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Toolingaround

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Everything posted by Toolingaround

  1. Hey There I like carving thin leather. This little holster is made with 3.5 oz cheep Tandy leather. I would have been able to carve if it was thinner too. Carving isn't perfect. I was just having fun for myself but you get the idea. This is a cute project that I got here http://www.leatherwranglers.com/docs/SK3-holster-pattern.pdf. I can dream about owning an SK3. Right now my cheep Tandy knife gets the royal treatment :-) Cheers, Toolingaround
  2. Hi DavidL Just saw your post. You might want to have a look at http://www.spottedponytraders.com/info/leather.shtml?action=detail&id=LEDAE I buy machine washable deer from them. I have not washed my leather dress yet but have handled pieces that other people have washed in the machine (no dryer!) and they seem fine. The hides are very nice and if you let them know your needs they will try to find you the right hides. They are very knowledgable and can probably give you good advice. Cheers, Toolingaround
  3. Hi Texas Phil I agree there stuff is not as it once was. I have some scrap leather I bought from the son of a deceased leather worker. I know he bought the majority of his tools and leather from Tandy, not all but most. Every now and again I will tool on a piece of his scrap that is just divine and I wonder where and when he got it. Someday I would like to order from Wicket and Craig directly. Unfortunately I unwisely trusted a merchant this summer I should not have. I ended up with no leather and my money in dispute so was very grateful that the economy leather (all I could afford now) from Tandy was so nice. But yes I dream of Herman Oak and Wicket and Craig :-) The Baltimore Tandy Store has always treated me right and I felt they deserved a thank you and to let people know how nice the new store is. Cheers, Toolingaround
  4. Hi Everyone After having more than one horrible and I mean horrible experience with buying supplies from small time vendors I felt compelled to praise Tandy. Wish I could pour my heart out to you all but for fear of reprisals I won't at least for now. I was naive in thinking most leather people are good folks like the members on this form. Sadly I have been proven wrong. Anyhow still in need of supplies my husband and I drove the more than two hour trip one way to our "local" Tandy in Baltimore. Not only was the store in a nice new location. Their stock was fantastic! Even the economy sides where really great. They were having a sale so the prices were better than I found anywhere else. They are even better this weekend for anyone who can get to one. The staff were helpful and nice and best of all I know if I do have a problem they will make good on it. The few times I have had to exchange or return something they have dealt with it promptly and courteously. All in all a wonderful experience especially after the things I experienced this summer. I used to save up my money all year so I could shop in person from small vendors at a large reenactment event I attend. Even paying a bit more for things was OK because it felt good to help out small vendors but not anymore. I am done with that. Tandy gets my business from now on at least the Baltimore store has never done me wrong. Thanks for listening have a great weekend everyone, Cheers, Toolingaround
  5. Hi There I can vouch for the economy sides at Tandy too. I just bought a 4/5 oz one and was surprised how nice it is. It is not top end but much nicer than I was expecting. Not sure when their sale ends so I would go sooner than latter. Cheers, Toolingaround
  6. Hi there I do fades by mixing my angelus alcohol bases dyes with Lexol non darkening neets foot oil (does not darken the leather at all underneath ) or brown bottle Lexol will also work. I can do a soft fade in minutes very easily. I stretch a t shirt over my fingers to rub it in. Blot it first as a little goes a long way. Here is a scrap test I did a while ago. Cheers, Toolingaround
  7. Hi Rayban I like it when people post dye colors, thanks. I happen to have a bottle of Feibings red and Angelus red, the Angelus is brighter if you ever need to go more eye popping. Interestingly I purchased some second hand bottles of Feibings and the green, which was kept in the box had turned completely clear! Even Angelus green is fairly fugitive which is just the way of some dye colors. I mix my dye with Lexol non darkening neats foot oil to get a smoother result as I am not set up to dip dye either. Brown bottle Lexol seems to work too but darkens the leather a little bit more. Cheers, Toolingaround
  8. Hi Joe Thanks for posting that, cool article. Cheers, Toolingaround
  9. Hi Shaun When I started out I made all sorts of concoctions, various combinations of bees wax, olive oil, pine pitch, turpentine, lanolin you name it. It was fun but nothing beats Lexol products in my book. I use Lexol non darkening neats foot oil and Lexol conditioner in the brown bottle. They absolutely do what they say they will. They are amazingly versatile and most important, they don't migrate out of the leather they bond with it. I have all sorts of my DIY stuff and other commercial products that I have tried that sit on the shelf most of the time now. Just my two cents from some one who has done the do it yourself route. That said leather finishing is a very personal choice and I think it is cool there are so many ways to do things :-) Cheers, Toolingaround
  10. Hi ya all I would love something heavier too. I borrowed a dead blow mallet from a leatherworking friend but I found it way to bouncy and not ballanced properly at all for my needs. Just thought I would toss in my experience with one as I wait for the day I too can afford a nice heavy mallet or maul. Cheers, Toolingaround
  11. Wow Dwight I would love to see what those sandles look like made up! I would like to make myself a pair someday. I had bought a second hand pair that where used in the movie Alexander but they never fit my feet right as they where custom made for the actor who wore them. I have often looked at articles about them on line. Never seen anyone try to make them. Very cool :-) Cheers, Toolingaround
  12. Hi Armsman70 I use angelus dye but it is basically the same thing. Here is a quote from angelusdirect.com about what to do about the strange color. " WARNING: If you get a tint on your dye you may have over saturated it by putting too much. Take a cloth with alcohol and wipe it down quickly to remove excess over saturation. Also remember dye takes the color of what is underneath it. " That bronze look can be from too much dye. Cheers, Toolingaround
  13. Hi sharkeyfinn This may sound obvious but are you certain your swivel knife is sharpened and stropped well, mirror polish and all. As a user of cheep tandy leather and scraps of unknown lineage I have carved some crap in my day and can make most things work unless of course it is chrome tanned :-). Make sure that knife is sharp and maybe case the leather overnight in a plastic bag. Some brown bottle Lexol will help to condition the leather before tooling. You can add some to your caseing water if you like. I use thin tandy leather a lot. I hope this helps :-) Cheers, Toolingaround
  14. Hi WyomingSlick Timely suggestion! My father in law's friend just gave me an opti-visor. I love it and pushing 50 I NEED it LOL. Cheers, Toolingaround
  15. Hi Jax Thanks good tip! I do that too but I am having problems when I am doing itty bitty things like small sheaths or eye patches. It is hard not to get accidental tool marks where they don't belong, not impossible just hard. I have not tried Sheridan style yet although I would love to. Some of the bevelers, and other Sheridan style tools look peachy and I LOVE lifters! I made myself some out of dollar store screw drivers. When there is a will there is a way :-) Cheers, Toolingaround
  16. Hi everyone I thought I would share some results in light fastness of dyes and finishes. First let me say I was not making these test pieces to test light fastness but was testing for waterproof finishes with zero dye bleed on thin flexible veg tan. So far no luck on that one. When flexed all the finishes caused water spotting which often spotted the dye. So I ended up with all these tests cut from the same leather and thought heck lets hang em in the window and see what happens. Here is the result after about three weeks or so. I kept reading about resolene having UV protector in it well sorry folks I contacted Fiebings and there is no UV protector in resolene. That said although the difference is slight it was the most protective. However I was using it 50/50 with water and where the coverage was not completely even the sun faded and marked the dye. I hate using resolene and plan to order some angelus 600 to try at some point. I get a nicer more water resistant finish with folk art satin varnish but it is shiny and not UV protective either according to my test. So I tried ceramcoat matte varnish (interior /exterior) as it gives a nice finish but didn't pass the water test on thin leather when flexed and is it also does not have UV protection. Just like resolene, people on line say it has UV protector in it (Amazon sellers for example). So I contacted the manufactures and no it does not have added UV protection. I forgot to enquire about the folk art satin made by the same company. As an aside ceramcoat was my bullet proof go to varnish but it seems to me the formula has changed and I am out of my old supply :-( While all the dyes faded the areas with a finish of some sort had significantly less sun darkening of the leather under the dye thus there is obviously some UV protection but not enough to protect the fugitive dyes. Where there was just kiwi shoe polish or bees wax the leather sun darkened a lot. The red dye changed the least. I am planning to make a folding green man camp chair so I really need to solve this puzzle of both water protection, UV protection, dye bleed and flexibility. Some things I am going to try in the future (money and time withstanding) is angelus acrylic finish, silicon for shoes and car products to stop fading. Anyhow I will keep ya posted on the eventual results. Hope this is of some help to someone. Cheers, Toolingaround PS sorry for being so long winded
  17. Hi King's X Your blog is awesome!!! Thank you again for the detailed info. Not sure if I will bite the bullet and get them this sale or torture a few more nails to make little bevelers for now. Hi WyomingSlick Those old bevelers are really cool! I love my few ancient craft tools. If I wanted to enquire about buying an old craft tool can I private message you? Cheers and thanks again, Toolingaround
  18. Oh thank you SO much for getting back to me! I will check out your blog :-) I want something steep for the itty bitty things I often make. Cheers, Toolingaround
  19. Hi All I am thinking of taking advantage of the tandy open house sale. I want to get a steep pro beveler but can't tell if they are checkered or not. Any one know?? If it is smooth I will try to make my own cause cash is tight but I can't do checkering. Thanks eh Toolingaround
  20. Hi there Check out what Citizen Kate does with it. I have been wanting to get some neutral antique paste to try this out. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=9341 Cheers, Toolingaround
  21. Hi There I need more itty bitty tools too. I will be watching this thread with interest. I have made a simple tiny smooth beveler out of a nail that I use a lot. Ask your dental hygienist for old dental tools they can sometimes be filed into useful shapes like small detail modelers. Here is a picture of some tools I used on an eye patch I just finished. Some DIY and some not made for leatherwork. Nothing special but food for thought. In Al Stohlmans figure carving and pictorial carving books he has some great suggestions for altering existing craft tools for doing small areas too. Cheers, Tooling around
  22. I hear ya! I have a Tandy A104 from the late 70's or early 80's that is literally my magic backgrounder. It walks so beautifully it is just a joy. It will clean up any crappy beveling like magic. I also have an even older one. It has a finer checkering and is also lovely. Then I have a new Tandy one from the beginner set that was so awful it was cupped inward. There was no way not to leave marks. Eventually I filled it down to half size taking away the raised edge and it is really nice for little tight spots now. But I feel bad for any noobie who gets a hold of a tool like that as they will blame themselves. I only knew better because I had the old tool first. My Tandy bevelers are so hard to use that in order to get them to walk properly I had to learn to tool with my left hand (I am right handed). That said I can now bevel and stamp with either hand and go in any direction all because my tools were so bad. Very handy when you are trying to avoid the shadow from your hands. The curve in the face of the newer Tandy B701 is handy for doing inside curves but I had to get some flat faces vintage Ivan Taiwan bevelers for anything else. I dream of the day I can get some nice Sheridan tools as I do a lot of small work. Anyhow lemonade out of lemons. I can bevel smoothly with anything now :-) Cheers, Toolingaround
  23. Wow that is fantastic!!!
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