WinterBear

I'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out!

That sounds like it'd be nice done that way. And I understand about the shipping. It's only cost effective if you can buy enough or go in with someone to split something (and split the shipping too). Do you mean a strip along the edges perpendicular to the axis of the stamps? So it would roll up with the tooled strip forming a sort of "jelly roll" and spiraling from the center to the outer edge? Or a single, shorter strip along the outermost edge, near to where the closure would be, and that is parallel to the axis of the stamps? I was thinking the latter.

I think I have a bunch not in that list. I'll post them--hopefully they are all craftool, but honestly, some might be midas? Not all of them are marked craftool, so I can't tell. None of the ones I have are minis. 3 bears: 8528 black bear (no shoulder hump), 8428 seated bear cub, 8460 bear head 3 wolves: 8459 wolf head, 8530 walking wolf, 8474 howling wolf 2 bison: 8458 bison head, 8418 standing bison eagles: 8301 (reverse of 8369), 8514 2 trout: 8518, 8345 8529 (looks just like the one in the attachment labeled 8366) 8286 wolf paw print 8429 chief 8422 howling coyote 8523 standing elk 8524 standing moose 8419 puppy 8407 rabbit 8417 cat 8446 bulldog 8416 bullfrog 8586 dragon shield 8566 crossed axes 8423 dragon 8537 round celtic knot 8538 square celtic knot 8490 basketweave arrow 8491 celtic knotwork arrow 8519 bass 8479 bucking bronc 8396 beaver 8445 BSA Tiger Cub 8613 fluer-de-lis 8465 lion 8557 eagle shield 8400 handmade by 8450 mandela 8515 duck (looks like reverse to 8306) 8617, 8618 left and right rampant lions 8540 live to ride 8547 skull and crossbones There are a whole bunch of others I don't have, and I don't know their numbers either. I could probably find out if you want me to for most of these. I can recall 3 different kangaroos, 2 or 3 koalas, platypus, wombat, southwestern quail, southwestern turtle, southwestern lizard, kokopeli, cheetah or leopard, snarling bobcat head, left and right footprints, 4-H clover, dairy cow, pig, sheep, chickens, 2 different trains (one diesel, one steam), African antelope (kudu, I think), elephant, rhino, bullrider, barrel racer, bulldogger, 2 different angels, crossed nails, lamb&staff, Bible&sword, and BSA Arrow of Light. Craftool also used to make the BSA Wolf Cub, Bear Cub, Bobcat Cub, and Webelo stamps, but some other company makes them now. (gosh, I've really got to watch my spelling)

They say "It's just 1 hour a week!" And those of us who have done it say--"yeah, sure, so which hour of the week do I get to keep for myself?" In all seriousness, I have yet to see a strong, long lasting Troop to ever turn down a volunteer, especially someone with a Scout background. You could always be an alumnus who pops in whenever time allows. If you can only come once a quarter or twice a year to teach a special merit badge class, most Troops won't say no either!

Math is not my strong suit, so I struggled with my degree. All in all, from the BS to the MS, I took 1 semester of trig, 2 of chemistry, 2 of organic chemistry, 2 of physics, 2 of calculus, 2 of statistics, plus some of the biology coursework was heavily math-based, so I also had things like theoretical ecology and fractal theory (many biological systems can be modeled with stochastic equations and fractal iterations). As for the "real job" most of what I do only peripherally touches on the degree. Which is why I work with Boy Scouts and Venturers (co-ed Boy Scouts age 14-21). I call it my "second job"--I have no kids, so I borrow them. They're the ones that get me out and about, out camping, teaching what I know, and just fooling around in the great outdoors. One bonus is that I get to give dirty tired kids and their laundry back to their parents. One reason I joined this forum is so I can get ideas and tips so I can be a better merit badge counselor and learn some new things with leather. I am a counselor in whole or in part for the "nature" merit badges: Nature, Mammals, Insects, Birds, Amphibians and Reptiles, Fish and Wildlife Management, Plant Science, Environmental Science, and so on. Also, photography, radio, leatherwork (with a fellow adult leader), and portions of eight or nine other rank advancement requirements or merit badges.

That is a lot of leather. Would you do the tooling leather as overlay panels over the chrome tan then? Or inlaid? Or just a separate pieces that are sewn to the chrome tan sides? Maybe check out Springfield Leather--the stuff looks nice. You'd have to ask the forum at large about that leather as I have not bought anything but the bison from Springfield. They have some black chrome tan sides from 2-4 oz in weight for $1.99 sq.ft. http://springfieldleather.com/product/1635/Side%2CChrome%2CAsst-Black%2C2-4oz/. f you wanted more stiffness and shape to the bag, maybe you could make the bag, or even just the outside, out of bison latigo or water buffalo--Springfield leather has it. It's more expensive than 3-4 oz chap leather though. Bison is sold by the side only, and runs $6.49 sq.ft., while the water buffalo is sold by the side or whole hide at $4.99 sq.ft. Both are very thick. I have a piece of a bison latigo side that a friend and I split between us. Heavy!--But that stuff will take a beating. Springfield had good shipping too--cost less than $12 to ship the bison side from Missouri to Wyoming. I don't know if you'd want to make a whole big bag out of bison/buffalo entirely though--the bag itself will weigh a ton. If you're going to brand chrome-tan, be careful of the fumes. The fumes are apparently especially nasty. But it would make a pretty bag, better than baggies. You could tool a strip and sew it to the outside of the roll? A vertical strip on the outside edge where the snap would be would show nicely when the tool roll is closed an wouldn't interfere with the purpose, structure, or use of the tool roll.

Oh, I got the masters degree, but couldn't find a job. So it goes. I worked in bakeries for several years before finding a job as a technical editor for a company that does biometrics/biostatistics analyses.

Now both of those ideas are distinct possibilities. I'll have to start trying some of these ideas out. Anything that doesn't suit 100%, I'm sure the Scout troop or crew can find a use for.

I have a similar worry with the tools falling out. I thought I'd see how this one turns out, and maybe add a strap across the bottom? I'm not sure how to make it bigger than the Tandy block I am trying to use. I mocked up a pattern in foamboard and cardboard, and I think it will work. Overall, I think the stamping tool case will work for my current needs, but I'm thinking of making a case with smaller cases inside for future use. I was thinking the manicure case on page 106, volume 2, could be modified to hold as many tools as I want in as many rows as I want. I think i could dispense with the zipper, make the spine thicker, and insert several "booklets" sewn to the spine, with each booklet having additional loops to hold more tools on each of its pages. Then I could fold the modifed case into a 3-sided box (the 3-sides being sewn the the back cover which forms the bottom of the box, and the sides being as tall as the "pages" where the tools are), the spine forms the 4th side of the box, and the "cover" of the modified manicure case forms the lid of box. A snap could hold it closed. I could also replace the loops with O-rings. hmmm. Have to think about that... As for something to hold the mallet and whatnot, the large heavy things, I was looking at the case on page 44 in Volume 2. I think it would work for larger and heavier items with some thicker leather and some additional support. But I think I'd like to keep mallets and boards separate from the stamps in two separate cases, so as not to make a single case that is too heavy for me to lift or carry easily. Anything heavier than about 25-30 pounds carried more than a few blocks stresses my bad wrist too much. Anything close to that weight or heavier, I'd put a padded shoulder strap on so I could carry the weight on my shoulders and brace the case against my hip.

Most people here seem to recommend them. I quite like them because they not only tell you suggested weights, but also how to stitch difficult portions, when to use certain methods and when to not, and why certain methods should be avoided entirely (such as being a weak attachment or likely to fail). The only thing that the folks here disagree with that Stolhman's Volume One suggests is using a copper rivet at the top of the blade edge of a knife sheath to protect the stitches. The people here say to add a welt to protect the stitches and avoid the rivet entirely, I'm sure some more experienced people will be along shortly to give you much better advice and some other resources. I am still very much a newbie myself.

I'm currently in the process of making a carrying case for my stamps, based on the "simplified carrying case for leathercraft stamping tools" found in Volume One of the Art of Making Leather Cases by Al Stohlman, but with a better handle, something like what is shown in Volume Two. The case is more-or less a bottomless leather case that attaches to either a homemade tool block or can be modified to fit the wood tool rack sold by Tandy. The tool rack/block forms the bottom of the case is held in place with heavy-duty snaps--half of the snap is screwed into the wood near the bottom, while the other half of the snap is set into the leather side. The case shown in the book only uses four snaps, but I think I will use at least six.

Where I live now does not accept cats, so the cat has been living with my parents. The dog is Mom's. I don't have a yard here, and I don't think it is fair to expect a dog to be cooped up and bored all day while I am work, so I am currently dogless as well. My name is from my graduate work, a joint study on black bears, and the first live bear I got to see and touch was a denned female.

Maybe here? http://en.artesanodecuero.com/flechtbuch/trenza_patria_en.html

Well, the cat is 16, I think he's entitled to his crotchets and occasional lapses of judgement, and the hairball has a serious weakness for all things poultry. He'd nibble on it at the least. The dog, well, Mom's dog is something of a blockhead. He's a rescue who was abused and starved by his former owner. He can't help himself, he can't not eat something. If it is food, or just smells like food, or if he suspects it might be food, he eats it. If you can't convince your teacher, a lot of small potters (those who do white-ware painting classes and have a small business run out of a small storefront) will often fire for a small fee. I've had a few odds and ends fired over the years, and the cost was minimal.

Mostly, I am happy with much of what I get from Tandy. I've managed to get some good leather and tools that do what I ask them to so far from them. But I guess I just equated something being called damascus being actual damascus/pattern welded steel, and I seem to have equated Stohlman in my mind with high quality, probably due to the Stolhman books. I guess I just got excited, and was let down when I found out both knives were essentially overhyped. I'm on the way to buying a good Osborne or Gomph, or something in the same class, as soon as I scrape more money together.

Ok, now I am seriously tempted to try this....but, ungh. Gotta get through Boy Scout summer class and finish two quilts first.

Color me impressed. I sew duck and tent canvas (very very carefully) on a home machine, and that is difficult enough. Did you have to use a walking foot or drop the feed dogs?

Hi TexasLady. I'm sorry to hear that the edges were dried out. You might be able to salvage that though as it picks up oils from your skin and from the leather as you work with it, and it may stabilize the bone. You're welcome! You won't need a huge amount of peroxide, and depending on the percentage, you can dilute it quite a bit, or just daub it on full strength with a cottonball to clean things up a bit, then let the bone sit in the sun for a few hours with the peroxide on it, and rinse well. Sunlight will help hasten the whitening. You certainly won't need to immerse the bone in bottled peroxide for a long period of time, unless it is an absolutely manky nasty thing...which most people wouldn't pick up anyway when it looks that gross! :whistle:I think both skulls took less than two small bottles of peroxide. If you want to clean bones, I can recommend the National Park Service's "Conserve-O-Gram" for basic instructions (NAtional Park Sevice Conserve-O-Gram), with the following caveats--I would really avoid the ammonia soak and some of their other instructions. Greases in the bone structure react with the ammonia, and smell really really bad--as in, your neighbors will think you have a carcass lying out somewhere. And heating ammonia as the document also mentions is also a hugely bad idea, very very toxic, very very flammable. You're neighbors might suspect you have a meth lab in your workshop if you burn it up by boiling ammonia. Don't use the dermestids or the toxic chemicals they also mention--those methods are best handled in a prep facility with a fire suppression system, a confined dermestid colony, somewhere to proerly dispose of hazardous materials, and a fume hood to vent the objectionable odors and the fumes. Instead, stick to the general cleaning methods with the warm water, the soaking, simmering in warm water, and using sodium perborate (this is the BORAX! hehehe) in the soak/simmer water. The sodium hydroxide that they also mention is found in many detergents, and is also known as caustic lye, but plain old Borax does what you need it to, so avoid the lye. The peroxide methods for whitening the bone are on pages 6 and 7. Lastly, most of the methods here are going to be overkill, as a soup bone won't have been from something lying in the sun for too long and will be pretty easy to clean and won't have any odor if all of the grease is out of the bone before it spoils. In fact, anything laying around in the forest is probably not going to be good for carving as it often has a high microbial level, and you'd likely need a permit anyway. I personally stick to butcher bones or the dog bones from the pet store for carving to avoid the whole issue. Yes, bone dust is terrible. Inhaled dust from bone/ivory/antler isn't absorbed by your body. It can cause chronic lung damage, pneumoconiosis...essentially you can give yourself miner's lung, or just flat out make yourself sick from a particularly nasty infection, or from the dust lodging in your lungs and casing inflammation and cysts that build up around the particles. If you want to work bone, try stopping into your local hardware store and look at the NIOSH approved half-face respirators with replaceable cartridges. 3M makes one that is pretty comfortable and relatively inexpensive (the cost is much less than a doctor's visit), and you can get cartridges for different tasks. Most packaging will tell what cartridges to use for particulates, or you can ask someone who works with exotic woods or antler inlay for advice, so then you'd just have to get filters for the correct particle size. I've never tanned hide, or bird skins, so couldn't tell you if you could tan smoked turkey skin leather. It sounds plausible though, but I'd never be able to pry the cat or the dog off of it if I tried to make something with that hide. I used to work with a fellow that did reproduction smoking pipes (mountain man pipes mostly), and I would prepare the turkey and chicken bones for him to make pipe-stems with. Occasionally, he'd make whistles and such with them as well. He also made non-historically accurate things with bird bones, like scarf slides using sections of the bone to form the center/core of the slide, and then tying rawhide knots over the outside of the bone, or making a sort of scrimshaw pattern with ink.

I am glad I asked the question before buying something I will ultimately be very unhappy with. So, for now, I am setting aside some additional money so I can get something I will be happy with and that I can use for years. I am disappointed about the Tandy knife especially--I was hoping for some modicum of quality, but it sure sounds like that isn't the case.

Glad I wasn't completely off base and could provide some help. I think I suggested the lacing because I'm a better lacer than a sewer yet (I'm working on it).

I'm not sure how thin you need, but Springfield Leather has kidskin in a variety of colors including two metallic colors (bronze and platinum). The kidskin is 2oz. It might work, but I'm not sure if the grain side is sueded or not, so I think you'd have to call them up or email them and ask. Both Tandy and Springfield sell some sort of shoe and boot scrap, but that's a crap shoot as to what you'd get and the colors. However, most Tandy stores usually have a rummage bin of upholstery bits, some of which are large and if you're lucky you can find the colors you want. if you have one close. The local Tandy also has quite a bit of patent leather they get in odd lots, some of which is quite thin, and they get a lot of different colors in. You might see if your closest Tandy or Leather Factory does the same. You might also see if you can find the manufacturers of purses in the region, or call the places that make custom cowboy boots, and see who sells their scrap. Sometimes they sell it through a local hobby store by 1 pound bags.

Oh my, that is so very classic, elegant...(rambles on into incoherent muttering). wow

Mammalogists that prepare bone for teaching groups and lab specimens suggest never using bleach, or if you must use bleach, never soak bones in bleach. It weakens the bone and will cause it to crumble over time. Bleach can be used to wipe or to help degrease, but should be followed with a soak in clean water to get it out of the pores. Better to use a strong peroxide solution which is pretty good for both whitening and getting rid of germs, and won't degrade the bone. The university still has a pair of antelope skulls I prepped and cleaned with peroxide for use in the mammalogy labs there. The final projects of all of the students became part of the collection to replace the items that were deteriorating due to age and handling. The skulls were cleaned by putting them in water that was below boiling--hot, but not boiling-with a small amount of non-sudsing detergent and keeping them in there for several hours. I brushed as needed with a stiff scrub-brush, but mostly, anything attached fell off on its own. I've done similar prep work with bird legs (turkey mostly) for making cores and stems, and it works great for those fragiler bones too. I've done some beef-bone work, and I personally like the mellowed look of unbleached bone. I've given away most of the tools I made (silly of me, I know), but I think I still have a small unbleached beef bone pendant around here somewhere. I'll scrounge it up and post a picture tomorrow. The material from the pendant came from a great source--pre-cleaned and sterile white dog bones from the pet store! Just make sure you wear good safety equipment when you work your beef bone--bone dust is nasty and can really tear up your lungs and eyes. It also smells pretty funky, so best to do it outside so the family doesn't disown ya.

Dagnabbit. Every post I've made over the past day hasn't posted. Let's try again... Seems is more complex than I thought. I'll have to put some more thought into this so I get exactly and precisely what I want and be very happy with my purchase. Look are secondary for use for me on a lot of things, for the simple reason that I have more than plenty paperweights as it is! Terry/Knipper, Bobby/HidePounder, Art, Ben/gtwister09, Mike/rawhide, and Bruce Johnson: Thanks for the advice and sharpening tips, especially on the differences on the different grades of carbon steel, damascus, and stainless. Luckily, humidity isn't much of a problem around here unless someone is foolish enough to fall into the pond, so as long as I don't put anything away wet and keep the sharp stuff in a "camera box" (a wooden box that has a bunch of silica packets in to absorb the air-borne moisture), I dont think it will matter much to me as long as it will keep and edge and does what it is supposed to. I'll do some more research and watch fleabay for a while. (Fleabay! I love it! )

Sorry, I've never heard them called anything else but "peg" buckles, but I know that isn't the right name. I do know that Tandy sells them. Any of their buckles with a "flat" front is pegged. If I was going to make a belt for an active 4-year-old boy, I would go for fairly inexpensive and pretty simple in case it gets lost, and since I don't have a lot of skills, I'd go for things that would make the assembly easy. So I'd go with something like this: Small Buckle Blank 1805-00 Small Pre-Punched Buckle Blank Cover 44853-00 1" belt blank with snaps: 44546-00 OR 1 1/4" belt blank with snaps: 44545-00 1" Belt keeper: 4600-02 OR 1 1/4" keeper 4600-03 A lacing needle and about two yards of 1/8" lace for a double-loop edge--it's sturdy and wears well. The raised edge gives a good grip too. The advantages to this is that he can swap out different buckles to suit his current fascinations (batman, Pixar, dogs, cars, earthmovers, what have you) and because of the snaps, the belt can be swapped out for different colors or styles, or lengths as he grows. The disadvantage is the price. This costs more than a belt from WalMart, and the pre-snapped belt is more expensive than putting snaps on after cutting your own blank or punching your own strap. But a belt made of actual belt-leather and finished correctly will last easily 4 or 5 times as long, won't shed crud off the edges, won't crack, and won't slit between the buckle holes --unless it is put through a lot of abuse, and he would have to really work at it to do that much damage.