mrdabeetle

I've been using masking tape. I just overlap it a bit and pull it off in one go. It doesn't stick to the flesh side very well, so it comes off easily and doesn't pull up the fuzzies. It is also the cheapest tape I could find. Storing your leather flat will keep the leather from wanting to roll as well. I don't have much space to store whole sides, so I cut my patterns out straight away (the ones I use most often), then store the cut parts and remnants flat until needed.

I believe laser cutting is your best bet. There are "one-off" types of websites that will cnc cut leather without having to make a bulk order. Ponoko.com is a good one. instructables.com has some diy laser cutters. You might try clamping the leather between sheets of acrylic or plexiglass.

Your hat looks better than the game art. Excellent work! Can you post a pic of the inside of the hat? Does it have a sweatband?

Like this?

I had a very successful weekend at the renfaire and when I got home, I took out the cash box to do the paperwork for the day. Apparently, my significant other went on a shopping spree with the money in the till. There was only $7 left in cash. We had some credit card sales, we used some cash for food, but there should have been a significant amount of cash at the end of the day. I suppose my question is...how do I fire my wife and still get to sleep indoors? I have no money left to buy supplies to make more product. It's hard enough to make money in the current economy without this b.s.

I second the Feibing's oil dye. I love the stuff. It seems to coat more evenly so you don't have to use as much as you would with USMC black. Although, the USMC black does create a "blacker" black (you would have to see them side-by-side). I only use USMC black when I'm looking for a high gloss black finish. Buff, buff, buff, buff, take a break, buff, buff, buff... I have never had any dye rub off onto any clothing. I do use liberal amounts of finish as well as Dr. Johnson's Water Protector on pretty much everything. (I spill things a lot.)

The pouch itself offsets the weight of empty bottles. Either way, the pouch and bottles don't weigh much. I'm only concerned that the bottles may slip out even though I stretched the leather before fastening them down with rivets. I got the idea to put the bottles around the hat band like bullets in a gun belt, but I mis-cut the length of the hat band and decided to just rivet them to the hat. Then I needed something to go on the other side, so I put a pouch patterned from a British 1903 bandolier on the other side.

"Apothecary" top hats.

How do you set a "blind" rivet? By blind, I am talking about a rivet that needs to go into a hard to reach place such as the inside of a small pouch. The pouch that I am specifically speaking of is approx. 4" x 6" x 2" (inner dimensions). It is intended to be held together only by rivets. It is made of 6oz. tooling leather, so crushing it to get the rivets in is out of the question. I used to make these about 8 years ago, but I had a solid steel block that was 4" x 4" x 1.5" that I used as an anvil to set rivets. I no longer have this block, so I'm a bit stumped. There's not really a good order to set the rivets in. I tried setting them from the bottom and moving toward the lid, but I have to make it so the bottom rivets don't seat completely, so I can twist the gusset around to set the rest. This leaves the potential for those rivets to pop out. Is there a special tool or something that can be used, or should I have a new block (anvil) made? It is constructed similar to this one (found online), but less crappy utilitarian looking. I hate to change the design/materials to compensate. Does anyone have any ideas?

Size doesn't matter. The mall here has a large LED billboard that displays sales for the stores inside. The Qr codes that appear on the sign are about 6 foot tall. I wouldn't put it on a tooling stamp because the embossing will make it unreadable or at least very difficult. It would work better as a branding iron. (google pyrography tools) A branding iron makers mark looks great on the flesh side of leather.

If the pattern is intended for cloth, that may be why it is straight. Cloth behaves differently than leather, so if it were curved, it would just bunch up where it is widest. I say alter it and make it wider at the bottom.

I needed a pattern for a sporran, so I modeled it in 3d and unfolded it. I decided not to be greedy and should share it with everyone. Seam allowance has been added to the gusset. Adjust as needed for different material thickness. The pattern is a .pdf file. Share it freely. Download the pattern here.

I was going to say "sell hides". Seriously, find a niche then as your customer base grows, you can introduce new items, possibly hire part timers to do all the work that you don't like to do. I suggest either getting into re-enactment leathers like renaissance festivals, civil war era, etc. or try fetish "supplies". There is a small demand for leathercrafters in the replica movie props field, but you can't make a living off of it. Unfortunately, having a job doing what I love is still a dream, but it occasionally comes true for a short time when someone who knows the value of handmade products asks me to make something. I haven't had a steady job since 2003, but leatherwork, costuming, propmaking, graphic design, 3d modeling, fine art, and web design have kept me from becoming homeless. I suggest finding a wealthy celebrity and become their best friend. Have them tell their friends what you do, and allow them to wear/use your products in movies and tv.

I usually do all cutting by hand, but I am having a couple of dies made for a specific shape with stitching punches as well. I need the cutting surface to be at least 16 x 16". I like the Clicker 1500 from Tippmann, but the cutting area is not quite right for this. That is, unless it can still be used for a die that size. I don't know much about these kind of machines, so input from persons who have experience using/purchasing a die cutter would be great.

http://www.the-blueprints.com/ This has mostly older models, but many images are scanned directly from the manuals and some include dimension information. You can check manufacturer websites for correct dimensions of specific models