Wink

I inherited my Dad's stuff and I remember he took great care with the lacing so I understand the relationship between lacing and the leather. I'm slightly leary of posting pics because of the relatively poor quality of the stamping, carving and dying job. But I also realize that I should only be looking for improvement, not perfection! Plus it's my first "thing" so, there ya go. Also, that's some nice stitchin' there, Chief.

Awesome! Thanks Chief, I'll try that out today!! EDIT - Hey, between your's and George's help, I got it! Thanks a lot! It turns out I was letting the needle go into the loop and creating a knot (if that makes sense) and I kept rotating the lace instead of keeping it flat and straight. Thanks a lot guys!

Sorry Beav, I don't have photographic capabilities right now (and probably won't until Monday - long story). I suppose I was kinda hoping the lacing would come fairly easy but alas, it hasn't. I understand a little better about the variables involved and if I'm still having problems come next week, I'll gladly post and see if one of you fine folk could help me. Maybe it's also the stress of our NHL team and new arena situation that's getting me all worked up? Maybe if we lose the Oil, I'll start cheering for the Flames! Thanks!

I'm just trying to lace my first project with a double loop stitch and it's not coming to me very easily. I've checked out Mr. Hurst's video and another but I just can't get the lace to look right after 4 or 5 stitches. I am getting better at it with each try so I know I'll get it eventually, it's just frustrating and I can't quite pinpoint exactly where I'm going wrong. I guess I'm venting more than asking a question. I'm gonna go home and whip up a makeshift stitching pony too to see if that helps. K, time for a coffee and a break... Wink

Thanks for the tips, guys. I went and bought a can of the 3M - 77 and will do a test run or two tonight. @Cyberthrasher - yeah, I thought stitching the fabric might be best but wasn't sure - thanks for the reassurance!

I forgot to use search function!, Thanks, it's been awhile since I been here and I panicked! - Oh, and thank you!

Hiya folks! I apologize because I know I saw a thread like this a long time ago and I'll be darned if I can find it again. Anyway, I'm making a biker wallet from a Tandy kit (my first real project) and I've done the dying and carving and I'm ready to stitch it together. I just realized that a fabric lining would go nice and I remembered a discussion about whether you could us an adhesive to get in on there. I understand that sewing it in would be better but I don't believe I have the skill or the patience to try that yet. So would contact cement work or should I not bother and leave it au naturale? \ Thanks, Wink

"...if you can keep 'em alive." My nickname is The Green Reaper.

Thanks a bunch. I will try this and see what happens. It's not that there's alot so if it doesn't work out, it's not a huge loss. Besides, I can practice with it! That's another problem, I live in a pretty dry part of the country (especially this year) so maybe I should invest in a humidifier of some sort.

First off, thanks to contributors. I've learned a ton already and have only a few hundred more tons to learn. Anyway, I acquired my Dad's old leather working tools along with a couple old kits and some belt blanks. The problem is its all about 35 years old. I tried casing it as per Tandy's instructional videos but it seems to dry VERY quickly. I just recently read another overnight casing technique and was wondering if that could help restore the leather or is it just too old for decent tooling? Keep in mind that the worse case scenario is that I use this for practice so it won't go to waste. Thanks all! Wink

Hey Colttrainer. Nice to meet ya. Ya, we're practically neighbors! I have to admit that I have difficulty drawing a proper stickman but I'm hoping to get good enough at this to make something worth giving as a present. For now though, I'm just happy to have another fun thing to do instead of getting into trouble.

Hey everyone! I just wanted to say hi and introduce myself before I come to these boards and ask all the newbie questions that you probably get asked all the time. I just inherited my dad's leathercrafting magazines (1972-'79 - the fashions are something to see!) and tools along with a couple kits and some dried out, 40 year old scrap leather. I haven't done too much with this stuff yet but I've enjoyed doing what little I've done so far. Anyway, it's great to find this place! Wink