can usually find it online for under $50 (newer versions are a little more difficult to use, and more expensive). It has alot of options, and while it's not photoshop, it can do a fair amount of stuff and suits my needs. I have played a little with Gimp, and it does alot of what Paintshop Pro does, but I already know how to use Paintshop pro, so I stay with it. Once you get your pattern drawn, using something like Inkscape to render it as a Vector image is great because you can resize the pattern without effecting line weight, curves and other factors (and it doesnt pixilate). I use Corel Draw x5 to do my rendering as Adobe Illustrator takes WAY too much effort if you hav to modify it and they REALLY like their software which is why they charge so much for it . When I do need to modify the image, I export from corel draw to a Tiff, edit it in Paint shop pro, then import it back in as a vector to corel again since I havent taken the time to learn how in corel draw. You should be able to use the same process for Inkscape or other Raster 2 Vector programs. I am a firm believer of not overspending on software till you need to Hope that helps? vince

I concure with the others comments about the sharpness of the blade. I purchased a used osborne pull thru splitter, and was doing good to split a piece of 3/4" wide latigo thru it. I sharpened it using the method in one of the Al Stolman books, and got it to the point I could split a piece of 1 1/4" veg tan with a little effort. A friend who is good with tool sharpening, saw me struggling at a show I was at with it, and offered to sharpen it. I figured what the heck, why not. He spent about an hour using what is known as the Scary Sharp method of sharpening (about what the others have posted on here for sharpening) and the thing was so sharp that I damn near fell out of my chair backwards because it cut not only the 1 1/4" wide like i was cutting HOT butter, it went thru a piece of 3" wide the same way. I am sure the positioning may have a little to do with it, but, the sharpening made a believer of me... It's time to do it again, but it was well worth the time and effort! Vince

I cant upload it , but I have a spreadsheet I made for what I have seen refered (at least commercially) as a bucket bag or purse. you can change it to add a foldover for top edge, or just ad something to cover it if you wish. it will give you the diminsions you need for whatever size you want to make it. Vince If you want a copy of the spreadsheet, just email me - it is in excel 2003 format, and a free reader is availible on the web if you dont have excel for your pc.

Figured I would put my 2 cents in... I just ordered 2 dies this week from Tippmann Industrial here in Indiana. one is a violin shaped flask for re-enactors, the other in a strap cut out for making a mug strap for hanging your cup or whatever else from your belt. The 2 of them combined were like $165 with about a week turn around (should be here monday). For more simple shapes, I have talked to a local metal fabrication place (small 1 man shop) that is going to do some of the more simple designs for me, and is helping me get the plates for my press put together. As for the "metal banding" do it yourself dies, I have been told that the key to it is to only allow enough metal outside to cut thru the leather and a couple Millimeters to go into the cuting pad. the rest should be supported and locked into the plywood top. I have a friend of mine that does work on CNC machines for a place that makes all their own dies using that method for cutting out plastic/paper/leather templates and gets anywhere from 100-200 pieces before having to replace it. if its something they use alot, the DIY makes them enough money to send off to have a die professionaly made (or several . If I had more time and space to do them myself, that would be the way to go (and probably will for the next couple due to size and cost of what I want to get made) Vince

I tend to get mine from weaver leather... solid brass or chrome over brass worke pretty well

I know this is an old thread, but figured i'd put my 2 cents in on it.. Look around on craigslist and the classified section of the local newspaper. I just picked up a 30 ton manual hydraulic shop press for like $150 and its in like new condition. all I am going to need to do to make it functional is to make up a top and bottom plate for it and get some HDPE (high density polyethelyne) white board (like cutting board material) and it will be ready to go. most local small welding shops can put something together pretty easy for whatever the size you get is. After I have made it pay for itself a few times, I will probably swap the manual bottle jack out with an air assist or a fully air activated jack so I can control it with a couple of foot pedals. That will cost more than the whole press, but even with all that, I will still have less into it than most of the regular clickers that only have a 18x24" cutting/embossing area. Just a though. now on to figuring out cheap dies...

When in doubt try contacting the author... found this on a google search in reference to one of the books he did on gunsmithing for that same era...Hope that helps.. let me know if you find anything - im interested in it as well :D Thanks, Vince STEVEN DODD HUGHES Address: P.O.BOX 545 LIVINGSTON, MT 59047 USA Voice: Fax: Email: sdh@mcn.net Keywords: maker of single-shot breech loading rifles, double barreled shotguns, black powder,

Just a recommendation... I was reading the Tools book on using and sharping from Stohlman, and he actually recommends getting one of the ones with the split heel for pulling tacks, take it to someone that welds, and fill in the split, and regrind/polish it and you have a saddler's hammer :D. the tack hammers from osborne are fairly cheap, but the #55's are a chunk of change for a hammer... heck, even the jewelery hammers I have werent that much. Vince

Hi Corey, I sell in the SCA and have been supplying buckle belts for about 11 years (2 years prior to that, did ring belts). Its been my my experience that if you are mail ordering (Wicket and craig tannery is great - 1800Tannery1) you can tell them what you are doing, and get you what you need. I just got a side from them that was 9 ft long, and over 33 Square Ft in size!!! For really long belts (I have had some from the sides I get that are over 9 ft long) I have been told that Pennsylvania cows might be longer, or that could be a crock, and its just in the way they are stretched during processing. if you are getting Double Shoulders, I can see the 50-55" length maximum, but a side of leather for SCA belts is the way to go for the length.... As for Cutting - It takes me a little longer to cut this way, but I can still do a side in about 30 minutes with a hand held strap cutter (with a bad back ). I tend to look at the side, and figure out how many belts of a specific widths I need, and then look for scars, brands, cuts holes in the leather, and address how many 3/4" wide ones to do (shorter length) I need to do before I switch to 1 3/4" because of a hole in the side toward the end. Biggest thing to worry about on the sides is to not get to far into the belly - save that for other projects or small items that dont matter if it stretches. I am from Indiana, so our pathes most likely wont cross, but if you make it to pennsic, stop by the "By My Hand" booth as that is where I sell thru. Vince _____________________________________________________________

Something else I have done in the past is to use transparency sheets for laser printers and print it on a laser printer. you have to press a little harder, and its really only good for 1 shot, but for small pieces, you can put several of the same design on a page if you are going to do multiple of the same design, and then just cut them apart. another thing that works (but you cant see the result till you are done tracing it out) is to find VERY Thin box tape, print your small size design on paper and carefully place a single layer of box tape to cover the bottom side of the paper, and do the same with the top. You can reuse the design a couple times before having to toss it. down side is that the design is usually fairly faint, and you have to press hard. Just some thoughts... Vince