Cyberthrasher

I can get a pretty light sheen on Resolene by thinning it more. I prefer spraying it, but you can achieve the same results by sponging it on. As for MPB, yeah, it's going to rub off since it's more of a conditioner. It's what I call a "temporary finish" since it will require reapplication. I love it though and actually put it over everything I make as a final protective coat. Someday I'm going to get off my but and make a wax finish like Dwight mentions.

If you're tooling, you'll want to just dye your own stuff. But, if you're putting out stuff that's solid color (like a brown belt or something) then there are lots of choices out there. Hermann Oak is a great choice and should be pretty consistent in the upper grades. I just suggest you stay away from any "craft" grade since it's bottom run.

yeah, you're not going to have any luck with white DYE. There are a couple of brands of dye out there that say they're white, but they're not. I would stick with a white leather acrylic for now since you're just starting. There are lots of options out there, but that will be the easiest for you to use while you're just beginning. I haven't used the Cova colors. I do know that Angelus is highly recommended for their leather dyes and they should work quite well for you.

In one of Nigel Armitage's videos he mentions to use a hole at a corner so that your thread hinges at that point. I would imagine this would be a pretty good idea for the tip of an english point as well. I don't remember exactly which video it was, but they're all worth a watch. http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8urn9l3pybW5LztUa6zbOA

Thanks! It's a solo chopper seat. I'm glad you knew the use of the stain...seems like a lot of people aren't well informed there. But, now you know what can happen with it. Sometimes it really does pay to hold off until we can get the right supplies. The end product is always that much better.

Pm for creaser.

Little off topic from the point of your post, but it sounds like you attempted to use the stain as a dye. Remember that stain was never really intended for overall coverage. It's mostly meant for highlighting the tooling where it will actually sit inside the impressions (hence the reason the kit bottle says highlighter stain). Tan Kote is actually porous as well, so it will allow things through. It's great for products that need to be oiled after they're done, but it's not so great as a resist for liquid antiques, which is what stains are. I've had minimal success with it as a resist for antique paste.

Something like that, I would do more of an overlay and not a splice. Just stitch your croc leather onto the top of the veg-tan, which would be full size. If you tried to "splice" it on, you'd end up with a floppy point where they're joined together. An overlay is quite common for that type of project.

What are you planning on making? If it's something like a strap (such as a belt), I would worry about the strength at the splice. Depending on the end product, different methods could be the best.

Yes, the Resolene will lift the "stain", as well as antique too. That's one reason it's important to use it in LIGHT coats of 50/50 with light pressure. That helps to keep stuff from getting moved around too much. I like to spray my first coat of Resolene for that reason. After that, there's enough of a barrier to prevent anything from lifting off with successive coats.

Cool for its rarity. But, I fail to see how it's quicker to change. All of my swivel blades require you to remove a screw then slip the new one in. This one requires you to do the same, but you also have to keep it centered as well. Not a big deal there, but when we're talking about "quick", it is one extra step.

Springfield's B grade HO is pretty good. The only lacking quality I've ever had was some poorly placed marks in the center that are hard for me to work around when making 50" x 3" guitar straps. Even the belly on most of the stuff I've purchased has been pretty firm, so I can use it in a pinch if I'm desperate. Goliger Leather carries A grade HO though and they're pretty decently priced. I want to say it's roughly $8.25 sq/ft.

Practice is key. First off, scribe a light line to follow and then follow it with a stitch marker. Now you have the holes perfectly spaced and in a straight line. All that's left is to make sure the back is straight too. For this, be certain you're pushing your awl through at the same angle every time and stick your elbow out so that your arm is straight as you're pushing the awl through.

Without knowing the tannery, it's hard to say what they relate to in actual grades. A "C" grade of US Tannery would average around the $6 per/foot range. At $6 a YARD, I'd guess that's pretty close to bottom grade, even considering the fact that it's import since that's basically $2 a square foot.

It only cracks if it's applied to heavy and not thinned 50/50. If I'm only doing a single color, I'll put it on with a sponge. Multiple colors like this will usually get at least the first coat airbrushed to keep from lifting any pigment and spreading it around.

I offer rewards randomly to those who work hard to promote me on Facebook. There are a lot of "likes" that you never hear from again. But those who participate and show a real interest, as well as try to get their friends to purchase, deserve a reward.

http://foamforyou.com/neoprene.htm#Neoprene High Quality Just email and they'll get you sorted quick. I get the 3/4" and I can build up thicker by using multiple layers if needed.

Here you go. The white and gold paints don't have any dye under them. The purple keychains have black underneath. Other than that, dye paint varnish (I'm using Liquitex) resolene/finish the entire piece Really not much to it besides doing it. Also, I've seen lots of people put Resolene directly over Acrylics and have no problems whatsoever. Just try it and check your results before you decide you need the varnish.

Some of those marks may not be all that bad. They may actually come out looking pretty cool with some dye and show real character. Any of the scuffs may be able to be cleared up with a glass slicker. I would only go this route if you end up not being able to send it back for something more usable.

I'm not sure what you could do then. It's worth a shot to have them refund it. All the reputable dealers I know state the grade you're getting. Expect to spend about 8 USD per/foot on B grade and up. I think the "C" and Craftsman grade stuff is averaging about $5.50 or $6 per foot right now.

I promote it's use because it's easy to obtain (since so many people "have" to buy from Tandy because it's close to them) and it provides good results for about the same price. I do have a bottle of RTC sitting on my bench waiting for me to quit being lazy and try it. I just haven't had time to run any tests on it, so I won't use it on an order, and I really don't like telling people to get it until I've at least seen the results.

Aside from the wrinkles (which could just be due to light weight), it looks like it could easily be the low grade stuff. anything "B" or "A" grade should NEVER look like that and whoever you bought it from should be more than willing to accept a return. If it's "C" or "Craftsman" grade, I would expect stuff like that. But, if you feel it's unusable, many vendors will exchange it for you.

So, what I'm most concerned about is your primary strap design with the flames. Everytime something gets thin and tapers to a point like that, the cut depth needs to gradually get shallower towards the tip and fall short of actually connecting. What you have here is the possibility of an overdramatic "disaster". basically, there's not material there to hole the tip of your flames onto the leather, so it's going to splinter up on you. By leaving them disjointed, you connect the line with your beveling alone. Also, you never cut deeper than the piece is wide. So, just feather those flames out and leave the tips disconnected and finish it off with your beveler. The other thing, which is a hard one to grasp, is the concept of depth when overlapping items. ALL of your cuts are at the exact same depth right now, which means that no matter how it's tooled, it's not better than a 2D drawing. We're working with a 3D medium here, so our work needs to reflect that. Look at your flames the way you have them cut. With this perspective, the flame on top (closest) is the EXACT same distance from the "background" (infinite space), as the flame that's sitting directly underneath it (furthest), as well as having that same amount of space between them. How is this possible? The same thing goes for your T overlapping the D. They're both physically the same distance away, but we know by the design that the D is further away than the T. So, to make it easy I'll focus on that one when describing the technique and you just apply it to everything else that overlaps. Since the T overlaps the D, any line that is above the D needs to be a little lighter to show that there's less space between the two (let's call it 1 foot in regards to perspective). So, we're looking at this D and T sitting in the distance and we see that the T is closer to us, followed by the D that's 1 foot away, followed by infinite space. That means that the deepest cuts should be those that outline the T above the infinite space (since that's the largest amount of space we're dealing with), and the second deepest cuts need to be those outlining the D, since it has a little less space between it and the background. And, as mentioned, the lightest cuts will be those separating the two letters because there's only a little bit of space between them. Sign up for these free lessons here. There's some awesome stuff there in regards to depth and perception. Study it, practice it, master it in your mind, then give it another shot and see the difference http://paintingcow.com/content/index.php/publications/free_lesson_sign_up/

That's definitely airbrushed, although you can achieve the same effect by dry brushing with some good practice.

I'm not doing it. But, you mentioned you liked the idea of modifying a tool to fit your press, so I was offering alternatives to the Craftool you had that wouldn't suit your needs. Now, my opinion on "speeding things up".... The amount of time it takes to place the belts in whatever jig you happen to make and then operate the machine will likely be equal to the amount of time it takes to place a strap end punch on the belt and hit it one time. So, considering that, along with the occasional one that doesn't punch right making scrap, you'll have a lot of time and money into making a new method that may or may not pay back in financial returns. Now, if you have the ability to create a finely tuned machine with lots of precise adjustment to count for the variables that arise from a "manufacturing" process (which this is becoming), then by all means create something.