ramrod

as an adjustable anchoring system, i'd use a piece of 1" x 1" wood the same length as that board is wide (3 or 4" it looks like). i'd place a 1/4" or 3/8" dowels in it on each end and drill a bunch of corresponding holes in that board to match. you could just pull the block up and move it closer or farther from the jaws and reinsert it, install the flexible wood. it seems like that would work without too much trouble.

LOL....so THAT'S what "rustic" means.

soooo......roger. being a woodworker, you could probably make an awl haft or two in the form of the osborne #142....if a forum member wanted to buy them off of you?

this is a great thread. i love the idea of teaching newbs how to correctly handstitch. we have to stop them before they go off and get one of those all-in-one jiffy stitchers and have them think it's the best thing since.....leather. seriously, i taught myself (with the aid of a stohlman book), but it would have been nice to watch someone for a while to get some of the tricks down pat. ewwww....when i look at my stitch line on an earlier project, makes me wanna york.

my brother made my stitching horse about a year ago. it was based loosely on the Stohlman plans. it's perfect. it's also very rugged and i expect it to last as long as i'm around. someday, i'll get some pictures posted.

if you mean can you cut it in stages - going deeper with each pass? you can do it that way.

there is a great website for this kind of stuff. it's esslinger.com .

another late post to this thread, but i gotta say this is a vry nice job. i haven't gotten up the courage to make my own yet (and partly because all of my stuff is in storage) but these pics sure help to gt an idea as to how to do it. excellent pictures. that's how they should look!

i can really appreciate the work that goes into something like this.....it's just a bit too much for my taste. but, excellent craftsmanship.

wow! that is a beauty. you've nailed exactly what i want to make for myself. i started a bag similar to this about 5 years ago and got bogged down in the details. it started out as kind of a duluth trading AWOL duffel bag, but as i said, it didn't get finished. you reinspired me. i love this bag. um.....yeah....we need more pistures.

great ideas here. here's what i do. i keep the adhesive paper lid on the bottle after i take the cap off of it. punch a pin hole in the paper top and squeeze out the amount you wish to mix. that's the easiest way i've found to do it.

very nice job! i really like this....i like the way you ended the padding before getting to the holes and the buckle. i've made a few of these but haven't used that idea. it would make it easier to buckle it i think.

one thing i do to spread the cement round is to use an old credit card - much as a body man would use a plastic squeegee. this is great for covering large areas. another thing i like to do is to reuse my brush after it has hardened. the very tip of the bristles come back to life when spreading the cement. it works better than trying to spread the cement with a new, soft bristle brush. just sayin'.

this /\ /\ i've wondered where to get some, too. i'm guessing a woodworking tool catalog?

i will take a few shots and get them to you. i've forgotten how to post pics on here, but i'll give it a shot.

i'm not sure how far along you've gotten with this project. but i have a suggestion for the collar. it's something i did to my joe rocket sonic jacket. the band collar is nice and it's used on man motorcycle jackets. however, i think they're rather non-functional when they are so flat by design. what i did was to open up a stitch on one end of the collar and (using a coat hanger) push a round neoprene foam tube up inside of the collar. it basically made the collar have a more round and dimensional look to it. i simply stitched the hole up afterward. you might want to think about doing something like this.

are there any numbers on the thread cone? do you have an idea of what size thread you purchased? if you say it's plastic, i'm assuming it's either nylon or polyester. i'm just trying to get more details so we can answer your question correctly.

nice job. great idea with the lettering - it looks like an artifact.

i have tried (and suceeded) in making my own frame. i got some strap steel (2 pcs. 1/2" x 1/8" x 4') from lowe's or home despot....i can't remember. i tried making the frames a couple of times because the first was a flop. i made one frame approx. 16" long with (2) 3" returns. i glued the leather and steel with contact adhesive and wrapped the steel strap. i bent the strap in the "u" shape after the leather was glued on it. the second half of the frame was made the same way only slightly larger to accomodate folding into each other. the straps were drilled and fastenet using a small socket cap screw and nut. the excess threaded end was ground off so it won't interfere with the bag (when i get around to making it. if i can, i'll post some pictures. i am feeling good about how it turned out.

i'm sure that you've left the forum jake, but here's my take. dying with tea or coffee will not be very sucessful in my experience. the commercially made dyes are very, very concentrated. they work very well for that reason. the tea or coffee that you might be using isn't nearly as "strong" no matter how you brew it.

bryan - what gary said about flattening your awl handle on one side is a great idea. i used to simply mark mine with a sharpey to "index" it. you absolutely must hold and insert the awl the same way every time in order to make the holes look consistent. it will definitely come with practice. sounds like you're a willing student who's willing to learn and tackle everything. good on 'ya.

it's easy to see that the biltwell pans are far stronger. they have ribs rolled into the pan whereas many of the ones i've seen - such as those on ebay - are just formed on an english wheel (perhaps) with no real strength added to them. those ribs will add significantly to it's strength.

i got a chuckle out of this thread. I'VE been wanting to do the same thing - just build a seat for no bike in particular just to see if i can do it. i gotta look on ebay for some cheap stock seats to redo.

awesome! i think that shoe making is a really cool part of leatherworking. very well done.

that would be hand work. well, at least for me it would be. i don't know what kind of machine (IF there is even one) that could do a stitch like that (inside of a keeper).