WinterBear

Ask the owners to file a report on NetPosse.com if they haven't already. It's a site primarily for locating stolen horses, but they have also had success with helping track down stolen gear and trailers as well. A lot of stables will print out reports for their bulletin boards so then a whole bunch of equestrians will be aware, and it gives a lot of eyes out on the internet and at auctions. If the stuff is spotted, they can contact the LEO in charge of the case. http://www.netposse.com/default.asp (it might help if I could spell worth a darn today)

I'm intrigued. Seems to me that you could trim that out, or portions of it, and use it as decorative sewn-on elements.

He doesn't really have a website. Just the etsy store listed above, and his Artfire store (http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/studio/CustomMadeStuff), but he's easier to reach by email.

Basic bead reamer: http://www.riogrande...ps/111020?pos=1 http://www.firemount...sp?pn=H203263TL They make electric and battery operated reamers as well, and dremel reamer tips, but if you're working with glass, you need to go at a slow speed with those and it helps to keep the cutting area of the whole bead immersed in water (running cool water is best). If too much heat builds up, the glass will fracture from thermal shock, so the water keeps the bead cool. I'd suggest using water if using a motor-driven reamer on the silver-cored beads too as the metal could potentially transfer heat the the glass portions. If using a hand powered reamer, heat buildup is unlikely because the strokes are slower and the heat doesn't build. For the murano beads, and possibly the ring beads, you might be able to enlarge the hole slightly by thinning the metal core from the inside. But, it will depend on the thickness of the metal and how much you'd need to enlarge the hole balanced against the need to maintain the integrity of the bead. (whoops, looks like KnotHead beat me to it)

Technical editor and general screwball. Non-paying positions that I consider my other job(s) are volunteering in Scouts, Venturing, OA, and Lions.

Supporter Springfield leather (http://springfieldleather.com/) sells 277 and 207 bonded nylon thread in 1 lb spools, colors in black, white, and brown. Another supporter is Tippman Industrial (http://www.tippmannindustrial.com). They have the 277 and 207 in z-twist spools in bonded nylon, colors are black, white, brown, dark brown, and natural.

I'm learning too, and I ruin more leather than anything at this stage. I do like the maul more than a mallet. I get better impressions with fewer strikes on a big stamp. But I do have to be careful with a seeder and a maul--the greater (or rather, more focused) impact you get from a maul can drive a seeder too deep. I've learned I have to be delicate with seeders and other small-ended stamps.

It looks really neat. I can see why it was worth the wait on the 3rd pelt. Well, you can always pin the tail or face on with a safety pin stuck through a bit barged leather, or with a few thin stitches where they won't show, and see what you think about them for a couple of days. You did such a nice job. If this coyote I'm working on comes out looking 1/5 as nice as your skunks, I'll be very happy.

Nice effect on the striping across the crown and around the sides. Is the hat "tailed"?

If you still can't see it, you might have a cache issue? Have you hit Ctrl+F5 from the Board Index to force the page to dump anything it might have in cache and reload from the server?

If you haven't gotten access cajun, just post and let her know and she'll check.

Is the back of the foil glued? I'm not certain as far as heat embossing foil goes, but I thought either the foil or the area to be foiled had to be treated with a "heat activated" glue to get the foil to grab a hold on the hide.

BARGE CEMENT WILL BE YOUR BEST FRIEND..... Barge cement is exactly what I was told to use for repairing a fur hat for a re-enactment group--only mine is coyote in this case. I spent quite a bit of time speaking with a great leatherworker during Frontier Days here in Cheyenne, and asking for his help in repairing and fixing this absolutely scary coyote. He told me to pull the holes gently closed, and glue the hide side with a patch of barged buckskin--it will make a patch that will be invisible from the fur side, but strong and flexible on the inside. He also suggested barging a buckskin patch at the tail, at the join of the tail and body, or tail and hat, as it will be the weakest point and will be prone to ripping.

Forgot to say that I very much approve of the tooling pattern!

Just call Springfield leather up and talk to them about your wants and needs. They're great folks and can give you suggestions on what they can sell you that will suit your needs, and will happily ship it. I found their shipping to be pretty reasonable too.

I have a Hobby Lobby here, and I know what you are speaking of--don't buy that stuff. It's not very good chrome tanned leather and it bleeds dye pretty easily. It can't be tooled, and it tends to have weak spots too. If you want practice tooling scrap, just about any leather supply will sell veg tanned tooling leather by the pound.

I like the idea of the handles. I've never been a fan of the stirrups that require being carried by the drawstring.

Funny pete! wind power: maybe try here for starters? http://website.lineone.net/~lindave/singer.htm

Ok, the lighter case is great, I love the idea, and it looks like it really made a strong case. I see some similar sharpie holsters in my future as soon as my friend sees this.

Yeah, I'll sketch something out and post some pictures. Not today though. I have Scout meetings and likely won't get home until after 11.

This opens all sorts of possibilities. I'm considering a mold for some super nice camp utensils I got for my sister and her husband. I'd covered the sets with tape and foam to make a sort of approximate shape to mold over, but was unable to get a good and consistent rim/edge, let alone repeat it. It'll be at least August before I can experiment though. Frontier Days starts Friday (and ends pretty much at the end of the month) and things are going to be a zoo. If I don't get supplies by Thursday, I'll have to wait until the 31st when things calm down again.

I might have to try this. I wonder if I could lay a piece of fiberglass cloth and coat it with resin into the negative side of the mold before (lining the negative with a release gel or plastic sheet first) and then using the expanding foam, so the foam attaches to the fiberglass. If I have imagined right, I think I'd wind up with a wooden mold half (negative side), and a foam positive with a fiberglass shell for added strength for the other half. Hope I'm making sense.

The pictures are a big improvement, and really let people see the work. I'd say your best work is probably the portfolio, the cross wallet, and possibly the badge wallet, but I'd like to see more views of things. Drum up the descriptions some. People LOVE details."cowhide wallet, saddle stitched by hand, dyed mahogany and with a rich hand-rubbed wax finish" engages your reader--you got to grab them because they can't pick the items up. Let them know. What weight is the leather? Is that wallet horse with a goat lining, or cowhide with a pig liner--knowing the material is important to a lot of people. Some don't want a leather item that's made of horse, or goat, or pig--but they seldom message you to find out. The next thing I would suggest is to have pictures of different angles (such as the back, as mentioned above), and maybe get a friend to be your model in exchange for a beer/soda (or get a fiberglass dummy--they don't talk back--PM me if you want links to some dummy suppliers that won't kill your wallet--hands and heads are pretty inexpensive). Things in online stores sell best if you can showcase what you make, if people can get a good idea of what it will look like when worn, and if the pictures are crisp and focused on what you want to sell people. You have only seconds to grab someone's eye.