Sylvia

Why thank you for the blessings. And Tip... I see I neglected to say WD40 then wipe off and oil.... I actually use WD40 for fishing... but that's another story. I prefer liquid wrench.... but finding it can be a bear. (or good old kerosene)

I love Dharma's dyes for tie dye (who you calling a hippy?) Their fiber reactive dyes are amazing. I have tie dyee pieces that have lasted for at least 5 years with no fade... and I do line dry in full sun in the summer. One thing you might want to watch for is that some of the darker colors almost require "pasting up" your dye first... that is to say you mix it with a little water and make it into a paste... then dilute with your carrier medium (alcohol or water). Otherwise you might find that some of the pigment will lump and that's not good for dying anything... it leaves darker spots. I have some of these dyes left over from last summer. I might just try some to see what happens.

Here's what a seamstress would do. ... sew some elastic inside the cuff... across and vecro on the other (in) side. The elastic would keep them up and if you get black velcro and black elastic... it's not seen. To hide the seams for sewing on the elastic and velcro... just make sure it's hidden under the cuff.

Thanks Bruce. That explains a lot.

ha ha ha. I dread road trips but once I'm out there I like seeing the country. But I don't blame you one bit... it can be tiresome.

Hi. I happen to have a picture of something I dyed with Angelus Rose. The original leather was white chrome tanned.... and this is the result. I've not tried it yet on vegtan... so I would test it first.

LOL Ferg. See what you do is make a trip of it... FLY to Las Vegas, Rent a car and Drive to LA and Ontario.... then drive back to Vegas to recover from the 5 lanes of traffic Jams.

So, Bruce, this is where that curved bladed awl comes in right? Could you please expand a little more on the process?

Hi Cody... What's your question? Are you looking to discover the mystery behind it?

http://www.craigcentral.com/models/trouble.pdf It seems to me that when I first got my brush.... I had to tighten the fittings pretty well and turn up the Regulator to a higher Psi.

LOL Gotta love a sailor. Oh wait, I DO!! (hubby was USN and served on the USS Kincaid) Rock: one of the first things you'll learn is that there aren't always patterns available. Your example looks pretty straight forward.... it's just a Long Very Narrow Heart shape... with the point docked off and a strap attached. Get yourself some graph paper or use the downloads here and print some. http://incompetech.com/graphpaper/ You'll need it if you are going to venture into pattern making by hand. If it were me.... I would use a manilla file folder and cut my long heart free hand... pretty simple actually. But for the straight-line challenged... a ruler and a jar lid should give you the radius and the straight lines you nee to accomplish the shape of the jack.

Glad I could help you out with a big laugh. :D

I bet a jeweler's stamp might work if you can find one in the right size.

Hi Ray: No worries, I just figured you were busy. Now that you know how to read your private messages (PM) it's an easy matter to initiate one. Anywhere on the board that you see a person's name or handle.... you can click on it and it will bring you to their profile page. Once you are on the profile page look to the LEFT for a link that says "Send me a message." Once you do that, you will get a message page to fill in. (much like posting on the main forum) Syl

Here's one at Tandy's clearance outlet http://www.tandyleatheroutlet.com/p-108-craftool-pyramid-rivet-setter-12.aspx

Tina! Stop showing us Maul Porn!!!.... LOL

<Tea Spew!> Muaha ha ha ha Don't let her hear you say that!

Ha ha ha Helmut.... well that explains why you never answered my PMs. Scroll to the top of the page... took to the top right corner if you have a green square with a number... that's how many un-read PMs you have here at leatherworker.net.

It really depends on what I am doing. I prefer a mallet when tooling. Right now my favorite is an 11oz nylon mallet (cheapo) If I need more force for punching I use my Barry King 16oz maul. If I am doing fine work with a rather pointed tool like a seeder, I use a 2oz tiny mallet that was given to me by a vendor as a gift... so I don't drive the seeder through the leather.

Benilly... I have one of those 'food saver" machines... I wonder if you could vacuum form using that? To the Original Poster... yep rubbing too much. Try using your fingers to form rather than a tool. (Make sure your nails are well clipped.)

Do make sure your blade is really really sharp. The phrase "pushing down so hard" makes me cringe and also makes me think your blade isn't sharp enough.

No CC.... Barge cement is thinned with a barge cement thinner. I just use plain old rubber cement when I need to glue. I have some e6000 but I've had much luck with it.

Whew... i was gonna say you might as well climb up on the roof and drag it along on the roofing tiles. LOL Anacott I use resolene about 60 reso and 40 water, sprayed with an airbrush. No need to wax after reso. (I don't think so anyway.) I have carnuba wax but I honestly never use it. It's a pain in the but to get out of knife cuts and such.