electrathon

IE8

upload test The above went right through for me. That is a pic I have previously uploaded in a post without trouble on the old forum. Aaron

I loaded Firefox into my computer and the Forum now works properly. Defiantly is an issue with the forum not properly running internet explorer.

I just looked around some. Earlier this evening I got frustrated wehn I posted the above. Something has speed up to some degree since then, it is consistantly loading in 5-6 seconds per page. Still slow compared to most sites, but 2-3 times faster than it was.

The computer I am running at home is old and slow (it is the one I can get other sites to load in 2-3 seconds) and running a cable modem. My work computer is brand new and very fast, running a high speed connection. It is a little better, but not much. If I get the chance this weekend I will access the site from friends computers and see if I notice and differances. And I do know that you are trying, I apreciate the effort more than you know. I do a couple volunteer things and I know they can be very draining.

I just did some clicking around. I located a number of sites running IP Board. Most of the sites load in just over 2 seconds to just under 3 seconds. I guess what I am saying is the problem is here and appears to not be with the software.

Johanna, Something I thought of the other day after you commented on the "skin" being the issue. Even with the current format, this is one of the slowest forums/websites that I get on. I really doubt the skin is the problem, but rather it is magnafying the condition that still exists. It is almost impossible for me to get on and look around anymore, I sit here and wait for the screan to change, decide that is not what I am interested in and then sit and watch a locked screan again. It would take me an hour to look at less than I could have in a few minutes a few months back. It is far to frustrating to deal with. I have to think about every screan click knowing it may cost me a full minute to be able to look at something and then get back out. I am not trying to belittle the work that you all have done, but in the cruuent format it is now a chore to look through the site and not longer enjoyable. I know that you have said thet there are far more security features than there used to be, could this be part of the issue? Possibly the security is verifying and checking everything so much that the site just drags. Sort of like what an anti-virous program can do to an otherwise well running PC. I am assuming that the software you currently have running the site is used someplace else too? Do any of the sites that run this software run properly? Or is it a contition that all of the usere have to deal with? Again I do apreciate all the work, but don't be fooled into thinking that the operation at this time is even close to average for a site. Aaron

I took 19 seconds for the main page to open the first time a few minutes ago. Consistantly, 15 seconds yesterday, so that is slower. Then took 10 seconds to open this post, so a little faster. As a comparison, I clicked into a number of links, and in general most open in 2-3 seconds tops. Aaron

I see that the question has been asked who is still having trouble (citizenkate I believe). I can see the posting in the new right side box, but have no idea how to get there. The site is so slow I could spend hours here looking at an hour glass waiting and still get no where. It also locks up my computer. I have no trouble on any other site. I do not know what browser I have or how to tell. I think it was upgraded to 8 a while ago, but not sure. I have a cable modem, it must be even worse for those on dial-up. My computer is about 5 years old, running XP, half a gig of Ram. I realize the new software is suposed to do more, but if it locks all of the computers that are not new, it seems to be a problem. Aaron

Once the issues have settled about things not working, possibly this is something that could be added to make it better. There are so many possible areas to post that it is at best totally confusing to try to find a post. If I carved a saddle, does it go into floral, saddle making or show off? If I am a carver, do I look in saddles to find out about carving? It likely is there. Even worse, once I post it there one of the moderators moves it and it is then lost forever! Would it be possible to have to topice show in all sections so that everyoine could find them? As it is now if I can not find things in view new posts I generally just give up on them. It wouild be great if there was not the need to look through all of the catagories to find the topic I remembered reading previously. Aaron

The apearance is getting better. The site runs VERY slow, on my high speed work connection (it took 47 seconds for one page to open earlier, almost 5 minutes to get in far enough to read a posting). Way slower at home. I have to sigh back in after changing pages, sometimes. Aaron

Johanna, Whatever happens is what we have to live with. Just please resist the temptations to add things! The more basic it is, the easier it will be to use. Hopefully it is temperary, but as of now with all the new features it takes way longer to load each page. Aaron

Personally, I totally despise alterations and upgrades. I can barely figure out what is going on so everything is made harder and more difucult. In my opinion, more is not better, more is slower, more cumberson and less inviting. The more that can be made to look and run like what we had the better. I realize in the age of modern computers, without upgrades there would be less for programers to do. I still hate it. Possibly it will work better later, but the site also runs much slower than it used to. I do appreciate the work that others are doing, I would just like to see the work go into making things simple and easy, not more and elaborate. Yes, I am frusterated.

Neat-lac is a great product to use on wallets, it is one of the tougher finishes. Butt sweat can really mess up a nice wallet fast, it at least slows down the darkening process.

When I lace I personally do not like the look of oversized round holes that many people use (like the ones on the Tandy kits). I like the holes to be undersized and only use slits. The look is a cleaner, tighter one. I use lok-eye needles. They are easy to attach the lace to, rarely ever come off and easily go through tight holes. In order to even use a perma-lok needle I would have to use larger holes and they are way harder to push through the slit. If I was using round lace, I would use round needles, but for flat lace, lok-eye needles are great. I hate 2 pronged needles, they come off way easier then loc-eye.

I use Fiebings antique paste and neat-lac works well on top of it. Not sure about other brands. Aaron

Hitting myself in the head... I always either tape the backs of my projects or glue down when I can leave glue on the back of my project. For some stupid reason I never thought to glue the tape down.

Well, I seem to have started this... I will input a little more. I do agree with the people that are saying is you never learn to use the superior products that you will not know what you are missing and will likely be content with the only choices you are given. But there are better products out there. Tandy used to sell some of them. Many of us are willing to pay for them. The unfortionate part is that we are left with no choice but to buy them elsewhere. As I stated earlier, I have an emotional attachment to Tandy. The local store is great, I really like the people that work there. The frustration I feel when they do not have what I want or the quality I want is echoed by the store employies when they tell me that the upper levels at Tandy do not listen to the stores or customers input. Tandy is turning/has turned into the Harbor Freight of the leather world. They sell cheap quality at reasonable prices. If you are a cub scout or a beginner, Tandy is without question the place to go. Once you start to learn, you will often need to go elsewhere for the products you want. Thsi is all very sad to me. I want to buy from Tandy, I also like quality products. The two often do not go hand in hand. I buy from them for about half of what I use, I have to order the rest. If I had my way, I would buy everything from them, they are the ones that choose to not carry product lines.

This whole issue really bothers me. You need to understand, I really like Tandy. The name floods me with childhood memories of my Dad and leatherwork that he did. Most of us here like Tandy. The store managers are almost all great. I have a local store that I love to go to. Here is the trouble, they sell mainly crap. For 50+ years they sold dye that people like that worked well and lasted, now they decide to sell low quality junk that most people are not satisfied with the quality of. This is true with so many of their product lines. Look at what horid things they have done with Craft tools... the list goes on and on. They have a loyal customer base that they are trashing. I know they feel there is really no other choice so they can force crap on us, but at some point they need to sell what we want, what we will gladly stand in line to get. OK, I am going to stop ranting for now.

Buy Fiebings dye from someone other than Tandy.

I have been using transparancy printed patterns for the last couple years. They work great. The trick is that you must use a laser printer. I do mine on a copy machine. I do not have trouble with ink rub off or bleading because laser printers burn the image into the papar. I did once try using my ink jet printer and got a smeary mess. I typically only use my printed patterns once because it is so easy to just print another one when I need it. I have near zero ability to draw my own patterns so all of my work is done using pre-printed patterns (Chan Geer is great for these). I scan them into the computer, adjust the size to what I need and then print them. The totally clear transparancy paper is much easier to work with then the hazy velum paper. Aaron

http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/search/...w=belt+craftaid It is a hard pattern to carve.

To the best of my knowledge, there are no shops local that specialize in this area. Your best bet is to call Donna at Tandy and see if she has an answer. Aaron

Unless you plan on making a lot of these (like 5000 or so) it is likely not worth the cost of a patent. You will spend over $15,000 to get the patent and it is very likley that someplace along the line you will find there is already a pre-existing patent so you can not get one. Even after you get one, when someone over in China copies it you will need a minimum of $100,000 just to start to fight them. To finish the fight you could easily spend oevr $1,000,000 to win. The will then just keep producing them and you can start all over. ou could easily loose millions protecting it, will you make more than that in net prophet selling them? If not, just make a few and collect the money and go on.

I can't answer your questions (I would actually like to see them as I may be able to aquire a bear skin so I could be in the same situation) but your first step is to move it to the freezer. It will last a long time there and you can rationally decide how to deal with it and not be forced into any rash decisions.