whinewine

Likewise, a very merry Christmas, & a happy New Year to all of you out there. (Oh- and a merry Saturnalia, too.)

It almost looks like it's screen printed...

But,there are people who think like that. And there are many people out there who have more money than brains :brainbleach: , who will spend according to their beliefs, no matter what the cost- those who spout rhetoric against leather while eating a $100 kobe beef hamburger; those who think that meat comes in nice shrink wrapped packages from the supermarket without considering that the animal was killed; those who are violently against hunting because the animal is shot (poor Bambi...) but don't have the ability to conceptualize starvation for an animal faced with lack of adequate food supply... and that's mild compared to the PETA folks who refuse to let reality get in the way when comes to their beliefs about how all those noble animals live in the wild (or would, if we humans would just stop killing them ...)

Hidecrafter

With this type of press, you can add significant additional leverage by slipping a length of black iron pipe over the straight handle- the longer the pipe, the greater the force you can exert.

I have an aluminum Boss that I purchased as 'new, but out of warranty' (whatever that meant... It was used as a demo & obviously someone somewhere screwed it up, but I didn't know that at the time). I had a lot of trouble with it & a part finally broke while we were trying to sew up a bunch of sporrans for a big show. I called Tippmann, spoke with Mr. Tippmann directly & had it shipped back. They totally went over the entire machine, replaced parts assemblies that were physically bent & replaced broken parts, all at no charge to me. After about 5 minutes of playing around to adjust the stitch, it now sews wonderfully, from 2 layers of 3-4 oz leather on up. Wow, what a difference from when I first got it! I am so satisfied and these guys at Tippmann absolutely stand behind their products, even when they didn't need to. (Btw, their paintball guns are the industry standard- which is why I decided to go with Tippmann in the first place...) I haven't moved up to a powered machine, yet, because I try to keep my production of machine sewn items small at this point (I mostly do mugs & flasks, which need to be hand sewn- they can't be done by machine), so for a basic, non-electric machine that does a lot, you can't beat a Boss.

Oh- speaking of odds & ends & things like scissors, get yourself a pair of Ginghers- they are phenomenal(sp?). Do NOT buy a pair of Tandy's Pro shears- they're junk. I bought a pair for my son & it cost me $25 additional to have them professionally sharpened to the same angle as my Ginghers. Springfield leather has Ginghers for a reasonable price. Unless you need to cut really thick or hard leather, you don't need any shears with serrated teeth. Serrations leave tooth marks & if for some reason you need to cut with the grain side facing the teeth, well, it's not pretty. (Btw, I've never used a new pair of Osborne's clone of the Ginghers , so I can't really comment about them.)

Just a thought- what if you hate it? It would be better to piece it, buying tools as you go along, buying better tools as you come across them [for instance, the older craftools are better, in general, than the new ones- especially the early ones with no letter prefixes. They were individually machined by hand, not cast in molds]. There are good tools out there of higher quality for about the same price (Hidecrafter's Pro-Crafter line, for example- btw, Springfield Leather has some of their tools at reduced prices, but you need to call them to see which ones). There are also high end tools (hackbarth, for example, that are individually done & leave very crisp impressions). And this is only for the stamping/carving tools...

I REALLY like, especially #s 2,3 & 4!

Some artists always leave something unfinished or undone in their works- some sort of flaw, if you will, that sets their work apart from being machine made.

Also, if you have an old ink cartridge refill kit, or know someone who refills his own cartridges, there is a syringe that comes with each kit.

Ah, yes, another example of 'No Child Left Behind'. Reminds me of an old 'Saturday Night Live' skit, where the immigrant shopkeeper is touting "xn7" dishwasher liquid- it's a bottle of Lux, upside down.

Try Springfield. If you don't see them listed in their catalogue, call them. Always helpful. They have many things not listed because of small quantities, availability issues, etc.

When herds get too large, animals need to be culled to continue to have a healthy population in relation to the amount of land available to support those herds. Otherwise, those herds will face starvation & become sickly; starvation affects ALL members of the herd, so some members must be culled so the others may live. This goes for all animals, be they deer or elephants or alligators... And btw, if an elephant is poached, it is poached for its tusks & left to rot. The poachers do NOT take the time to remove the hide & have it tanned- all they want are the tusks- nothing more. Everything else is wasted.

Also, find a place that engraves tombstones (some do, some don't). They have the occasional mistake that they'll give you for free, if you can haul it away. I got (free) a 200 lb tombstone that I built a tooling table around. I can whack as hard as I can & still no vibration. Wonderful. For free, phenomenal!

I think places like Lowes or Home Depot (or perhaps Sears) carries an edge guide in either a 6 or 8 foot length for woodworking. It comes in 2 pieces & comes apart when you're done with it for easy storage. If they don't carry it, check out the online woodworker supply stores (perhaps Rockler or Cherry Tree). Good luck.

Ray, I truly don't care if a man wears an earring (or 2 or 20) or not. I wouldn't, but that's me. I also wouldn't get a tattoo, but that's me. (However, I like to wear kilts, and relish any gathering that welcomes them- but that's me.) Personally, I feel that many people over 50 are too set in their ways & are too conscious of their 'image' ("...if I do that, or if I wear this, what will THEY think???")- they think 'old' and they are old. I'm 66- & I don't care what others think- but that's me.

You said it best, Pip...

Oh my gosh! That's terrible! He is in my prayers.

Slate cleaves very easily along one axis, plus it is certainly NOT as hard as granite. While slate is perfect for pool tables and laboratory bench tops & blackboards, because it is chemically inert, I would feel that direct pounding (such as a mallet upon a stamp upon leather) would, over time, cause the layers to cleave (de-laminate) along that weak axis. For myself, I would try to get a piece of granite (or, at the very least, a piece of marble) from someone who cuts tombstones or does granite countertop installations- often you can get the pieces for free just for the asking.

The osborne ones are safe, & they even say so (at least for the rolling wheels with the design on them). The tandy ones don't say that, so one must assume that they are not safe to heat (as you well proved). If, however, this was simply an adjustable edge marker, the kind without the wheels, I don't know how heat safe that kind is, either Osborne or Tandy.

Suggestion: AFTER applying dye to the block, BLOT heavily on newspaper to remove most of the dye. Think: 'dry brush' technique. russ

Chele: again, I would try the oxalic acid to try to lighten it. You could also use lots of paper towels & mild heat (like a hair dryer on low) to draw out as much oil as possible first. As a side note, you mentioned that this was a display saddle so it may have never seen a great deal of natural sunlight: the more natural colored leather is left in the sun, the more it will darken on its own. While the OA & the paper towels may help somewhat, it will never return to its virgin state.. It's like trying to unscramble an egg: it can't be done. russ

Oxalic acid is a bleach (sold as wood bleach in hardware stores) & isn't a solvent for neatlac/saddlelac; that being said, I would do as Randy says & try it first on the saddle to try to bleach it lighter. The bigger problem may be the fact that you oiled it. If you used neatsfoot oil, you darkened it considerably (especially if you really slathered on the oil, which would have penetrated very deeply into the leather). I would definitely try the oxalic acid first- if that doesn't work, then use deglazer. Good luck.

And I've never seen Lion leather or Tiger leather or Bear leather either (...lions & tigers & bears, Oh my!).