WinterBear

Can you tell us more? There is bound to be someone here who can help. How are you applying the oil? Are you using any kind of applicator? How warm is warm? At what stage of the process are you adding your oil?

Wow, I'm not even going to ask how many hours that took you. That is really a fun and whimsical hat.

I'm glad it went so well. You'll have to write down what went well and what didn't, because I'm certain you'll be asked to do it again when the net batch of boys comes in. Might be for the best that they took the blanks home though. There have been instances where it was easy for the kids to misremember which ones were theirs if they haven't seen them for a week and if the items didsn't have names marked on them, and squabbles broke out. At least this way, they will come with the right ones and leave with the right ones.

Such a shame that it bled, but it is still a beautiful piece of work. The depth on those flowers makes my hands itch to hold it, and I love the little scrolls you cut down the middle ribbon.

Well, that's enough to drive you bonkers for sure. Just call up the nearest store and nag them a bit. If they don't have any in a fair sized piece, message me and nag me a bit, and I'll wander down to mine and see if they have any decent sized pieces that you could order from them.

Look at the sheepwool remnants that they sell for dyeing Sugar Lady, if all you need are smaller pieces and if you don't want that orange stuff. The last time I got some from Tandy, it was all in one or two large pieces in the remnants bags. One piece was almost a square foot of a misty gray, and the other bag I picked out had a buttery yellow piece tipped with rust that was maybe about twice as large as the piece on the underside of your noseband.

Thanks Chuck. I didn't know that, I only knew that wildlife parts can be a touchy business in the states alone, and I've been given the advice that if I send anything overseas, I should stick to cow, goat, and sheep, and maybe ranched buffalo. All of the companies I deal with all state that they will not export without a the buyer obtaining a USFWS export permit, and even then, some items they will not sell unless it is to people in-state. And the laws change so much, what is not legal today may be legal next month, and vice versa. Sounds like a zealous agent can really muck up the works too. Kate, I've dealt with Crazy Crow and Moscow Hide and Fur for small amounts of things, and been pleased with what I've recieved from them. Other suppliers you might look into are Chichester Leather (http://www.chichesterinc.com/index.htm) and Centralia (http://furandhide.com/default.asp).

Before you go after roadkill, you should call up your State Game and Fish Agency and make sure it is legal. Some states have laws forbidding the posession or transport of roadkill. Some states require you to have a permit (and sometimes every item will require an interstate game tag from a game warden--costs about $8 each here). Your State may also forbid the sale of such items made with salvage, or may only allow sales if the interstate tag goes with the buyer when the animal or its parts are sold. Past the State laws, some counties and cities may also forbid salvage of roadkill within county or city limits. And lastly, you won't be able to sell anything to an overseas buyer if it has any wildlife parts without a USFWS/CITES export permit. I'd also be cautious of animals found dead. I'm not sure if rabies is a problem in your area, but it can be here, and even those I know who have the appropriate permits, furbear harvest licenses, and ability to get interstate game tags won't salvage roadkill here because a dead animal is suspect. Sorry, don't mean to burst your bubble or anything. Just trying to help you avoid some trouble if I can.

Good luck with the kids today. Let us know how well it went.

Hello, I'm a sew-a-holic. I have 6 old machines in various states of repair (ranging from working to doorstop) and two modern household machines. None of them are leather machines (but a couple of them do pretty good anyway!). I quilt too, which makes thing worse, as it also means that I have heaps of farbic lying about too.

Oh good, the flat ones are easier for the kids to manage. Flat "cookies" cut off of logs work pretty well as a stamping surface too, as long as they are level. Short ones a couple of inches thick can be placed flat on the ground or floor, and the taller logs are useful too. I usually lug a log end or two around that's about 1 1/2 to 2 feet high and about 3/4 as wide as it is tall--the kids can kneel on either side of it, and the stance puts their body directly in line with the stamp. Seems to help a bit with the ones that tend to flail around. And you can always bring a bit of regular acrylic metallic paint to "rub" on the high points of the stamp for a bit of color. Copper and gold look nice on undyed leather and the kids like the highlighting effect.

Oooo, guess I'd better ask. It this the sort of triangle flat piece slide, or the one that rolls up into a tube?

Hiya. I can offer some advice on what has and has not worked with the younger boys in the Troop. First big questions. How many boys? and--Will you have at least 1 helper who knows what to do? Without that help you are going to have a lot of impatient kids. Pre-casing has met with limited success with a really limited time frame--sometimes it takes too long to dry out enough. You might be able to get away with wetting with a sponge on-site. I'd suggest coloring using the Tandy highlighter dyes--Dye and antigue in one. Make the kids wear gloves, use sponge brushes or daubers to apply the dye (so YOU can control the amout of dye each kid has at a time, not the kid), maybe even pop a poncho or garbage bag over the kid dyeing at the moment so the uniform doesn't bite the dust, and cover the dye area with a plastic drop cloth covered with a piece of canvas or sheet to make it less slippery. Bring only a few colors of dye. The more choices, the more the kids will dither and cut into the time the other kids need. Make sure they know that they should NOT dye the back (it will increase the time needed to dry and they can put too much on the back if the back is fuzzy). If you sponge wet the leather, stamp, very lightly oil (a bit of t-shirt with oil on it will help prevent too much--too little is better than too much), highlight dye as soon as the surface doesn't look shiny any more, and as soon as the dye dries, hit it with super sheen or satin sheen, front, sides, and back (because the kids won't be so good about keeping their leather dry when out in rainy weather). The sheen can be applied with a bit of white T-shirt and wiped on-it may help control the amount used. Shape the leather a bit around a dowel, sew together using waxed braided cord or small plastic lace (I find that real leather lace is harder for smaller kids to handle and they have a difficult time pulling it through the holes--plastic is "slippier" as one boy put it). Best way to pull these together is with an "X" stitch as if pulls the edges so they butt together (I'll post some pictures this weekend). Cord ends can be left longish and finished with pony beads and an overhand knot. Send the project home with them in a plastic ziploc style bag (so if it is not 100% dry it won't get stuck to the car seat), and tell them to let it dry at home overnight outside of the bag before wearing it. That way those that were over generous with any dye, oil, or sheen will be less likely to get those liquids all over their kerchief or uniform.

I wasn't a huge fan of lacing myself until I laced my first piece with a double-loop edge. It's the tactile features I've learned to appreciate with lacing. When I do it right, it feels nice, and gives a visual "weight" to anything I want to embellish, but where a tooled or stamped border would be worn away or scuffed if the edges were sewn. I sew more than I lace, and I sew where I don't want bulk or want a clean appearance, but I'll lace where I want wear resistance and protection of the tooled portion (like on belt buckles).

*snerk* HAHAHA! Sorry that's too funny. I immediately had the mental image of me dodging traffic on the interstate to pry a wallet back or belt off the road. I do tend to threaten to throw recalcitrant projects out into the street to be run over.

Very nice! Love the colors, the flow, and the details.

I hope you find it to your liking. I have some of the Tandy gold lambskin to use for a wolf-track underlay, and I think it is terrific looking stuff.

Biggest advantage for handsewing--I can take it with me. A small pony, a pillbottle with harness needles and a piece of beeswax, the awl, and some cord, and I can sew just about anywhere, as long as I don't have to worry about jabbing someone with a needle accidentally. I can also scoop it up in a hurry and get it out of the way, and store everything in a drawer.

Beary and the Bearman have the Leatherburnishers site up and they are taking orders sinpac. http://www.leatherburnishers.com/

Springfield has a soft, draping veg-tan calfskin in a 3-4 oz weight. They also sell finished kidskin (goat) in a variety of colors in a 2 oz weight, and some lambskin too. http://springfieldleather.com/25864/Side%2CSoft-Veg-Tan%2C12-17sqft/ http://springfieldleather.com/category/17/229/Lining-Leathers/ http://springfieldleather.com/29911/Lamb%2CTobacco/ If you can get to a Tandy to see it in person, they are having a sale on their lambskins in a very thin 1.5-2 oz weight. It is very soft, drapey, and somewhat stretchy. The metallic are less supple than the others, but they are very soft. I managed to get a really nice hide for binding edges and for lining a clutch. They do sell it in their online store, but I prefer to pick it out in person. The manager of my local Tandy is pretty good about not sending ugly leather to the mail customers, but you never know if she will be the one pulling the order. http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/home/99270-04.aspx Tandy is also closing out their tooling goat in a 2-3 oz if you wanted something a little less supple, but tooling goat is probably stiffer than what you're describing. I've found it only slightly more flexible than the tooling pig. http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/home/9153-00.aspx

From my monkeying around with both Sheen and Resolene I can offer my observations. Super Sheen/Satin Sheen are water-based acrylic-type finishes--they can dissolve or erode when subjected to antiquing and wiping and rubbing, allowing the antique to be absorbed into the underlying leather and making a mucky mess. The advantage to Sheen is that it is flexible and is less likely to craze. It is easily applied, and good as a top coat on things you don't expect to be subjected to a lot of weather. It is more of a water repellant finish than a water resistant finish. Resolene is harder to apply evenly, but less prone to erosion during antiquing. It can crack or craze where the leather flexes if applied too thickly, so 2-3 very thin coats is better than 1 thin coat and much better than 1 thick coat. It is not waterproof by any means, but it does make a finish that repels moisture better than Sheen. A lot of people here will supply yet another top coat over the finish with the atom wax as it adds another layer or water protection and mellows the gloss. Others will add an additional top coat with sno-seal instead of atom wax. I have not tried either of these as most of what I've done so far isn't going to be subject to much abuse.

Both pliers and hammering actually. But no hammering the dickens out of them. Instead, you want to first use pliers (needle-nose or round-nose work best) and rather than bending the prongs flat against the backside (as making a sharp kink makes a weak area at the bend), the people I know curl the prongs over so they meet at the middle and the tips are pointing towards the underside of the dome. They then pinch the curled prongs slightly with the pliers and gently tap the curls to drive the tips into the leather behind the dome. This link explains it pretty well. http://www.willghormley-maker.com/MakingRingoRig2.html Oh, and I've done some reading on that prong setting thing, and the slits it makes may be too large for very small studs. If that's the case, your best bet may be to fall back to the dividers and a small thonging chisel, and lots of practice on scrap.

Adjustable spot setter? http://www.greyowlcr...isc/IC-250.html Let me see if I can scare up something similar in your neck of the woods. Edit: I'm not having any luck. I think it's primarily due to differing terminologies. You might try emailing that picture to the places you get your supplies from and see if they carry something similar under a different name. Edit 2: http://studsandspikes.com/buy/dual-blade-awl.html?osCsid=05e104aa6522db959502975389e9f46c If you are getting your studs from this company, they do sell the setter. Looks like the only difference is that it isn't painted.

The one tool in the middle of the second picture is really clever. I love old tools that have the look of years of loving use.