Cyberthrasher

Springfield is a Horween dealer now, so you might give them a call and see what they can do. Other than that, Tannery Row is Horween's retail outlet.

I looked at it when you first posted and I've been trying to find a way to say this. I like your work and it's good, but one common thing I see it almost every piece, especially this one, is that it all looks really busy because there's no variation in the depth. The illusion of space is critical and makes things appear that much more realistic to the viewer while also setting things within the design apart from each other. In this example, the roses are supposed to be 3D and overlap each other, but since it's all tooled at the same depth they lose their beauty and appear to be 2D. If you cut and tool the overlapping ones lighter when they're above another rose and deeper when they're above the "infinite space" of the background (because they are technically closer and have more space behind them), it will give a lot more depth and personality to the work. I really hope that none of this sounds mean. It's just something that I feel needs pointed out in order to take your work to the next level

that does help. Thanks!!

Interesting. The one I did was $225 and didn't have any additional fees that I know of. I'll have to do some more research. now, someone go out on a limb (OP, Billy, someone) and buy some of these punches so we can get a good judgement of them (hows that for back on topic?)

A little off topic, but do you know of any guidelines to follow there? I've shipped one order to Canada and valued it according to what the customer paid. As far as I know there weren't any difficulties and it arrived in a timely manner. I've gotten a few inquiries from other countries though, so it would be nice to know if there's any other details I should be worried about. A lot of my customers work with me on a set budget so I'd hate to have them pay extra to get their stuff.

I usually thin it for the purpose airbrushing my first coat on. But now that you mention it (I didn't even think about it before), I think that video he's referring to actually said thin everything BUT black. Black's already tricky enough and usually needs help to get an even coverage.

I always do my best to by local and avoid China, but you can't say that in a country with so many people there aren't some really good craftsman (not you Billy, just in general). AND, the big one, we all know that Americans are more than capable of producing low quality on a regular basis. I'll always support US companies first, but I'm not naive enough to think that the country of origin is an automatic guarantee of the level of quality. If you do decide to buy some of those, let us know how they work out. I've been keeping my eye out for a good set in my price range.

EEWW!! First thing's first, you must get all physical traces of the mold off. There's a video on Tandy's site for mold removal that should give you the procedure (I've used it for a couple small mold spots), but for this you'll probably want to go with something more industrial strength. I think it was Bee Natural that I saw has some mold treatment. Still not sure if it would be enough for your problem though since I've never used it. http://www.naturalleathercare.com/site/787009/product/SOF

Awesome shop. How much did that desk cost you? I would love to have something like that made, even without the finish oh yeah, if you ever want hands free burnishing, I use the dremel drill press and mount my dremel horizontally so I can have both hands on a strap to move it through. Just a thought since I saw your hangar there, which is included in the press.

most start with 50/50 then test. Your mileage may very so adjust as needed.

I mean if you're working with someone local, you'll see their bike in person, get measurements, discuss mounting options and lug locations etc.... Right now I'm going for prewelded lugs on the ones I'm ordering because I don't have easy access to welding. So, if anybody local comes along, I'll get the measurements needed for their bike and adjust or have one made to spec. MOST people will be fairly standard, but if you have a chance to do it precise from scratch - that would be the way to go. I have another friend who wants ChopperShox brand on his, but they require a specialized mounting tab to be welded on. So, stuff like that is what you'll work with the person on. Then before you even start tooling leather you can have the mounts, springs/shocks, and hinge bracket all lined out ahead of time. If you make the seat in advance, you're going to have to take liberties and set it up with a standard bolt measurement to take the springs and hinge bracket. Then you can just have whoever buys it go buy their own hinge and springs (most people would have these anyway, or at least know where to get them). I don't think anybody includes mounting hardware in their custom seat prices. It may be listed as an added option, but rarely are they included because people like their own styles. My recommendation for you is to get at least "A" seatpan and do up something quick and easy since you don't have a lot of time. A lot of guys like plain airbrushed coloring, some like plain black, or just simple classic designs - like the Harley #1 logo (depending on the crowd) or an Iron Cross. They're simple and effective so you can spend more effort building the seat and not worrying about the tooling. Disclaimer though, i haven't finished a seat at all yet. I've started one, but haven't finished it. It's a 2-up style though, so not the norm anyway. I'm still waiting on my seat pans to get here so I can get started. I do however have a history of playing with choppers and knowing what people like

seat pan, leather (obviously), and a good closed cell foam (think gym mats - nice and cheap) - though some people like to torture their butts and leave out the foam. You can get a seat pan with all the mounting hardware (springs, hinge bracket), but a lot of times it's easier to leave that up to the customer. If you're building it for someone local, you can work with them to get everything they want included with the seat.

A standard stitch groover won't be able to get into the piece that far, but will work on the edges. There's a freehand groover that's made to be used anywhere http://springfieldleather.com/29224/Groover%2CFreehand/ and this one, which I've used, but it takes some practice to get used to. It's adjustable for different depths though. http://springfieldleather.com/16683/Gouge%2CAdjustable%2CU%2C3-32%22/ another image that shows the business end of it. Basically that collar adjusts in and out exposing more or less of the blade. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Craft-Sha-Round-Leathercraft-U-Gouge-Leather-Creaser-Groover-Tool-/110913242886

A good friend of mine who was teaching me some chopper basics (I'm NOT a mechanic) had one of those old one's show up in his shop, so that's the only reason it looked familiar to me. Good old AMF - had to put the Harley name on EVERYTHING they made.

Ok. I knew you were new to carving, but wasn't sure if you had tried it at all yet. The main problem you'll find is that it may darken your leather more than you anticipated. That's one of the reasons I do only 1 or 2 light coats on top and then any additional oiling is applied from the flesh side. I would just get a small bottle and try it out. Also, the "greasy" feeling may be that people aren't letting it dry. Just a thought.

That's what I've been told over and over (about the oil and the reasons for it), so I'm not disputing you. I just looked at the MSDS and there are a few of the ingredients there that could be used to make an "oil", which in itself is not an ingredient in anything but more of a description of the characteristics of an ingredient.

Have you used Neatsfoot oil?? It may be greasy on my hands for a bit, but I've never had it leave my work feeling greasy. EVOO is a good alternative in a pinch, but a lot of people have experienced increased mold with it, so use sparingly.

It's called Oil dye because they added oil to their regular dye to aid in the penetration.

I never had any mice problems since we moved into our house. Then I had a friend move in for a while to get him on his feet and all of a sudden they started popping up (he wasn't the cleanest of people). I went on a killing spree at the first sound of nibbling in the walls. Now they appear to be gone thankfully. I'm not scared of them at all, but I HATE them with a passion after growing up in a house so badly infested it was deemed unfit to live in.

If you have mice - DEFINITELY BE CONCERNED. They will go for it in a heartbeat. Get your leather high up, put traps everywhere, do what you have to. If you don't have mice, pay attention to any signs that they may show up and still be concerned.

moisture, plain and simple. Water evaporates up and anything in it's path will absorb that moisture. Anything directly on the ground will pull in the moisture emanating from your concrete. The more space you have between the cases and the floor, the better - especially if you have an air pocket in there to let the moisture in the air flow out like a vent. Where did you get the bins big enough to hold a side? I usually keep mine in the boxes they come in, but I may be interested in a different solution if I get some more shelving.

I know how you feel there. Mine was 1917 and my basement work area was a dirt cellar for the better part of its life. Totes would work well. Try to keep them off the floor, even if that means on top of a couple pieces of wood. Sides of leather may pose a little more problem, unless they'll fit in your containers. I've been wanting to get some more costco shelves for my area to store stuff further off the ground, but we do what we can.

regardless of what I'm about to say, the way you're doing it is right Once my dye is dry, I tend to give it a buffing and then wait a couple hours before I apply a light coat of neatsfoot to help pull the dye in and even things out if they don't quite look right. After that, i may or may not put on another coat of neatsfoot in a couple of hours. At this point though, if I do apply it, it's applied to the back of the project to prevent any interference with the dyes. This coat is just to make sure there's enough conditioning in the leather and has nothing to do with the dying process. From there, I usually attempt to apply the first of 2 - 3 coats of 50/50 resolene after a few more hours. Now, the second coat is usually put on within the next hour or so because I want it to somewhat reactivate the first and even it out (the first coat has more of a chance of going on uneven because it's applying to a rough surface). Then I go to bed and come back the next day to see if it needs a 3rd. Ideally, you should be letting each coat of Resolene dry for at least 4 hours, overnight if it's getting antique over the top.

That's probably what happened. It's just too thick to get an even appearance when used full strength from the bottle. I usually get that little bit on my sponge, wipe it on, then go back to the start immediately and kind of rub it in with circular motions really lightly.

reading through that patent, it actually looks like they patented the process itself. But, I'm new to reading patents, so I could be wrong.