whinewine

Marlon, I may be mistaken, but I thought (???) I had seen them listed in Springfield Leather's catalogue. Call Kevin Hopkins & if I'm wrong (which I very well might be right now ), he may know where to get one. I'm just too busy getting ready for the Celtic Classic. Sorry, russ

It goes by the name of 'wood bleach'. Savogram (sp?) makes/sells/markets lots of it. Try your local hardware store, Sherwin Williams, woodworker stores online. You probably won't find it at Lowes or Home Depot. You may want to make sure OA is an antifungal (probably is, but ask to be sure). Better yet, email Savogram- they make it, they should know. russ

Buk buk buk huh? {chop} runaround runaround spurt spurt spurt drop... what do you think they're raised for? pets? I don't think so... I remember that from years & years ago, watching in horrer, yet accepting the fact that they are dinner...

Patrice: why would you try to compete with the junk? The people who buy the cheap belts will ALWAYS continue to buy the cheap belts- if those particular vendors wouldn't be there, they still wouldn't buy from you- they'd buy their cheap junk belts at Walmart. Find a niche: find something no one else is making, or can make, develop it sell it at a fair price. My son & I do not make wallets (with a very few exceptions) do not make belts, do not make sewn soft goods, and yet we are developing a nice name for ourselves in creating Celtic/Renaissance specialty items that others are not making, and our waiting list for custom orders is 8 to 12 weeks right now. But it was a long & somewhat painful process to find that which does work in our area. While I have a few 'sheridan' & a few 'western floral' pieces, they are merely examples of what i can do. They don't sell in our area, so I don't make them & expect them to sell; likewise, I have lots of keyfobs (that don't sell, at least in our area) & lots of belt buckles (that don't sell, at least in our area), and lots of many other things that don't sell- but these are basically left over from the learning process mentioned above. Good luck, Patrice, find your market & develop it. russ

dowel (sp?)rods Tandy has them, Springfield has them, or you can cut your own- ac moore, michaels (probably hobby lobby), lowes, home depot, most likely your local hardware stores, online woodworker supply houses, just about anywhere... you just need to know the size you want, have a fine tooth saw & a pencil sharpener. russ

Just an addendum: there is that same corvette stamp right now on ebay with a little over a day remaining- it's going for $7.95 with free shipping.

Yes, Bruce, it IS so! Sgt. Slaughter IS wearing Crocs. I remember Bobo Brazil, Bruno Samartino, Buddy Rogers (sp?), Killer Kowalski... my grandmother loved studio wrestling (I believe it was KDKA that broadcast every Saturday night from Pittsburgh, PA). She would yell at the screen if one of the nasties did something illegal behind the ref's back. I took her to a local show where all these people performed & she had a wonderful time. Ah, for life to be so simple & so black and white... russ

Jordan: this is a lacing punch- I have 1 just like it. Instead of using a standard 'whackitwiththemallet' punch, all you had to do was squeeze the handles. It came with a single hole punch, also, & yes, the parts are removable and interchangable. russ (& I can't remember the last time I used it- {maybe I should try it to see why I don't use it?})

I likewise have a nicer osborne head knife than what you got, & I only got it about a year or so ago- yes, I had to send it away to get professionally sharpened, but that comes with all the osbornes. To put the 'burr under the saddle', so to speak, I would email everyone you can find at osborne, from sales to the ceo to customer service- I mean EVERYONE you can find on their website. & if you can't find enough there, google 'C.S. Osborne- you'll very probably find a different site from the company management perspective telling the world just how great they are. Very often, they'll have different divisions listed, like 'investor relations','jobs', etc. An email that brings it to the attention of and points out shoddy workmanship to the higher levels of management is very often an excellent teaching method of correcting poor production/poor workmanship problems.

They look like they're primarily Baron stamps, maybe a very few of the smaller Basic ones in the mix, and I also see a few craftools there too. Others may disagree,but I don't feel they are worth what he's asking; the corvette stamp is worth nowhere near $100 as he's speculating, for instance. The entire inventory of Baron tools went up for sale a few months ago, with various dealers offering them, some even giving free shipping with a buy-it-now. Personally I rank them as large, somewhat-lower quality tools, primarily because some don't have the depth that a large tool should have to create a deep impression, & some of the castings are somewhat rougher than they should be. I think the large Basic tools create a nicer impression and are more nicely finished, IMHO. Again, they are specialty stamps: how great is the market for circa-1970 style sports car or pickup truck or van images, or how often can one stamp a dragonfly image to make up $350 + shipping? just my $0.02 worth. russ

Hi: just curious- has anyone from LWnet ever attended the Celtic Classic in Bethlehem, PA? Supposedly it's the largest Celtic bash in the East, with over 260,000 people attending over a 3 day period. Food, drink, music, kilts, vendors, at the end of each September... Any input will be invaluable. Thank you in advance. russ

No, Tim- actually he was in the red car on the right. Definitely a cool guy- not like his 'on stage' persona. russ

Ok, the update: we met the pro wrestler and star of the '80s cartoon, GI Joe, at Berkeley Springs, WV, last week. He stayed in the same hotel we did. Here is Sue wrestling him...

Unfortunately, that wouldn't work. I'll be using garment leather- the main part of the brim would sag. I've decided to get a large piece of bontex - it's very inexpensive for its size & can be used as a stiffener for other projects, and it glues easily to leather, whereas plastic might not. Thanks for everyone's help on this. I appreciate it. This is the most useful site ever! russ

Hi, Brad: you may want to talk to Deb Collins about the introductory kit- it's got some of the basic tools that everyone has, plus it has a bunch of beginner kits that you can use to work on for practice/personal use. If you don't want to go that route, get some small checkered bevelers (B936, 701 & 198- check to see which tools in each bin work better than the others [you're close so you can try each of the tools- most folks don't have that option]- all tools are not alike, contrary to what you may be told. You can try & buy other tools, too, like pear shaders, cams, veiners, etc.). Also, have Deb pick out some veg-tan scrap so you can play with & practice, & maybe get a simple craftaid or 2, plus a yard of tracing film to trace your own designs. I believe she also runs classes, that can really help, too. I'm from Altoona, so if you really need some help, I'm only about 1-1/2 hours away (although it's best to contact me first with a pm, since I'm often unavailable- I deliver flowers 3 days a week & I'm getting ready for a huge show at the end of the month). Best of luck in this addiction. russ

Hello: I have a question. At some point, I would like to make a cap in leather, but I'm unsure about how to make the brim. I know I can use a stiff, thick piece of veg-tan, (I've made apple caps before) but I'm wondering what I would use as a stiffener between 2 thin pieces of garment-type leather of the same stuff I'd make the rest of the cap from... I wouldn't want to use cardboard, for obvious reasons. Any suggestions? Thank you in advance. russ

CEW: Springfield leather has at least 2 of the 3; the original source is Hidecrafter- they now have all 3 tools in stock (I just got the pa004 from them 2 weeks ago). They are the procrafter series, page 47 (I believe), of the Hidecrafter catalogue. Call either company & they can turn you on to them. Basically, you need to call & speak to a real live person- they are more accurate than the websites. Kevin at Springfield can give a true answer, as can Hidecrafter, but you need to ask over the phone. russ

Dustin: if you call the local Tandy, they probably won't know. It would be better to ask an oldtimer who still works for Tandy or contact someone in management/Corporate & request that the archives be searched. ***Call Jimmy Waldrep (sp?) at the Atlanta store- he's one of the oldtimers still working- he's got a wealth of information- [definitely one of the guys in the white hats...] Say hi to him & Shannon from russ in Altoona!*** russ

I don't believe HD sells oxalic acid/wood bleach, Dustin. I know Lowes doesn't. I got mine at Sherwin Williams, sometimes hardware stores carry it, but you can also get it on line (Woodcraft Supply, other wood-oriented online stores...).

Hey mike: call hidehouse- they sell 'em, they should know! dad

One of the problems I am still experiencing is that I need to sign in each & every time I reenter the site. most of the time I forget. This is annoying (& yes, I haven't deleted my cookies). It is also still very slow in comparison to what was, even on FF3. I haven't tried to enter from the browser I use for everything else (I don't even know what it is- it's through my msn/dsl connection).The last time I tried, everything locked up.There are other things i don't like (yet), but I'm hoping to, whenever the bugs are worked out. So far, I'm not impressed,(& I see no new features that I can particularly use yet, or any that particularly wow me), but I'm trying to be positive. So I'll just shut my mouth & exhibit some well needed patience & wait. russ

Anne: I'd try overnight. You could also use a hair dryer (gently) to help the pecards go deeply into the leather [i've done that when it's been too cold for the pecards to soak in well on its own]. russ

It has a lot of wrinkles & looks to have some scars/scratches, but sometimes these things work up the nicest since they add 'character' to the finished product. I've often incorporated 'defects' into a purse, or pouch, stressing that these are range markings & are a true sign of natural leather . IF it takes water relatively evenly & IF the price is right, I don't see why you couldn't use it to your advantage (within limits, of course). It's certainly not a top grade hide by any stretch of the imagination, but, assuming the above listed IFs are true, it is certainly usable. russ

I likewise also apologize; I came in from a show on a long, hot day & couldn't even get into lwn [permission denied], so i couldn't even read any posts about this whole thing happening (I got up for the show at 4:30am & didn't check the site before I left). Next day all I saw was blue/grey. I still don't particularly care for it [yet], for numerous reasons, but I have never demanded that anyone go back to the old ways. If anyone took my venting [& that's all it was- frustration & venting] as a personal attack on anyone, please- it was just venting & frustration over familiarity of what I knew in the old system vs the unfamiliarity of the new system . Johanna, Kate, everyone involved in this: I meant no harm! (I have a very good command of the language, & I can/have (all too often) hurt with a word- it's my 'superpower', & in this instance, I used it for evil, not for good). Mea culpa. russ

I still have to sign in each time I leave & reenter the site. I still don't care for it. AT ALL! It's going to need a lot of 'new & exciting features' to make me say WOW I REALLY LOVE THIS SITE ABSOLUTELY JUST BECAUSE IT'S NEW & EXCITING & HAS FEATURES I REALLY NEED & LOVE BECAUSE IT'S JUST NEW & EXCITING... Sorry, I still need to use a different browser to use it because my old browser won't support it & locks up every time I try to use it & that's a PITA.Everything else is on the other site with the old browser- emails, general news, favorites,- everything else... To read this stuff, I need to go to the different browser. AND: Each time I try to read a post, it seems that that post is SO VERY, VERY LARGE & (not) EXCITING & GOES ON FOREVER instead of before. I guess these posts are now for "the visually deaf?.. :wtf: I know I'm being facetious, & I really do like change, because I get easily bored, but when I'm just trying to garner information, this really gets in the way of facts & information & useful stuff. I'm trying to be patient & NOT trying to be stodgy, but I'm just damn frustrated! Thank you & I'm going to bed. It's been a very long day. russ