Sylvia

Whatever.

Ok... the guitar tech in me just came out. That fretboard looks mighty dry. She needs some attention. Strap looks fantastic... although I worry about all the metal clanging against the body of the guitar.

Hi there: Here is a winder that quilters use. It has a tension guide... The thing that would concern me with your winding with a drill is twisting the thread. http://www.allbrands...09633-0994.html Here's a link for come coupon codes to sweeten the purchase http://www.allbrands.com/images2/common/coupon_codes.html I've bought several things from Allbrands. Pretty good folks over there.

You are welcome! I am glad I could help a bit. While you have the wood burning tool out... try burning a design on some leather... just make sure it's not chrome tanned stuff. You can actually remove material and it ends up looking carved. Just char.... then scrape with your modeling tool. repeat if necessary. Katsass, a member here, makes his own brands from coat hangers and he heats them with a torch. If you can bend a wire into a logo shape that might work too. Another thing you can try is jeweler's stamps, they can come really small. But a set of letters can run you a $50 or so.

Andrew It doesn't look like anyone has a splitter for you to use. Have you thought of cutting down to say the min your hand splitter will do then sanding the flesh side to get it even thinner? Not the ideal solutions but it just may work.

Well, if you use model car paint... have you tried nail polish yet? Wet and Wild brand has just about any color you could ever want and it comes with a brush in the bottle. Hmmm... that might be something I could use!

I sometimes use a piece of scrap leather... moistened. Smooth side to smooth side and burnish marks away with that. Seems to work pretty well especially on those centerline marks for belt holes.

I don't use an "edge cote" or special dye designed for edges. I use the dye I would use for the main body of the thing. I've also used permanent markers which works well as long as you dye before you do any other edge method like saddle soap and wax. Angelus has a few nice spirit dyes that come in blue. Royal blue might be hard to match. I would practice on some scrap before I did anything on your main project.

When you say "branding tool" do you intend to get it hot and brand the leather? Or are you looking for a maker's mark stamp? I don't have a stamp yet so I use my wood burning tool with a fine point tip and "sign" my things with that burning my initials or signature into the leather on the back side.

Or just describe them as "Saddle Stitched by Hand"

Really talk up the "hand crafted" in the USA thing. Then charge the $125 plus shipping if needed.. Then require a 50% non refundable down payment with every order. S

Ha! I love the 9 year old logic. So true. I often say everything I needed to know.... I learned in Kindergarten. I've never heard of oil paint being used on leather... how has it been holding up?

skulls? aw come on! It's spring!

Hello: This lady says what she does in this video. Unfortunately she doesn't show how. But maybe it will give you some ideas. There are a lot of braiding videos on Youtube.

I said it before for your eyes.... so here is the video in honor of the display.

The display and goods look awesome. Hope you get some interest.

Too heavy handed. Now vote... lol

YOU MISSED THE CHALLENGE PART!!! LOL The challenge is to use the basic 7 to make TREE(S) Too many people think like Cyber did... that the basic 7 is only for designs and borders. But we can do so much more with them than that. This will force us to think beyond the geometry of the tools and show some artistry. So I VOTE 7

Oh I've done them all at one time or another. Glycerine soap, water, spit, candle wax, bees wax, gum trag, wax and brand.... ear wax and toe jam (jk) Right now I'm favoring gum trag followed by bees wax. I've chucked up my tandy wheel slicker in the drill press too. But some of my stuff is too thick for that.... so I end up hand burnishing. I use my dremel but I need something that I can't divot the leather with.... Been also thinking about a drum sander attachment for my drill press too. Again... .66 cents doesn't buy much these days. lol

LUCKY!! Seems like everyone is getting a new Cobra 4 or some such machine. I can't afford resupply my snaps! lol I've not received my punches yet but I hope to get them by Friday. And I think that using a tool for something other than what it was designed for is a smart and resourceful thing AS LONG AS you don't injure yourself in the process. They have a small shop press at HF that I have been eying for a home made clicker... but before I go doing that, I need a bench-top belt sander, a spindle burnisher, a few belt end punches, a draw gauge or plough gauge, oblong punches.... the list is endless. Hand sanding and burnishing is such a pain and I'm starting to feel it .... (electric shock-like pains in my right thumb) . so I need to automate as much as I can. And of course I need a nice tool block to hold it all in. ha! I've been trying to use some of the money I make on projects to buy at least one tool.... or dye... or something. But bills almost always take precedence.

I have an idea... since it's spring. How about a basic 7 tools challenge that has us making trees? I think it would help the newer members develop other ideas beyond what they see in their basic books. these are the tools I'm thinking. It's more than 3 but it might force us to think of these tools as more than just backgrounders, cams and veiners. http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/es/8170-00.aspx

What's planned for next month?

I just ordered a 9 piece set of punches that goes up to 3/4" like this from harbor freight for $7.99 (after coupon $7.19) along with some other stuff. If I were you I would clean them up, sharpen them and use them. I bought mine because I was always wishing I had a larger punch rather than having to try to cut a circle by hand or use a drill. I still want some punches that go from 1 inch to 3 inches... but I've not found a good price yet.

Hello Dan: Could you please tell us your supplier?

I don't think it's a step backward IF you learn something. So what do you think is the failure on this piece? The only thing that gives me pause is that the yellow paint has a little "over run" and seems to have been too thick when you began painting.