Cyberthrasher

Especially since all the US folks I'm trying to reach (who make a solid pan) apparently don't like money. You'd think when someone offers to buy in bulk they'd be all over it. Chancey has an excellent pan available!!

In this regard, I think it's easy to turn people away by posting the same stuff over and over and over and over. I have a couple of companies I've liked on my personal page that have actually turned me away from purchasing their products because they basically fill my news feed with a separate post for each of their items every morning. ALL of my work is custom, so I usually post up progress pictures and the finished items. Sometimes if I don't have anything going on I start working on other ideas and ask people what they think. I have a long way to go to fully utilize it though. My main problem now is that everyone sees me as only offering one product because that's the orders I've been getting. I think the key to FB for people like us is to engage our fans. Don't engage them like they're a business customer who's just there to browse and buy, bring them into the shop like a part of the family and say "check this out"

Yes, the blade should go through both pieces with none of it sticking out. I haven't had the plate out in a while, but I'm pretty sure there's a little dimple on the side that is pressed in with the screw, and the other side has a larger flat surface that contacts the crossbar. Just in case, all those pictures will expand to full screen if you open them up. Nah, it's too late for coffee. Almost bedtime, so you are splerking free

Step one: The round metal thingy goes here (sounds like a good term to me) and is used to keep the crossbar solid with pressure from the main thumbscrew. Make sure your blade is on the side of the handle that has this round cutout on the side. Step two: The blade goes here in the slot that's at the 0 mark on the ruler. It should go BEHIND the screws. These screws hold the blade in place and at the same time that keeps this end of the crossbar set at the proper thickness. You'll need to loosen that top blade screw in order to adjust the thickness. It can be really hard to get into the slot, so take your time and don't cut yourself. another view to show where the blade sits. This is the thickness adjustment for the otherside of the cross bar. You need to make sure that the thickness is equal across the entire length in order to get a nice clean cut. You will need to loosen 1 blade screw, this little thumbscrew, and the main thumbscrew in order to adjust the thickness. Springfield leather has a good video on their youtube page that shows all kinds of stuff about this great tool http://www.youtube.com/user/SpringfieldLeatherCo

pictures on the way

Just keep at it and you'll be flying in no time. I always tell people to just be honest with themselves as they're looking at their work. I'm far from perfect, but I know exactly what I need to work on to get better. Part of that is the fact that I'm extremely critical of everything I do. So, just step back and look at your work while asking yourself "what part of this isn't perfect?". I used to be a bigger Otep fan than I am now, but my wife and 12 year old daughter are borderline obsessive

it's my main "website" while I'm working on developing a website that suits my needs. You can't beat it for getting your name out there to people who would normally not know who you are or what you do. All it takes is for one friend to like something you do, then all their friends see it and so on.

I'm confused by all the problems people have with it. Yeah, the black sucks into the leather pretty quick, but I've never had a problem as long as I brush the excess off on a piece of paper before touching it to leather. I've brushed it into to some high-detail spots with no issues. Dry brushing is our friend . There are times where I'm more guilty of not having enough dye on my brush. Having no experience with the coverage of acrylics, I would test to see if the acrylic yellow would cover the black dye. If so, then it should be able to touch up the spots that got black on them.

well, now you have some mop-n-glo for your floors that will make it smell like you're on an island vacation

I finish with resolene and condition with a wax product, which is what Montana Pitch Blend is. All the wax products are temporary finishes that will need to be reapplied. With resolene and other hard finishes, you won't be in so much trouble in between applications of your conditioner.

I have no experience with machines, but we have a sewing machine section down a little further that you might try if you don't get any responses here. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showforum=50

I think the majority of us actually have pretty small areas to work in, it's just that most of us don't share the pictures because it isn't much to look at It's funny that the first thing that caught my eye in your pictures was the fish-tape hanging on the wall - obvious what I do for a living!! How do you have those hand tools attached to the wall above your bench?

A lot of people like Grey Ghost, but we have several good alternatives who are members of the forum. LW Leathers and EmbossingDieCompany are two that come to mind. LW provides a heat embossing solution. I think GreyGhost are the only one's who provide a traditional stamp that can be struck with a mallet. I haven't experienced any of them in pre-dyed leather, but I'm pretty sure they'll work just the same. They would just require a little more pressure to make sure you get a lasting impression.

I find that most people who want all this off the wall stuff just really don't know what they want. Usually if you can say "these are the styles I offer" and "you can get it with your choice of pocket count" then they'll probably fit right in there somewhere. I get a lot of requests for so many pockets, horizontal vs. vertical pockets, etc... At least by having a few alternatives you could get some of the customers instead of turning away 100% of them. There's always going to be someone who says they want some crazy walletpurse with 30 pockets and 10 hidden compartments with 5 different straps to secure it closed, so don't feel bad about sending that guy away

Scary sharp between your knife and your casing, you shouldn't feel any resistance when cutting.

I keep hoping that will happen some day. I love my day job, but I love making money with art even more!! Half the reason I haven't been sleeping well lately is because I have ideas for products and patterns rolling through my head half the night.

For me, a tooled wallet would usually be about $160. The little card wallets I do that have few pieces are about $80 with a small design ($20 p/h at about an hour worth of tooling). I figured my base price on the plain card wallets was $60. But, for me that includes lacing. Since you have a shop full of machines, I'd be willing to bet you could make your margin. You'll need to make a couple up to figure out your design, but after that you'll probably be able to spit them out pretty quick.

I know, you were one of my first overseas likes I'll have to try to find something like that lace to try out. I love roo for the different braids, but I can see using some good round stuff for the cross stitching and stuff like that. This last seat just makes me angry!! I really need to work on that style. It's so clean and sexy!! Got any pictures of the underside?

I started with a similar setup, except it was a cardboard box and I was working on our dishwasher because it was the most solid surface available. Finally I put my foot down and demanded some space of my own, so she threw me down the stairs and said "here, have the cold basement crybaby". Not really, my wife is too loving and accepting, but it sounds really funny

The black straps you pictured here have a wrinkled and worn texture to them from working the leather. If you fold it and bend it, the grain will separate from the flesh and let it look like this. The link you provided is a completely different look. That, as stated, is a pebble grain effect that you cannot produce with any sort of normal means. That would be provided that way from the tannery. It looks like "fawn calfskin" might be a type of leather you could buy. It shows up on a lot of luxury goods pages.

I always say support your local economy first. So, I hope that anybody in China would buy Chinese made products, just like I hope Americans would attempt to buy American products. Nothing political about it.

Knife cuts look like they're working better for you. Did it feel more comfortable with the sharpened blade and additional height? Looks like your casing was still a little too wet. Without going into all the details that make you wait overnight and stuff, I'd let it sit another 5 - 10 minutes and see if that's any better. If I get to do any practice tonight, I'll take a shot of what my Herman Oak looks like when it's "ready" after a quick case. Maybe that will help in judging the moisture content.

That's one of the 2 main things I'd like to fix. I need a longer tooling bench since most of my work is belts and guitar straps. Right now they hang off either side and I'm always afraid of something rubbing wrong. But, the main thing I need is a better cutting table. Right now I take it over to my bedroom floor on the other side of the wall and roll out my side to cut with a large cutting mat underneath the edge. As it is, a good side of leather barely fits in my floor space with all the other junk we have protruding from the walls.

Welcome back!! I really love that antiqued oak leaf one.

Me too. Tele's the main thing I'm missing (and SG and V and....). I have a handful of strats. But, I'm a big Jonny Lang and Tab Benoit fan, so I've been really wanting a thinline with a P-90 in the center . I'll have to send you a family photo on FB or something. There's lots of tutorials on the blanket stitch that show how to do it, either video or pictures. It's a pretty easy stitch that looks cool like this. My question that I've been meaning to ask is what are you using to string these ones up? Looks more like a cord than lace.