hosscomp

Wow! Thanks, guys. Lots of good suggestions. I will do some over labeling and will eventually look up some of those lights/magnifying glasses. It is good to know that I am not alone. One of the first things I do when I use a Tandy dye is smear some on the cap. That helps a lot. But it is still good packaging practice to put the most needed information in large, bold print with good contrast. The packagers must be youngsters. Thanks, Ron

Thanks, guys. I guess I am unique. I don't really have any problem tooling or reading patterns or books. I have a good desk lamp. I can even read the names of colors/contents on their bottles and such if hold them up to a bright lamp. It is not a show stopper, just an inconvenience. I suppose I can take a bright flashlight into their store with me when I am shopping.

Thanks. That is good to know. I will certainly be using it in the future. Since no one else has trouble reading fine print on their products there is probably no need to suggest that they make them more age friendly. Ron

Nice carving site.

I wonder if others have similar thoughts. I couldn't find a feedback place at the Tandy site, so I just thought I would post it here. I like Tandy products, their store, and online shopping site, and spend most of my leather work money there, but there are a few things I wish for. First, is an easy way to give online feedback or ask questions about products. Second, I would think that a huge percentage of Tandy's customers are over 60, the age group of the baby boomers. I am one, and I have much trouble trying to read the names and colors on their die bottles as well as the other liquid containers and tool packages. I have to hold them close to a bright light to read the small text. This is partly because of the coloring of the background and text, but mostly because of the small size. The Fiebing's bottles are easy to read. I would guess that I am not the only one having problems with this. If not, lets let them know. Ron

Thanks, Robb. I will check it out. Ron

I have been searching this forum for hours looking for information on dyes, acrylics, etc., but can't find any. I am a newbie and have been using Eco-Flo Cova Color and it seems to work well for me. I accidentally ordered a couple bottles of Eco-Flo Leather dye and now I am wondering what is the difference in purpose. I tried both on a scrap and the dye is thinner and takes a few coats to cover as well. It also looks flat with no gloss, whereas the Cova Color covers better and has some sheen to it. Are there any advantages to using the dye instead of the Cova Color? Can they be mixed? And what about acrylics, spirit based dyes, etc? Is this information covered somewhere? Thanks, Ron

In learning how to use and care for tools, I would start with this book Leather-Craft Tools. You probably have some shoemaker tools that aren't covered here. I am pretty new at this myself, but unless you already know what you want to do (like make shoes/boots?) I would browse the pictures in the galleries here to see what strikes your interest. The Tandy site also has many other how-to books and even some free videos showing how to use many of the tools. Of course, posting pictures will get you lots more information from the professionals on this forum. Welcome aboard and good luck. Ron

Thanks, Art. I will have to look up Pecard's. Some pics are attached. On one of them I pulled the leather up and you can see the steel toe cover.

I hope the moderators will let me know if this improper and if I should have started a new topic, but I was searching for boot repair answers and thought this would be a good place to ask my question. I dropped my bike, nothing serious, but tore a gash across leather on the steel toe area of one of my Wolverine boots. I just looks like an ugly scuff, the grain part of the leather scraped off. Since I am a newbie at leather work I was wondering it it can be patched up to look decent, or should I just think about getting better boots. I don't think I can afford those Wesco boots. I can send a picture if it will help. I was sort of thinking about gluing some matching leather over the toe area of both boots, but don't know if it would hold and I don't know how to get it to form in the right shape. Thanks, Ron

Didn't see any scraps at that site.

I ended up cutting a circle out of some thin plywood, gluing felt to both sides, and using upholstery tacks to hold it it the center. It works well. I posted some pics at http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=34107&view=findpost&p=221868 Thanks, Ron

This is a correction to a previous post. I finally took some pictures of the final product, a shuffleboard weight case that holds four red and four blue weights. This one shows how I covered the bad stitching on the bottom. Ron

Sorry. I am trying to find Help on posting images. I'm getting them way too large and running out of "global upload quota". Now it seems I am unable to delete or edit my own post. Ron

I finally took some pictures of the final product, a shuffleboard weight case that holds four red and four blue weights. This one shows how I covered the bad stitching on the bottom.

Wow! Nice work katsass. And thanks for your frank advice. I am getting much better now. Next I am going to make myself a stitching pony. Ron