Cyberthrasher

Right at the top of this section is a pinned post called "Finishing Edges" http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=18101

I use Neatsfoot for all my oil. If I don't want it to darken, I don't apply as much. Penny, careful with those HF airbrushes. The Red one SUCKS!!! Get the Blue deluxe model.

Looks more like a thinned saddle tan in the center to me. Definitely not done with an airbrush though. You can see a few vertical streaks in the upper center. I'm guessing dauber or sponge, but a "cleaner" effect would be had by using a rag on a block to do the effect in the post listed above - that would avoid those streaks that take away from the overall effect.

You'll solve some of those problems by putting a light coat of oil on first. It helps to pull the dye in more evenly. Basically what's going on is that certain parts of the leather are dryer than others, so they suck in the dye a lot faster, where those that have some moisture in them don't - leaving those dark spots until it settles. For your green - it's not just saddle tan. All of the browns have green in the mixture. Think of when you were a kid and mixed your colors. When you decided you were really fancy and mixed all those pretty colors and it ended up looking like poop - that's how they make brown. It's got more green in it than anything else. I have a bottle of Walnut that's horrible about it. That bottle, I apply light thinned coats and buff buff buff with a little bit of oil to settle it down. Sometimes the mix is just a little off and it comes through like that. You will see a much more even application with an airbrush due to the way it atomizes the color and doesn't build up in any one spot more than the others. The downside is that you have to work a little harder to get the dye to penetrate into the leather deeper like it does when using a dauber or brush. That's best accomplished by applying a light coat of oil and then putting on your first coat of dye reduced by 50%. If it's already a 50/50 color, reduce it to 25/75 for that first coat. Then go through a second coat with your intended mixture.

There's both of your problems. The more dye you apply, the darker it's going to get. It also sounds like that "Soaking it in" caused the tooling to soak up that moisture and undo all of your hard work at tooling. It really doesn't take that much dye to color the leather thoroughly.

Well, I'm in a single income household with myself as the bread winner. So, I'd have to make close to what my day job pays now. I could probably get by with $36K if I made some adjustments.

Springfield's "Top Grade", or "Medium Grade" are imports. The true Top Grade at Springfield is clearly listed as "Hermann Oak B Grade", and there is a lower grade of Hermann Oak available that's labeled as "Hermann Oak Craftsman Grade". I've never used W&C - but their reputation tells me it would likely be better than the imports. I use both Hermann Oak B from Springfield, as well as some of their imports. I usually keep the imports to smaller lightweight stuff like pocket items. I've seen inconsistencies in them and a lot of times the back is pretty fleshy or the thickness is on both ends of the spectrum throughout the hide. The HO B grade is usually very consistent throughout with only a few tannery marks here and there within the field and a firm belly. I get quite a bit of yield out of them. But, I've also started buying some A grade from Sheridan Leather. There's a few less marks in it which helps on my strap production and it tools a little nicer than the B grade (non-applicable to you obviously). When it comes down to it, knowing that the imports are just that, I'll buy an American tannery's product first.

it would be pretty thick that way You have to remember that you need clearance for lowering the action. There are aluminum heat shields available for stratocasters and some other models. I'm looking for a reliable source of rigid ABS with thinner dimensions than the pickguard material.

Just screws. This particular model doesn't carry any of the electronics. I'm working on finding a good product to use as a stiffener for Strats and other models that will have more stuff hanging by the pickguard.

It's what it's "intended" for, but it's really for sitting in a bottle on the shelf never to be used anywhere. It's a glue it's abbrasive it blocks dye from absorbing it wears off, and as you see leaves a mess.

I would switch out the gum trag for an actual finish product and use a couple coats.

I'm still not super happy with the halos around it. Should have done some backgrounding. Oh well. The customer loves it and it's already turned into a few more orders, so it must be a success.

http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showforum=220 Is that their final color?

For wallets that you're getting ready to stitch up, contact cement isn't necessarily the best/only choice. Since I'm only putting adhesive on 1/8" strip along the edge, I prefer to just use seam tape here. It seems to take a lot longer to get a clean glue line on that outer edge then it does to slap a piece of tape along there. Keep in mind, I make SURE that it's to the edge and there's a really good bond so that the leather doesn't separate on my. But we're really just talking about a temporary binding until you can get it stitched up.

Just rub some more on top and get back to work. For my white one, which I hardly use, sometimes I'll need to brush off some of the flakes that are on it when it builds up too bad. But, the white (especially the white from Tandy) is really too course anyway. For a better stropping experience, get some of the green - but also remember that there's no standard of color vs. coarseness. This bar will last you a lifetime. Take a look at those "tips and tricks" too, I want it to be required viewing/reading for everybody http://www.shop.leatherwranglers.com/product.sc?categoryId=12&productId=9

Just remember, when it comes to paint, THIN THIN THIN - First off, you don't want cracking, but you also don't want it to look like a layer of paint. Thinned down acrylics can leave the texture and look of the leather showing through, and they won't be prone to problems when flexed. Just thin it down with water and build UP your color.

I get irritated and walk away quite regularly, but never think of giving up. You HAVE to look at every screw up as a lesson. Analyze it, figure out what went wrong, figure out what needs to be done to keep it from happening again. It's obvious you strive for perfection, otherwise you wouldn't be asking this, but you do need to learn to use it. It's good you don't want to put out crap, so fix one thing at a time and perfect it until the whole isn't crap.

To back it, the traditional method would be ground up leather dust mixed with rubber cement or some other glue to form a paste and then pack it in there like Bondo on a car. Here's a write up from Kings-X showing the process. http://kingsxcustomleatherworks.blogspot.com/2012/10/embossing-rings.html

We've all struggled with buying the right things and wanting to make sure we were ordering what we needed

The "Top Grade" and "Medium Grade" leathers from Springfield are all import. The real stuff clearly states Hermann Oak on it. From there they offer B grade - clearly labeled such, and "Craftsman" grade - which is low grade. When ordering sides from them, I never put in the feet. I email all the time and say I need 1 side of Hermann Oak B in whatever weight. If I need something a certain size, I relay that and always get what I need. They will sell by the foot, but if you're after a side it's better to ask for that instead of a specific footage because that's what you'll get otherwise. I actually made that mistake before when ordering so many feet of something. I didn't realize that it came in 12ft hides and I ordered 10 ft. When it came, it had 2 sq feet cut off because that's what I had ordered. So, now I know to either ask how much is in the hide, or just say 1 hide.

Yeah, those look like they're cut, beveled, and then possibly centered with a pear shader to give definition and interest in some spots.

Yeah, until you put too much on and either over-saturate your work - causing rot by breaking the fibers down, or get it on so heavy it darkens your work up when you needed it to be lighter.

It's not a high quality one, but you can sharpen it up to get the job done. Here's a video from Nigel Armitage on how to sharpen your awl blade.

That definitely sounds like poor leather. I had a Hermann Oak "Craftsman" side like that (that's their low grade available at Springfield). Oil helped, but it wasn't great on the outer regions of the side. Once I got into the bottom of the back and toward the belly, things got a lot better for me. It's also something that you'll notice more on larger pieces as opposed to the sheaths and holsters you've been using it for.