Cyberthrasher

Very beautiful work. I can honestly say I've never seen one wrapped like that.

I use Bob's method by wetting thoroughly, letting it return to tooling status, bagging it and then refrigerate overnight (at least). Most of my projects lately have been big enough to not be able to finish in one sitting, so I had to come up with something. I Know the fridge keeps the mold away too because I was fighting with that for a while and now I don't have any. Also, since my items are so large, I wrap them up in GOOD cling wrap in sections then stick it all in a garbage bag before putting it in the fridge. I find that with that method, all I have to do is unwrap the portion I'll be working on, spray the backside with a little water then get to work. When I take a break, I re-wrap. Basically from the time I cut out the leather until I'm ready to dye it stays wrapped in plastic to maintain a constant moisture level. All that said, I've never felt that my work feels any stiffer or anything after it's finished. But, I don't use any oil or conditioners until I'm done tooling so there may be some validity to that part of it.

Always thin with the base, which in the case of Eco Flo is water.

I use it full strength in light coats. The can says you can use their lacquer thinner to cut down on the gloss level, but I would imagine any lacquer thinner would do a similar job.

Most people will recognize it as that first, which is sad. But, it's an excellent job. I really love the finish touch the red thread gives it.

Gotta get the Terms Of Service and Privacy Policy updated

Depends on the size of the work. Usually I'll use a modeling tool to lightly bevel and round them off. On some of the bigger items I can use an actual beveler to accomplish the main part and do a double bevel (bevel each side of the line) then come back through and use the modeling spoon to round it up. Do you have a picture of what you're working on?

I figured you guys were still working out some kinks. Servers are what I do for a living, so I know how the launch day always "works" I'd still really suggest removing HTTPS from the general browsing pages and leave it for when people are making transactions and logging in. That will make browsing a lot faster and cut down on unnecessary overhead. I'll keep checking it out over the next few days to see how it's coming along.

Overall, the site's not bad. I know you weren't asking for our critiques on your site, but this is stuff that will make people feel more comfortable setting up an account and working with you. So, if I had some more information about what is involved in being a seller, such as policies, and if there was an FAQ or something to help me get started under the "Support" tab then I might be more inclined to jump in because I'd know that you were making sure I had everything I need to be successful. There are also things you mentioned here in this post that I couldn't find any mention of on the site, such as "free merchant account to accept credit cards, a full marketing and advertising team behind the scenes". That's something I'd like to see some more information on. My wife's been struggling with Etsy quite a bit for her own handmade business, so another option would be great. I just want to make sure it's not going to cause her or me more headaches before I recommend it.

First thing's first. You're redirecting to a required SSL connection but not providing a trusted certificate. This is something that should be fixed immediately before any financial transactions occur. I'll trust it from a test network momentarily so I can look at the site further. In the meantime, you should only use HTTPS on pages where sensitive information is transferred. This will greatly increase the usability of the site as a whole.

More and more additions to my expense list.........

LOVE all the brass on that, and of course your seat looks awesome on it. Hammer hanger is yet another thing I've been procrastinating on.

There's a few things I've done to get it "more" even without an airbrush (oil first, 50/50, etc...), but the airbrush is your best bet for larger pieces. It's also the quickest, and since time is money... Don't know what you have available for discount tool outlets, but I got a "good for the job" Harbor Freight dual action deluxe and an aircompressor for $100 to get me started. Paid for itself in the first job. Now I can keep my timeline down, which allows more people to order from me because the cost is lower.

I don't remember the brand name, but Springfield does sell some other tools that aren't Tandy. Give them a call and ask about what they have. They've also been getting in a lot of other tools lately too, so it's good to check with them to see what's going on. I would love a BK, but just can't justify it right now.

go to ebay and find some "gym foam". They're fairly cheap pieces and you can stack them to fit the right height then carve to shape. It's a closed cell foam and will retain its shape longer while keeping out the water, not to mention it's A LOT cheaper then the apparently golden cushion foam at Joanne's.

double beveling is when you bevel both sides of the cut line. I like to do it lightly so I'm not actually depressing the leather as far as a normal beveling, just kind of opening up the line a little and giving it a nice rounded appearance. here's an example of the tool that would normally be used to do it for some ideas. http://springfieldleather.com/25330/Stamping-Tool%2CB997%2CBeveler/

No problem. I'm kind of a pro at googling sometimes

If you have a grinder and some files you could cut down one side of your wrench to make it do all the cutting at once. A lot of times I fine my bead work like that looks better with a slight opening up of the cut line or a light double-bevel then it does with a full bevel job.

Just found this by googling "Velcro Sheets". They seem to have every kind of hook & loop fastener you'll ever need. http://www.hookandloop.com/site/department.cfm?id=2669&level=1&byId=true

yeah, I think where your stuff would really take off is nice clean lines and working with different dye techniques to get different effects on a non-tooled piece of leather. Just means more work in nailing down those templates and perfecting assembly. It's kind of funny when I jump from tooling torn flesh and skulls on a piece of wall art to just doing a simple and elegant black belt with applique lacing down the center. Must be the ex-tattoo artist in me that allows me to jump around between styles and see/feel/get into the coolness in it all (sorry, I just really like this guy)

I'm neither, just whatever I can make look cool (whatever that means to me while still matching my customer's wishes). I like those designs and I can see myself modifying them to work quite nicely for my "style".

It could be, but I would like to think it's got a couple rivets in there to hold it more permanently. I think you had "the art of making leather cases" on your list. That will give you lots of ideas there. By the way, I got really busy at work over the weekend so I didn't get a chance to get that out for you, but I will get it done.

NOPE! Can't allow it with all the fun you've had this summer

Man, I never even saw this until now..............Guess I was working (unlike somebody who wants to brag about the pool.........) You know I'm thankful Bud, but I gotta give you an extra hard time!!!