whinewine

I'm sorry, but HUH??? If it's a special, it's just that- a special! You get a good buy on something, it's generally a one-time thing- a SPECIAL!!! When it sells out, it sells out. It's gone. Maybe you can get another special down the road, but not right away. This is different from the 10, 20 year 'going out of business' sales that [apparently] still proliferate in New York where you live. And from your own words, what bait & switch are you talking about??? Did they give you something different? No, it seems they didn't give what you wanted. They were out of stock of the SPECIAL. That's NOT bait & switch.

That's a shame! I deal primarily with the Delmont, PA (Pgh) store & if they can get stuff from another store, they will make a great effort to find it for you, and, they will most often do this voluntarily. Deb, Shannon & David there are great. Also, Jimmy Walthrop (last I heard, was promoted to manager of the Atlanta Store) was also great while he was in Pgh & gave me many good tips & hints. The dicks YOU dealt with need some serious retraining in courtesy & motivation, among other things... Email, btw, doesn't do a lot of anything. If you want a situation corrected, you need to make such a stink that you will be dealt with in a quick, responsive manner. I once had some virus protection software that was such crap it gave me constant fits [no, it was a legitimate company, not a scam, but the software itself was just garbage]. Even after I emphatically & specifically requested to be removed from their database/mailing list, I kept getting offers to renew, for maybe a year after. I ended up researching the company itself & sent every department that had a 'contact us' section an email, from the president (or CEO) down to advertising, billing, sales, warehouse, VP in charge of 'this', VP in charge of 'that'... Everyone... It didn't take more than 48 hours that I received apologies. And more importantly, no more 'offers to renew'. In lieu of that, as Art said, USE THE PHONE! Call Jim Linnell. He is one of the higher-ups in Tandy who has the ability to 'cure' laziness in a heartbeat.

I agree, but it's such a small thing to get upset over, IMO, & yes, a note along with your packing order could be included. But if you really need something, you need to ask, upfront, if the item is in stock. If they say, well, it's very low, or out at the moment, then look elsewhere. Easy to do. It's just common sense. When I do shows, sometimes things you don't expect to sell take off & you sell out very quickly, & visa versa. This is something that you really can't anticipate all the time & it does happen. Should someone get pissed because his/her buddy got the last 'widget' I happened to have at that show? Hell, no... grow up, place a backorder [& yes, I will collect the money upfront beforehand- unlike Siegels, who get it when they ship the item] & act in a mature manner. And, BTW, this is Siegels' big end of the year sale, with an additional 10% off everything in that sale right now. Are they gonna run out of stuff? Well, DUH!

I've always had good luck with Siegels. When something doesn't show up in the package, I assume that it has been backordered. If I'm really, really concerned because I need something, I call to find out when the item is expected. I mean, my God, the call is FREE! It's not like I've been stiffed. What pisses me off is when I call a company to order something, they tell me what I want to hear & then never send the items & deny ever having received the phone order... I've never had that problem with Siegels. Try walking into a tandy's for stuff that's on sale. Very often much of the merchandise is gone already, & you've spent & used how much??? in gas both ways at $3.+++ a gallon only to find out that stuff is gone or will not be available ever again because it's discontinued & that's why it's on sale... That's a hell of a lot more expensive than a FREE PHONE CALL.

Unfortunately, there isn't. Once it's dry, super shene & neatlac & several other products can seal it, but water is the only common substance that will allow leather to stretch & be form-fitted to an object or a mold, & if you try to seal it beforehand, the leather can't absorb water. Water based products will run in the presence of water, pure & simple.

Stunning!

Jordan: AC Moore stocks the exacto brand utility blades (utility knife blades, NOT the ones you use in the standard exacto-type knives) that are a lot cheaper than what everyone else sells them for. They are the EXACT same size as the ones that fit the jerry stripper (the other utility knife blades out there at hardware stores are all too big, as everyone who has a jerry stripper knows). Also, sign up at www.acmoore.com & you'll get weekly coupons on email for use in their stores. Mostly, they are 40% off on any single non-sale item, but they often have 50% off coupons, too. It's a good deal, & I've also used the coupons to buy Tandy stuff that they have in stock, too.

An undercut beveler is just that- a beveler that, when struck, digs/cuts underneath the leather to lift it up. A lifter can be like the old deerfoot modelers (and the new tlf modeler, too) that is pushed under after the leather is already beveled to lift it up, or it can refer to the propetals, which are cutting tools inserted under the leather to lift it up, or the name 'lifter' can be used interchangably with 'undercut beveler'. Hidecrafter has steep bevelers in their pro-crafters line= nice tools, reasonably priced (I'm not sure right offhand whether any are smooth- check their catalogue). Better yet, call them. Toll free # & they are nice people. They don't bite.

Regis, all eco flow stuff is water based, even the super shene, before it dries. That's the problem. That's the flaw. The stuff runs. It runs badly... The wackos demand '...safe...' '...environment friendly...' stuff (which I really don't have a problem with, & yes, I do like some of the eco flow stuff & yes, I do use a lot of their colored hi-liters & all-in-ones), but I am against all the good stuff being banned, too. I mean, c'mon: you know barge stinks & you know spirit dyes have fumes & they should only be used with proper ventilation & it'll hurt you if you try to drink it, & if you're too stupid to figure it out or too stupid to keep it secured from the kids, then maybe, perhaps, you shouldn't be allowed to play with chemicals. Maybe, instead of banning these things, perhaps there should be an IQ test associated with purchasing chemicals. Maybe, while we're at it, have the people we elect (& also the people who vote, too) take an IQ test, also. I'm sure that'll knock a loadful outta the box right from the start... Sorry, I ramble.

Clay, now I know where they get buffalo wings. Now if pigs could fly...

When I try to view pictures, I get a message... sorry, some files are missing...etc, etc... Is it just me or are others experiencing the same problems? Thank you. russ

Wow- I never realized this became such an addiction till I was without my daily fix! Glad you're back... Thank you all! russ

Clay, I would be concerned about sharpening the double ended deerfoot modeler (as they used to be called). A propetal has a wooden end & is meant to be sharpened & pushed into the leather. It is, in effect, a cutting tool. A deerfoot modeler, however, if sharpened, has no wooden end to protect the hand. All it would take is one slip & you will be going to the emergency room. A deerfoot modeler is NOT a slicing or cutting tool- it is one of a variety of modeling tools- used to model, not cut.

MikeG: I just got mine today, but it probably won't be after Christmas till I get to play with it (we've been extremely busy the last few days). Again, Thanks. It's greatly appreciated. russ

Perhaps buff the hell out of it, maybe with one of the buffers made for polishing cars, or some other sort of motorized buffer that doesn't run too fast (& burns the leather). Try spraying with water (very lightly) as you're buffing. This sometimes seals the pores (like spit shining). It's worth a try. Crocking is a main reason I stay away from black if at all possible. Good luck on this one.

I recently acquired 2 weird Craftools & would like any pertinent information on them. (I don't have a picture, so I hope my description suffices...) They are both stamped: Craftool USA, but the number of each is stamped underneath: P720600 rather than the normal P206 designation. They are, in effect, pear shaders, #P206, but they are gold-ish in color and are NOT chromed. Can anyone fill me in on what these were(are)?... (1) Were they prototypes? (2) Were they Models to follow for the machinists to follow when they were manufacturing the standard-basic-Tandy-kit P206 smooth pear shaders during the 'CRAFTOOL USA' period? (3) Were they Craftools made for another country, to differentiate them from tools sold in the US? Any information of them is greatly appreciated. Thank you. russ

Red is predominately iron oxide (rust). White is (I believe) predominately aluminum oxide. There are others, green (Chromium oxide, I believe, if I'm not mistaken, & I certainly could be, at this point), yellow & others, all with different chemical compositions , some of which are better for polishing certain materials and not others. While all these 'rouges' share the same name, only red rouge is truly 'rouge' (from the french, 'rouge'= red).

I used to have a download of every craftool made, including the discontinued ones. It disappeared from my computer (probably my fault). If anyone happens to have such a download, could you post it, or at least tell me where to find it? I'm sure others would be interested in having this information also. Thank you. russ

Beilers Mfg & Supply 3023 Irishtown Rd Ronks, PA 17572 717 768 0174 carries some types of black dyes (NOT fiebings or tandy) that may perhaps work. The one, Jet Black #306 is recommended that it be used with good ventilation: it comes only in gallons & the stock # is 07746. They also carry powder dyes (the color isn't specified= probably black???) in 5 lbs (#07748) & 1 lb containers (#07749) I hope this helps, Kodiak. russ

Mostly I get from Tandy's in Delmont, PA (near Pittsburgh), but I'll make the drive to select what I need & I'll pick out my own leather (it's definitely not as nice as leather I could easily get in the '60s & '70s, but I try to get the best of the best of their specials) & play with the tools till I get the best ones out of the bins. Otherwise, I really like Springfield Leather for odds & ends (they carry some nice exotics & have great specials & also carry hidecrafter & other lines of 'stuff'. Siegels of California has great prices on their friday specials. I use their vegtan goat a lot. Beilers also has good prices on Osborne tools & I think they make their own edger blades which you can insert into your own homemade handles. They're Amish/Mennonite, so no website & no Visa/Mastercard, but they do have catalogues & do answer the phones. They cater heavily to the Amish buggy set, but will certainly deal with the "English" too.

I don't know if they are still on sale, but a simple phonecall would let you know. Theirs is a toll free #, 1-888-263-5277. The sale price was only for the vhs, not the dvd versions. I do know that they were making extra copies during their sale(because of the large demand) & they told me that they were not going to make anymore after the sale ended. But then they had financial problems & were sold, and things radically changed, so they still may have (or still make) copies. Hey, it's worth a free phone call for them to say yea or nay... If you find out, let others on the board know.

Ed:It's got advantages, it's got disadvantages. I use one very little (I don't do braidings, but I have used it to cut strips & strings, & it's fine with that). If you need it to cut stuff into strings & strips, it's fine. I look at it as a potentially useful & useable tool: if you need it & have it, it's a blessing; if you need it & don't have it, you're kinda screwed. BTW, I have one extra (it's only got black spacers & none of the white & the casting is more crude than some, but if someone wants it, I'll sell it for $25 + cost of postage to wherever zip. I'll even include 5 extra blades over & above what's in it [it's got 15 blades already installed . Thanks. russ

Just a simple question: why would you put it behind glass? Because of the texture of leather, most pieces I've seen tend to NOT be hidden by glass, but rather, exposed to show that texture, shading & depth... Also, if the leather is kept natural in color, it WILL darken over time, [unless it is kept in total darkness,] whether or not it has (whatever) finish, or no finish at all. If it is kept in direct sunlight, however, it will darken much, much faster. Bottom line: it WILL darken over time.

The deer is also sneering at us, daring us to do something about it!

If it's been frozen, it's probably trash. Best bet is to speak to the supplier & inform them that it was allowed to freeze & shouldn't have been. They can file a claim on your behalf & replace it. When I worked for tandy, stuff came in that had been frozen & was totally ruined. Once some of this stuff freezes, chemical changes occur that can't be reversed.