Sylvia

I read somewhere you measure the perimeter of the piece to be sewn, Times that by 2 and add several inches for "just in case wiggle room" Don't ask me where I found that... I've been reading about this stuff online, in books and such for a couple months now.

+1 on Stecksstore at Ebay. And I've bought from their online .com store too. My advise is to compare prices ebay to their online store because sometimes it's less expensive on ebay with shipping and sometimes it's less expensive at the online store. As for dyes, I found Angelus dyes and paints at http://www.dharmatrading.com for a LOT less than "leathercraft" places and ebay even when adding in the shipping. They even have the Quart bottles of the dye. New customers get a free gift too (see main page)

Sure, you could. If you could find a source.

I like to have a book in hand too. I'm not fond of e-books but have been known to download a few. But in a pinch this works and saves you from having to go to the library or book store.

JJ: Talk to the man at the shop. Ask him to come visit you on the weekend and if He agrees to fix it on his own time... you will make him something in leather and take him for a pint or two at the pub. Do a little Bartering. Like for like, trade of services. There's always a way. Maybe he would like a set of leather saddle bags....or maybe he wants a "murse" or a leather "bum bag" who knows... I say ask because all he can do is say NO.

"Sometimes I feel like.... somebody's watching meeeeee...." Sorry... it made me think of that song.

Yeah, they are definitely different than the craftool ones in the 1970s kits. Much more thin than the old ones. I haven't had any trouble with them so far but I don't try to drive them through to the floor either. I only wish I could afford the "pro" tools the guru's tout. I did bite the bullet, smoked a card and got one of Barry Kings Swivel knives. ($53 shipped) Can't wait to get it. I talked to Brad there today and he says it should be shipped on Monday. <waiting waiting waiting> At some point you should start experimenting with the other tools. I see this sometimes in new guitar players, they spend days practicing ONE thing.... then get frustrated and quit. At some point you gotta just play a song..... even if it is quite badly with lots of flubbed notes.

Yeah but I could totally see this in a Log Cabin... or in the big house on a Texas or Wyoming Ranch.

I recently spent 4 years as an online University student. There are times when one orders a book and it takes forever to arrive. In the meantime the Professors assume you have your books and begin the class with 4 chapters of reading and 3 written assignments. Needless to say that is one way to start out a class with high levels of stress and generally freaking out about getting behind. So in one term I discover this method of learning most of what I needed to complete the assignment while I waited for my books to arrive. I share this in hopes that perhaps some of you with a limited budget can take advantage of this learning opportunity. I works like this. Online we have "Google Books" and "Amazon Look Inside." I noticed that the preview pages of one isn't always the same preview pages in the other. AND, Amazon has a "search inside the book" feature Ok, so... This morning. I pulled up some leather books in google books and found this one. Pretty basic stuff but we will use it as an example. Basic Leathercrafting: All the Skills and Tools You Need to Get Started By Elizabeth Letcavage, Bill Hollis I looked for the same book in Amazon and sure enough it has a "Look inside" preview available. (This isn't always the case, btw) So what I do is open the book in one window... then open the same book in another window. And flip back and forth between the two. In google I and read the title page, the acknowledgements and see the 'introduction' page as well as pages 1-7. In amazon, I can see the cover, the title page, and pages 1-6. then page 26. etc. Then I use the search Inside feature in Amazon to "search inside this book" Let's say I search for "hand stitching" It lands me on page 15. But I can scroll up 1 page to page 14, and down to page 19. On the left, I see other links to page 72, that has the word "stitch" on that page. When I click it, I can scroll up and down to pages 70-74. (not all results here will be click-able) Ok sure it's sort of a pain... and one has to know the terms to search, but this has saved my behind while I've waited for books to arrive and when I needed a quote to put in a report. You might not be able to read all of the book, between these two screens, but it is certainly enough to understand what the book is trying to teach. Hope this helps some of you. P.S... I'm currently looking through Leatherworking Handbook: A Practical Illustra… (Paperback) by Valerie Michael :D

Hey Eddie: Tell me about "micro fine rouge" I have some red, I got for polishing jewelry and I have the white tandy recommends. What color is the "micro fine?"

Wow... learn something new everyday. I had NO idea that "Crimson Tide" had an elephant as a mascot. You'll need some basic tools I think... at least a Swivel Knife, A beveler, A mallet etc. Modeling tools will help some I would also get some extra scrap leather to practice the design before putting it on your Dad's wallet. That way you can see where you can go wrong. And you can test out those dyes. Now... Technically, the BAMA logo is a copyrighted image ... with all the scary stuff that goes along with copyright issues. Just an FYI.

You are welcome. I certainly won't get one from him since he clearly has no ethics.

I watched an Italian shoe maker show how to sew up those narrow toed shoes. And he had some serious tricks up his sleeves. I think it could be done, but I'm not sure it's worth the headache. I've tried to find the video for you but haven't had much luck. I'll try again tomorrow.

Andrew: If you click on your picture and when it comes up, hold down CTRL (cmd) and Hit the [ + ] plus sign repeatedly you can size that up substantially. Then you can see that the stitches along the side of the "gusset" is different than the stitch along the top of the case. I think Leatherimages is right, it's a decorative feature probably just glued on to hide a seam. P.S. To get your screen back to normal... CTRL and [ - ] minus key.

Hey Chris: I'm seeing a similar burnishers on Ebay... is that you as well?

Stunning... absolutely stunning.

LOL @ spinner "Chupacabra" it's hard to tell from the photos. But.... if you extrapolate by looking at the shape... you can almost imagine a fish. In the upper right of the photo of the skin, it looks like the area around the gills. Imagine the leather formed into a tubular shape then imagine the head and dorsal fin being removed. I think your vendor may be right. There are many species of shark, so who knows for sure. *** Oh ho!!.. Lookie here.... it is probably Shark belly. Check this picture out. http://content.cdlib.org/data/13030/cq/kt938nb3cq/figures/caljsiol_sio1ca175_045_009.gif

LOL! So no iRack huh? Looks like it works really well, you might consider a couple of those little magnets at the bottom of an old shower curtain for those wells too. It will help keep small fiddly bits from moving about... like your needles and the allen wrench. maybe there's enough space to even sink it into the board. Anyway... I'm envious.

Cute! Love the orange.

Saddle stitch is right. I've learned from the pros here that they like waxed thread for hand stitching. The wax helps keep the thread from tangling and fraying while stitching. http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/search/site+search+results.aspx?sectionpath=3&processor=content&p_keyword=waxed+thread But the wax will prevent it from being dyed too. I think white stitching would make a nice accent, otherwise black would blend a bit better than the brown. IMHO.

That looks really nice. I am a little late to this party, but I thought I would toss out a suggestion anyway. I know when I'm working I don't always put my tool back in the rack. There has been times when the knive rolled off and hit my bare foot. I've also had things get dragged off while I turned the leather. My space is very small. So I would suggest a fairly strong magnet on one side, right side if you are right handed, left if you are a lefty... then when switching between tools you can slap one on the magnet. It will stay there until you need to switch again. I might have measured your dye bottles too and made a "cup" to hold it upright while dying and if you use the quarts of dye... it could be your beer holder too. Of course Ipod interface and speakers built in would make it totally awesome... name it "iRack" or Rock-n-Rack or something. lol At any rate, now you need to make a leather case to fit.

Wish I could go. I've got cabin fever pretty bad. Elko is a nice little town but it can get really really cold. Bring your heavier jackets just in case.

Excellent Idea. I had forgotten about using schools for services such as this. I used to get my mechanical work done at the local Community College. for parts and $25 fee way back when.

If you were just creating pieces to cut the shapes for a bag or something like that I think Formica would work nicely.

Nice bit of "Shade Tree engineering." (Loggers are always good at that kind of stuff, just like farmers) My granite isn't so nicely framed with wood, but I think a couple spring clamps and a steel ruler would work to do something like this as well, and would allow me to go diagonally too.