rosiart

For what it's worth, I agree with Aaron on this. I think extending the landscape would maintain the continuity of the piece. I think bullets on the strap would continue the theme.

I'd love to see this but the link does not seem to be working.

I haven't used Neatlac but I do know that you normally can't put solvent based finishes over solvent markers. One tends to lift and dissolve the other.

Very nice!

The problem the OP and I both have is that the product can't be shipped by mail. I haven't been able to find a retailer in Canada that sells it and I think the OP will have the same problem in GB.

Good luck with your forum. Although you didn't find much in a forum format there are a lot of vintage sewing machine yahoo groups. Some are brand specific, others just geared to vintage machines.

Too Funny!!! Thanks for the morning chuckle.

That's what I have found in my playing around :-(. Even the antique seems to leave too much colour on the resist. As Bruce mentioned the hi lites do work. I was just hoping for some more options. Being in Canada, I haven't found a place with a neat lac type product to try with the antiques .

I am just starting playing with these dyes and have a question. They give a really nice colour and coverage in an all over application. but I wondered if they can be used to get a sheridan style colouring on tooled work. I did try with supersheen but it didn't really work as a resist with these dyes very well. There was a slight difference in colour, not the contrast that you normally want for this type of work. Has anyone had success with them with this type of finish? Thanks.

I really like the look of your site. Uncluttered and classy. It suits your work well. My only concern is the lack of pricing, but as you say, you are working on it. The how to section is a nice touch. As an aside, I have always enjoyed your posts, you have a distinctive style.:-)

Thanks Spinner. The info is really helpful. I imagine over time a person ends up with many of different weights , a true maul collection lol,but for now I have to pick one that will do for most things.

Does it make a difference if a person normally works in the lighter weights of leathers for the weight recommendations for the maul? I am leaning towards a 14 oz, but wanted to check if my reasoning is sound.

I would check out a local kitchen countertop installation place. They often have granite cut outs for sinks that you can get for free or a nominal charge.

Very nice. At the risk of sounding really dumb, what does RTC stand for?

You have no idea how helpful this has been. Thanks so much for giving such a detailed response. And I think one of my biggest problems is trying to rush things. It is hard to know in the beginning when the time is right to start the tooling and I think I tend to jump the gun. Do you do all the carving at once then do the tooling a section at a time or is there a better method? In the process of making a belt, what clues I should be looking for, to know when it is time to rewet the work? Rosemary

Yes it does but it also raises more questions in my mind. Sorry. lol In the Al Stohlman book, they mention casing the belt by running through a bowl of water slowly to get a good casing. I was wondering how necessary that is. And if a backing such as tape is necessary. I really don't want use it as this will be a single layer belt so I won't be able to hide fuzzies. Do you find that the tooling loses any of its definition through repeated dampenings? Thanks . ( I considered sending my questions as a pm but then figured other newbies might also like to know)

Very nice and it even has my initials on it. lol Could I ask you a quick question? I am really new to this and want to make a belt for my hubby that is carved and tooled. Do you do it all in one sitting? Do you use saran or something similar to keep the areas not being worked on from drying? Rosemary

My hubby couldn't figure out how I managed to miss that step. You can bet I won't be skipping it next time. :-)

Joel, I think those of us who do this as a hobby tend to underestimate the costs involved. In part because we normally buy things when they are on sale, to have a stash,rather than for a specific project. So the price isn't as tied in our mind to the specific article. I think the other part is, we REALLY don't want to know how much we have spent on our hobby, or we don't wan't someone else to know so we tend to deflate the cost a little lol . Many of us just have a hard time charging what our products are worth. That old confidence issue makes us undervalue our time. I do feel you did the right thing though, honouring the quoted price. Fortunately it was only for a few items and hopefully the advertising value will greatly exceed the loss. And your customer is likely very happy, most people like to feel that they got the bargain of the century. Rosemary

I did a crossbody style purse using some upholstry leather and ostrich leg. Learned the hard way that you should check the conditioner you plan on using on your purse in an inconspicuous place of your ostrich or you risk losing all the colour. Fortunately I was able to save it but it no longer has the depth of colour it once had.

very beautiful!

Check the Tandy site. There is a free video showing how to use the tri weave. Hope this helps.

Oh man, now I officially have leather envy. lol