Cyberthrasher

It's amazing you function at all . That really helps to fill it all in. Now put a sheet on it and get some sleep.

Yeah, that's what caused my cleaning fit. During my last guitar build, everything just got put wherever it was most convenient so I wouldn't disturb the soft nitro lacquer. Now I can see what my bench is made out of, so there's some progress. I look at the pinstripes as a PITA version of celtic work. Gotta figure out which line is crossing over which, but it's not a thick line so it's really hard to picture. Yeah, definitely need to chill and grab a beer after that one.

NEVER CLEAN (says the guy that's in the process of cleaning his own shop). It's looking better and better every time. I'm just highly anticipating everything you're going to do to tie them all together. Now, imagine if you had to hammer out all those bevels.....

Yeah, I can see the confusion you had on that one. It's looking great though. There's some stuff I might normally consider a mistake, but I know how well you remedy that stuff in the process. It's a lot different taking single line designs and transferring them to an inherently 3D medium. I need to get back to striping one of these days but just can't focus long enough to pull a straight line when I'm on painkillers. I'm getting ready to do some scroll style "striping" designs on a tiny eyeglass case for my daughter (smallest work I've done so far) - we'll see how bad my brain hurts when I'm done. Probably similar to figuring out which side to do on torn flesh.

Love it man! Makes me want to go pick up one of my babies and get some tubes overheating. With general chaos at work, family, and this leather stuff, I've hardly played anything in almost a year. Anybody ever tell you that first one has a cool kind of Danzig sound to it in your voice?

Definitely, especially since my work piece isn't trying to move all over the place at the same time. All this is why I'm so surprised they haven't taken off more. I wonder if most of the folks who have been doing this for a long time just see it as a novelty or something.

And still do it all in less time than it takes to do half the distance with a traditional beveler.

I just started using the swivel beveler too on Chancey's recommendation. Honestly, even though I don't see it replacing my other one completely, I see it picking up a large majority of the work. What I've found so far is that it requires the leather to be a little softer (extra cased) in order to get the good deep impressions. But, I think on 3/4 oz the amount it gives at a normal casing level should be fine, so you may just want to start beveling a little sooner before the leather loses it's moisture. On my 8/10 oz work, I'm starting when the leather still looks fairly wet and also really watching my cut depth. Remember, there's nothing here to pound the leather into shape, so it's got to be at a point where it forms easily by pushing on it. The only other problem I've found with it is the size. Because it's such a wide base, I have troubles getting it into tight spots and around small curves. Chancey recommended tipping it like you do your swivel knife, which I was doing, but I think it just requires a bit more practice. That's why I'm thinking about buying a couple more and cutting them down to narrower sizes so I can handle tighter spots with it. At $3 a piece, it's an easy enough fix. Other than that, I find it works with fewer slip offs if I make 2 passes over the work. Trying to press and slide at the same time caused it to bind up a bit and then go sliding off over the line into the wrong section of my work.

Late to the game here, but with your skill and the size of it - 1700 to 2000 sounds fair. I would compare it to a seat. If you consider that each side is average about 2 seats worth of work (maybe a little less) - then 4 seats total would be a ballpark price. That all depends on the amount of tooling as well, but you know that better than I do. And, you know us guitar freaks are just as willing to pay for cool kustom as any of us motorcycle freaks. Also, I think it's a much better idea to have a custom built guitar underneath it too because it just makes it that much better.

If you can't afford a new bike, rebuild the one you got I need to get back to pinstriping too. Got a plain satin tank just begging for some One Shot.

Just don't go buying them out of stock

Springfield Item #011-43. http://springfieldleather.com/4271/Blade%2CPlastic%2CBeveler/

Yeah, I was having issues staying directly on the cut a few times. That thing gets pretty slick. My main issues with the size of it were the loops on the letters and the smaller connecting lines in the web. Probably wouldn't have normally did those with it, but it was a test drive to see what it will do. I was angling it, but probably just need more practice. At $3 a piece though, I'll probably still be getting a couple more. As you can see, I also picked up a matting tool and a full set of pebblers (it's nice having each size to get where you need). Feels good to finally bust out of the Tandy "Lucky" 7 crap. I was going to ask about your brushes. Are those all camel hair? Any brand you've found works the best for you? I'm getting ready to start work with a buddy of mine street/rat rodding (if I'm allowed more input it will be more rat than street) his old 52 Chevy pickup. I mentioned your door panels and he thought it was a cool idea. Definitely stick with that title for the upcoming book

I'm very happy with that beveler. I was thinking about getting a couple more and cutting them down to a narrower base for tight curves and stuff. But, you only have the one, right? Any tips for working it in those tight spots? I still can't believe those things haven't caught on. I spent 5 minutes beveling this last night (free hand fun, don't judge my lettering), instead of the hour plus it might have taken me with a standard beveler. Freehand practice with new tools sorry to jack your awesome seat post, but it's "tutorial" related.

Man, and here I thought you were giving me the number 1 secret to an awesome seat Excellent work as always. Now you got me staring at it trying to see what I can find - like one of those magic eye posters. But, I got the "Chancey beveler" and a half a cow sitting here - so I think I can figure something out

Work comes first....but I'm definitely eagerly anticipating it when you get there

Just found this while searching for other stuff I will say that there are times when all I want is that slight effect of a beveled line with no cut. I have a piece I'm working on right now that's got a lot of torn flesh designs to it. Most of these lines I've cut and then as I'm beveling, I go past the end of my cut and continue beveling to make a nice feathered line that looks like it's coming out of the rest of the un-tooled portion. There are other times I use the no-cut technique for shading. But, keep in mind, this is just one technique to be used when called for. You should definitely be cutting your designs a majority of the time. If you don't know which question to ask, do a search on what you need. Chances are pretty good you'll get a wealth of information. For cutting, most people recommend 1/3 to 1/2 of the thickness of your leather for the cut depth.

I'll keep scavenging your posts here until we find some of that "time" stuff.