whinewine

Try AC Moore. I know they have gridded foamcore; they may have gridded posterboard. good luck

You also should call Kevin at Springfield Leather. THey just started carrying better quality horsehide butt sections. What the quality is, I don't know, but I received a flyer stating that they are now doing that. They price by the pound. Also Brettuns Village carries cordovan & horsehide from time to time (pricey??).

Beez: sorry to take so long to get back to you... I don't have shots of the back, but I'll try to describe as best as I can, what it looks like. Consider the 'double-bladed-axe' shape I mentioned earlier. It is approximately 3" long X 2-1/4" (at the widest part) X 1-1/4" (at the narrowest part of the axe shape). It is attached in a vertical manner (with 1 'blade' facing up & 1 facing down) to the back of the sporran, either by sewing the top & bottom or by using rivets. This will result in the narrowest part being on a horizontal plane. Into that narrow section is inserted a strip of leather with a solid dee ring at each end attached with rapid rivets (or it can be sewn, also). A decent size is a 5/8" strip & 5/8" solid dees. The leather strip just extends slightly past the narrowest part. The sporran chains & straps fasten to the dees. I hope this helps. russ

Sporrans have a leather attachment on the back for a small strap with 2 dee rings (which will attach to the strap or chains). It is normally a triangle-shaped or double-bladed-axe shape. However, if one wishes to wear on a belt, one can expand the triangle loop so it can be worn on a belt. It was a simplification/modification on my part: most people don't wear sporrans & aren't familiar with that particular type of wearing arrangement. I should have been more specific to list that as a modification of traditional design. Sorry, my bad.

As Canuck stated, garment or very thin leather for the gussett. I use garment myself in either a matching or a contrasting but complimentary color. I try to do different toolings for the sporran & use a line snap (20 or 24) or a belt snap to secure. I've also used velcro. I generally don't use tassels, but again, it's your choice. Btw, the belt loop at the back is a single belt loop. You can do a triangular shaped loop which can be used with a sporran strap or go on a belt. russ

The front is assembled first. The soft gusset is matched right side to right sides & sewn. After sewing, the gusset is flipped so that the right side is now on the outside & the stitches are now hidden. The gusset is then sewn to the back piece -matched wrong side to wrong side, so that the stitches do show. It is unnecessary to line the sporran unless you desire to do so. Many commercial sporrans tend to be unlined.

My son & I make sporrans. What do you need to know about them? I'd be glad to help out. russ

They are just rounded off, unless you'd want to get fancy with them. Tandy's were rounded off. I got one on ebay so I could have a pattern for the seat (the actual dimensions, not the carving pattern), so this is how I know.

One could also take 3 heavy duty eye bolts & fasten them together with a bolt, nut & washers through the eye (got this from a british book that has a pattern for a 3 corner stool in it). Each leg will have a different hole corresponding to the different stacked eyebolts.

I am looking for an old Tandy Leather Hat Pattern Pack #2062 (from the '70s) which contains 4 different patterns: a visor, a top hat & 2 different cowboy type hats. Actually I am only looking for the cutting pattern for the lower-crowned cowboy hat (pictured in the lower right hand corner of the envelope cover). If anyone has one they would part with, or is willing to go to staples or kinko's & have them run off a full sized copy (they have machines that will make a copy up to 36'' wide) of only that particular cutting pattern, it would be greatly appreciated. PM me with $$ details, including shipping. Thank you greatly in advance. russ

http://stores.ebay.com/Wholesale-Leathers I figured out how to post the link to the pliver site. Look under 'dollmaking leather'. The pliver is listed in the lower right hand corner of that listing. He has probably the best prices on pliver around, and he generally has quite a few skins for sale, all at $5.00 each. I hope this helps. russ

It does look like an angled lacing (not stitching) chisel was used. I've never tried this technique, so it's totally speculation on my part, too.

I just saw the same setup at Lowes yesterday for $89.

There's also the foredom. It's used by many engravers & is also used by those who engrave gemstones.

Super Nice! russ

http://cgi.ebay.com/Thin-Sheepskin-Leather...oQQcmdZViewItem [if you can't connect the link, do an ebay search under Wholesale Leathers, or seymourssi... Sorry, I'm really a dunce (technical term) when it comes to computers ] These people (Wholesale Leathers) sell pliver at a very reasonable cost ($5 per skin). Pliver is the grain part which is split off tanned sheep hides (the rest is used to make fine suede). It's variable in thickness, from tissue-paper thin to perhaps 1/4 to 1/2 oz in weight. It makes a fine thin backing where needed (say, you accidentally punched through a wallet back- you could use it as a backing...). I used a piece yesterday to repair a three-corner tear on a leather jacket (pliver patch inserted behind the tear & glued in place with barge). It's too thin (& therefore very weak) to be used by itself to make garments, but, because it IS so thin, it makes a great backing. Skiver, on the other hand, I believe, is the part split off the grain of garment-type leathers (elk, deer, among others). Generally thin, but not as thin as pliver, it's better suited to linings than is pliver (unless you use the stuff in the 1/2 oz range). So pliver has the grain on one side & flesh on the other side, skiver has the flesh on both. I hope this helps. russ

Ed: you might trying woodworking shops or perhaps www.cherrytreetoys.com or other online woodworking supply houses: they generally carry finnish plywood which is very smooth (totally unlike american plywood) = they have no knot holes & have many more ply layers & come in 1/8" & other thin thicknesses. Who knows, they may even carry other things like fiberboard in those thicknesses. Good luck. russ

I think posted prices including shipping also would be a good idea. That way, those who are looking for christmas gifts can pick up one or more very quickly, or those who would like to learn or improve their braiding by having a model to study!.

The important thing to ask is: is it flexible enough to be used on leather? Wood glue might not be, I would think, because it needn't be.

It's red, top dyed with black.

WOW!

Lee Valley Tools [ www.leevalley.com ] has a 75th anniversary dremel special: a 400 XPR 75 piece tool kit, including an engraver in addition to the xpr 400 for $109. That is a pretty good deal from what I can determine. I just got this in my email bin. russ

A magnet will attract nickle, too, if it is a high enough concentration. A magnet will not attract a U.S. nickle, but it will definitely attract a Canadian nickle (unless they've changed the formulation like we've changed the formulation of our U.S. cents from copper to copper plated zinc).

There are decent Olfa knives in the straight variety & you could try a head knife (takes lots of practice, & is NOT recommended for beginners). If you are going to use shears, I'd recommend Gingher shears- fantastic shears, they are. (Tandy's imitation of them just plain sucks!) Springfield leather & a few other places carry them. I haven't used the Osbornes, so I can't comment on them.