whinewine

I have 138 solid brass chicago screws: the only problem is that they're all male posts (talk about testosterone! ). I would like to trade half of them (69) for an equal number of solid brass female parts [- that way they will all be happy :hug: ]... most are the short posts, a very few are the long posts, so the majority will join with any length female section. I acquired these in a grab bag of stuff & at this point, they are pretty well useless. I will trade some or all, up to 69 of them, for the equivalent number of solid brass (they MUST be the solid brass ones) female screw parts. Thank you pm me if interested

Ian, you're so right. Life is really too short to waste on anger & fighting & worrying over 'stuff', that in the scheme of things, doesn't matter in the least: politics, gossip, "reality tv", religious lunacy, hypocrisy, judgemental pomposity... These, and other trivial things fritter life away & serve no meaningful purpose. What really counts is to be true (primarily to yourself- if you're true to yourself, you will be true to others). And honest. And fair. And live life like today IS your last. Many people's first experience with a heart attack is death- there is often no second chance, unfortunately. russ

Super nice, Steve!

yeah, that would work IF you can find 2 of the right size. put them bottom to bottom, then cut off one bottom to make the height correct, glue together & you have the proper top & bottom curvatures. wrap the cardboard around the top & bottom, tape, trim top & bottom & then scribe the center joint line & cut down the middle. good one, ferrett!

Drac: I think what you're gonna need to do is build an actual model. Get, or make, a hoop of the top dimension & do likewise, for the bottom. Find the corresponding height & attach connecting rods, fastened on angles (they will be longer than the height, because they go from the longer hoop on an angle to the shorter hoop- does this make sense?)... If you can construct a model from styrofoam, in sections, using an electric knife, or a lathe-type of arrangement, where you can turn down the styrofoam to the appropriate dimensions, would work...if you want to go to all that trouble... the wraparound method is probably the most sure method of doing what you want. good luck. russ

Drac: If I am correct, is this what you want to do: take a flat piece & make it conform to a tapered cylinder with the top & the bottom having the correct curvature so that when made into a cylinder everything lines up? You can do it scientifically by using specially designed CAD programs, slide rules or asking your genius friends if they could help you. Or you can do it the common sense way (which, btw, doesn't always work). Take a tapered cylinder wrap paper around it & fasten (temporarily) with tape trim the top trim the bottom draw the seam line use exacto knife to cut along the seam (cutting both layers of paper) unfurl & you have your pattern (allow extra for the thickness of leather) If this is NOT what you're trying to do, sorry, my bad! russ

I've never had a problem with neatlac over the eco-flo stuff, although, I must say, I spray it rather than wool it. As Clay said, no problems over spirit dyes.

Yes, I have. not well. The microwaves nuke the moisture in the leather with more or less disasterous results. Years ago, I made a drinking jack out of 7-9 oz leather & nuked it for seconds at a time for a number of times. It distorted the leather & warped it in spots & the result was an instant '200 year aging' that gave me a neat effect that I hadn't expected. Last year I tried to make a shot glass from 3-4 oz & the result was disasterous. Bottom line, nuking is not controllable, especially in the lighter weights. You'd be better off with an oven or a hair dryer

It's known as a turnback. They are no longer made by craftool (I don't know offhand if any are made by Barry King or Robert Beard). They show up on ebay occasionally. They were made in several sizes. I hope this helps. russ

I've dealt with him. He has nice stuff, although it's been a good while since I got anything. I remember getting a fairly large piece of hair-on to cover a targe, but I can't remember if I considered his postage charges out of line or not- I don't think so, but, as I said, it's been awhile. (I always try to factor in the cost of postage when dealing with ebay- too many jerks try to get out of paying sellers' fees by jacking up the shipping charges {'...recycled scrap cardboard costs money, ya know...'} so you end up paying more in postage than you'd spend by dealing with tandy or another supplier or dealing locally).

Brent, yes, I did, in fact start with one (the one from tandy with the brush in the cap) for my pva glue. That glue stuck the cap & the bottle together & I always had a major problem with trying to get the cap off. That's when I went to the glue pot. BTW, I still have the plastic bottle/metal cap combo. I keep my rubber cement in it now. It's still a bitch to open, but certainly is easier with the rubber cement than with the white glue. russ

I think we've covered the solvent/thinner issue for the spirit-based dyes, but no one has covered the thinners for the neatlac, nor the craftsman cement, nor the rubber cement. Acetone sticks in my mind also, but I can't remember what it thins, either. I believe that in an earlier pre-crash post, toluol was mentioned as a component of either neatlac or craftsman cement??? I think tandy sold thinners for both neatlac & craftsman cement, but I don't think they sold rubber cement thinner, but then again, that was 35 years ago. I do know that turpentine was a thinner for the OLD fiebings antique (NOT the new, shoe-polish type of wax antique that is now manufactured & sold by fiebings- that stuff can be thinned/diluted with tan-kote).

The outside has been sprayed with a rubberized plastic coating (which will help keep it in one place nearby when I'm doing my pounding) & I've coated the inside with envirotex (food grade epoxy). So far, no problems. As far as 'someone a lot smarter...' well, I don't generally buy that argument- many things today are designed to be obsolete, many things are designed to be 'fashionable' and 'cutsey' rather than functional, many things are designed to be cheap rather than to have quality. For example, while tool steels have evolved, many tools are made today with inferior steels compared to that used in tools of yesteryear= "it's a disposable world, so just throw it away & buy another" is the modern philosophy, unfortunately. russ

I often use fiebings' version of super shene in the spray can. (I don't know if they have a satin version). It just makes life easier. If you remember that water-based stuff is compatible with water-based stuff, you'll know that one will dissolve into the other if rubbed on. That's why I spray & let dry. russ

:D Link to http://talasonline.com they are a supplier of stuff for bookbinders. do a search of their site for bone folders. they have many different kinds, very reasonable prices & are located in New York

I took the glue pot back to tandy this morning: they looked at it, said 'wow, that's weird', took it back & exchanged it for a new one, no problem. The new one is coated on the non- teflon-ed part, both inside & outside with some sort of clear finish- the old one was not. This is why the glue ate its way through the metal, allowing air to enter & coagulate the glue inside. However, I'm still going to coat both the inside and the outside with something for additional protection (probably the outside with spray rubberized coating, the inside???= maybe plastic tool dip, maybe rubber cement... don't know yet- anyone have any ideas?)

It was well curdled well before the boiling water & the dishwasher. The leak is what allowed oxygen/air to curdle it beforehand- (and this is before I knew it had a leak)- the curdling is why I had to try to clean it out in the first place. I started with cold water= very little to nothing; went to dishwasher= very little to nothing; & finally to boiling water= again, very little to nothing, but the boiling water did soften it up enough so that I could pry some of it out. Anyway, it'll go back to tandy as a defective glue pot- even the glue didn't want to peel off the black (teflon-ed) outside, even before I began to use the various water baths.

No, cold glue pot. I know not to heat PVA Art: thank you for the solvent info. I will get some since there are various 'accidents' that do happen with glues BTW, when I did my last pour of hot water in the pot, I discovered that there was a leak in the side of the pot. There was a discoloration & white crystals in that spot. When I scraped it off is when I noticed the leak. This had allowed the air to enter & caused the PVA inside to curdle. I don't know if the PVA had eaten from the inside out or whether or not this was a defect in the metal's coating, either inside or out, but nonetheless it is going to go back to tandy. Nothing in their literature states "do not use with PVA glue".

You will find that some people are psychic vampires... they keep on & on with the same questions & the same preconceived ideas & don't hear a damn thing you say & only hear what they want to hear- but you keep telling them the same thing, the same facts, the same truths- over and over and over again... & in trying to get through to them you suddenly realize all your emotional energy has been sucked out of you. A person like this is too high maintenance. Graciously thank her for her time & send her away.

I thought there was a previous post about teflon glue pots & what to coat them with on the inside, but I can't find anything about them (maybe I imagined it- who knows). Anyway, I went to clean out the residue from mine & I'm having an awful time. It held PVA glue (tandy's leatherweld, or something similar) & there are clumps & lumps inside that I can't get out. I've used boiling water, soapy water, run it through the dishwasher... I thought teflon was the slipperiest substance on earth, but the glue just won't come off. Could this be a defective pot? More importantly, has anyone else had this problem? Is there a solution? Assuming the pot is NOT defective & I can scrape as much as I can out with my fingers, what can I use to coat the inside with to keep the new glue from sticking as much? (rubber cement? plastic dip{the kind you use to dip tool handles}?

Good post, Marlon. I've saved it and printed it out. Thanks. russ

Congratulations to you, Luke!

Springfield also carries shark, & they also have undyed veg-tan shark. 800-668-8518. Don't use their website. Call. They're extremely helpful. A lot of stuff isn't listed in the website & I find it cumbersome to use.

Hidecrafters also has a similar, but very different set of tools. Tandy's is the E294 series, Hidecrafters is listed under their Pro-crafter's line. Look under both websites under their stamping tools. Hidecrafters' tools give an actual pebble effect, whereas Tandy's tends to be more of a depressed, rather than a raised, effect.