whinewine

Not an elementary teacher, but... Circumference of CIRCLE= 2 x Pi x radius OR diameter x Pi Pi= 3.14 (approximate) RADIUS= 1/2 the diameter, (the measurement from the center to the edge of the circle) OVAL: for exact measurements, you'll need calculus. However... OVAL: simple measurement= measure the short radius and measure the long radius double both the sr and the lr square each of the results, then add both together divide by 2 take the square root multiply that result by 2Pi (2 X 3.14) Hope this helps a bit. russ

A lot of brass is used along side, & in conjunction with, leather. Brass, however, if not protected, will tarnish to a green oxide, so that is a consideration. Also, if the brass goes all the way through the wood & rests upon/touches the flat bar aluminum of the handle, there is the potential of an electrochemical reaction between the 2 metals. Check with a chemist if that is the situation (I don't know- I'm not a chemist, nor do I play one on television). If you're going to do a flat inlay, I would have a space routed out to set the leather into the handle & fastened to the wood with short stainless screw screws, maybe heat-treated to a golden color (Bearman just had several posts on heat treating ss to different colors) if you insist on it {I would probably prefer the ss color, as the bulk of the grill is that color, but, go with whatever looks better on the finished project}...

[1] Yes, but read the label to see what the heat range is (Barge will loosen under heat, which is why it is frequently used in the shoe & leather industry). [1a] Find out from the lead guy (since he IS the lead guy he should know...) what the temp will be at the handle. [2] Yeah... [3] Yeah... [4] How about sewn? Punch holes beforehand with a #00 punch & sew up with a good quality thread in a cross stitch decorative pattern on the underside of the handle. [5] Neatlac or clearlac or Aussie or Pecards. (Just remember, though, over time, it will darken, even if protected, with hand sweat/gunk, friction of opening/closing the lid, sunlight, etc- but it's going to look great at the very beginning!) just my 2 cents worth. Good luck russ

We have "Vendors of the US", PO Box 24, New Richmond, WI 54017, PH: 715-246-8908. It's for a $2,000,000 policy, underwritten by Lexington Insurance Company. Now this is for the shows we do- I have no idea if this covers brick & morter stores. Hope this helps. russ

The book is "Leathercraft Tools" #61960-00 on the Tandy website.

I have 2 angle blades that I use fairly frequently: not as good as a GOOD steel blade, but certainly way better than those expensive, junk ceramic blades, IMO. It's problematic, however, with the chip. A good lapidarist (gemstone cutter) or jewler who is capable of cutting gemstones could re-grind it to eliminate the chip. Check with the nearest rockhound club. As far as the tool book, there is one out there in print, but I can't access it right now & I don't remember the title so someone else here can chime in. It should be listed on Tandy's website, at any rate.

I don't know about home-based or brick & mortar stores, but we carry vendors' insurance for (I think- won't know till I look it up or get the next bill...) $1,000,000. It costs us $350/year. The majority of shows we do require it, and although the possibility of something happening is remote, as Ferg notes, "You would be surprised at what 'dumb' things folks do". It keeps us safe.

I think most of the members here have modified & ground down tools to fit their needs. I've not had a problem with lack of chrome; perhaps others have? I think some of the original tools (way back when) didn't have plating.

And likewise, we have never, ever been treated poorly by Mr Siegel in the years we have been dealing with his company. And we are a very small business, in relation to some of his other clients, and yet we are treated fairly, equally and consistently. If something is wrong, THEY fix it. If I make something wrong, I fix it. That's how it should be. Professional. They are one of two companies I whole-heartedly recommend for leather. I try to mind my manners and stay out of these types of discussions, but this seems to go on and on and on... It's so unfortunate that some people subscribe to the philosophy "ya jist gotta say somthin', no matter HOW stupid"... It's like a bunch of rabid dogs trying to tear an injured animal apart, each one trying to out-do the last with nastiness, no matter how vicious. It's just a shame. And, btw, Mr Siegel's reply was, under the circumstances, apropos. russ

To clarify a bit: you would prefer a 'cloudy bright' day, rather than a 'sunny' day. Sunny day means lots of direct sun, which causes hot spots & glare, especially on shiny finishes like neatlac/clearlac/supersheen, etc. On a sunny day, you've got to move your item around to find the the best lighting. Cloudy bright means lots of indirect, diffused light (as in a light tent)... On a sunny day, you've got to find the right area that is still bright enough but out of the direct sun, whereas on a cloudy bright day, you can place your objects whereever you wish & still have consistent light.

If I'm not mistaken, these were sold by Hidecrafter a few years ago. I had tried to buy one, but by that time, they had been discontinued. Like King's X, I had also made my own but would certainly like to get one to fit a swivel knife myself, but for a reasonable price.

Holly: ebay has quite a few various covers , many, many starting with a 1 cent bid . That's where I got a 'nook' cover to copy for my wife's nook. She's using it while I make a real one in leather for her. Just put in the keywords: 'kindle' or 'nook' or whatever to find the right size covers for your project. It's basically held in with elastic at the top & a leather pouch-like holder at the bottom. It's best to get an actual cover to see how it all goes together, & for a minimal amount of $, you have something that can make a de-constructed pattern, if you wish to tear it apart. russ

CALL Springfield: they have many small quantities of exotics for very reasonable prices.

Steven: I just ordered 2 hides... the price is absolutely right and I have no philosophical axe to grind - I sell to vegans/pagans/cannibals/omnivores & all persuasions in between lol.

Many people keep their craftaids intact, which makes registration 'iffy' sometimes. I tend to cut mine apart to use the individual parts & to perhaps combine several different craftaids segments to make a new design.

It just looks very cumbersome, and being cumbersome, it would over time become heavy & hard to use, especially with the vibration factor.

I have a set that I got from Hidecrafter- I'm positive that they were manufactured in Japan & are the very same ones being marketed through the above listed company where Ferg got his. The problem is that the cutting edges are very thin & very brittle- I was working on a series of prototypes for an article & several of the punches broke- sections of the cutting edges just gave way & broke off. I called Hidecrafter & was told their vendor no longer carries them & that I was out of luck. I will attempt to have the defective edges ground down & re-sharpened (they'll have larger openings but I don't care at this point). This is the second time this has happened, but at least the 1st time the defective punch was replaced. Yes, I could get new punches from Japan, but at about $11 + $5 for shipping for each, I don't think I want to take the chance on more defective junk. I mean, I do like the punches & the effects I can get, but when they break when you are punching designs into 4oz vegtan while you're trying do research, well, to me that's just junk & you're throwing good money after bad.

Scott: you've got to sign up for the 'Friday Special'- that's where they're listed. Also, click on his banner ad: 'End of the year clearance sale' at the top of the page. russ

Ray: you might also try http://www.dixiegunworks.com - they have lots of parts that can be re-fabricated appropriately & the US prices are decent. Shipping to UK??? russ

Love mine! As I had mentioned in a similar post, I bought mine as 'new, but out of warranty'- it was a demo & someone had screwed it up & we has nothing but problems with it. Bottom line, Tippmann had it fixed at no charge to us, replaced a bunch of broken & bent parts & assemblies. Now, it is a wonderful machine & will handle from 4oz on up with minor or no adjustments. The guys at Tippmann are fantastic & they stand behind their product. WHOOPS- I meant 6oz, not 4oz... Sorry. I should learn to proofread- not just once, but twice, walk away, come back later, then proofread- again. Still, 6oz up to 3/4" is pretty darned good. (Btw, the 6oz was 2 layers of patent leather, which tends to be stiffer than the same weight of garment leather.) Again, my apologies. I don't mean to mislead. russ

Just a simple question: even though the gun or knife is wrapped in saran wrap, isn't there the possibility that moisture will get in to the gun/knife itself in that 12-24 hr time period? (I've done the gun/saran thing when molding western style holsters, but only by hand until the holster was formed- I immediately would remove the gun & saran wrap.) But I definitely like this concept (thanks, Fredo), and would like to use this method for the holster I made for my son's Springfield XD, but I don't want to cause any rusting...

Hello: in the process of using filigree punches to make prototype designs for an article I'm writing, three of my punches broke- the metal is too thin at the cutting faces. I called Hidecrafter this morning & was informed that their vendor has stopped carrying them and, "oh, well, too bad, you lost your money"(my words, not theirs, but the same effect)... These are the punches that are formed of one piece of metal. My questions are directed to the guys here on the forum who work with tempered metal, specifically reforming punches...: 1] Can the punches be ground down past the point of breakage (a 1/16th inch deep) & resharpened? (I know that the openings will be larger, but I don't care.) 2] What about temper?, and, 3] Will they need to be retempered? 4] Before or after sharpening? I would only be punching through 4 oz leather, so the cutting faces wouldn't need to be all that thin. Any help would be appreciated , as some of my punch shapes aren't found anymore, and I don't want to order from Japan & have the same troubles- this is the second time a punch has broken on me :poofan: (the first time, the broken one was replaced, but I can't do that now).

No- never, ever use a metal hammer on a leathercraft tool - it'll mushroom the end & ruin it (granted, some/many of the modern tandy tools are not finely made & are simply cast, not machined & leave soft impressions rather than crisp, but still,- that's just very bad advice to give to a newby ). I've seen hundreds of leather tools on ebay with mushroomed ends- all because someone used a metal hammer rather than a rawhide or poly one of the proper weight.

Sorry to disagree, but for the things I do, I prefer the Neatlac spray version. Colors won't run with the spray, whereas they certainly can if you rub on neatlac. Several light coats & the colors fix without the runs. I now use saddlelac in its place, but I'd rather like to find some cans of the spray neatlac. russ

No. acrylic paints are: 1] paints. they are NOT dyes; they do NOT penetrate but sit on the surface, and, 2] they are water-based... they aren't able to be diluted with mineral spirits (which is NOT for latex [water based] paint... only oil based paint). What you could do, though, is dilute the acrylics with water & then spray enough coats to give a somewhat decent coverage... but, IMHO, you'd still be better off starting with spirit dyes.