WinterBear

So you're looking for embossing plates then? Some plates are laser-cut from delrin, some are cast fiberglass resins, some are metal (usually a magnesium or copper alloy). You can even use old letterpress "cuts", but those usually result in a fairly shallow impression. Here are some embossing manufacturers, US : http://www.bunkhousetools.com/ http://www.infinitystamps.com/magnesiumplates.html Canada: http://www.greenmanleather.ca/embossing-debossing.php UK: http://www.a-finlay-primitive-crafts.co.uk/embossing_plates.html There are also some people on this site that do custom stamps. Studio-N and Phillips Engraving to name a couple.

This is a really old thread, so you'll probably want to look for something newer or start a new topic to get the information you need. But I'll see what I can do to help out. I'm thinking you'll probably want to avoid the dollar store and other candles, especially if the candles might possibly be an import. There has been a stink about metals in the wicks--lead and cadmium, but also arsenic and mercury. If it's in the wick, chances are it will be in the wax. If you want food safe wax: Parafin: A parafin wax can be found where you find home canning supplies are sold. Most groceries should have it. Beeswax: It is difficult to find a true food-grade beeswax, but as beeswax is edible, most seem to use a cosmetic-grade wax. Cosmetic-grade beeswax can be found at health food stores, usually near where soaps are sold. It usually runs around $1/oz, and is sold in small bars. Sometimes it can be found in larger blocks at hobby stores for candle and soapmaking but it may not be as clean as cosmetic wax. Carnauba: Found in health food stores in cosmetic grade, and can usually be found in specialty food stores in food grade. You'll have to talk to the folks that make bottles and maybe drinking horns about the wax mix and where they get their waxes and what proportions they use if they use a mix of waxes. Try also this topic: http://leatherworker...?showtopic=3084 (page 4 has the tutorial with all of the pictures still, but read the whole thing, as they really have some good tips in there on the waxing process)

Mountain time, so -7:00 GMT. It's just now 4pm here.

Ok, maybe this will help. Excuse my stitches, I wasn't exactly 100% awake, so I wasn't terribly careful about which thread was on top of the next, so they're a little wonky. This is where you can hide the threads in the welt, so you show three-colored stitch on the front, and a three-colored stitch on the back. It's not exactly a saddle stitch, more like a backstitch crossed with a saddle stitch, and likely a weaker join overall than a saddle stitch. I have three layers of leather in this example. The top (T), the middle or welt (W), and the bottom ( . For this, I stacked the pieces all grain side up, but you could certainly have the outside layers both grain side out. The three threads are called White, Brown, and Dk. Brown in the directions below. Now, the hidden threads in this example lie between the welt layer and the top layer, but could just as easily lie between the bottom and the welt. You can cut a groove to hold the bulk of the hidden stitch in the welt, or if you are using two layers to the welt, you could cut a groove into the sides of the welt that face each other, making a hidden channel to hold the threads. To start, I ran White from the backside through the first hole in the bottom layer (so hole B1), the first hole in the welt layer (W1), and the second hole in the top layer (T2), then down through all three layers at hole three (T3, W3, B3). The Brown cord starts in the welt, and goes up through T1, then down through T2, W2, B2. The Dk Brown cord starts at the top and goes down through all three layers in the first hole (T1, W1, B1), then up B2, W2, T3, down T4, W4, B4. The White cord goes up through B4, W4, T5, then down through T6, W6, B6. The Brown cord goes up B3, W3, T4, then down T5, W5, B5. Dk Brown goes up B5, W5, T6, then down T7, W7,B7. White goes up B7, W7, T8, then down T9, W9, B9. Brown goes up B6, W6, T7, then down T8, W8, B8. Dk. Brown goes up B8, W8, T9, then down T10, W10, B10. And etc. Front or top view. Back or rear view. View of hidden stitches between the welt and top layer. The top layer is to the left.

If you're using a welt, you can run the extra thread between the welt, so you only show one thread front and back, albeit each stitch on both sides will show in different colors.

Yup, that's Studio N then. http://www.lasered-stamps.com/category.sc?categoryId=2 is the main website, and Sudio N is a member on here. He's got a nice set of pinwheel stamps in delrin that I quite like and have been considering.

That's one of Studio-N's isn't it glockinator? benlily, that looks great, I am certainly intrigued, and might have to get some. What size is that stamp? about 2" long?

Yeah, the prices of their stamps went up to $9.99 retail this summer. But the quality seems to be a little better in these newer ones. Still not the same quality and clarity of impressions of the old craftool stamps though.

I'm really liking the dye job. Nice color on those. I can't decide which I like better.

Sure thing. And I'd love to see what you make when you get to that stage.

Whipsnake or seasnake, rattlesnake, lizard, and python are easy to sew and make great inlays. Ostrich hide is relatively easy to sew as long as you don't try to go through a quill bump with part of the quill still in there, and ostrich leg is fairly easy to sew too, as long as you're not trying to force the large shin scales to go around a bend (they'll lift up). Springfield Leather sells scrap exotic mixes and scrap ostrich hide, so the pieces are relatively inexpensive. They also sell ostrich shin. Ostrich shin and scaled reptile usually is sealed with something to stick the scales down and make them less likely to lift up. Ostrich hide and shin, and most reptile leathers can be cut with scissors or a knife. Frog and fish is a little harder to find, and can be quite a bit more expensive, but they sew well once you compensate for their rubbery texture and tendency to “grip”. Buffalo and Waterbuffalo are usually a little harder to sew as they tend to be thicker, but all in all, pretty similar to cow. Stingray, gator, and croc are all harder to sew, depending on how they are prepared, what part you are using, and how they are sewn. They also tend to be slightly pricier. For crock and gator, belly-cut tails and the underside, especially the belly itself, are easier to sew than hornback or backstraps. Springfield currently has a special on cayman tails, and this leather is easily sewn and cut. Small gator, belly, and tails can be cut with a utility knife, round knife, or scissors. Gator tongue is a weird leather, and harder to find. It's also a pain to handsew from what I understand due to a hard temper and uneven thickness. The nodules on stingray are hard to cut, and can deflect the needle or awl, and cut or broken nodules can scratch a person or cut threads. It’s usually cut with tin snips or some other heady-duty shears. Some people use a drill bit to "punch" hole for stitching, some sand down the nodules on the edges--respiratory protection should be used when abrading, drilling, or sanding stingray. Stingray prices range from inexpensive to very pricey. The finishes will vary depending on what leather you start with, what it will be made a part of (holster or sheath, wallet or key fob, etc.), how it is attached (inlay, overlay, whatever), and who will be using it and where they will be using it. There are lots of people who can give you advice on finishes if you can tell them what you’d like to make and with what kind of leathers you’d like to try.

Very clever design on the top, I like how you've secured it. How are the veg-tan pieces secured? Are they just cemented in place?

Try Precious Metals Leafing Finish. Seems a lot of hobby stores carry it. It is water based, low odor, and I've had pretty good luck with it on leather as long as I use very thin layers and build up.

I have some Singers from around the same era, and wallets might be pushing it, depending on what you plan to do. The Singers I have can sew lightweight vegtan (4-6oz total in 2 or more layers) as long as the temper isn't too hard, and I can sew fabric and lamb/kid skin bindings on 6 oz with them. However, none of my early Singers are motorized, which makes them a little weaker when it comes to sewing difficult materials, but I'm also less likely to damage something if it is overburdened. My strongest machine is a Singer 66 retrofitted with a hand crank, and can sew two layers of 3 oz veg tan, but it will chew up the bottom leather if I go any thicker than that as it isn't a walking foot machine. It sews 2 layers of upholstry leather beautifully though. "Old Iron" domestic machines aren't really made to handle leather and canvas, and can't handle high speeds or heavy threads, but I think they can be used for minor leather work as long as a person is careful not to abuse the machine or force the needle. If you want a true leather machine for heavier leather wallets, belts, or similar, I think you'd need to talk to some of the people here on the forum like Darren (Anne Bonnys Locker) or Wiz for starters.

http://www.pandahallstock.com/article-step-by-step-knots-tutorial-how-to-tie-a-chinese-button-knot-354.html ?

http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/search/searchresults/3005-00.aspx Tandy has an oval punch set.

I'd have to play around with this idea some to step down the beads around the curve, but it could be done. I might just have to play with this some when the weather keeps me cooped up and stir crazy in January and February. Oooh, I'd never do a guitar strap or belt, or at least not with that small of a bead. Nobody would ever buy it for the price I'd want to charge, there is too much labor involved in those long strips! Thanks!

Hadn't thought of that. Might have to collaborate with someone in that case, especially with a holster, since I don't make those.

I'm not sure exactly? I have no idea how long it took me to string the silly thing (first time with this style of loom) for starters. The actually beading was something that I worked on in the evenings and after work before meetings, and I didn't track the time. I got faster as I went along though, unless I was watching a movie at the same time. Towards the end I was spending about 2 hours per repeat when watching a movie, which isn't too bad when you consider each repeat has 1,190 beads and I was looking up all the time.

So, I've been talked into making a beaded buckskin shirt, with loom work, thankfully. I don't think I have the patience to lazy stitch this much. This is a strip that will go across the shoulder, front to back, and will be matched with a similar strip that will go down the sleeve, and of course, matched on the other sleeve and shoulder as well. The beads were quite a bit smaller than what I am used to working with, but the end effect is quite worth it, I think. The total strip is around 33 inches long and took some 14,450 beads.

When you do get to the point of wanting one of those old quality round knives, take a look at Bruce Johnson's website (www.brucejohnsonleather.com/ ). He sells old Osborn, Gomph, Rose, and some others, and the tools are clean and come sharp. He also has a lot of other good old tools. Punches, splitters, rounders, gougers, groovers, etc.

Ooh, we've got one at work, it cuts 20 pages at a time. Maybe I could wander into the workroom with a couple of different weights of leather on Monday and let you all know if it works?

I can tell you how they clean old army tents used by the Scouts here. Some of these tents are old army surplus and have been used extensively in all weather for more than 20 years. You can get most of the mud off once its dry by holding the fabric taut and whacking it gently with several long dowels that are the slenderest you can find and that are held loosely in the hand. That way, if you hit too hard, the dowels will break rather than damaging the tent. I don't recommend a carpet beater or a broom as the beater can be too aggressive on woven fabrics and can cause microscopic breaks in the threads. Corn brooms also can cause tears and the bristles can be too abrasive. The mud that doesn't come off by beating can be cleaned off by brushing it off when dry by using a horsehair brush, like a brand new horsehair shoe shine brush that has never touched polish. The bristles are stiff enough to work quite a bit of the crud out of the weave, but not so stiff they will tear up or degrade the threads themselves. Any mud that has worked its way into and between the fibers of the threads will likely leave a stain, and may need careful cleaning and reapplication of the waterproofing. We've had good luck with spot cleaning the stain with a gentle detergent like diluted woolite worked into the stain with the fingers and then by pouring water on just the stain until the water runs clear. The waterproofing we use depends on the tent, tent type, age and material, so it will depend on what was originally used to waterproof your tent, and whether it will need to be brushed, sprayed, soaked, or poured onto the area after it dries.

You do really nice work. What kind of thread do you use for items like these?

Campbell Randall is a company that has been recommended by some of the users here. They carry 1lb spools and ship UPS. http://www.campbell-randall.com/shop/index.php?route=product/search&filter_name=linen