Studio-N

thanks ray, very kind of you. Thanks Bud, They are under the user awlivers on ebay. I no longer sell on ebay directly, but my buddy has them listed under his acct.

Hi Russ, You are very right about the fact that many here have outgrown Tandy and in that case we've moved on to other vendors. I think the other part of the argument here is how their attitude has changed to the point where they have driven us away. Having been an insider I've been privy to thier policy changes and corporate directives and the reason for the large turnover in staff in favor of less informed and cheaper managers. The attitude in question is in part in their pricing, but also in how they have abandoned the small business and even their own resellers. I'll continue to keep an eye out for when they have a decent specials but other than that, I buy everywhere I can get good value for my dollar. Cheers!

I've got a Dixon and love it. thanks for the education on the Blanchard.

When it comes to engraving, not a lot of power is necessary. 25W will give a good engraving on VegTan. Because of the metallic salts in the leather, Chrome tan leather takes more power. If you're planning to use the laser to cut the leather, you'll need a good 40-45 watts to get good results without a lot of burning. I have a Universal Laser 45 watt. It is a 2001 model and has been a workhorse. If I had to buy another one today, I would choose Universal despite the big price differences to other models. It is tried and true and the two times I needed support in the last 13 years, I got good service. In america. In English. Cheers!

LOL

I think what you're asking for is a buckle back. The evil empire sells them. Here is the LINK. Those should fit a 1 1/2"- 1 3/4" belt. If you need some for 1" - 1 1/4", I have some.

Hello. Just FYI, these are some of the common FD related stamps I have done for others. These can be made in any size over 1". As a for instance, the last stamp FD symbol I've done in 3" tall to go directly on the shield for a previous customer. thanks.

Anything is possible. I'll PM you some details.

thank you. Let me give credit where credit is due: this is modeled after a test tube holder I saw in Pinterest. The nice thing about it is now that I have the drawing laid out, I can make it as long or wide as I need very easily and/or change the number and size of the holes with a simple drag of the mouse. Cheers!

I'm over 300 tools lately and ran out of room in my current tool rack so I laid this out and cut it out in about 20 minutes with the laser. It's made from 1/8" veneered mdf playwood. Pretty light weight but pretty strong after the legs are glued in. 3 holes sizes are used to accomodate the various tool sizes. that should hold the overflow for a while.

Just any cutoff would work. 2x2". If you don't have that use an old t-shirt. Cut a good size piece, ball it up and use another piece of the tshirt to wrap around it and tie off. Now you have a pad that will work. Other materials would work as well. The key is that it lets you apply a liberal amound of dye and that you get good coverage. Cheers! Additional: Here is a link to the Evil Empire's site that shows a video of a good application of the water stains. This would work fine for the oil-dyes too.

How was this applied? The first thing noticable is that the streaks all run horizontal. If you're using a dauber - stop. Use a piece of sheepswool. Apply liberally in a CIRCULAR fashion. Better yet, first left to right, then up and down, then in a circular fashion. This gives a very good application and it will aborb more evenly than just one direction. Cheers!

they sure look like Tandy tools.

The reality is that Tandy no longer cares about businesses. There is not enough margin in it for them (or so they say). There goal was to make $100 million in sales last year. The only way to do that is to sell lots of high margin retail. Of course while their retail business is up, their wholesale business is way down for all the reasons stated here. Two problems here. one - the dollar is in the crapper. 2nd - Tandy buys the cheapest hides they can find. the only way to get them 'cheap' is to buy the whole tannery run. so you get the good, the bad, and the very ugly which they distribute to the stores. And don't forget you've got foreign manufacturers willing to pay top dollar for the best hides. They don't care because they don't have to pay their slave labor very much. So even though Tandy has lots of money they won't pay the top dollar although they are charging like they do. Yes, all part of their master plan to try to get all of the business. Very few people are getting Distributor prices these days. Not that it matters since sometimes it was only a 5% difference from business/elite. From their perspective distributor pricing brings in a 30% margin, where business brings in up to a 50% margin. I'm sure they think all that wholesale business will shift to their stores. IMHO, it is my belief that they are trying to shore up the stock so they can sell the company. i think they realize that leatherworking is a dying craft. Excluding manufacturing which is usually large enough to buy direct from the tannery anyway. The average age of leatherworkers is somewhere between 300 and 400 years old (we all know it's true) with many getting too old to do leatherwork or literally dying off. The rate of new leatherworkers is simply not keeping up. And why would it? Leather doesn't have a joystick, so today's youth doesn't care about it. They may get introduced to it as in summer camp, but lets face it they get bored with it fast because it takes years to develop skill and oh wait, the TV is on. So in the mean time, they'll keep trying to milk us for what they can until it's time to dump it. And when that does happen, the new owners will certainly close many stores and ruin what's left. BTW, I think it's funny that many of the Tandy store staff come to me to have their maker stamps done 'cause they ain't gonna pay the Tandy price! EVERYONE HAVE FUN. Let's keep supporting the small suppliers. Cheers!

check out http://www.texhas.com for masonic conchos. He does wholesale with a tax id permit.

Thank you. I was thinking the same thing -remembering when you'd see lots of rifle/shotguns in gun racks in the parking lot.

the picture looks like it used regular double cap rivets. Probably 1/2"?

Just relaxing at home today so I decided to make a couple of advertising peices. Saw this ruler on Pinterest so I decided to make one. It's 1/4 mdf plywood cut and marked with the laser. What's a shame about this is that I can't give it to anyone who's kid might take it to school. If they are suspending kids for just making a gun with your finger these days, imagine what they would do about this! It's a good thing I didn't make a notch on the end so you could add a rubber band. Having a projectile would probably lead to domestic terrorism charges. Maybe I'll make some kind of ruler holster for it. BTW, It's not a concealed carry ruler. Nick Studio-N Dallas

Sorry it wasn't worded right. Paypal is an ebay company. If you use paypal for the etsy payment you're screwed if the customer opens a case against you. ebay/paypal do NOT protect the seller.

These are a special order item. Tandy still makes it, but does not sell it openly. Ask a store to look it up in their computer and they should be able to tell you which stores specifically have one. Order directly from the store that has it, else you might end up paying shipping twice (between stores and to you). If all else fails, call the main store in Ft. Worth. They are co-located with the warehouse so if one exists in the warehouse, they have easy access to it.

If you used paypal for your etsy payment, you may not have a choice. Being an eBay company, they will NOT protect the seller. All the whiner has to do is well, whine to paypal and open a case and paypal will yank the money from your account. I'd say have them return it (part of the condition in the case if opened), and refund it and move on.

Aussie uses Beeswax. It works fine as a conditioner and water repellant, but it doesn't last long. I wouldn't call it much of a finish, but a good top coat. Carnauba WAX (such as Leather Balm) seems to last a lot longer and polishes to a nice luster. I think the carnauba creme will work much like leather balm.

I concur - the answer is that it can be engraved before and/or after depending on what you're going to do. on a lot of mine, I laser after I have dyed and finished so that the finish acts as a resist for the color fill I'm doing.

Actually, you may only have to change the substance you're using. Bunkhousetools makes his plates out of resin material. I have several of thier dies and they work well and I belive they will hold up as long as I'll own them. They have always been very nice to me, so I'd check with them on what they use or if he can cast it for you. -Nick

any acrylic should work, and will be cheaper than Tandy.