mlapaglia

Ya done good!!!

I use my french edger for small areas. If I need it wider I just move it over and take another cut and so on. ITs what I use to remove half the thickness on the back of belts. Look at the tutorial from Bruce Johnson. The one on french edgers.

yes it is ok if your designs are similar. Its pretty hard to not be similar on most items. Go for it.

You can remove the resolene you have so far with rubbing alcohol and a soft cloth. then let the leather dry, buff it, neetsfoot oil it. let it set 24 hours and then cut your resolene 50/50 with water and apply 1 LIGHT coat. Let dry 1 hour. Apply second LIGHT coat. Let dry 12-24 hours and give it a buff with a dry soft cloth. I rarely need to add a third coat. Too much or two thick and it will streak and crack on you.

Test it first on some scrap. IT might darken the leather. I use 1 part carnuba, 1 part beeswax and 1.5 parts neetsfoot oil. All by weight. Rub it in and hit it with a hairdryer to melt the wax into the leather.

I would think that the name is stamped on the burr(washer) at the time the burr is manufactured and not after.

Very nice. Ya done good. now get the wifes done so you dont get in trouble

Well I start with damp leather at the cased dampness. Then I monitor the leather temp till it gets to 135deg then hold it there for 10-15 minutes. My oven is set to 200deg. You are still removing water during that time. thats the difference. Both ways work.

Before I make a decision if what they did was a good business choice I'd like to hear their side. I have fired customer from places I worked in the past. One gentleman was shocked. He never knew that his attitude was difficult to deal with. I am not saying the OP is this way but I'd like to hear both sides. FYI "Fire your worst customer" is a good business practice. The time spent on a really bad customer along with the problems it creates internally with employees feeling bad about dealing with "that" customer makes it justified when necessary. Again I am not saying the OP is this type of person only that there are times its the best thing for a business to do. Michael

Dont over bake it, It will burn like bad chocolate cookies. I bring the temp of the leather to 135 degrees and hold it there for 10-15 minutes and it hardens perfectly. The object is to get the collagen in the leather to melt and than harden as it cools. Both ways work and both start with wet or in my case damp leather. your call as to which you try.

Apples and oranges. Tanning time does not increase the thickness of a hide very much if at all. All hides come out at max thickness for that animal and then need to be split to the needed thickness. A 5 month oak tanned hide would not be fully tanned at that point. Michael

How about a link to these irons?

That Kraft box could be worth some money.

NOt a fan of the bling but the undyed tooling is amazing. Very nice.

NExt time reply with something like, "Yes it is, too bad her front right leg was shorter than the rest". Throw him for a loop. Of course he will agree and go from there or argue the it was the left rear that was short. Either way you get to chuckle.

How about a single button stud on the chape(Buckel end) and cut the billet holes to make them work with the button stud. Since the chape is folded back to hold the keeper the metal to hold the button stud in place will not be against her at all but sandwiched between the chape with the back of the keeper. It would work \just like a regular belt with 5-7 holes just attach a little different. Its a thought anyway. Michael

I use a waxed iris linen thread 4 ply #18 (0.82mm0 with a #0 or #1 harness needle. Our resident grumpy old man uses a #3 or #4 harness needle but he is much better than I am at it.

This may help. As you can see the 277 can use a 25-28 size needle. Its a good chart to have. techsew_ndl_thread_chart.pdf

Welcome from Denver. I grew up in Tucson. Lived around Kolb and Golflinks.

3:10 to Yuma. GREAT leather belts and holsters in that one. The "Hand of God" holster is amazing.

Try this from Leathercraft-Tools-by-Al-Stohlman. Leathercraft-Tools-by-Al-Stohlmantest.sharpen edges.pdf

Do leather straps and make the middle ones tighter and use a snap to lift the strap instead of sliding the tool out unsnap one end and lift out.

277 measures at .65mm if that helps Michael

use a spring clip to hold the handle at the thinnest part. They come in a lot of sizes. The one I posted a link to is just for ideas.

Looks perfect now. Job well done.