Mijo

I know that there are at least a couple of forum members in northern CA and was wondering if anyone had checked out the Hide House in Napa? If you've been there, please share / post your experience. I'm going for their "designer" latigo sides as they have some pretty ussual colors (i.e. green, blue).

GunDr - I'm going to go with your suggestion on the c-clamps and 2x6s. It should keep the cost down and be more versitile, than the bookbinding press I was looking into. If the bookmarks do well and there's an increased demand then I'll look into a hydraulic press. Thanks for all your input and suggestions, it really helped a lot.

GunDR - Thanks for your post as you've given me a new way of looking at what I was considering doing. I hadn't considered how much pressure I would need for each book mark as I can't really measure (or don't know how) the pressure that the 4" vice i've been using exerts. I don't plan to make a lot book marks at any one time, probably no more than 4-5 each time I make some. Since I'm limited on room / money I was considering just purchasing a wooden bookbinding press with a pressing surface of 8.5 x 11, since the press is made of wood I thought that would help draw out the water a little faster. I hadn't considered whether or not the bookbinding press could even generate the pressure needed to compress the book marks adequately. I made the assumption that if the 4" vice that I was using could sufficiently press the scrap leather, then the bookbinding press would be more than enough. Below is link to the bookbinding press I was looking into; http://www.beechhillartisans.com/Book%20Press.html Do you think this bookbinding press will do the job? I was also thinking of using C-clamps as you suggested but I was concerned about the pressure being distributed evenly.

Schpacko - Try Infinity Stamp's website, they a have a lot of different fonts for their aphabet stamps. There's also a Japanese seller on ebay that sells alphabet stamps but he only has one font in two sizes, but they are different from the tandy stamps.

I started using Weaver last year and haven't had an issue, but i've only placed one order thus far. The only gripe I have about Weaver is their minimum order requirements, which means I have to wait until a get a sizable order together before I can actually place an order. I really like their "odd lots" as there are some really good deals, I picked up some salmon/ pink 9-10oz bridle that's worked out very nicely.

I just placed an order for one, for my drill. Spinner's burnishers look a lot nicer than the one i bought off of ebay.

I messed around with soaking pieces of leather and then pressing it in a vice overnight this weekend. I used scraps of latigo and bridle leather and the bridle leather ended up working the best as it was compressed and very stiff. The latigo compressed nicely as well but it wasn't as stiff as the bridle leather. I'm looking to make bookmarks, like the one I posted above, out of the left over hide (i.e. belly) that I can't really use for dog harnesses or leashes. I've already inquired with Texas Custom Dies about having a die made and I'm looking at purchasing a wooden bookbinding press, as the vice I have is too small and can only accommodate one bookmark at a time. I'm thinking that I would punch the book marks with the clicker die, then skive down each bookmark, wet each bookmark, punch / stamp each bookmark, press the bookmarks in the bookbinding press and then finish the edges.

Infinity stamps sells this stamping device that can be loaded with individual letters to spell words. You have to buy their letter stamps though b/c their made to fit into the stamping devide that holds them. The whole system is pretty pricey but there are a couple of different options. I was considering getting one but the cost was too excessive for how often I would actually use it.

Art - I have a vice already so I'll try it out, but do you think a pasta press will work any better? I'm not familiar with pasta presses but if it's no more effective than a vice I won't bother to pick one up just to try it. Thank you and GunDr for you comments, they were extremely helpful (to me anyway).

Art - Do you think a rolling jack used to compress the leather for this book mark? It's incredibly thin, extremely stiff and does appear to have a rough side. I'm curious to know how this book mark was made. tparrish - sorry to hijack your thread

Dink - I sent an email to the aol address listed on the website in your message. I'm interested in getting some small dies made with a handle so that they can be hammer punched as I don't have a clicker press or have the room for one. The website doesn't mention that the clicker dies can be made with a handle so I'm glad that you mentioned it in your post. I'll need to get at least two made with the potential of getting another 3 - 4 made afterwards. Thanks again for posting that your company could fabricate clicker dies with handles.

after failing to win another used tool box for leather tools on Ebay, i decided to go with King X's suggested vendor. Grandpa already had a design for the tool box and if it wasn't for some craft shows he'd be able to make me one and get it to me before the end of the month. Grandpa did state that he should be able to have it shipped out by the end of the first week in August though. He's been very responsive in terms of his communication and I can't wait until the package shows up. thanks for all the response and suggestions

the pink lead is 9-10oz and the black is 10-11oz, which i think is less than 4.8mm. i use a drill and vice set up to finish edges as it saves a lot of time.

the black latigo lead is finished with hidepounder's posted techique and has about two weeks of twice daily use. the pink bridle lead is finished without the benifit of sanding and the application pariffin, this lead has had several months of twice daily use. I had a black lead that was finished exactly like the pink lead and was as about as old, which has since been donated, but it looked worse than the pink. granted the pictured black lead only has two weeks of use, but it shows no sign of feathering.

I'll post a picture of my working test lead, the one that I used hidepounder's techique, to this thread when I get back home as I'll need to change the file size in CS4.

Gamekeeper, I make dog harness and leashes and until recently I was also having issues with my edges "feathering" over time. I followed hidepounder's posted instructions on edge finishing, almost to the letter, and haven't had an issue since (it's been about two weeks and no sign of feathering on my test harness / leash). I've been using gum trag since I started but the additional steps of sanding and the use of parrifin has made a huge difference.

Kevdbry, I find your post in this thread to be inflammatory and condescending. Shane was simply expressing his experience and was kind enough to follow it up with how Tandy attempted to reconcile the situation. Shane brings up valid points in his posts, i.e. pricing has changed since his last visit and there's a discrepency between the in store price and what's listed on the website. Shane has every right to post his negative experiences with a vendor, other members have also done the same. I've also noticed a general lack of good customer service from my own local Tandy store (with the managers not the sales people) and I no longer utilize them for supplies unless I'm in a bind. You have a right to refute Shane's opinion, but at least do it in a civilized manner w/o inciting a flame war.

Hidepounder, thank you for sharing your technique as it's made a huge difference in the edges for the harness and leashes that I make. I do have a couple of questions though; Does it make a difference if I bevel the edges before I sand? In one of your responses to a question within this thread you mention that sanding should be done with mulitple grits, if I'm only going to be sanding with one grit what do you recommend (150 - 250)? I use latigo and bridle leather that is already dyed, is there anything that I should be doing differently than what is listed in your original post? Thanks again for sharing your knowledge. Mijo

There's a specifc materials that's sewn in between the layers of leather to get that quilting effect that's been made famous by high end designers like Chanel. I recently purchased a used Chanel dog collar and leash set that needed repairs and I saw that material first hand as the stitiching was coming apart and the material was exposed. My wife works in fashion and she knew what the material is called (I can't remember what she called it) and she also mentioned that it comes in a wide range weights.

X and Bearman, thanks for responding and providing links. Both of those vendors have very nice tool boxes but unfortunately they are a bigger than what I need / have room for. I don't do much stamping so my collection of stamps is less than 50 and both of the tool boxes have too much space dedicated for stamps, for my needs anyway. I'll keep checking ebay but I definately appreciate your help.

Does anyone know a vendor that offers tool boxes specifically for leather working tools? I've seen a couple on ebay every now and then, but someone always seems to snipe my last bid. I'm talking about the all wood tool boxes that have a built in or removable rack for stamps and maybe a drawer or two. There's definately a seller on ebay that makes them but I haven't seen a listing for a new one in several months. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

I checked out your website and you have some amazing products, I really wish I didn't already have an ipad case b/c I like your manila folder case (it's very similar to the Steve case that timbuk2 put out when the air was first released) a lot.

I realize I'm bumping an old thread but would it be possible for you to PM me some patterns and directions on how you make those mini roses. I'd like to be able to make those from scrap leather and affix them to my dog leashes. Right now I'm just cutting very simple flower patterns / shapes and using those, but yours are more realistic.

Looks good but it appears that the cover will add a lot of weight. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but it looks like the ipad itself is strapped to an inner case that protects the back of the ipad and then that inner case snaps into a larger folio style case. If I'm correct that means in order to use the rear facing camera you would have to remove both the inner case and outer folio case as well. having a case that adds too much weight and makes it difficult to use the camera could be problematic for the end user. I'm an ipad2 owner / user and i've already returned two different cases b/c of each of these issues. A case that adds a lot of weight causes fatigue in your hands / wrists when reading on the ipad for prolonged periods of time.

When I stamped a pink harness I made for one of my dogs with my dog's name and phone number, the letters and numbers actually came out slightly darker pink than the actual leather. It might be due to the fact that I did some stamping on some black latigo leather the day before though. With the pre dyed pink hide I purchased you definately can't see the original leather color.