Sylvia

Hi: size the video up to full screen and go to 1:49 in the video where he sets the case on the bench. You can barely see it but it appears that the gusset is 3 pieces. Look at the bottom corners you can see the seam line run to the edges. Sylvia

Sooo sorry Adam! That is one of our American wordings that can be confusing. What is meant by "pass thread through a block of beeswax" is "drag the thread over the surface of the beeswax." Eventually if you drag it over the same spot over and over a groove will form. Take your thread and lay it over your block of wax. Hold the thread down with the thumb of one hand and pull the thread slowly with the other hand. Do this a couple times and you'll have a nicely waxed piece of thread.

I have a problem with rivets. They never seem vertical when I do them. Is your hole too big perhaps? Are you making sure that your first blows are vertical, perpendicular to the snap?

BarP... I found this tutorial on line that is pretty good. http://graybear.com.au/vinegaroon-black-leather-dye/ Of course you can make any amount you want. S

Hello Zoran. Welcome. Out of all your pictures I love the Jesus the most . You are very artistic!

Next will be bridal veils and bouquets, Cake toppers, and rose attachments for the garter. :D Seriously though beautiful work. You might want to consider finding a way to add value to these corsages by making them easily convertible to a hair piece or barrette.

River, Got to http://www.leathercraftlibrary.com Check out the 'free" area.... dig around there are some nice free templates there that work for belts. Also check back to there often as they change the free and on sale stuff a lot.

Did you see this? The machine in this video is threaded left to right. Don't know how much that helps but It's fun to watch

I came back to look again. Something bothered me about the spirals in 2 and the leaves in 3. When I posted before I couldn't quite put my finger on it. It hit me today. The areas where you have used the veiner .... I think that you can improve the look by angling the veiner instead of trying to keep the stamp perpendicular to the carved line of the leaf. This will help direct the eye around the spiral. Look at the pattern again and I think you'll see what I mean. Can't wait to see what else you do. S

You will have a comfort zone eventually. I personally HATE to do basket weave and similar geometric stamps. I'm not fond of those darn 3d stamps either. lol So they are not in my comfort zone at all. Yes, I file a the angle quite steep. Now I just jam the pointed end in into the cut and slide. No angles, no fuss... hardly any pressure.

Domino: You are getting better. These are just for fun and practice. They help us move outside of our comfort zones and let us discover new talents. I think this turned out great... I even like the variance of the beveling... it almost echos the fore-shortening of the knot itself. (which makes sense if you think about it.) Oh and so I don't have to angle my blade so much I took a file to mine and change the angle of the plastic. I'm not sure why they are so flat on the end as the come from the factory... but I've altered mine enough that I can use it straight up and down.

I like Angelus too for all dyes EXCEPT Black. I've had the worst time with it, even diluted. I've recently tried the Fiebings Prof Oil Dye in Black and that worked better but I still had to buff like crazy and be careful to not rub too hard. So I am brewing some Vinegaroon. I get my Angelus 5 4oz bottles at a time via http://www.dharmatrading.com. (if you are a first time buyer there, get your free gift, too) For some things I like the Eco Flo, fine. and I've been dieing to give the new Pro Water Stain a try. S

Dang! I gotta get better at inkscape.

I think I would have deglazed after cleaning with your soap and water. The deglazer takes of the manufacturer's finish. I have my first vinegaroon brewing now and though it's hard to leave it alone, I tested it on day 2 on a piece of scrap. It turned grey. I also tested it on some "tree of heaven" pieces of wood and they turned black, indicating a good amount of tannin in the wood. Hmmm... maybe that is a use for this awful weed tree? Anyway... I only brewed about a pint and a half. (ragu bottle) So I think perhaps you made quite a lot. I hope you have a lot of things to dye because I hear it does lose it's dying strength after a while.... though I understand that sticking another pad of steel wool in the brew will bring it back to strength. It does sound like you had a lot of fun making over this bag though and I like the distressed look. Can't wait to see how your next project turns out.

Very clever! That using up scraps is exactly why I continue to make them.

Hi there! Valiant efforts and for a beginner you are showing promise. In picture number 1 the main thing that sticks out at me is the tool marks where you beveled around the image. That is one of the skills that takes a while to learn so you get a smooth bevel. I still have issues now an then. But the key is to case properly, cut deep, then hover the tip of the beveler over the cut and walk the beveler down the cut as you tap with your mallet successively. Don't be afraid to back up and go over the line a little now and then. Number 2 is a great way to practice those spiral cuts. I'm sure as you work, you make sure your knife is properly sharp and stropped so your cuts go smoothly. Do some more practice to get smoothly rounded spirals. I'm practicing knife cuts as often as I can to develop a better touch and nice spirals... so I admire your efforts to tackle that. I would like to see some pear shading work on petals of the flowers of all your pieces. Keep it up! Sheridan carving is not something people learn to do well over night. Did you find the Tandy Leather Factory and other leather crafting videos on Youtube? I watch this one a couple times a week... to remind me of what I need to practice.

There are no words to adequately describe how impressed I am .... wow! Holy Cow.

Couple things. If you are building your box, you are paying a LOT of shipping for lumber weight. All packages are subject to dimensional weight which is why they always ask the L X W X H. You might be better off with a sturdy cardboard box just large enough to create a frame inside with your lumber. Then pad it will with bubble wrap or similar materials. You may want to weight your current crate/ box before you put the saddle in it to see how much it is costing you. I don't think your dimensional weight will be the same as what the physical weight. But this is worth a shot.

@Mark Thank you for posting the picture to PROVE that the inside an be slicked. I was beginning to think this was another of those "buy better leather or line it" threads. The only thing I would do differently is skive and sand before slicking but it's nice to know others out there that have methods similar to mine.

Ha! My Tandy is only about 20 miles away. I order mostly online or over the phone and every time they invite me to come in the store. I'm afraid to.... I'm bad enough online. Did you get the elite membership or the gold? Regardless get online,... sign in.... and take a look at the "member's only" adverts. There's $10 off for Elite and $5 off for Gold members at http://www.leathercraftlibrary.com Syl

That very nice. I would wear that in a heartbeat. Great job.

LOL! Well, at least it's being a poster child for something good!

wish I could afford it.

Sounds fun CC. Take lots of notes. and ask permission to repost. I bet they would be honored.