Billsotx

Bum, I used Resolene as a resist and finish. I cut it 50/50 with water and then applied it in two light coats using the "block dye" technique. Spread in one direction along the lines of what you're covering - in this case follow the lines of the basket stamp. Working with 50/50 mix and the lighter coats gives me more control - better to have too little than too much. To me the two coats are kind'a like that ol' measure twice, cut once - you can always add more, but it's heck unadding it ... lol Wipe the excess off your cloth and work with a light hand. You're goal is working the high spots not smearing and daubing it all down in the impressions. I use a stiff material (old bedsheet) instead of a soft one that will get down into the impressions. On a larger piece, I'm messing with a belt right now, I'm going to apply 3 or 4 coats just to make sure I get all the high spots covered. If you're object is to mass produce stuff, this method probably ain't for you. I suppose you could force dry the finish but I don't like putting leather in an oven. Hope this makes sense; if not let me know.

Chit, I'm obviously not much of a carver/tooler but I've been messing with this antique thing trying to figure it out because I like the look. If you're trying to get this look, it was done with a resist. For a resist use one of those sheens, lacs, leens or a wax before you apply the antique. Basically you want to try and protect (coat) the highspots and not cover (coat) the low spots, that is, get it down into the impressions because you want the antique to penetrate there. Coating the highspots lets them "resist" coloring or discoloration if you want to call it that. There's a post or two on this elsewhere on the forum that is more detailed. Without a resist I've found that antique is just another sort of dye, except you can wash a lot of it off like Johanna mentioned. Try that on scrap. If the area you're applying it to doesn't have some carved or tooled impression, it'll just look like a piece of leather some grease monkey wiped his hands on. No offense to the grease monkeys on this site ... lol! ... Oil finish will not serve as a resist from what I've experienced. If anything it preps for better penetration of the antique.

Thanks for the replies. Invaluable wisdon Monkey; you been down that road? ... lol ... and now me! I'll work at it Johanna. I did get a reply from customer service at amazingwhatever, after 6 days, and they have supposedly mailed another CD. Imagine that - customer service. Well I'm off to monkey around with FrontPage and out of your hair for awhile. I really do appreciate your help and you sharing your expertise Monkey.

Thanks Monkey for your reply. I'll take it with me next week when I visit my son and try it in his computer. I'm sure it's some sort of jackass thing from the supplier ... I been behaving lately ... lol

I bought a CD that is supposed to be a tutorial for FrontPage 2003 and is supposed to run as a stand along. Regardless, it won't run with or without FrontPage 2003. I think it's blank because is doesn't run when I place it in my D drive. At first it asked if I wanted to burn a CD. After that it shows a new folder icon. I've gone into Windows Explorer and tried Run off my Windows main Start and neither will boot it up - run it. I just get that prompt icon called - New Folder. Clicking and double clicking on the D drive gets nothing. I also tried the CD in my E (DVD) drive and nothing there either. I think it's blank but I don't know how to verify that. How do I verify if it's blank or maybe some other program or language that won't run with my Windows XP Home Ed.? (The company (amazingelearning.com) that produced it appears to be legit, but they haven't yet answered email inquiries; I'm thinking maybe this one got labeled, but didn't get burned, then again - maybe I did.) Thanks in advance for your replies.

[quote You still need the leather fingers, or Band-Aids to protect the sensitive parts of your fingers, but I haven't stabbed myself with the Dremel yet...yet. Mole skin works pretty well too.

Paste metal polish is the only Flitz I've ever used. I've also used valve grinding compound and Flitz is mild compared to that. I "think" the porcelian blades are much harder than any metal blade that we use in a swivel knive, so metal polish should not hurt them. Rouge does seem to polish them, at least they cut better when stropped. That said we probably should try the marble polish and find out what it does on porcelian. If it doesn't work on porcelian we can polish all our marles. Believe me, my marbles can stand some polishing ... lol

I agree - KISS - keep it simply simple ....

I've only been wearing them about 20 years. I agree with whatever. What I like best I get from Costco: individual wrapped and moisten tissues. I don't have to worry about Windex or some solvent if something gets gooped on the lense, and when I'm out in the boonies I don't have to pack a spary bottle of whatever with those. Alcohol based, it evaporates quickly. And if you cut you finger or want to clean a blade or ... whatever.

Jim, I've been moving a box of those egg lookin' things around my workbench for a while now. Now I know why I didn't toss them ... lol! Thanks for sharing those pix.

Patrice, Flitz is a polishing compound like Brazo except it's a paste rather than liquid. it's finer than fine valve grinding compound. As mentioned stopping is polishing and you can polish than porcelian blade. Flitz is handy stuff to have around ... now where did I put that tube of Flitz ... lol! Looking forward to Romey's knife making tips! 'trice - Here's a Flitz link: http://www.flitz-polish.com/?source=ov&cam...-1331-flitz-S-0

The E294-03 and 04 remind me of elephant hide.

Where you been? 'bout time you showed up. Welcome!

I gather y'all are saying, "He's a live wire!" ... Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou? ... lol!

A business card will work, so will a piece of manilla folder, and illustration board is good; as for leather use a piece of sole bend. Where cardboard or leather, you're looking for something firm. Oil, rouge, automotive polishing compound and valve grinding compound all work for an impregnation. For a tune-up a piece of 2000 grit sandpaper work for me - it's in my burnishing kit anyway.

I was taught to braid or twist linen thread together if I wanted heavier thread. Over the years I went to nylon because the linen abraided with use. With the nylon I get 4 oz. and I "unbraid" and then retwist if it's too heavy for what I'm building. On light projects like a little notobook one of the five threads may suffice. If you twist it tight and rewax it, it'll look nice. On a machine I use poly 207 a lot and that will work for hand stitching as well.

An invaluable book: The Art Of Hand Sewing Leather from Tandy Leather Factory 61944-00 by Al Stohlman introduces you to a variety of stitching techniques and provides you with valuable information on the tools and materials you'll need to get started. 72 pages.

Matt, I use an Osborne that I bought at Tandy. The tool book that Johanna posted tells you "how to" as far as modifying and keeping the blades up to speed. More that likely you'll end up shortening the handle a bit and Stohlman tells you how. Keep your blades stropped. As far as stitching refer to Stohlman's book.

I'm with major and not being cruel to plants. I'm not going to mow my grass anymore ... lol

Congratulations Dale! ... Looks like you have a case of pony love! ... lol ... and a winner at that!

Consider searching for Herman Oak and Wickett Craig. Call them on the phone don't mess with email. Ask them for color swatches of their dyed vegetable tanned leather. That will give you the basic colors that are available. They'll more than likely be skirt 12/14 oz but you'll have the colors they have available. They are big enough to carve and tool so you can test a swatch to see if you want to try carving and tooling. I have had good luck with that because the dye is deep enough, but it may be on light weights I haven't tried that yet, but logic tells me the dye will penetrate deeper. Ask that they also send you natural/russet - that's their non-dyed. As mentioned you may or may not have good results with dye. It varies from hide to hide and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. You're going to have to experiment and I'd keep written notes but those will not be etched in stone. Back on that tooling their drum dye leather, more than likely you'll carve or tool through the dyed area, you "might" be able to touch that up with a dye or stain or paste or gel that you can call antiqued or aged. Antiqued or aged because you will not likely match the tanneries' dye. There's some threads on here re: antique and unlike dye it's a real wild card in my experience. I keep messing up leather scraps and I'm getting close but some of the old timers assure me I won't win a cigar. I know they're probably right, but I'm too hard headed to listen ... lol BTW - when Bruce Johnson speaks - I listen!

Thanks Johanna. I didn't find OE in that list of add/remove but it seems to be working now. The address book wasn't where it's supposed to me. From my Office 2000 Dummies book I figured out to look for a .csv extension and then figured it out ... way down in Program Files. I'll get me an Office 2003 Dummies book. This has been a 72 hr. ordeal to put it lightly ... lol ... one learns ... in my case stands in the rain ... lol After a couple of weeks and a mental enema I'll try tackling FrontPage next. nuff' fun for awhile ... gonna go beat up some leather ... again thanks

I did an update from Office 2000 to Office 2003; actually I uninstalled 2000 and then installed 2003. Maybe that was dumb. Talk about lost. I have always used Outlook Express and this change wiped out my address book. There are now addresses there that I deleted years and years ago. Since those appeared from where ever they were embedded I would think my more current ones are somewhere, but I don't know where to find them. I wondering if there's a way to recover them. The Outlook Express was left (is) embedded on my hard drive and not a part of O 2003. I've never used Outlook but did look around at the new version and there are old folders that I deleted years ago, but they are sans any files. Luckily a couple of important emails are still in OE so life is too bad. If there's away to find those more current email addresses that were in OE I'd appreciate a heads-up. The advantages of gmail are screaming ... too late ... Oh, well!

I think we fixed it. I knew there wasn't a ball there, I should have said it was optical, but I noticed a little bit of lint stuck inside the little port where the little light is - you know the what-ya-call-it. I don't know mouse nomenclature except this one don't have no ball ... lol I did download the ad aware from Lavasoft. I rechecked that. I didn't think it had anything to do with it, just coincidental. I haven't figured out exactly how to set the ad aware up but I've heard good things about it. Right now I've got a bunch of stuff quarantined over there. On my old spyware thing you could white list or black list cookies and it took care of most unwanted and left the regularly visited alone. I assume ad aware is similar to that. Many thanks for y'all taking the time to help me out.

Jim, I personally wouldn't carry a holster with a spring clip. I'd make it if a customer insisted. I'm thinking IWB when I think of spring clips, is that what you mean? I would recommend putting a leather loop(s) and use one-way (lift a dot) snaps. More than once I've seen those spring clip holsters drawn with the gun. We jokingly call them Fruit of the Loom holsters. It's embrassing enough on the range to have your holster hanging off the muzzle, not to mention drawing on a suspect. It doesn't make a good impression, except maybe in a Keystone Cop production ... lol I would install a retention strap similar to belt loops, but using a t-nut and screw so that it could be adjusted or replaced; same as the loops. With IWBs I usually make two sets of loops, 1 1/2 and 1 3/4. The other option is to line the holster unless the hardware can be positioned inside the scabbard so that the gun doesn't come in contact with it. On t-nuts I install a top band and sandwich the t-nut between the top band and scabbard. Depending on thickness of leather and size and style of the gun I usually put a metal line top band. The t-nut is a good way to have adjustable and/or replaceable belt loops on an IWB as per the late Bruce Nelson's Summer Special. Bruce came up with that because of the spring clip fruit of the loom experience back in the late '60s. His Summer Special has to be the most copied holster ever. The prongs on the t-nut may have to be trimmed. They just need to bite into the back of the top band enough so they won't spin when you tighten the screw. In the old days we used Chicago screws, but the nut will sometimes turn especially after some use. A bugle head screw, either standard or phillips that will seat just below the male side of a line 24 size snap secures that on the outside of the top band. I going to try and attach a photo of a holster that I altered because that's all I have handy right now. I've got an order for one for a Colt SAA and I'll try and remember to make some pix when I'm building it. Hopefully with the pix all this will make sense. Hope this helps. Bill PS - I cut that slot in the belt loop so he could position it over the loop in his pants; those are almost always in the wrong place. A better fix is two separate loops, but the customer is almost always right ... lol! If it ain't unsafe, do it. In my book sping clips are "unsafe"!!!