toasty1435

Can anyone attest to the Osborne #155 rotary punch quality? I have a cheapo one that the tubes have worn down on and don't punch well only after a few uses. I'm looking to get a better quality punch that will stand up to use. I've heard good things about the Osborne #155 and also the Knipex punch (http://tinyurl.com/m6tyv34). What you guys recommend? One requirement is it has to be a rotary punch just due to minimal noise. Thanks!

I ordred about 3 sides so maybe its not that far off?

Do any of you order from Horween's distributor Tannery row? I've placed a few orders and handling and shipping charges are in the range of 45-60 dollars. Is this average for the rest of you?

Has anyone ever tried tooling or stamping Chromexcel with much success? I've been thinking about trying it out and didn't know if anyone had any experience with it.

I've still had no luck hearing from WC and have moved on to Springfield. After sending in my request I got an immediate detailed response back. +1 for customer service. Lack of communication is my biggest turn off from using a supplier. I hear good things about Springfield so I'll see what they can do for me.

What are people's opinions of them? I've sent them numerous emails about pricing and samples and I've never heard back. Is this the usual case for WC? What other suppliers do people recommend?

Do you tape the leather after dip dying or before you dip dye you tape your leather to cardboard? How does that work?

When you guys have a project, do you dye the entire hide and then cut your pattern out or do you dye the individual pieces after cutting? I'm asking because I've been using fairly thin leather (2.5 - 3oz) and after dying sometimes the cut pattern pieces have stretched/shrunk and they don't line up exactly according to my patterns. Thanks for any help you guys can provide.

Hi all, I recently made the switch to weldwood and I like it so much better than Barge. It's much cheaper and a lot less stringy/messy. Only downside is the smell is much stronger. Anywho I recently tried a new glue dispenser with the Weldwood original formula (non-gel). I got it for doing detail work for stuff like passport covers and other things where you needed a very small bead of glue. This is the one that I got: http://www.amazon.co...ils_o00_s00_i00 It works great! It has a small precise metal tip that's perfect for laying down a glue line 1-2mm wide. I store a pin in it when I'm not using it so it doesn't get clogged from dried glue. Anyways I thought I would share because it's been so handy to use!

Hi all, I've been burnishing some edges on some piece lately and I have a had time of keeping the edges from becoming flared out and making a raised edge on either side of my piece. Should you always bevel the edge of the leather before you burnish it or is there another way to do it so I do not need to bevel it? Thanks.

So I have a issue on two pieces I just finished dying last night. I had wet them in the area around where I was stamping and they were dyed the leather is much lighter around where it had been wet. They had ample time to dry and I've never had this happen before on my other pieces done in the same way. It's so light and in a well defined area it looks like a bleach stain. Usually I do this and I never have problem with stains like this. Is this fixable? My only thought of recourse is to use a dauber and try to dye around the area that is lighter and blend it in.

I'm using fiebings oil dye on 2 oz goat leather but I've also had the same issue on veg tanned calf at 3-4 oz as well. The goat leather I got off eBay and the veg tanned stuff I got from Tandy.

I just want to say thanks to all of the forum members so far, it's been very helpful to be on this site and get tips from the professionals. My next question is how deep does your dye usually penetrate your leather? I've been daubing dye and lately been dip dying some of my projects. However it seems no matter how much dye I use or how long I leave the hide in the dye bath I can only get dye on the surface and not further in. Is this usual? I would like deeper dye penetration so as my projects wear they don't show the light colored hide underneath. Thanks again!

Wow, these are all good tips. Has anyone ever just thinned barge with acetone or denatured alcohol? Is that the same stuff as Barge thinner? Does anyone have a recommendation for something like a squeeze bottle for Barge? I like the idea of being able to draw a fine line with it as I do a lot of book covers and straps where I need a thin bead of glue.

So currently i use Barge but it is the tube type. I try to mix it best i cant by squeezing the tube back and forth and then I apply it to a popsicle stick to smear it on. The glue is usually kind of chunky and extremely stringy. I just recently started hearing about glue pots. Can anyone tell me the purpose of these and whether you usually do or do not thin Barge before you apply it to your project? Thanks!