Toolingaround

Hi Again In the theme of all leather closures here is another one from a belt pouch I found at a thrift store. It is very secure yet quick to open. I love this little bag and plan to use this closure idea on a tooled bag at some point. Cheers, Toolingaround

Hey BunyMade Great idea for the adjustable strap! BluesMan 1951. Chinese ball buttons! I have made them in cloth never thought of doing them in leather. Good one :-) Cheers, Toolingaround

Hi Folks Sigh.......wish I could afford Barry King or any other high end tools. In defense of Tandy I have an old A-104 from the 1980's I was given which runs like magic! Seriously it is just a joy to use. Gives me a hint what good tools must be like. My new Tandy bevelers not so good. However I am now completely ambidextrous when I tool or stamp because some of my new tools are so bad they will only run when I use my off hand. However now I can use either hand without even thinking about it. I can do some nice beveling with crap tools just because I practice and don't have a choice to afford expensive things right now. So take heart newbies and do the best with what you have until you can have the best. Cheers, Toolingaround My most recent thing.

Hi Lividya Ya the silver inlay is a beautiful effect. I like it too. Good luck with your project. Cheers, Toolingaround

Hi Nathan Here is a leather button idea I got from a book called Leathercraft by Hand by Jan Faulkner. I used it on my medieval shoes I made last August and wear almost every day. They have held up good so far. I used probably 3 or 4 oz veg tan but I have made them in deerskin and I am sure various chrome tans would work great. I hope I am not breaking copy wright to post the pics from the book. I also put a pic of my shoes. Please excuse the bad 0.6 megapixel shot from my ipod. I hope some other folks post some ideas too as I am interested in this myself. Cheers, Toolingaroung

Hi there Hope I am not sounding too snarky here but the artist who made that armor specifically asked people not to copy it but to design your own. By all means be inspired by him he is an amazing talent but put your own design ideas in there and make it your own. By the way my husband has sent me the same photo as a hint but I won't copy. I am trying to learn how to construct armor so that I can design my own thing. Good luck with your project and keep us posted. Cheers, Toolingaround :-)

Hi there Just a big heads up, the couch could be infested with bed bugs! Please be careful before bringing any dumpster ittems into your house. After a brush with bed bugs on vacation last summer trust me no amount of leather is worth infestation! Fortunatly the hotel handled things properly and my house was not infested but many things had to be thrown away and I had my stuff in chemicals for weeks. The bites are not fun either. Bed bugs and eggs are hard to kill espeshaly on delicate ittems like leather. You have to heat treat in a hot dryer ( over 120 degrees) for at least an hour, longer is better. Alternatively you can seal the leather in strong contractor bags with " Nuvan prostrips" for at least three weeks. According to a university study even after three weeks some eggs can survive. Anyhow google, do reasearch are you sure this leather is worth it? I was once a happy garage sailor/ trash picker not anymore! Cheers, Toolingaround

Hi I got this great tip from the Bettuns Village Leather web site. I too have a collection of scraps I needed to figure out and I use this method. "As a general rule, each ounce of thickness is roughly equal to 1/64 of an inch in thickness. As an example, 8 oz leather is 8/64" thick, which is the same as 1/8". Some simple examples of thickness based on US coins: A dime = 3 oz A penny = 3.5 oz A quarter = 4 oz A nickel = 4.25 oz So, dig this: 6 oz leather is like two dimes stacked one atop the other. 8 oz is two quarters stacked together. 12 oz is three quarters stacked together." Cheers, Toolingaround

Hi Everyone Great topic. Ditto everything LOL! I will add two more. Thease two kind of go hand in hand. Sharpening and cutting. Though I try mightily I can't seem to sharpen anything to the degree I need so thus I dread .......DREAD.......decorative cuts! I do a nice job, I am real happy then I just butcher the project with G-d awful slashes from hell. I do practice and I can draw so I understand flow. My knife just turns in to a feindish Mr. Hyde that makes me want to curl up in a quivering ball. So any part of leather working requiring a sharp implement is the bane of my existence at the moment. Cheers, Toolingaround

Hey Spinner Can't wait to see it laced :-) I am glad to know it can be sprayed without problem! I find it is great stuff for sealing in my antiquing, stopping dye transfer and waterproofing. I bet I will love "neat lac" type products when I get a chance to try some. I have had it lift the paint when I sprayed in on sheep skin and rubbed it in. Once it is dry it seems fine though. I know alchohol will sure take off ceramcoat as I had to strip some leather armor painted with it and repaint it a different color. Doesn't take it down to nude leather completely but may save an "oopsy". I agree with you on the good acrylics and mediums. My good stuff got lost in a move so for now the Walmart stuff works. Right now I am saving up for some leather, Angelus dyes and of course more tools ;-) Cheers eh

Hi Everyone Spinner, nice work!!! Thought I would add a few thoughts here. Nice to see someone who knows ceramics too. I love porcelain. Don't have my kiln hooked up because all my money has gone into leather tools this last year, imagine that LOL. Anyhow here is a photo of a leather jacket I painted with Delta Ceramcoat. That painting was on there for 23 years at the time I took the photo and was never sealed or anything. Ceramcoat is used on ceramics that are already fired to bisque then sealed with a clear acrylic. They area also very popular for painting on wood. Paul Burnett (G-d rest his soul) used them on leather until they changed the formula in 2008. I have used both my ancient 25 year old paint, (still good) and new bottles of Folk art acrylics and varnish from Walmart with good results. Of course I have only been doing leather tooling for a year now so can not vouch for the longevity yet. Warning don't use Saddle Lac over acrylics or anything containing alcohol as it will lift them. I may have come across a way to overcome that cause I loves me my Saddle Lac. If my tests pan out I will post to the group at some point. Anyhow I thought I would throw in another photo done witha mix of old Ceramcoat and new Folk art paints and finished with Ceramcoat varnish. Cheers, Toolingaround

Hi there Sorry this is a late reply, I just noticed your post. The local saddle maker here in Virginia where I live swears by the stuff. He puts it on finished saddles for weather protection. I have not tried it yet myself. He put some on a saddle and buffed it in so I could see what it is like. I could still feel it on the leather not slippery though. He says it allows the leather to breath unlike saddle lac which is what I have been using on tooled pieces to make them waterproof and keep my dye or antique from bleeding. I will update this post if I ever pick some up and try it. Cheers, Toolingaround

Hey Sylvia Thanks for the great ideas. I really like the air freshener and the cord keeper ideas. Cheers, Toolingaround

Hello Thanks for the great tests Will. As a newbie I am at the point where I need to decide which kind of dye I am going to invest in. This helps a lot! I only wish the water stain line was a bit more affordable. Thanks again, Toolingaround

Hey we would love to see any graph paper experiments that work out :-) Have a good one eh Toolingaround

I like videos! Do post :-) Cheers, Toolingaround

Hi everyone My brain freezes if a number comes anywhere near it. This video is awesome even I get it. Check out her other videos too! Cheers, Toolingaround Oops just noticed I've been beaten to the punch ......red face ..... Couldn't open the other video on my iPod didn't realize it was the same.

I really like your maul!!! I struggle making and and altering stamps and making simple tools out of screw drivers and nails. I use a junior hacksaw, files and sandpaper. If I had the money for good tools to make tools well would just buy the good leather tools from the pros to start with LOL Nice work, Cheers, Toolingaround

I am very sorry to hear he is gone. I learned so much from his generous lessons and am still learning! My condolences to his family. He will be very missed. RIP Paul Burnett and thank you Toolingaround

Hi Bruce Thank you so very much for the book!!! Cheers, Toolingaround

Ok I know this is a really really old thread but I just purchased the magazine secondhand that the articles are in. Both the work and the tooling bench plans are in the Leathercrafters & Saddlers Journal volume 11, no. 5, Sept/Oct 2001. Cheers, Toolingaround

Hi Sinpac I just ground down a 50 cent dollar store screw driver tonight. It was a two pack LOL. No power tools but I got the job done. Not as pretty as yours, nice job! Happy New Year everyone, Cheers, Toolingaround

Hi Another useful app is called "Tracing Paper". It puts a grid over a jpeg making it easier to draw from or make a composition. I have it on my iPod as I don't have an iPad but they probably have it for the iPad too. Cheers, Toolingaround