Sylvia

Hi Andy: you are learning why I hate black leather now. Only solution is to get a soft cloth like an old t-shirt and buff until your arms fall off..... then buff some more until no more black comes off on the cloth.

Hi Cheryl. Are you sewing this rough edges out or are you planning on turning this bag so the edges are hidden inside the bag? Why don't you leave the top edge of the lining open at the flap. That way it is a pocket of sorts for folders and papers on the inside. . This way you won't weaken the flap since it sounds like you intend to have the handle on the flap itself. If it were me I would probably put a piece of the heaver leather to sew the handle through on the underside of the flap... not sure how to deal with the handle. As for turning corners, I am sure others will help you with that... but what I do is center one hole at the apex of the corner and go from there.

I know that Sherman Oak went up in price per square foot this year.

Thanks! I'll give her a shot in a couple days.

Hi Debra... as always you make lovely roses and the hubby's vase is very nice as well. I used to work for a florist around Christmas times so forgive this critique on the overall presentation. The rose arrangement is too short for the vase. The general rule is measure the container then build your arrangement 1 1/2 times taller. Here is a PDF that may help you work out the proportions. http://tuscolaagricu..._principles.pdf http://www.baxtercountyfair.org/pdf/Principles_of_Floral_Arrangement.pdf

LOL I've seen this video before. It always brings a smile to my face.

Wiz: Do you know if they have 20x1s??

Those older singers (even domestic ones) are addictive. So show us pictures!!

I think he may be referring to the heavy vinyl you buy by the yard. It's usually where the roll goods are in the back and are mixed in with the felt backed, vinyl table cloth material. I bought some from my local True Value Hardware store, I got the really thick stuff and will be making sleeves to put around my cased straps. I figure it will keep the moisture content at the right point for me as I work up the strap. I'll just slide the sleeve down as I work. I never thought of using it for vacuum forming. That puts a whole new slant on things.

I agree with dirtclod, it's made from splits. If you cant' take it back at least you have a pattern... when you take it apart, like CC said.

+1 on the Dead Blow for a quick and cheap solution. +1 on the poly mallet/maul

Hi Randy: First lets get our vocabulary together. Raw hide... is just that. It's a hide that has been cleaned but not yet tanned. (think of the texture of those raw hide dog treats) Leather.... is a hide that has been tanned by what ever method. Veg tanned....leather made with tannins from vegetable sources like oak bark. Chrome Tanned.... leather made using chemicals like Chromium. Raw hide can be burned but doesn't take to tooling. Veg Tanned is able to take tooling and is known for it's crisp and lasting tooling marks. Chrome Tanned.... Can be tooled or embossed BUT the images are not crisp and tend to fade with time. You said your piece has "That raw leather texture...." Do you mean that it looks and feels like unfinished veg tanned leather?

Here's a link to the manual if that helps anyone decide. http://www.parts.singerco.com/IPinstManuals/110W124_THRU_W128.pdf

Very cool.

Now, I'll really stuff you up. Some folks say to use cardboard because it is less likely to round over the corners of your swivel knife blades.

Leather has a grain and because it was once "wrapped" around an animal... it will naturally have a curve sometimes. It looks to me as if you've cut across one of the curves which gave it a natural curve.

Yes, Chief I did see that. (hugs) I wanted to make sure the seller provided appropriate info for our friends across the pond. It's hard to get excited about a post with no pictures or pricing. Per the marketplace rules... he must post a picture and price.... etc. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showforum=70

Could you please post pictures of the machine(s) and your price?

LeeRoy: I did this once too. Add some dish soap to your water to help pull the oil out. The trouble is if the over oiled piece is oiled un-evenly.... it will take MONTHS for it to look and feel right. I used salt, cat litter, powdered laundry detergent, and soapy water... and still ended up remaking the piece. 3-4 months later the over oiled piece looked ok enough for me to back ground the initials out and sell it as a second. What a pain.

Rawhide. If you have any chop sticks around pull off some of the 000 steel wool and twist it around the stick... use that like a "hone" and polish those channels. I use Metal Glo professional metal polish. It's a very fine polish in a toothpaste tube. http://www.amazon.com/United-Cutlery-UC2723-Metal-Polishing/dp/B000F6UC98 and regular 3n1 oil thin coat then a good wipe off.

Youtube has a lot of videos on how to make a work bench. Metal legs would likely make your bench a bit more noisy, IMO. I based mine on this design it's easy enough for most anyone to build and you can make the dimensions any size you want.

Someone said, and I forget who it was.... "Do one thing and do it well." I tend to agree with that when it comes to entrepreneurship. Far too many folks "diversify" then get too involved in their variety of products and end up losing money. Some of the most successful entrepreneurs make one thing. Paper clips, staples... cookies, bbq sauce, chicken poop lip balm, monkey butt powder. Only when the business is "in the black" do they add one or two products. Just something to think about.

Saddle soap and some water, make a foam and work that into the arm wipe down with a clean towel then buff. That should get rid of any grime and oils. Not sure what you can do about the surface damage from the tape.