electrathon

Use a belt sander. Brand new belt, about 60 grit. Aaron

A complete guess here but from the looks of the back i think it is not real leather but reconstituted leather (I think that is what they call it). Basically they take all the leather waste, grind it up and glue it back together. Sort of like particle board instead of wood. Aaron

Shane came on here expressong valid concerns, some of which were rectified by the new Tandy manager. Kevdbry come on with only 3 posts ranting like a lunitic. Most of what he is saying would only make since if you do not think about it. It truely sounds like Krvdbry has some sort of personal intrest in this. Not sure what, but hard to believe anyone rational would post what he did. Shane, hope things are better now. There is a new manager, possibly some of the issues that were created in the short time the last one was there can be fixed. And yes, all Tandy stores are supposed to be selling from the same price lists (this can be confusing, there are more than one). Aaron

For that amount of money you likely can not buy thread and needles for a machine that will do the job. You are missing a zero to get a used maching, and for that little ($600) many of us here would be standing in line to get a machine. My sugestion to you is to try and find someone who has a machine that will let you "practice" on for a few dollars.

Impressive, nice work! Aaron

Penden, You have two issues that are stopping your set-up from working. You need a hard wheel. The buffing wheel you are using is just not going to cut it. You need it to be out of hard wood, hard felt (soaked with wax to make it harder) or something along those lines. Even more of an issue though is that your grinder is turning way to fast. The grinder listed is going at 2000 rpm at the slowest. With a 6" wheel on it you are turning it more than 3 times as fast (the distance traveled on the surface) as a more common 2" wheel like is in one of the pictures above. If you had a very small wheel on your grinder you likely could use it, but it is just not the proper motor for what you are trying to do. The drill press idea is likely the simplest and is a cheap way to go.

Went to the fair today, the book I covered is on display. Aaron

TaxasLady, The taffeta or whatever the fabric is that Tandy uses is what will fail first. It will unravel on the edge and pull out of the stitching. I have made a lot of wallets and all of the original ones were made with tandy kit inserts. 100% of them failed in the first year. I have since switched to making my own interiors (almost 2 years ago now) and have yet to have a failure. One of the guys I work with told me he would go through a store wallet every 1-2 months. I made him one and 18 months later it is still going strong. You are correct that you can "step" the cards up higher and higher for each slot. I personally do not like to do this because if just makes the wallet thicker. You can use leather and sew across each level as you stack up the slots.Or you can use fabric similar to Tandy kits, just use something of better quality. Another option is to use Tyvek (the white paper used on house exteriors). The stuff is very thin and almost indestructible. I have not used it yet, but likely will on the next one I make that the person wants staggered slots. Aaron

The gaps need to be whatever size/thickness leather you want to burnish. If you are burnish 4 sewed together layers of 12 oz, you will need big gaps. Aaron

Your pattern is both crooked and not properly lined up. It is very important to place your tool into the proper position, properly lined up each and every time. It looks like you were all over the place in your line up. Also, your main pattern is not straight. In the sample you can see the difference between straight and crooked. The sample is an example from a Chan Geer class, credit where it is due. Aaron

I was hired to make a cover for a memory/scrap book to be displayed at the Oregon Country Fair. It is one of the largest gatherings of hippies anywhere. I did the cover as a patchwork style. the leather is glues to the cardboard insert. Then I x-stitched it all together. The inside is lined with pig lining material. I then double loop two toned laced around the perimeter. It was a fun project, but my fingers were very sore by the time I was done. Aaron

You can either sew or lace this wallet. Lacing looks more classy (when done right) but it does add slightly to the overall size. The reason the wallet needs to be bigger than money is because of the card slots. If you make it money size you will have no card size storage in it. I usually cut the outside edges over sized (by about 1/4") and trim them to size when I assemble it. Otherwise it is almost impossible o get the edges completely straight. Glue the pieces together with rubber cement to hold it when you sew or lace it.

Add the rear to the wallet and you are done. The tooled piece I usually use is 3-4 oz. The thinner the better. I always keep my inserts minimal, if you use thicker leather or more layers you end up feeling like you are sitting on a 2x4 even before you add cards. If you want more slots leave out the ID window and duplicate the right side in reverse for the left. If you want two bill compartments then add a second layer of leather behind the insert. Always leave the insert at least 1/8" shorter than the back, this allows for the bend in the center.

Cut out the pieces, the line in the pattern is a fold line. Fold it over and sew it (you can likely use a home machine for this, you should be using the thinnest leather you can find. I usually use pig from tandy for this part. If you are using the ID window you will have three seams to sew, one on the inside of the angled end and two along the top.

Let me walk through this one step at a time. The pattern I posted is a billfold design. You can use it as a 4 pocket with cards on both sides or a two pocket with ID window on the other side. If you want more card slots add more of the angled pieces, make each one a little longer. You will need one of the larger pieces and one angles piece, two of the rectangles. This is for a ID window wallet. The back (carved part) of the liner is 9 5/8 X 3 1/2, glue a liner directly to it is you like.

I am a little perplexed. 4 posts up I posted a billfold pattern. I have used this pattern on most of the wallets I have made in the last couple years. After I posted it you comment you can not find one. Are you looking for a tooling pattern and not an insert pattern? Do you not understand how to assemble it one and are looking for a tutorial and not just the pattern? Aaron

Barry King now has a double ended spoon in his line up. I do like the Walgreen idea too though. Aaron

No, the gaps are not "supposed" to be there. Move your spaces closer togeather or use wider lace to fix it. Aaron

I would recomend using Mexican Round Braid as your pattern. This will give fuller coverage than most of the other patterns. Aaron

I read your story and feel heartfelt sadness for you. A few yours ago there was a fire in my shop, one of the most devastating time I have had to live through in my life (the shop is called my happy place). I made it through with the help of a friend who every night came over and motivated me to work on the repairs. Without his help I would have sat down and looked at the mess. With time, things will be better and the pain will lessen. Aaron

Here is how I make mine. There are really not many wallet pattern published, you are correct. Aaron

I still use neet laq (now called wyo-sheen). You will get a lot of differant opinions on this question.

Yes, it is a good idea. Aaron

Very cool looking work! Aaron

I know a guy that constantly tells students that, "no one will notice but you" and "it is handmade, you can not expect it to be as good as something coming out of a factory". Both make me cringe. I have to agree that much of the "custom" work I see I would not use at any price, let alone pay for it. I have a story too. A couple years back I was at a fair and walked into a leather booth. The guy was selling handmade belts. Not very impressive, simply cam tools and veiners ran down the edge. I was looking (I always like to compare what I can do to others) and the guy walked up to me and loudly bragged that I was looking at a handmade leather belt. Stated that I had likely never seen a real handmade belt before in my life. I lifted my shirt up to show the tooled belt I was wearing. He turned and walked away, not saying another word to me. I guess he knew he had inferior work and only wanted to brag to those who were uneducated. Aaron