mrdabeetle

http://www.tandyleat...s/44471-01.aspx

I love the SD card pockets. I need more than two though. Cool design.

looks great!

If the leather has a lot of elasticity still in it, it may continue to stretch which, like Shooter said you should add another stitch line. If the leather seems to be close to its' limit, then it may need pieces to be replaced. It depends on the pattern and how it is assembled. I repaired a wet formed bag by cutting 4 mm. or so strip from the center and butt-stitched it together. I made it look like part of the design. I don't do holsters, but some "decorative stitching" may do the trick. Perhaps an inlay would fix it.

Looks great! I accidentally discovered how to make a nice copper color using metallic gold acrylic and go over that with Eco Flo Deep Violet dye.

Tooling hasn't really evolved that much. Designs have changed, but the methods remain the same. Medieval leather stamps

You can countersink the rivet using a french edge skiver. Here's a link to a video showing how it is done. http://bcove.me/iz6ocvvs

What is the model number? I see a couple of labels in the picture, but I can't read them well.

Off the shelf Mac system can't perform as well graphically as a pc. They aren't built for rendering 3d with advanced shaders in realtime. There are mac desktops that can, but prepare to spend a lot of money. As far as hardware is concerned, Mac has better quality components than a stock HP, Dell, etc., but an Asus, or other comparable brand will provide the same level of quality as a Mac. Windows crashes are almost always related to user error. I have an old Compaq Presario 5000T (made in 2001) that is now used solely as an internet appliance. To date, it has never crashed, hung, or shown any signs of age. Just like your car, if you don't maintain your computer, it will fail. Windows has built in security features, but most users ignore them and they remain off for convenience. If your browser looks like this, you need to back away from the computer and never touch it again. Mac will never crash... ...almost never. Here's a little song to set your mind at ease about the OS war.

Ditto on the toothpaste, the stuff works great for many things including resurfacing cd/dvd's, just make sure it is plain white toothpaste.

You might try a patent search. Patents often show pattern pieces. First, do an image search and try to find a pic of a tag or label with a patent #, then search the patent #. I have found several great patterns this way. I should note that patterns don't always stay the same once the item goes into production, but it is easy enough to alter a pattern.

I use a sharpie magnum for thin leather edges. Most stores only sell black, but they come in blue and red as well. A red edge looks great on a light brown or tan piece. I still haven't found a use for the blue yet. You have a lot more control and you don't have to worry about drips. My dad will sandwich the leather between his marble slab and his pounding pad and just rub the dauber along the exposed edge. I don't like to do this because you have to constantly clean the marble and pad. It does keep the dye from showing up on the front of the leather. Tandy sells small squared daubers that are good for edges. They are felted like a marker tip, so they retain their shape better than the round ones.

Watch this video series. It is very informative. They don't do brogans here, but it shows the basics. It is easy to follow and explained well. The difference would be that you would make the tongue and toe cup as one piece and the heel and the rest of the upper would lay over the toe piece. I believe brogans have a reinforced leather toe and heel between the vamp and lining. It is easier than it looks, but it still takes a bit of knowledge and skill to make shoes that fit. The shoes made in the video use a small seam allowance. You may need a larger allowance for stitches that aren't so close to the edge of the leather. I can't find much info on brogans specifically, but I will keep looking.

Here are a couple of good free ones. http://www.serif.com/free-graphic-design-software/?MC=FSSDRAWPLUS http://www.koffice.org/artwork/ You can also look for free cad software. With cad, you can have the pattern laser cut onto several types of material for permanent patterns, or you can even have the leather cut by laser.

You can use a normal sewing machine with a leather/heavy fabric needle for ultra light leathers. With hand stitching, it is very difficult to keep the leather from puckering and still keep the thread tension right. If the feed dogs (the things that grab the material and pull it through) are marking the leather, you can put a piece of paper underneath the leather where you are stitching and just tear it away when you are finished.

That is cool!

I believe that is a Tuareg cushion from North Africa. Do not clean it, repair it, or attempt to restore it. It is worth between $200 -$500+ depending on the size and age. You need to see about having it restored by an experienced antique restorer if you want it repaired. Recently, the leather painting itself from such a cushion sold for $150, and it wasn't in as good of condition as this one. I wish I knew more about these, but I hope the info I have will help you.

Upholstery is pretty easy once you get over the initial fear of screwing up. I like to punch holes around the edges that will be trimmed later. Then use twine to lace it up tight in all directions. This helps keep it snug over the form and helps hold everything together while you tack the leather down. It helps keep the wrinkles to a minimum as well. There is a bit more waste than if you were going by a pattern, but it works for me.

The strap is open on one end. The watch snaps inside. If you look at the back view of the strap, the stitching only goes up halfway, so it leaves an opening in case you want to use a different watch or clean it etc.

Looks more like a tool belt to me. It looks more functional than decorative. It could be a gunbelt. Hard to tell the way the pic is cropped. I believe it is stitched along with the buckle, but I wouldn't do it that way. The way it is stitched, the stitching may rip through the leather at the buckle where most of the stress will be. (did that make sense?) I would prefer a combination of rivets and stitching, and I would have the rivets for the buckle only secure the buckle and another set of rivets/stitches for the flap. The flap is there to protect against the roller buckle trying to pinch skin/clothing when tightening the belt.

Do you finish the back side of the leather when you make a mask? If so, what method do you use? These are great looking. The white is excellent! The scales are definitely a significant improvement over the plain masks.

If this were me, I wouldn't touch it.

I don't think we understand what you are trying to do here. Are you wanting to carve the design into the leather? Watch this video, it should help. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QynofyY2fL4 This one too...

I believe that is supposed to be peened like a copper rivet/burr. It is hard to tell from the pic, but does the shank have a slight taper?

I agree with pabloz, but if what you are grooving doesn't encounter any stress that would rip the stitching out, there's nothing wrong with using a groover. Also, if the groover is not performing well, it may just need sharpening. It doesn't take much to get a dull groover blade sharp, but it is easy to ruin the tool if you don't do it properly.