Sylvia

Hi Jon The way I understand it, if you cut chrome tanned leather you should see a distinct difference in color in the center of the leather. It's almost a blue-ish grey. I tried tooling mine and it did take an impression but it just didn't look very nice..... almost like tooling does on overly wet leather. I even tried branding it... which I DO NOT recommend because I felt awful for days afterwards (probably poisoned myself) Your leather does look nice. Reminds me of the "distressed" look on upholstery popular about 20-25 years ago.

Nah... not going to participate this time. I have too much to do and too little time and energy to get it done and I've been feeling like crap. So I'll pass on this one..... anyone thinking about the next one yet?

Hi Zonker... I saw your question yesterday but I'm don't do this kind of thing yet. (I Viking knit) You might want to hit the people up in the braiding section of the forum... way way down toward the bottom. Try to keep in mind most all of us are working leather workers that don't spend hours on the forum just waiting for a question to answer. There are some I don't see post for weeks. I just happen to have my computer set up near my working area... and I am a professional mulit-tasker. lol Seriously though.... I would ask the whip makers in the forum. Good Luck... I hope you find the answers you seek

TT. I'm a firm believer in "Ask and you shall receive." Contact one of the artisans who do these leather covered teles and ask if you could "please, get a copy or rendering of one of their tooling patterns. Or if that isn't ok, could you please direct me where I might find one." If find that having the courage to ask is half the battle. I mean.... all they can do is say "No" or just ignore you, Right?

check your other post. I looked it up using a library catalog site. There are 4 libraries that carry this book. I bet you can get the copy on loan through inter-library-loan, read it, copy down what you need.... then return it.

Hey, check with your local library. Worldcat says it's in 4 libraries... you might be able to get it via inter-library-loan. http://www.worldcat....ls/oclc/3114165

Sorry Gunter, I do not have this pattern. I wouldn't do that to my tele.... but I do have a bass that could use this treatment. I would gut the guitar and take neck off (if it isn't a neck-through one) .... then use the body as a template tracing the shape on a piece of card stock. But that is me. I do things without patterns. (And I have a hubby that can remove all the "guts" of the guitar and put them back correctly) That said I google searched "Telecaster pattern" and found this PDF http://terrydownsmusic.com/Archive/tele_body_drawing_revD.pdf

Check your PM here.... I'll send you to a forum that can help.

Sounds to me as if your needle is flexing but not breaking. Meaning the needle flexes hits either the needle plate or some internal part which stops the machine. Change your needle. Are you sewing at the max thickness for your machine?

I think I would be tempted to bezel set the stones with Viking knit too.. The Viking knit would help to protect the stones since most "semi-precious" stones are soft and tend to chip. And the back of the bezel could provide a way to attach a thong to thread through the leather and tie off. Between the glue and the thong... it would definitely stay put.

Ralph. Are you looking to sell these or are you just letting us view them in all their glory?

LOL I've had dreams like that before believe it or not.

Golden Mean calipers would be pretty cool. Thanks for the picture.

Well, just got the email back from my sis-in-law. She said the stuff she used was called WARM WINDOWS... she said she used 3 layers of the stuff in her carriers. Here's a link to the stuff. http://www.onlinefabricstore.net/drapery-lining-fabric/warm-window-drapery-lining/warm-window-fabric-ivory-54-inch-.htm?gclid=COO5qPL1t68CFQ-ChwodKjABfw A lot more spendy than the Insul-bright. But now you have a choice.

I think I found it. It's called Insul-bright http://www.joann.com...ght/xprd986469/ Here's a better price http://www.amazon.com/Wide-Insul-Bright-Mylar-Batting-The/dp/B001IYFCLE She would make those water bottle cases out of this and 100 denier nylon. She would put a frozen water bottle in it in the morning and by the time she got home from work 9 hours or so later the bottle was half ice. So I think this should work well for you.

Here's a video of the stuff. I don't know how she got it... or even which layers it's from. http://videos.howstuffworks.com/discovery/27712-how-do-they-do-it-spacesuit-insulation-video.htm

Thanks for the reminder Dan. I've sent the email. Hopefully she will remember. In the meantime I'll try to google it. Syl

Go do some dishes. otherwise it should come of in about 24 hours.

I personally would never "gladly" place a concho, spikes, or the like on a guitar strap. But many makers do it all the time.. commenting "it's fine if you are careful" (I call BS)... I have one customer that is requesting Conchos. I am willing to do it as long as he understands that he takes responsibility for any damage to his guitar due to banging conchos against it. The only hardware mine gets thusfar is a buckle and some Chicago screws and my buckle is on a strap that is glued and sewn to the main body of the strap. I do this for a couple reasons. 1. If the belt part gets worn and needs to be replaced It can be fairly easily to remove and replace. 2. The guitar and guitarist is protected from the buckle even on max length setting so no banging elbows or having a buckle rub on you. But that's just me... I own 15 guitars, 1 bass, 2 ukulele's and 2 mandolins.... and I would be horrified if I chipped or dinged the finish on any of them.

Thanks Tom! The link ended up clickable. Funny I notice that several people reviewed this product as worthless and said that it bent after a few uses. I wonder if they are coming from a couple different factories....

I hope it's a solid core door. I like your hutch-like shelves I need something like that.

Does West Marine have a website? If so would you please post a link for us?

I had hoped someone would answer your question. I think the reason this looks "dull" to you is because it has a satin finish. I don't know if it would be worth taking a chance to strip and redye. What color did you want it to be?

Tandy's leathercraftlibrary has a digital download of "Sandal Making" a book from the 70s. $9.99 Here's the link https://www.leathercraftlibrary.com/p-1153-sandal-making.aspx? It answers a lot of your questions.