Sylvia

I KNEW you were smarter than the average Bear! Did you get it all figured out?

He he he.... Yes, but that would be a true miracle.

I know right? They apparently know me well enough to know that I've struggled to get the tools and supplies I need and they have my address. Yet they have not revealed themselves to me. If I find out who he or she is..... I'm gonna hug the stuffing out of them. LOL S

It seems I have a mystery on my hands. About 2 or 3 weeks ago I got a package with a BUNCH of very nice, line 24 snaps in silvertone. I had ordered some from Conchos.com but that package arrived with the order complete. Hmmm... The mystery box had no invoice, no packing slip, no clue to who is sent them, except that the box was sent from Ulysses, Pennsylvania. Today, just now..... another mystery box arrived. This one contained a brand new wooden Tandy strap cutter with a pack of blades and a used but still nice white plastic edge slicker. Now I KNOW I did not order these...so I have a generous person who knows my address sending me these things. I don't know who my benefactor is.... so I'll just thank my angel here. "THANK YOU!!"

Most airbrushes come with extra tips and needles to handle thicker and thinner fluids. I have no idea what you could use to thin it with, unless a call to the manufacturer can offer a solution. As for cleaning I would probably clean it with a regular solvent like lacquer thinner. (wear your respirator!) I've never heard of Ravens oil before so I read up on it on a forum.

Hi Ralph. I guess I get to be the first one to welcome you. There is a lot of information here... so make sure you have plenty of coffee! Syl

Simon: I really like that you are learning in this way. It is amazing to me how many just freak out, accept defeat, and toss it in the can and some even swear off leather working. You are showing tenacity and a willingness to take a bad situation and make it work anyway. That quality is essential to get good at this leatherwork thing in my opinion... I sometimes call this exercise, the art of the error... or art of the mistake. It can be frustrating for sure but it's really fun to find a way that fixes the error, or makes the error a feature. Jacks's comment made me wonder if my terms were correct so I looked up burnish. bur·nish (bûrnsh)tr.v. bur·nished, bur·nish·ing, bur·nish·es 1. To make smooth or glossy by or as if by rubbing; polish.2. To rub with a tool that serves especially to smooth or polish.n. A smooth glossy finish or appearance; luster.

My first order was via email they sent me a Paypal invoice. My second one I called. It is really worth while to call, if you can. They really know how to talk to a customer... no nasty attitudes at all... a genuinely positive experience.

Do you remember Barney Fife and how he almost had his entire belt covered with holsters and pouches for all his "policing gear?" That is what immediately came to mind when I saw this purse. It's kind of cool but seriously??! If you are really interested in this purse there's a tutorial here

I think you should take up tie dying. It teaches you to learn to love the accidental and random things that result from the art form. Chances are your client will LOVE the odd nature of the piece the way it is. Just pretend you did it on purpose. If he likes it, you are golden. If not, well make it again and market this one as a "Simulated Relic Finish" and watch people pay $20 more.

The "bruise" is actually a "burnish" I am not sure it can be reversed. But I do like your solution you offered in the second post. I always dye my edges before slicking and burnishing the edges. It just makes more sense to me.

here's their number. (440) 709-4980 If you email you'll likely get a response from Joyce. If you need to talk technical stuff, dimensions, ideas, etc..., call and talk to Jerry... he's an engineer.

I recommend Bruce at http://www.stecksstore.com His listed prices are typically the Tandy "gold member" price or a little less and I often get things shipped for $3.66 He carries most of what Tandy does... and his service is great... AND he takes paypal.

You are welcome. I don't think you can beat that deal for the set. Definitely worth the money.

I ordered a template or two from them and I must say they are the best folks to work with. Both Joyce and Jerry are fun, willing to work with you, and they turn out a great product. If you can draw it... they can make it. They traditionally make plaques and memorial items but they've recently branched out to making templates for us leather workers. Their prices are great. I suggested they make a template that is the Golden Spiral so important in Sheridan and Western carving and they whipped one right out. It's available on their website as an 8 pieces set at a great price! ($17.95 plus $1.50 s&h) I should be receiving mine soon. I hear that they can even create maker's mark stamps... http://www.blackrive.../leather-craft/ If you order from them please be sure to mention that "Sylvia" sent you. S

Old fish tanks are a great source of tempered glass for things like this. Most 10 gallon tanks can be had cheap from yard sales. Heck just clean the glass really well use it on it's side with a light inside. If you need to diffuse the light... go get that dropped ceiling light fixture tile... you know the stuff that is plastic? shove a hunk of that in there between the glass and the light. Me? I use my computer monitor... or tape bigger things to the window during the day.

HI Ray: Here's how to deal with those "annoying" kids. Cram a box of cards or post cards... or on hot days... those cardboard fans on a stick....in their little ambitious hands and tell them you will give them a 'store credit" or a "fiver" if they pass them out for you. ) You'll suddenly transform from that old bastard at the leather booth, to that cool guy who is paying me to hand these out! One of my most fond memories of summer fairs was MY handing out fans and I did it for free. LOL

I molested the leather at Tandy, got a free 3D stamp and got hugged by Tandy clerk. Then I came home and burnished edges.

LOL you got it. I often say (And please forgive my politically in-correctness on this one...) "TARD ALERT!" Another time I was looking for a fancy scrolled shelf bracket. Went to the local Wally world. Asked for their shelf brackets and the fellow took me to the utility shelf brackets. I asked "Do you have something a little more ornate?" He goes "Orrr-whut?" I said "Ornate... you know, 'fancy'"... He says, "Well, why didn't you say so!" I looked at him... said "I DID!!.... Why didn't you pay attention in school?" Needless to say... I left without a bracket and a renewed sense of disgust toward the locals. It's sad, really.

I don't know if you feller's even thought of something like this. What I would do, (assuming it's set at a good tension at the factory) is immediately put some sort of mark with tape, north south east and west on all the knobs and corresponding marks on the body of the machine... color coded. Then measure the distance from the knob to the body of the machine and note that in the manual. so let's say N is red, W is green, S is brown, E is red. This way you can see at a glance if you've turned it a few degrees or 180*.

Yes, my friend... but I call it Idahell.... I am FROM the west (mossy) side of Oregon. One of my favorite idiosyncrasies I have discovered amongst the Idahoans here is they don't defrost things in the microwave.... they "De-Thaw things" :wtf:

Hi Julia: On veg tanned, I've had good luck with sanding with 100 grit then 220 grit sand paper (by hand and using a finish sander) I do suggest that you do this well away from your normal working area because the sander especially will fling leather dust all over. Either way the result is a fine texture similar to suede. here it comes... the big "BUT" The quality of your leather is going to be a huge factor. If you choose to go with cheaper leather the backs can have large chunks of loose fibers come up leaving a line or divot... and you have to skive or sand past those. Then I start with water and saddle soap work that in by hand until it feels slick... and let that dry. Then I go over that with Gum Tragacanth which smooths it down even more. Finally I seal it with one of the "shenes" or Resolene type product. As to your question on the thin leather edges. I've seen this on youtube but have not found the a product either. It seems that it's a sort of colored wax that is applied and gone over with a hot iron (like a soldering iron but with a flat fan-like blade) the result is a smooth sealed edge. ( suppose one could try dying the edge, rubbing it with beeswax then holding a hot iron to it... but do that on a practice piece before you try it on any finished good) Good luck.

Thanks for the Boise Foundry info. When I have a moment I'll give them a call

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