Cyberthrasher

Well, if you're going for realistic, I have absolutely NO idea. But, if you want something artistic, the first thing that popped into my head was clouds. Something like the clouds in this picture (simple google image search for "tattoo clouds") could look really nice in the background. http://www.tattoos-beauty.com/image-files/cross-tattoos-with-flames.jpg

Great start - and you're even coming up with stuff for all the tools . I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who didn't want to do the "Kit" designs. I really like what you did on that first rounder. That's a great job at decorative cutting. I found that the Tandy kit leather (at least in my case) can't really be properly finished very easily in regards to the back and edges. I don't remember the recommended procedure but I know I read it a few times on here.

Ouch!! Sounds like your neighbor just bought himself a new seat. Still doesn't get one on your bike tonight though.

Welcome. I really like the finish on that bottom one. Have you seen Al Stohlman's series on case making? It's in 3 volumes, volume 1 goes over a lot of molding stuff like that. I haven't gotten to 2 or 3 yet, but I'm pretty sure there's some other specific holster parts in there as well. So far it's been an invaluable resource to me.

Can you post pictures of the inside? My wife's about to buy a new kindle touch and they want A LOT of money for less then 1 Sq Ft of pleather that's not even personalized. I need ideas on how to hold it in place.

Why thank you. That's my first build and definitely my pride and joy when it comes to making the things I can't afford to buy outright

I think you might be looking at different pictures then I am, but I'll take the compliment either way

Well, I've been lurking around since I first decided I wanted to learn how to work with leather. I've always wanted some custom leather bags and stuff for my bike and guitars. Growing up without money, I had to learn how to make the things I wanted and that hasn't stopped here. My wife bought me the Tandy Basic kit to get me started and I've been reading everything I can here (probably too much so). So far all I've done is basic tooling but pretty soon I'll also be working on some bags. Here are the first few pieces I've done. The skull is actually what I just finished up on my first piece of non-tandy leather. Definitely found the difference in quality there. Now I just need some better tools - like a beveler that won't leave such horrible tooling marks (I have the one with squared edges). The coaster here is the first one I did just to get my feet wet - learned what "too wet" means. The key chain was one I did for my daughter after reading an article on beveling at different depths. This one I decided to do one of the "kit" designs so I could get some experience with the other tools. Had quite a few mistakes here but we'll see how bad it looks after finishing (currently practicing edge polishing on this one) Just finished this one. It's pretty much all beveler. It's nice working with good leather but it looks like I'm going too deep on the outside lines - especially with the non-beveled edge sticking up so high and square. But, that's what practice pieces are for.

Everything I've found is that these are about the best quality you'll find for the money. They're actually distributed through a lot of the farm and ranch stores. MMC is the daughter company of Carrol Leather who is the manufacturer of Interstate Leather. It's only a half belt, but the rest of the quality and features make that acceptable to me (I'm ordering in a couple weeks). These were the best I could find in my size, 50 Tall. Keep in mind, if you can afford one crafted by a professional then I would go that way over a mass produced item. I can't afford it, so I'm ordering this one. Their sizing guide is a little weird, but you'd probably want the 40 to account for wearing a sweater underneath or anything like that. Plus, they're willing to swap it if it's the wrong size (from what I've read on reviews elsewhere). http://www.milwaukee...nterestate.html