brettra

Thanks Tugadude, I didn't put too much effort into this test piece as I was mostly look to fix tear out. I have some leather cleaners so, I'll look to prep the leather a bit better on my next actual piece. I know I get better penetration of the dyes with the other dyes but still am looking to get the best I can from the antique. Thanks for the advise on applying wet. I'll try that for certain. Thanks for the compliment on stitching. This was still pretty rushed so I know I wasn't fully straight when pushing through. Again, I know I need to slow down on things so I can get the best out of the lining up of the stitch..

As I indicated, here is a photo with a test piece. I used three layers of the the same 3-4 oz veggie. Applied a neatsfoot oil with two nice coverings and allowed it to sit 24 hrs. I used the same antique dye and awl to test this. The only thing I did not do is apply a finish coat for this testing. I think the tear out has been brought under control. It looks like my dye may be too thick as the two applications are not penetrating very deep into the leather. Any recommendations on how to thin? (I really don't want to throw away dyes if I don't have too" The awl blade is sharp and is 3 mm across. I'm using Tandy's large roll of "Sewing awl thread #1216"

Thanks Michelle and Tugadude, I figured the awl may be too big (as to why I included a pic). I'll check my kit as I' certain I have some smaller awl blades. If not, I'll look to Dremel out one. Very nice stitching Michelle, if I can get mine half that clean I'll be pleased. I'm still certain now that the low humidity of the NWT has contributed significantly to my leather drying out. House humidity gauge bottoms out at 15%. Guess what it's showing . I'm coming back from traveling and had a chance to stop in at both Buckskin Leather (in Calgary) and Halford (in Edmonton). Halford is in the middle of reno's so it was a bit difficult to see their leather stock. Limited in veggie tan but absolutely every other leather imaginable. I picked up a beautiful side of pull-up leather with a glossy finish at Buckskin. Nice to see both places and have another option for ordering. I'll be able to work a test piece soon so I look forward to layering up at least three pieces, applying neatsfoot, antique dying and then post my results. I will run this test from the same hide as my original pics. I will post back the results. I'll use the same awl for the test as well so that I can first fully test the humidity/oiling issue. Again, thanks for all the feedback and support!

Thank you again TInkerTailor, I will see if I can connect with Halfords.

Northwest Territories.

Agreed. One other thing came to mind as well. Where the leather is stored (cold storage porch) our humidity is about 15% so, the leather is likely extra dry. I appreciate all the tips and advise! Aesthetics goes a long way.... so does helpful advise from people willing to share. Thanks!

Thanks for this TinkerTailor, yes, I rushed this more than i should have. I placed down two applications of the antique dye but most likely did not work it in as well as I should have. I appreciate this, a very good reminder to me.... dye properly and stop rushing! Thanks Thanks Boriqua, I 'm limited to Tandy as a provider due to being in the far North of Canada. Shipping costs are prohibitive by other leather providers so Tandy is my choice. I do have some neatsfoot in my kit so I obviously need to start making better use of it. Thanks for the advice.

I used Tandy's Antique Mahogany. Didn't think to oil afterwards so I appreciate that advise as well. Thank you. Tugadude, Yes, this was the main reason for using the awl. Ran into this one already on a previous project lol.

I don't have access to the chisel and number right now but a standard Tandy 4 prong chisel. I didn't show it in pictures as it was on the inside and used to guide the push through process. This was the outer side of my awl pushing. I used the chisel on the inside and then pushed the awl through to the outside. I think I understand what you mean by marking. I'm taking this that I should be assembling, cut mark, then back to chisel from any face side of leather. Sounds like a few assembly/dis-assemblies but should improve the look on the face sides of leather.

Hello Folks, Looking to pick at the knowledge base. I did up a long wallet from template and used my diamond hole chisel on the inside and then used the diamond shaped awl to push through the remaining layers. (Up to 4 in some areas). The awl pushed through easy enough but the end project obviously had ascetic issues due to the tear out on the leather. Awl was sharp and did not really bind up as I pressed it through the layers. Leather was very low in the stitching horse. I wanted to ensure minimal movement. I had concerns with the holes lining up on the various thicknesses so I was of the mindset, this was the way to best line up my holes. Any suggestions to keep this from happening again? Thank you.

I used the tape once to do a checkerboard pattern. I did up the pattern with alternating white black blocks and I would say it came out well enough. If you look close, you can see some smudges and slightly less than perfect lines but, all-in-all I was happy with the results.

Are you saddle stitching? This is a good time to find out how strong the saddle stitch holds. I run my stitch until I run out of thread then start my next thread length one stitch back from the area I just stitched. After going over the end run of the last stitch, I'll cut the ends off the first stitch series that I had just ended.You don't want to cut your first run until after doing this as you may need to snug up the ends after running the new thread through. You'll end up with a stitch hole that has a doubled thread on top and bottom but this is not very noticeable and helps lock in the end of the next thread run as well. This is similar to back stitching on the last hole of a project. Hope I made sense with the explanation.

Ok, tried creating a jig for wet molding leather for a multitool case. The block is hollow core but 5 mm thick for the sides and face. The outter shell is 5mm bigger than the core on the inside diameter to allow for 3-4 oz leather to fit between. I used a scrap piece of leather and simply placed the leather on the block and pressed in the outter cover. I did not really form the leather around the block. This is the main reason I think I had the leather pucker around the bottom side. I could not really pull the sides as they were too short. I did cut a few pieces of leather for the bottom to allow the leather to form around the bottom of the block a bit better. I would take a bit more time to better form the leather for an actual project so I think I could get rid of most of the puckering on the leather if I really tried. All in all I think this will be a useful tool to assist with jigs and templates. Word of caution. It takes quite some time to do up these jigs. I'm getting a bit better on the 3D software for creating the virtual jigs. That was probablly about 2 hours and the print took 4 1/2 hours to print. Also, don't play with the prints while they are on the platform (fully applies to me) as you can (and will) knock of the precision of the prints by moving it slightly out of alignment. Some lines were noted on my jigs that I had to sand out because I tried removing the block portion of this jig while the outter part was still in print. Had to hand sand out some lines that formed by the print going slightly out of alignment. :/ Anyway, a fun process. I will be using this jig to make an actual multitool case as I do think it will be effective.

I purchased a Dremel Idea Maker. So far a nice little unit. I'm working on a jig right now for use on wet molding a multi tool case. I'll report back on how it works and some pics of it (maybe in action). The unit prints to 1/10th of a mm. Fairly fine detail. I think a press type stamp would work fairly well I'm impressed with how strong the plastic is at a 40% fill of line material. I use 4 layers for wall construction on the 3D prints. I may try a simple stamp and see how it works. Test it with the stamp press as well as with a maul. Will report back on the success of that as well when I get the chance.

Still becoming familiar with 3D modelling. I was also thinking block and outer rings for things like box molding (wet molding). I like the idea of just the outer ring. Save a lot of filament this way. Very useful tip. I feel like the kid in a candy store right now. A lot of ideas coming to mind, it's almost overwhelming. Need to make sure I'm still working on my leather though. I feel your pain Cole.... I wish I had your leather work talent! Some really nice items you have on your site

Not quite leather but I'm pretty pleased with this creation from my new 3D printer. Created a Jig that allows me to lay this and lock it on the edge of a 1 1/2 inch belt. Although only 4 holes you can side it up and down the belt to get the 5-7 holes most people seem to prefer for belts. The end was rounded to allow to either cut or draw the guide lines for cutting the end of the belt. Jig is 5 mm thick and the two sides extend another 2 mm past to allow the belt to sit cleanly in the jig. Already thinking about how this could assist with stamping and spacing repeat patterns. Any other ideas where this would prove useful in leather work? Love to hear any thoughts.

I've heard of peaning rivets from copper wire as well. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIhHxpuAdGc . Looks like it may take a bit of work to round out the heads but it appears to be a practical solution. Tandy also has a rivet tool for rounding out cuts on copper rivets that would likely be useful on homemade rivets.

Nice idea... something to consider.... I'll try and consider something like that as a functional fit!

camano ridge, never thought of a loop. that sounds like a good idea. I'm 5'9" so I could likely split the average after a first go. I've ordered a few of the acryric templates from BlackRiver's ebay site. Looking forward to working with them. Thanks again for the useful share! Cheers!

Thank you both for the shares. I'm not happy though... looks like I may need to purchase a few other of the acrylic templates . Nice to see some great tools out there to make life easier. I appreciate the time you took to steer me in the right direction. I agree that the template is easy enough to modify a thumb hole. Any recommendations on how far from the top of the sling? I know personal preference could come into play but it seems about 14" from top would be a good placement. Any thoughts? Thanks

Hello All, Looking to see if anyone can steer me to a rifle sling template (free or paid). I've been doing the google search and see lots of custom work on slings but no templates. I'm hoping to make one with the thumb hole as this seems to be a very useful addition. If no templates are known, if anyone has some measurements that would be useful as well. Distance from top of sling to thumb hole, and adjustment hole measurement would be greatly appreciated. I believe adjustment of 36" to 42" seems to be common. I'm looking to create a sling that will fit to 1" swivels, flaired out with decreasing width, thumb hole, continue decrease to 1" bottom strap (one piece) finished with a Conway Buckle for adustment. Lazy me, works best off templates I can see and modify. Information me is able to build the template in Corel Draw if I have measurements that work in the real world. Any direction on this is greatly appreciated.

I've used the Olfa compass cutter like this one: http://www.olfa.com/CircleCuttersDetail.aspx?C=50&Id=149 Great up to 4 oz leather with a single pass. It had a plastic no slip centre disk that prevented the hole but the pin did wear through it fairly quickly. Still looks like a scrap of leather would be just as easy to prevent the mark.

As Marlon indicated, gluing the pouch on will hold it in place. I glued this pull-up leather on the front of the bag (before assembling and used a 4 prong punch to drop holes down a pencil line and ended up with a large pouch and some pen holders. Hope the image is of help in what worked for me.

ramrod, thanks for bringing that description. That's exactly what I am looking to eliminate. A perfect mating of two pieces of different size but same overall diameter. I may have found a solution in a free CAD program called Inkscape. I need to see if there is enough learning material now to figure it out. I was thinking about paper cutouts as well but think the computer will offer a bit more flexibility in design changes (of course if I can get my brain around a program). Anyone else willing to add something is also appreciated, anything that brings me closer to finding a solution is appreciated. Scott

Dwing8, thanks for the suggestion. I have many books and was looking to get ideas on unique patterns or self made. The book patterns are great for doing the exact projects. Sylvia, thanks for the casting idea. I may be able to make use of it. I'm still looking to get ideas on non-cast creations. I thInk the cast method will bring me closer to self created items. Thanks both for your comments and thanks to anyone else looking who may have an idea that will assist.