Sylvia

Yep we have to draw our own design. Hey... stick figures under a tree... would work.

Hi custom: This particular challenge is for June 1-30th as long as you enter before the 30th you are good to go. (even if you miss the deadline that's good too) The challenge is "Living in the Heart of Summer" There are no limits to the number of tools but YOU need DESIGN/DRAW/, etc your own design. It's not a trace and go project. For me, summer means taking the kids fishing. For Chancy... apparently it means robbing stage coachess. LOL So get out your drawing materials... and draw something that means summer to you. Then have fun carving it. Color if you wish to... Yes these are typically done monthly. Last month was Dragons, the month before was Tikis. Just keep an eye out for the July 2012 postings or... watch the entire forum area. I hope your surgery goes well and that you heal up and hair over quickly.

Hi Godfrey: There are some leather carving video tutorials on Youtube. Some are by Tandy and some are saddle makers just doing a demo, but you can learn a lot that way. Just do some searching on Leather carving, sheridan leather carving, and saddle making. Also Tandy has some on their site that might be helpful. http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/Leathercraft-Videos.aspx

You might want to look or search for "foil" leathers too. They have a metallic finish an come in some wild and florescent colors. Here's a couple sites: http://www.dantonleather.com/ http://justleather.com/catalog/index.php http://www.leathernaturally.com/id9.htm I've not purchased from any of these folks so I have no idea what your experience will be.

Wow... maybe you should call the pickers from TV?

Well, hmmm.... see... I'm 1/4 Muskogee Creek and a bit Umpqua... and My niece is 1/2 Wasco, plus the Creek and Umpqua... and is a member of the Confederated Tribes .... this is the way the Wasco does it. I'm sure there is more than one way... but thanks for calling me out and bestowing on me your vast wisdom.

Oh I coveted the stamp sets too, until I realized how easily one can use the computer for different fonts. Before alphabet stamps... leather workers traced, cut and beveled from sheets of paper with alphabets on them. You'll have a far better variety at your fingertips.... and you won't have a disaster with one stamp giving you a double impression... or worse... a crooked impression. Tandy... is the grand daddy... but in recent years they became the "Walmart" of leather.... with similar quality. Don't get me wrong, I use them too... but I know there is better stuff out there. Also, since I don't relish the idea of driving into Boise... and dealing with traffic, getting lost (true) and what not.... I just order most of my stuff online from http://www.steckstore.com, often much less expensively than locally even with shipping. Yes, in figure carving... a lot of the work is just traced, then impressions are made with stamps or modeling tools or bevelers, with only a few cuts or decorative cuts. Your investment in clicking dies and a press is up to you. To get or make a clicker press is going to cost you some serious $$$... and I've not looked into dies yet. I imagine one could spend upwards of $50 or more per die... but I could be really off the mark on that one. It's probably a good idea to look into yourself, to see if it is worth the expense. Keep in mind that a machine is probably going to end up being an asset for accounting and tax purposes, at least until it is amortized to $0 value. (talk to an accountant)

Do you have any idea how long ago it was that you saw the set/pdf?

Hmmm... interesting. It sounds as if it was sun faded and being left in front of a window it got dried out. I would get in touch with a local saddle maker if you can and ask his opinion. The trouble is the request for "original condition." Anything you do will not make it original again.... folks just don't realize that sometimes. Hopefully some of the other saddlers will see this and post... but if this was me I'd start by conditioning the faded/dry side with some pure neatsfoot.

Thanks for the picture. How thick of leather will your Pfaff sew?

That's awesome Joel: Can you maybe show us a picture of some of your practice work? Maybe something with the ol' smoothie and some thing with your new Tangleboss for comparison? Syl.

LOL Good... search ebay for "leather templates" You'll get something like this... http://www.ebay.com/itm/KEYFOB-TEMPLATE-SET-FOR-LEATHER-CRAFT-5-PIECE-FREE-SHIPPING-NEW-/140763699793?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20c62b9a51 Keep in mind that Tandy tends to use the cheapest and thinnest possible leather for their kits and shapes. Thin leather is harder (in my opinion) to tool on. If you are ordering, you might be better off ordering a double bend or a side from one of the higher end leather vendors. http://springfieldleather.com/ However, if you are going to a local Tandy... ignore the precut shapes and ask for their Veg tanned scrap bin. They are great to practice on... and you'll have no worries about screwing up a piece...it is just "scrap." By the way... please don't waste your $$ on those alphabet sets. Font's are easy to line up and size... then print right from your computer.

Radar: brings up a good point... Dry time. It may be that you didn't let the second coat dry long enough and that is the coat the took the color. A general rule of thumb is to allow it to dry over night at least. I've heard of a Tandy product called "block out" but I've not tried it and have absolutely no idea if it will help. Nocturn provided an option at this thread... he said it works well. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=14550

OH DEAR!! I know exactly what went wrong. Eco Flo Super Sheen does not resist Dyes, Antiques or Stains.... it will only resist the Highliters. I do like the look of what you have though.... to me it looks like old parchment. Keep your mouth shut to the customer... chances are he will love it as is.

I've seen floor mats used to get you out of a mire. But the best rule is to walk the course before you even drive anywhere near it. If you sink... don't go that way in the van. A large group of burly buddies can help push if you get stuck and I have also seen a group of 15 lift a Volkswagon bug and carry it out of a problem area. One thing I know works with varying degrees of success is "rocking" the car... alternating between reverse and forward gears. But this works best when you aren't axle deep in the muck. (don't ask) Do this rocking technique until you build enough momentum to go forward... and once you get going ..... go like hell.

Hi Eddy If you intend to make a profit on these I would say dive in and learn to cut your own. If you are wanting to learn and are limited on tools... get the kits. The problem is that a Key Fob Kit will cost you around $8 plus shipping if you order it. You can buy templates on Ebay to get the shape of the key fob and the rings seem to be pretty inexpensive. As for tropical designs... your best resource is right in front of you. Search for "line art" and some times Font's will give you interesting images too. here's a link to a search I did when we had our Tiki challenge a month or so ago. http://www.canstockphoto.com/illustration/tiki.html Font's http://www.fontspace.com/category/tiki Nautical http://www.canstockphoto.com/nautical-icon-set-5025005.html Tropical https://www.google.com/search?q=tropical+line+art&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=PbO&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=YL7gT86-IKO-2gXdoazkCw&ved=0CGEQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=639 Just tape some of those thick clear page protectors to your monitor and gently trace with a sharpie. Then lay that over the leather and trace with your stylus.

I've sewn 4 oz soft leather with my 2011 Brother and it's walking foot (easy feed) attachment. The problem you might see is marks from the feed dogs on the underside. Make sure you use a fairly long stitch too or you will have problems with it dropping stitches. Personally... I wouldn't chance messing up someone else's machine unless you are willing to drop another $2k if you break it.

Ummm.... I looked back to make sure... but I never said it was a resist. Personally I would NOT wash my tooled leather with saddle soap because it makes the tooling definition go away. But to each his or her own... if it works for you... I say go for it.

Thanks for the recipe. It is interesting to me that you recipe is similar to Fiebing Dye Prep. Which is basically water, grain alcohol (everclear) and sudsy Ammonia. But I find that the dye prep seems to draw random dots of tannins to the surface.

I'm going to fall over if you tell me that you saddle stitched that by hand, Luke. It looks really nice...

Well, since it's summer... why not try to make yourself a pair of sandals? Here's a link to an e-book on how to do it. https://www.leathercraftlibrary.com/p-1153-sandal-making.aspx?

ha! Well at least you don't have to worry about her stealing it from you. Happy Birthday.

It should be noted that Gum Trag can act as a slight resist. (It's also used in dying fabric with indigo dye to create a lost dye effect) Dye doesn't penetrate it well and I don't believe that it has enough tooth to allow acrylic paints to grab. Slick with saddle soap and water. (wet, soap, slick) Then experiment with some scrap with different acrylic paints. Spinner uses model paints for his projects... and they are beautiful... then seal the whole piece with something like resolene, Good luck I hope you find the perfect solution.

Blues: I also had trouble with that.... gribbles are an issue... but I also found that when my granite piece's cut edges were not filed down, I would get scratches from the rough edge of the granite as I moved my piece. I've since ground, sanded and filed those edges over... rounding them off.

Yw... the resolene can be thinned up by 20% (8 parts reso, 2 parts water) that will help control the shine a little. Don't forget to role your leather to the skin side to get the wrinkles.