Sylvia

The first one looks like a pattern knotcher. This makes tiny nibbles from the pattern material (or leather) so you know which pieces meet up. The second one is a Kajiggling Pin remover. For those painful times when your kajiggling pin gets out of joint. :D

LOL I'm gonna go molest the pine tree in the back yard... it seem to produce quite a bit of pitch. Bees wax is another story... no way I'm paying $10 a pound.

I'll revive this old thread with a couple of questions. I notice that some of you oil before you color or stain. What exactly are the benefits of doing this? Have any of you gone back and put acrylic paint over a piece that you've used a paste or some other sealer over?

Oh man! What a deal!! Wish I could find something like that. Do send Wiz the pictures he requested, he'll get you sorted.

Guapo: Do you buy the pine pitch or do you go pick it off a tree somewhere? I'm curious.

I don't know actually, I don't have that book and have never seen it. I agree with the other poster that uses beeswax though.. I would be wary of using paraffin if only because it's made from petroleum. Bees wax would be more soft and more "natural" I think. It seems to me that if you wind the thread around the cardboard box like the tutorial does, and apply heat, the wax would be more likely to absorb into the thread's fibers. I've used the drag through wax method the other poster noted but instead of wax I used soap as it was what I had handy. I found the soap to just lay on the surface and it was a bit dusty to work with... but it did stop my bad habit of using my mouth as a third hand. Blech!

Very good question! I would like to know how the pros here do this too. Here is a tutorial for waxing thread from a quilter. http://www.ehow.com/how_2274907_wax-sewing-thread-quilting-projects.html It involves unwinding the thread around a prepared piece of cardboard, rubbing it with paraffin, then covering the thread with waxed paper and ironing with a warm iron. Since some spools of thread are huge, I would wax several yards at a time, then wind it on a dowel or old wooden spool, for use.

Hi Andrew: Nice find. Could you please post a picture one of the bobs you modified and perhaps one of how the burnishing turns out?

Bob: Did you intend to post a link or something?

Oh man! Greybeard that was an awesome strap you made. Most kids who play would kill for a nice strap like that. PM me if you want to get her back into it. I have the perfect place for her to take lessons online. I can give you a code for 7 days free membership to try. It's normally $19.95 a month. Sylvia

Ha! When I did that... I got out the Bedazzeler and put a stud in it. :D

Ha! I call these Map Weights. We used them to hold down the USGS Quadrangle maps on the hood of the car. These work great for holding the pattern down while you are cutting too.

The old post was under "Sizing Leather" I'm glad it worked out for you. I replied to the PM with my ideas. But I'm sure the pro's here will make some good suggestions as well.

Yes, the dye is spirit dye. Has wonderful stuff like denatured ethyl alcohol, and Glycol Ether. If you get your Angelus Dye from http://www.dharmatrading.com you can get the 3oz bottles for 2.89 per bottle if you get more than 5 bottles. They have the "paints" too. Also your first order gets a free gift... check the main page for that. ) It's the least expensive place I've found. I think it cost me just over $11 to ship it UPS to me from Cali to Idaho.

Bedell bought Breedlove? Wow that's news to me! I like finding orphans and fixing them up again. I've managed to get some great little gals for nothing that way. Good for you getting a good case.. don't forget the humidifier. I have a knock-about guitar too... but it mostly sits in the case except when camping. I really like the cherry sunburst on yours... such a rare color these days. So many guitars have that tobacco burst on them. (blech) Have you ever recovered an amp with leather? I've got a Marshall Valvestate that is tempting me to recover it

oh yeah, know that feeling. The trouble is when you have so much stuff you can't find anything. I have a guitar strap kit somewhere.... I knew where it was then cleaned up that area... and now I can't find it! I'll find it eventually... but cripes it would be nice to find it soon.

Millionaires are over-rated. It's much more fulfilling (and much more happy) living a with modest means I think. Awesome job on the saddle... the though of attempting something like that makes me hyperventilate. :D Your son is definitely a little cutie... when are you going to get him a little guitar... now is the time to start him playing you know!! Merry Christmas to you and yours too.

Man that looks awesome! But the guitarist in me cringes at all that metal that can bang up and scratch your new baby. What brand of guitar is that? I have never heard of Great Divide before...how does she sound?

LB.. that was very generous of you to offer to get these for the original poster. Just thought I would say "good on ya!" I wonder if there could be a way to set up a buying co-op for the little guys? One person would have to coordinate it I imagine.... and each of the buyers would have to pay for the extra shipping.

oooo ouch! Thank you for posting... now I know not to do that! Can you try a little deglazer on a cotton swab on one of the splotches and see if it will remove enough so you can get some stain penetration? Maybe somewhere that the splotch is small-ish so that if it doesn't work well, it wont' be that big of a deal?

Hi Aaron: They have a term for that type of personality. "Life Long Learners" I am very much like that. I like the learning process, collecting the tools, and all that stuff. (This is probably why I have 15 guitars, 1 bass, 2 mandolins, and 2 ukuleles... LOL) I find my biggest problem is the mess I create. So after some nagging to myself, I put things way... and may or may not return to the hobby until much later. Case in point, I got most of my tools and kits in 2006, I cleaned up and put them away and didn't touch them again until hubby needed a new belt after his old one ripped apart. But I'm back to it now and have found that some of my other crafting things work well as "tools" in this genre.... I'll probably continue for a while... at least until I can't stand the mess anymore. ha!

Hi Erin: I come from a regular seamstress area of crafting and I have an idea that may help some. (at least until you can adjust, replace or modify your feed dogs.) When I have issues with things like this I float a piece of tearaway stabilizer under the item and over the feed dogs. If you don't have tearway, try some butcher paper... the kind with shiny side. On a test piece run, try it shiny side up and shiny side down to see how it affects your leather. Then when done stitching, just tear away the paper. (you may have to adjust top tension a little) Tissue paper is far too thin because the feed dogs are so aggressive on this kind of machine, you'll need something more substantial... and lots of needles. I've used this method on Velvet which gets crushed easily. It might just work for you as a temporary measure. Good luck. Sylvia

UH OH!! ha ha ha. "Diamonds.... that'll shut her up." - Ron White. Only suggestion I have is... buy her a bigger diamond for her engagement ring.... or point out that you can't use her engagement ring to make money. I'm very envious of your new machine. Congrats.

Very well said Spinner. Thanks. I've said it before, I'll say it again. "The devil is in the details." AND "Say what you mean,.... and mean what you say."

Well jeeze... I wasn't trying to be a smart aleck! You asked how to make the look but didn't say you wanted a dying method. I'm gonna go pull this knife out of my heart now........