Glendon

OTB are not hard to get an account with. They do actually want your money. I just called them up and asked for an account. I told them that I am a larger hobbiest moving into more production and I had no problem with their minimum order. They set me up no problem. They just don't want someone trying to buy one or two pieces at a time and wasting an employees time with a $5 order.

You wouldn't know it from their main site, but Tandy is starting to go that direction on Leathercraft Library. The section is still somewhat small, but they have been building a pretty good collection of Steampunk projects, mostly in the video section. Not quite the super geeky patterns that some of us know would sell, but it's a start.

I've said this before and I'll post it here. Tandy is going hobby store. Tandy seems to have two major revenue sources they focus on, the bigger institutions that buy in volume, and the weekend hobbiests that will buy the marked up retail kits. Those of us in the middle, the bigger hobbiests and the one man and a dog shops, I guess to them seem like too much work for the return.

This isn't my area of leather, but I know some of the SCA guys love sole leather for armor projects.

I think this might be one of those rarer cases where belly leather would be a good choice. Belly leather is usually the less useful part of a hide because it is soft and streatchy. Really you could use any part of the hide for this as even pretty stiff bends would break in over time, but I think bellies would make the most comfortable patches on new jeans.

Hi all, I did not see a discussion topic on SLCs new patterns, so I thought I'd start one. If you have not watched the latest episode of Springfield Leather Co.'s deal videos currently called Kevin’s Value Channel, you should. Kevin, Rusty, and the gang have three new patterns coming out soon. The first that is avalible for sale now is a nice vertical massager bag. I have ordered both the kit and the pattern, and plan to give a review when I get them in my hands. The other two patterns are, a set of two biker chap designs, and a backpack (possibly a set of two backpack designs, but that is not confirmed yet). I am very excited about these personally.

One place that has a solid reputation is Phillips Engraving at http://www.phillipsengraving.com/ I have not worked with them, but they get suggested here a lot.

Black River Laster also offers their standard templates on eBay. If you just want to pick up one of their belt end sets and maybe a couple others, that is a good way to go. Joyce ships very quickly. Ohio Trave Bag is a great resource. If you don't have a business tax ID, you do have to call them to get an account but it's worth it to be able to order from them. Another great option is buckleguy.com A bit more pricy then OTB, but better quality.

eBay is a bad guage for pricing on the older stamps. The tool whore weekend hobbiests / collectors bid those auctions up way too high. If the tools are the older USA made ones, then I would say $5 to $10 per would be a good deal for both of you. If you are buying a good number of stamps, the lower end of that range would be reasonable.

That's actually very cool. I could see a few markets going for something like this too.

Springfield Leather Co. One of the best catch all leather suppliers. www.springfieldleather.com

Thanks for the review Blake. I've been thinking about giving them a try for a couple of projects I have in mind. This makes me a lot more comfortable with dropping some cash and giving them a shot. Would you mind letting us know what type you bought from them? I'm intrested in both their antique waxed finish and their "Sana Fe" veg tan.

Here's the big trick Never buy cutting / pounding boards from leather suppliers. They are hugely marked up at those places. If you don't have a local plastics supplier, you can get HDPE online. I've bought from https://www.interstateplastics.com/ with good results. A 12" x 12" x 1/2" sheet is $15.

Angelus does make sprit based dyes which would be a replacement for Eco-Crud, but the acrylic paint is something else completely. It's used for painting designs on leather, not covering a whole project like you would with dye. Your project would basicly be coated in acrylic plastic at that point. Think of it this way. Dyes color the leather. Arylics cover the leather with color.

As far as the chisel vs awl debate goes, it's all a matter of style. As I said, some do say the chisel makes for a weaker stitch. That being said, I now do it the same way Ian does, skipping the awl all together. Seems to work just fine.

I've tried all of the common stitching methods, and I'll see if I can give you a little comparison. What I do need to know about is, saddle-stitching. The best way to learn about saddle stitching is in the older books. "The Art of Hand Sewing Leather" by Al Stohlmen is the one I found the most helpful. Do I use an Overstitch Wheel after using a Stitching Groover or do I simply use a Lacing Chisel after making the groove? This is one of the big choices you need to make for yourself, Chisel or overstich and awl. A starter hand stitching set and a set of 3/32" lacing chisels are not that much. I have recently switched to lacing chisels from an awl, and I personally like the chisels. It's easier and I kind of like the look. Some people will tell you that you are comparamising the strength of your stitch that way, and they are right to a point, However, its not that big of a diffrence in most cases. Do I need to use Compass Dividers or will the Groover work just as well? This is two ways to do the same thing really. A grover will remove a small amount of leather, while wing dividers are usually just making an impression in the leather. Though either gets the same job done. It gives you a guide line to follow. Play with it and see what looks or works better for you. I think the govers are easier to use myself. Are Lacing Chisels the same as a Pricking Iron? If not, what is the difference? I don't use pricking irons, but my understanding is that they do the same job as an overstich wheel. They give you guide points for an awl.

Yes, Texas Custom DIes website comes up just fine for me. I would agree, those dies while nice, are priced way too high. Because of the number of hole punches, a few hundred is reasonable, but over a thousend is a heck of a mark up for used dies.

Very interesting thread here. I really should check out the off-topic boards more often. I’d love to trade favors with some of you all. Anyway, I’m a social worker by training. For those of you interested, yes I am state licensed so I can use that professional title legally. I work in special education, both as a direct care therapist and project manager. When your entire day conisists of talking that feels like it isn’t going anywhere or paperwork that feels like it isn’t going anywhere, it’s very nice to sit down and actually make something.

If you need larger sheets for bigger bag sides, I would go with Bontex. It's usually sold as bag stiffiner, but it works well for patterns. However, for smaller patterns, cereal boxes work very well. And those are basically free if you are buying cereal anyway. Old file folders are also good if you have a source for them.

Great find there. Way too big for the space I have, but if you have the square footage for it, those are nice work surffices. I would suggest sticking to the granite though. Marble is very prone to staining and chipping. It's a fairly weak stone.

Exactly. With the hand tools, you don't need that 4th part because any hard flat surfice works as the base for the female part of the snap. The anvil works as the base for the male half. WIth the bench tools, you need two dies that can be pressed together.

I've been doing quite a bit of research on clicker dies recently. One of the things I've found to be true is that there is no souch thing as "stock" clicker dies. You can't go to a die maker and order out of a catalog. Because these are such a specialty, it's just not done. So, any die maker will pretty much make whatever pattern you give them. Here is one of the die makers that most people around here agree is very good, http://www.texascustomdies.com/ I have not yet worked with them, but they should be a good place to start.

Remimber that 10-1/2" limit is only on one side. You could easily get your cutting pad and metal plates cut to 10" x 20" to acomidate that one larger part you need. I have not tested it, but I'm pretty sure a 6 ton press could handle pushing a die that size as long as you don't need to do it with realy thick leather. I assume your wallet backs are 8-7/8" by 3" or 4" something. Just cut them long side out and you should be perfectly fine.

This is why one of the big skills in hand sewing is getting good at spreading glue. You only need enough to hold the pieces together until the sewing or lacing is done. If you're too heavy handed you will not be able to get the needle back between the pieces.

As others have said, backstitching works great with leather. Stich back 2 or 3 stitches, then go through one more, but this time pull the needle up between the two pieces of leather. If I want a stitch line to be particularly strong, I will line up my start and end sitches so they are only a few holes apart, and set a knot in between the leathers.