Cyberthrasher

Gum trag is nothing more than a glue. It holds down the fibers until it wears off, where a good burnishing will actually KEEP the fibers down. Gum Trag is something the the STORE has promoted as an easy way to do edging and slicking, but it's really just an easy way out of making a good product. Another thing about gum trag is that it's abrasive, so never use it on the back of something that's going to come in contact with the skin. Tom - 99.999% of my stuff is dyed multiple colors, so dip-dying doesn't work for me at all.

Do this part! Think about it, the staff itself is made up of lines - simple enough. The notes, those are just dots and lines with a little flag depending on your style The note stamps (there's actually a set of 3) are "ok", but not something I use a lot - mostly for customers on an extreme budget who just want "something music related". Here's one I did where I replaced the notes of "ghostriders in the sky" with bullet holes . Not real accurate since the actual count is missing, but the customer loved it and nobody can ever guess what the song is. Once they find out it's an actual song, they freak out.

couple of notes. #2 - I think what you're referring to here is a "Rolled Edge". If going this route, I would highly suggest a piece of lightweight leather instead of fabric. Whenever possible, keep your leather projects leather. Lambskin is an EXCELLENT choice for linings and rolled edges. With practice, it wouldn't be any different then normal hand stitching, but it's obviously a lot easier with a machine. You would stitch your lambskin onto the front of the piece at the edge, then roll it over the edge and stitch it again so that your stitches are directly under your roll on the front of the piece. Then trim it off and you have a really good looking professional edge. #3 - Doing an edge braid only looks amateurish if it's done in an amateur way. There are lots of people who are highly respected that braid their edges and it looks awesome. For me, one of the first things that make an edge braid look "amateur" is the length of the tooth - as in how far away from the edge your holes are, causing long lines of lace. Keep things relatively close to the edge, while still leaving enough meat on the leather to keep it strong and durable to prevent tear-outs. Also, be sure to use slits on items that won't be subjected to heavy abuse. Slits are usually better and cleaner looking on items like wallets and notebooks. Holes should be used on items where there will be abuse and the lacing is structural. When using slits, make the slit the same size as the lace, when using holes, it's a good idea to undersize the hole so that the lace fills the hole better - thereby leaving less daylight and a more professional appearance. Those magical machines are for production in which thousands of items are being pumped out each day. If you're making a hand-made product, keep a hand-made process. NOTHING beats the appearance of a good edge. Motorized slickers are fine, but I feel that turning the whole thing into a mechanical process destroys the nature of our work and the results are noticeable.

Cool. I might try to work mine into some of those profiles. I have a couple of lifters, so that's not so much of the effect I'm going for with these, but I would like a little better undercutting to get some shadow under some things - especially in some of the skulls I do on the eyes, where we KNOW there's empty space behind there and expect to see it represented as such.

First thing's first. If it's "Fuzzy", take care of that. If I have a fuzzy piece, I'll lightly shave it with my knife and then sand with a couple grits of paper to get it as smooth as possible. Then, wet it down and slick it with a bone folder or glass slicker. If you don't have either of those, I've used a sharpie in the past with good results. Now that the back is burnished (and your edges should be properly burnished as before dying as well), apply your dye, building up the coverage. Once it's the color you want, apply Resolene or other finish of your choice just as you would the rest of your project.

They strap to the top and bottom of the frame. Due to the angles, it's impossible for the bag to move any further back since it's strapped to opposing lines. Mato, on your next one, I'd put the buckles on the inside so that all you have exposed next to the drive is the leather strap with no hardware or tail to pop out. If you did do that and I'm just not seeing things right, disregard

Bruce, have you modified any of those? I have one that I want to use more, but it doesn't seem to give me any undercutting, so I've been planning on reshaping it some.

The lacing is looking a lot better. You'll want to treat the tip like a corner and go through the holes there at least a couple times each to try to make it look more uniform. Cut of a practice scrap that matches the shape of your tip and give it a few shots to make it look nice. Another thing you can do, which will help the overall feel of the lacing, is to start at the other end (where you have more of a flat tip) and then come down one side and stop at the bottom tip. Then, go back to the other end, and come down the other side, ending both at the same spot. That will make your lace symmetrical so it all points in the same direction.

Overall it looks good. I'd work on tightening up that lace though so you don't have any daylight showing through. Think about how many times you grab the edge of it pulling it on and off. You want that to be nice and solid.

I use the little dip cups you get in take-out bags for small amounts of stuff and to mix my paints in, and airbrush jars for larger amounts. the great thing about mixing even small amounts in these cups is that you can just pop the lid on it and use it later if you have some left, while mixing on a pallet leaves waste if you don't use it all. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Diamond-Multi-Purpose-Mini-Cups-With-Lids-2-oz-50ct/17056809

I've gotten to the point where I sharpen with my ceramic stone before I start (then strop, then leather scrap as shown), and then every time I adjust my clamp, I also give the awl a strop followed by running it over my leather scrap real quick. I do it then since I'm already stopped and it doesn't ruin my work flow. Doing it this way, I really don't need to hit the diamond plate very often because I'm keeping a good polished edge on the awl at all times.

Looks great. The main thing I see that may need some work are the hard edges around the outline and on his jacket. Try to soften those up with a modeling tool.

yeah, that's about the only good thing about my stiching "pony" (a vice on my bench with leather covers) - it sits still so I can always make sure it's straight. Other than that, the other problem I have with wavering lines on the back is not sticking my elbow out in line with the awl consistently.

Missed that Bag Kote part yesterday...... I haven't used Bag Kote, so I'm not real familiar with it's plus/minus in comparison to Resolene - but Resolene is great all around. You'll need to figure out which one works best for you, but just choose one. When oiling a finished piece (with Resolene on it, or other sealant), the oils WILL soak through if allowed to sit long enough. I use Montana Pitch Blend as a conditioner/wax. When allowed to sit overnight, the oils in it will mostly penetrate the Resolene and the wax remains on top ready for a buffing.

it might work, but for soft thin leathers (such as garment weight), it's usually better to do a rolled edge instead. Check out Kevin King's pinned topics on making wallets to show a good example. Another way to do it is just fold your piece over and glue it down, then stitch a liner over the back.

It sounds like your awl is doing more tearing than it is cutting. Sharpen that puppy up and you'll have a nice cut slit on the back with no natural leather pushing out. Here's a video from Nigel on sharpening your awl.

Still looks good!! I see a couple spots where the back of your stitching got a little wavy, but it's not bad at all. Honestly, stitching a guitar strap STRAIGHT the entire way is really hard to do. It takes me 5 hours on average to stitch one up. You're on the right path for cutting your liner. I always cut them out about a half inch bigger than the strap and glue it on. Then I trim it flush with the strap. That said, it takes care to not do what you did. With my knife I'm able to use the main leather as a guide that helps keep me safe.

There's really no need if you've already oiled after dying. The oil replenishes the natural oils that are sucked out by the alcohol in the dye. I do put a conditioner on top of my finish, but it's mostly as a wax coating and not as much for the oil aspect of it. Now, when my customers condition in the future, they'll be applying it for the purpose of oiling the leather (thereby conditioning it).

Check with the folks at Springfield regarding their shipping policies to Canada. You can get both Fiebings and Angelus dyes through them. If they can't do it, perhaps it would be worth a drive over the border to pick it up. I know of at least one fellow Canadian who has things shipped to a US address regularly and then just drives over to pick it up without having to pay the increased shipping.

I only use Dye on my edges, or the occasional marker for a touch up. So, with that in mind, a properly slicked/burnished edge will prevent the dye from bleeding through to the front and back of the leather, restricting it to the edge only. From there, it's just practice in making sure that the edge is all you touch with your applicator - whether it's a sponge, dauber, roller, etc...... Lately I've been switching between the sponge brush and a burnt wool dauber. Another trick is to apply your finish (resolene, lac, whatever) to the front and back before doing your edges. That way if you slip, you can usually hurry up and wipe it off before it has time to settle through the finish.

Well, NOTHING is going to weather PROOF it. Different products will offer better amounts of weather resistance though. Aussies is a conditioner and will eventually wear off. For the best resistance, you'll want a sealing finish underneath it. Resolene is one of the best choices. It's water resistant and also helps block UV rays, something that bikes are exposed to quite regularly. Aside from that, Neatlac/Clear-lac/Wyosheen would be a good choice, but don't offer quite as much protection in this case (from my experience). Once you have a base sealing coat, then you can add a wax based conditioner on top.

I would put this down in the sewing machine sales area where people who are looking to buy a machine would see it.

That one's hard to tell exactly since the picture is so small (I suggest using the forum's picture attaching features). But, that looks similar to another strap maker I've seen a lot of. Most of what he does his block dyed and resisted. For a strap like that, he probably stamped the letters, block dyed the "reddish" color, and then went over the perimeter pattern with a brush - at least that's what I would do with a basic idea like that, but I wouldn't do one like that. I've actually seen a video of his work before where he block dyes everything. That said, he gets some good color contrast, but other than that I'm not a fan of his work (assuming it's the same guy I've viewed before). Now, how I would do it..... AIRBRUSH. It's a very powerful tool for dying and you'll get ooohs and ahhhs all day from it. Apply your light color, then go around the perimeter with a darker color. Here's a good example I have uploaded of a cool airbrush fade job. This was actually the first time I had ever used one.

Springfield Leather is a good choice. I'm all for buying local, but if the quality/help isn't there, then it's off to someone else online. I don't even have a Tandy local, so it's all online for me. Kevin and the girls at Springfield will treat you right. Just give them a call and ask questions. They're always there to help.

NOPE!! Consider the size of the product. Good lacing takes time, just like good stitching. That's why I don't do a lot of laced/stitched guitar straps. It's a labor of love that should be valued accordingly and most people don't want to pay the price. 4 hours lacing would be an additional $80 on my product. It takes me 5 hours to hand stitch a guitar strap and that's an additional $100. Very few are willing to pay for it because they don't put as much value on it, so they go with a basic single layer tooled strap instead. Now, some tips on your lacing. First off, watch the angle so they all match up nice and cleanly. That way you don't get different spacing and stuff. For splicing, do a dry splice by tucking the lace in between your leather. Steps 6 - 8 here will show you how. This is for double-loop lacing, but the concept is the same regardless of the lacing style you choose. If you're not doing 2 pieces of leather laced together, cut a slit (or pocket) in the edge to make two layers to tuck the lace into. http://www.kingsmere...com/page96.html Oh yeah, and don't listen to what the folks at the Tandy store tell you to buy. The whole company is only out for profits and many of their people are only experienced in what they're told - meaning most have never worked with leather outside the store. It's a shame considering everything they've done in the past for our field.