Mike516

It breaks my heart every time I hear of someone's loss of one of their beloved pets. They really are a huge part of the family and it totally sucks when this happens. It sounds so hollow, but I really mean it when I say I'm sorry for your loss. I love my dog and just can't bear to think about losing her.

Looks like you were 100% right. The setter is better but I still wasn't happy with the way the caps bend after you work the snaps a few times. I got the samples from DOT last night. There's no comparison. These snaps set perfectly with hand tools (the dies aren't the right size unfortunately). Just placed my order for more, and I think I'll be able to sleep better now.

Only the first 50 auction insertion fees are waived. After that you pay depending on the starting price. Try adding in the shipping costs to the start price of the auction and offer free shipping. Sounds silly, but it's one of the first strategies everyone talks about when discussing this stuff.

Not sure but the guy that taught me the basics of carving told me that an expert isn't a guy who doesn't make mistakes but is the guy who knows how to fix them. I say smooth away

I just got the Tandy one for snaps and I'm lovin' it. I was a spaz with the hand tools and will probably buy the dies for rivets now also instead of fighting with them constantly. It's a savings when you consider the savings in blood pressure medication. All of the dies are sold separately so you have to add that to the price. Elite membership you're looking at around almost 300 bucks for the press and dies for rivets and spots. If you don't have elite membership with Tandy, the one that Springfield sells looks exactly the same (I don't know if it is but it look very similar at least) and it's 160.

(This is by mail order) Not only don't they cut it to size but you don't usually get exactly the square footage that you order. It's approximate. They send you apiece close to what you ordered. But like I ordered 14 square feet and got 11.5, which is fine because they only charge you for what they send you and 11.5 was perfect, but don't expect to get exactly the footage you order.

Got the snap press today and tore it open like a kid. It works real nice but I'm still not thrilled with the quality of the snaps. Will any line 20 die work with all line 20 snaps? It's the head size isn't it?

How big are you looking for? Not sure exactly what you're looking for and I'm probably picturing the wrong type of thing but I've been playing with old watch and camera parts like gears and such. There's tons and tons of listings for broken watches on ebay and I got dozens of them for next to nothing, you just gotta keep an eye out and grab big cheap lots when they come up for auction. Guess I should mention you'll need some type of jewelers tools or watchmakers tools and be careful taking them apart because the gears and all that are pretty delicate.

That's an excellent idea. I also contacted DOT and if the press doesn't solve the issue I'm just going to get all new snaps and the customers are going to have to wait. I'd rather do it right once than have people unhappy. I make small stuff I can offer for free as compensation for waiting. But hopefully the press solves the problem. I'm trying not to stress over it but it's my own fault for not testing these snaps more before going public with this stuff so it's my own fault. We'll just have to see what happens.

Rosiart...thank you I think I'm breathing again lol. I have my first two orders almost done and all I need to do is let the stain dry, finish them with the Resolene I just got and set the snaps. They look great, I'm just nervous about the snaps. Just starting out, it's a bad time to have anything fail on me, like these freakin' snaps.

I hope busted is wrong about my new tool. I hope even though the posts aren't as strong as they need to be, squeezing them with the press will be better than hitting them with the hand tools. We'll see. One order of the dot snaps will probably be over 50 bucks anyway so shouldn't be a problem there. I'm using line 20 snaps on 6-7ounce leather...that's right isn't it? I mean the size of the snap has nothing to do with this, right?

It looks good but I already ordered the press. Thanks anyway.

I got the snaps that say for use on 5-7 ounce leather and I'm using them on 6-7 ounce so the size should be right. I don't think I'm hitting them straight. Every now and then I get one that's perfect but they're far and few between.

Cool, that's a lot cheaper. I try and use the USPS whenever possible. Their prices can't be beat most of the time.

I'll tell you what...I'll send you all my stuff that needs snaps and you send me all your stuff that needs rivets lol. I'll let you know how the snap press is. I ordered it from Tandy. I know people talk down a lot of their stuff but I haven't had any issues with any of the things I've bought from them so far(knock wood). I was going to get the press and snap hand tool but I called them about the dies because it wasn't clear which ones you use for which size snap and they told me they never heard of snap sizes referred to as "line" 20" or "line" 24 etc which seemed odd. Then they said it would work on line 24 snaps (thought she said she didn't know what "line" meant?) and there were no dies for line 20 snaps. Weather or not this was true, I was turned off at this point and just said "ok thank you, have a good day" and called tried and true (at least for me) Tandy.

Disregard, thanks anyway. I can't give a paying customer anything that's not 100%, so I ordered a snap press. That way I know they'll be right. I really don't have any problems with rivets. Just the snaps drive me nuts. I guess it's just one of those things.

The hole is snug. I have to push the post through. Is the hand press worth the investment? I thought I was hitting it vertically but who knows. Maybe my head is crooked :/

Now that you mention it, pic #2 does look a little offset. Would that be the issue?

I'm having issues setting snaps with the setter and anvil on bracelets. I'm using line 20 snaps on 6-7 ounce leather, which should be the right size. I watched GH's video on the proper way to do it because I thought maybe I was just doing it worng, but I'd say about 25% of the snaps pop off after only a few days of use. It's getting frustrating and I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. Any tips or advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.

According to the US Postal Service website, a 40 pound package no bigger than a total of 9 feet - length plus girth - costs around $116 if you print your label online or $122 at the post office. How big is the box? http://postcalc.usps.gov/ For #1 just select Switzerland, then plug in the rest of the info. Hope this helps.

I'm new too but so far the best book I've bought is "Leatherwork Manual" by Stohlman, Patten and Wilson. It doesn't have any guitar straps in it, but I think you'll find it very useful.

Yea, unfortunately the USPS won't deliver anything over 70 pounds to anywhere, not even within the US. What does the saddle weigh, are you packaging it or do you need it packaged and where in Switzerland is it going?

Re-sent.

Let me start by mentioning, I'm a total rookie to all this. I have a guy that showed me the basics of leatherworking, and that's what I'm passing on. I don't want to sound like I know what I'm doing too much, so before you take what I say for truth, you should get confirmation from someone who knows what they're doing. I have been practicing carving and stamping and such but, and I'll probably get booted from these boards for admitting this lol, but my main enjoyment and focus right now in leatherworking, and what I spend most of my time doing, is stamping bracelets with alphabet sets and dying and decorating them *ducks*. So I'm not an artist like the rest of the people here but straight edges are important and a main focus for me. I really try to shoot for perfectly straight. The straighter your starting edge, the straighter your straps will be. So a relatively straight starting edge will give you relatively straight straps. A perfectly straight starting edge will give you perfectly straight straps. I would rather spend a little more time getting the first edge straight then deal with straightening crooked straps later. To get my starting straight edge, I use a 4 foot drywall T-square and cut off one side of the irregulary shaped hide. It doesn't have to be a t-square, that's just the longest straight edge I happen to have from when I renovated my first house, so that's what I use. To cut it, I just use a utility knife with a sharp blade. I hope this helps. Edit: I should mention, one mistake I made was I tried to cut the leather in one pass. That doesn't work so good. I have had better luck laying the hide out on the floor and going through it in several passes instead. Just don't let the ruler move.

I sent you a private message a few days ago about your stuff bro. If you're looking to sell, shoot me a message.