Cyberthrasher

Yep, because it's too thick out of the bottle. If you don't thin it, you'll get the super shiny cracks, lines, and spots - if you can manage to move it around in time. I apply it in one of two ways, both 50/50 with water. Either spray it, or use a moistened sponge (no dripping whatsoever). The sponge will leave a few bubbles, so you need to make sure you get those taken care of right away. A few light coats is always better then 1 heavy coat.

I don't know much about thread, but I do know that #207 is pretty hardy stuff and normally used on heavy weight leathers. I'll defer to the people who are a lot more experienced with thread for something that would suit your material better.

Those are the external mix ones aren't they? I was thinking about grabbing that setup for that same purpose. My only problem is that there isn't a HF anywhere near me, so I have to order, which makes me feel the need to combine shipping and search for other stuff I "might" need.

WORDS TO LIVE BY!!!!

That would be more of a concern if it were a realistic piece. But, since it's more stylized, I think it would be better to depress the dark areas for continuity. Normally, anything that's shadowed is like that because it sits lower/farther than something adjacent which is blocking the light from hitting it. If you look at his face and the "visor" of the headdress, those dark areas are actually lower than the adjacent pieces. It would be a lot better to keep a more realistic approach to these spots and leave the sides of the headdress to "stylistic interpretation". If you were to make something on the face look out of place - it would look REALLY out of place because that's the first thing people are going to notice.

I assume you're referring to 2-up seats or the common manufactured seats that fit the shape of the bike and not sprung solo seats? lightweight leather will be the best, something in the 2 - 3 oz range to make it easier to get around those weird corners. If you're going to tool a leather seat, make it a leather seat and not a leather and something else seat.

That's the key there, and why I've decided that it's a good use for my Harbor Freight now that I have a Paasche. Even at 50/50, resolene can build up pretty quick and needs a good cleaner to get it out of there.

Maybe if you tried heat-setting the sharpie first? I know that works for t-shirts and sharpie signatures. Just use a blow dryer on it and see how it goes.

You might try spraying your resolene. But, make sure you get some kind of airbrush cleaner to get that acrylic out of it. If you leave it, you'll have to spend some good time cleaning things up later. The resolene gets extra gunky pretty bad. The first coat is the one that will move things around, so that's the main one that should be sprayed if you can. Same thing after your antiquing so you don't pull it out of the tooling as easily. I like the new color better

I think the holes are a lot cleaner from punching. But, there are a lot of people who use the dremel with success. I use my dremel press with a burnisher in it for 2 handed guiding of the work through the burnisher.

It's a classic tattoo design. At the heart of it - IRONY I've always looked at it as "that's the only kind of love some neighbors deserve", which I'm pretty sure is close to the intended meaning. We've all that THAT neighbor

See, it's looking good man. May not be exactly what you set out to do, but it's still getting up there.

Yeah, Ditto Chief on that one. I've always loved that piece of yours Ed!! I've never used deglazer either. Actually, I here of more people having problems when they use it. I've never had an issue not using it, so I don't plan on changing things. I was half- asleep last night and missed the 1:2 part of that mixture. Always thin it until it's right

I lightly moisten, especially on the flesh side. If I don't, the edger will always find a tough spot and jump off to stab the tip of my pinky!!

option 3 is what you should be doing. But, since you're brushing it on, it's going on heavy when you make contact with the brush. If you have access to an airbrush, that's your best choice. But, you can also try applying the dye to a rag and wiping it on. For small areas I actually cut a thin strip of paper towel and put it in a clothes pin or binder clip to wipe on that way. Also, if using a brush, make sure to blot it off on paper real well first before putting it to leather.

Don't beat yourself up man. It will just take a little more time to get the dye right. I think it will be fine. The wings look like they might reach out to the edge of the seat once it has some foam under it, but still in the "not bad" category. It's your first seat and about your 5th project - nothing to be ashamed about here

are you thinning the Resolene? It should always be used 50/50 with water. That also results in a more satin finish.

Yep, dye penetrates the leather to color it. Resolene and other finishes seal it so nothing else can get in (hence the reason they're used for resist). But, it can still penetrate. So, I was reading some writings from another crafter who says they apply their resolene first ALL the time and then dye in order to get a perfectly blended dye job. I don't know about perfect in my eyes, but I did use it after reading that, when I realized some things weren't quite right with my color. It pools up on the resolene and allows you to move it around before it penetrates (it may take quite some time to settle through). Give it a try on an easily covered spot to test it, then have a go. Once you get all the dye done - go apply 3 more coats of Resolene before antiquing. That way you don't effect the dye you just put on at that point. Remember: Dye Resolene for resist (x3) antique Resolene for finish coat

SO!! Seat looks great, and even better on the scoot!!

Nice man!! For reference, i use Microsoft Office Picture Manager. I'm pretty sure it comes with all versions of Office. Just click "edit picture" then on the right there's a "compress" option. I just choose the "Document" preset, which keeps the picture about the same physical size, but compresses the file size down to nothing.

how many coats of Resolene did you use? Just want to get that out of the way so you don't have troubles down the road Oh yeah, and you may have to let the dye sit for a bit before it soaks in since you put the Resolene on first. You might want to take care of that now before adding more finish then antiquing.

Nice!! That's one I've been wanting to throw on a seat here pretty soon

Depending on what kind of tooling you want to do, I would say a good start would be either smooth or checkered bevelers in the 00 and 1 sizes. 00 is really small and a GREAT asset for detailed tooling. The 1 is about the size of your craftool beveler. I also got the #2, which is a little bit bigger than the 1. Barry's tools are designed for Sheridan work which requires a lot of really close lines and tight spaces. I haven't tried any of this other styles of tools, but I plan on grabbing a few of the other varieties as I need them. I should add that ALL of my preferred bevelers are smooth, but that's just my preference. I'm actually trying to break out of that, but for the most part smooth beveling is what I'm after. It's really your preference though. Oh yeah, I also have one of his swivel knives, and I bought an additional angled blade to fit one of my tandy swivel barrels. I use the 3/8" blades with a 1/2" barrel, which is "close" to the tandy sizes. They seem to fit me quite well and I don't experience any discomfort.

Yeah, I held off for far too long "getting by". Now I can do so much more detail in less time. It's amazing what they'll do. Granted, I do still pull out some of the other tools here and there as needed, but the old bevelers that match my BK sizes are mostly just smooth matters now. Actually, I need to round out my beveling set before I use up the rest of my tax refunds.