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Everything posted by Cyberthrasher
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As long as it's for you - go for it. But, try not to use it as an example of your work for potential customers.
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Ditto - Createx is among my favorite, for hand brushing as well.
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Ok Got The Seat, What Should I Use To Weatherproof It?
Cyberthrasher replied to troy's topic in Motorcycles and Biker Gear
Nope. It's water based to begin with, as are most acrylics. If you're resisting, you'll want to use 4 - 5 light airbrush coats. Hand applications can be done with 3 or 4 light coats. Any finish should be built up in layers, regardless of the applications. 1 heavy coat of finish will still allow stuff through easier as it acts like a coffee filter at a microscopic layer due to the pores. But, several light coats built up to the same level will act like several coffee filters, staggering the pores and making it harder for stuff to find a way through. -
Ok Got The Seat, What Should I Use To Weatherproof It?
Cyberthrasher replied to troy's topic in Motorcycles and Biker Gear
Thanks!! For Resolene, ALWAYS cut it 50/50 with water, regardless of the application method, and be sure to use several light applications - again regardless of the application method. -
Spray Setup
Cyberthrasher replied to Red Cent's topic in Dyes, Antiques, Stains, Glues, Waxes, Finishes and Conditioners.
I see a kind of purple spray gun, but no red airbrush. I was always recommending the Harbor Freight airbrush. Another friend on here ended up getting the kit they offer with airbrush and compressor. It comes with their "red" airbrush which sells separately for about $10. Well, she always had problems with it and ended up sending it to me to look at. I open the box and my jaw dropped at all of the stuff that was wrong with it. The WORST manufacturing you could imagine. I have the "Blue" model that's about $10 more, the Deluxe (although the red one says deluxe right on the airbrush and mine doesn't) and it actually works. -
This is kind of a long read, so I started only scanning about half way down. But, there are a lot of good points in here that follow my personal train of thought. This may not be of any value to someone who views their work as purely utilitarian, but for those of us who view what we do as art, there's a lot of value in it. As an example of some points discussed (finding a baseline), whenever I make a new offering for a product, I like to make one that's just plane with single color in order to get a feel for what a basic version with no tooling would cost. From there, I'll usually make a second "prototype" that's got some super basic tooling just to get a feel for how long it might take to customize (ie...how much value will be added according to MY standards). That will usually give me a good range for pricing and estimates. The key stuff to take away here is just as I mentioned before, finding similar work based on your own criteria (skill level, overall quality and appeal, etc...) and try to use that as a ballpark figure. http://www.artbusiness.com/pricepoints.html
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Ah. I get confused when I multitask sometimes.
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Ok Got The Seat, What Should I Use To Weatherproof It?
Cyberthrasher replied to troy's topic in Motorcycles and Biker Gear
How are you applying it? usually that plastic look is due to a heavy application. The ultimate in "satin" resolene application will be through an airbrush. But, a proper 50/50 mixture will still look satin if applied in very light coats. this is the one I just did with sprayed Resolene. -
Spray Setup
Cyberthrasher replied to Red Cent's topic in Dyes, Antiques, Stains, Glues, Waxes, Finishes and Conditioners.
I use the cheap Harbor Freight "Blue" deluxe model for Resolene (STAY AWAY FROM THE RED ONE!!!) Be extremely thorough on cleanup though since that stuff will ruin your day if there's any left in some weird spot. -
Sorry. You originally mentioned me by name in a post talking about overpriced guitar straps that seemed to exactly describe the only guitar strap on my Etsy page, which had one more view on it immediately before your post showed up. Sorry for sounding hostile if you weren't pointing it at me, but I do stand by all of my statements and beliefs. No hard feelings hopefully.
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Yep, that's my thought. I have people lining up for my guitar straps at the price I charge for my work. The stitched strap in question was specifically ordered like that - hand sewn single color with lining. The price, well the customer was happy about the price because he KNOWS I provide quality straps and that I know what a good strap should be because I'm a lifelong player. It's not just someone slapping together two pieces of leather hoping to make a dime off of musicians. There's lots of that crap available on the rack. My prices are right in line with the going rate for quality CRAFTED products. I always tell my customers that they can go ahead and trust their $2000 + guitar to that cheap POS that's made in China for $40. When the strap fails them and the guitar breaks, they're more than welcome to get a hold of me and I'll fix the guitar, as well as get them the last strap they'll ever need.
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White acrylic is really all you have. Just be sure to thin it and don't apply heavily and it will be fine.
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Any Styles Other Than Floral & Sheridan?
Cyberthrasher replied to SouthernCross's topic in Floral and Sheridan Carving
Well, then just find a design you like and go for it. You can look up graver stencils for some cool stuff, or airbrush stencils, or anything else. A lot of times when I'm struggling with inspiration I'll pull up stock photo sites and see what triggers something. One I use a lot is shutterstock.com. -
Depends on the sheath. A basic folded leather sheath could be between $30 and $60 depending on how it's constructed and what was done to it with tooling or coloring. I've seen others go for double or triple that because they're a lot fancier and the construction is more in depth. The other problem you run into with a sheath is that they're pretty specific to the knife going in them, so you have to think about the value of the knife as well. People aren't going to want to spend $100+ on a sheath that will only work to hold their $20 knife.
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It becomes a market issue once you get too high up there. Also, those ones were prototypes, so they're slightly discounted. If they were full wallet's they'd be up there, but the market for card wallets dictates a lower price. I am going to make some stitched versions of my "Baby Biker" and then bump the price of the laced ones up a hair. When I first started building up my supply store, I spent quite a bit. But, it didn't take too long for me to say that I won't buy anything with personal money. If I buy supplies or tools, it ALWAYS comes from the proceeds of sales. Helps me keep in line with how much I'm actually making vs. spending.
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What's the problem you're having specifically? Are you having issues with it going past the edge? Usually a problem like that is rooted in an edge that's not properly burnished before dying. It could also be a result of the product you're using to burnish the edge.
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I Guess If It Helps Sell Your Stuff...
Cyberthrasher replied to TXAG's topic in Leatherwork Conversation
yeah, that's what I don't understand. All the BS in the world shouldn't obscure from what's obviously visible in the pictures - a POS wallet that might last a year before it looks even worse off then it does now. And, all that BS sounds like just that. Any logical person who's wanting to support a business venture should see through that crap. But, apparently logical people aren't the one's using kickstart. -
I think Tan-Kote will come off with water, or at least alcohol, so that would be a good way in the future. I'm betting you didn't burn down your dauber before you used it. Light it on fire and when it's done, dust off all the charcoal. That will give you a tight little ball to work with that won't leave hairs everywhere. I had a disaster like this once using some wool scraps to finish. I thought I had trimmed it well, but I ended up with TONS of those fibers all over in my lacquer. It was my first big order and I was extremely frustrated. This was Friday and I had just told the customer I'd have it ready to ship by Monday. Well, no go on that version because, like you, I wasn't sending it to him like that. I started the entire project from scratch and finished Sunday night. Lesson learned real quick on how trimmed is trimmed, as well as WHEN to tell customers it's going to be ready
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I got my LW round knife in April I believe. With constant use, it's NEVER seen my stone. I just strop it after each use and it's good to go when I need it. Just to add to the "sharpening" aspect. There's a lot to be said for how much time we have to spend sharpening our tools vs. using them. I've talked to a lot of people who end up with a cheap knife and just go back to the razor blade because they can't keep it sharp and just assume that they're all crap because of it.
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Your problem is in the sponge brush, or more the technique used while you're using it. Every one of those dark spots is likely where you first placed the brush on the leather and ended up with a large pool of dye so it ended up getting really dark in that spot. There are a couple of things you can do. First, blot the brush off on some paper, and don't over-saturate it to begin with. Second, thin your dye first so that it goes on in several lighter applications building up the color gradually. Another thing that will help is a light coat of neatsfoot oil prior to dying. That will aid in keeping things even. This problem happens the most with the mid-range colors like browns. To fix this one, I would start by applying some oil and then after about 10 or 15 minutes apply a thinned down mix of the dye. WHILE that's setting in, add a touch more to the lighter spots to balance things out. I like to use a blue shop paper towel for this step and just blot it on. Once you finish that - put it aside and don't look at it until the next day. Then you can decide if you need another application.
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I Guess If It Helps Sell Your Stuff...
Cyberthrasher replied to TXAG's topic in Leatherwork Conversation
All the hype aside, I want to know who all these backers are that don't know how to do the most basic research, like look up what a finished wallet should actually look like.