TXAG

If you did not know of any other suppliers, I'm curious how you came to figure that their stuff was overpriced without any other basis by which to judge it...(I mean...*I* think it's overpriced for what it is, but that's after comparing it to tools available from other sources...just curious how you came to the same conclusion without another source to compare it to...) To answer the rest of your question, make things, sell them, use the funds you make to buy more materials and better tools...sometimes you can get decent used tools on ebay...but a lot of time, the people that sell them on there think they're 24k solid gold or something...

I will check those out tonight...thanks for the links...

Well hopefully someone else will step in to offer good quality rawhide lace...the commercially made stuff I bought online was really, really bad...never had a chance to try Bill's, but heard it was good...

Well maybe if you're lucky, they won't suddenly do to you what they did to me. I didn't have a problem with them either on a couple of previous orders, but this ########## they've just pulled on me is enough for me to write them off forever. Ridiculous.

Pics are too small to be able to see anything...

Ok, so I've had it with Springfield Leather and won't be buying from them anymore. You can PM me if you want details. Does anyone have a good source of high quality roo lace in the USA other than them, please? I do have a new lace cutter and will be buying some roo hides in a couple of months, but would like to find another source for lace in the meantime. Thanks.

Difficult to give advice without pics... If there is a way to attach a suspension inside your helm, I'd recommend getting one from an old army helmet (the old PASGT ones...not the newer ones) and use that to adjust fit on your helm...if not, they sell foam "donuts" to go inside army helmets -- you could try putting a couple of those in to help it sit higher on your head...again, hard to tell how to fix it without knowing where it's too big (top to bottom or circumference).

If anyone's keeping track, I devoted the entire weekend to figuring out that terminal knot in the video I posted. I succeeded. Next will be further keychains...I am currently working on two: One is a folded over strap of horsehide that I've rounded the edges, sewn together, and am adding knots to it... The other one I began working on is a round 8-plait which has a bronze trigger snap...I'm using burgundy and white roo lace and it makes a nice alternating color chevron pattern. I will be adding a "wear leather" to the looped over part and a gaucho knot of some type to hold it together also. The idea is the wear leather is where the keyring will sit when clipped to the wearer's pants and will keep the metal ring from wearing on the braided part. ------------------------------------------- Off-topic -- Am I the only one that cannot use the "enter" key when using the Quick Reply feature? It's mighty inconvenient...I end up having to open Notepad, copy a few carriage returns, then paste them into here to get to the next line. Very annoying.

I appreciate the tip...hopefully he'll be willing to advise me...due to the emblem I'll be putting on it, I will have to make it for myself. I talked to a guy here local to us and told him exactly what I wanted...even sending him a very detailed drawing...and he basically ignored what I wanted, drew up some different crap he wanted to make instead (it looked absolutely horrid...like some kind of crap you'd get out of one of those .50 kiddie machines in a grocery store!)...and then he has the nerve to tell me he was going to try to get $300 for it -- get this -- ON TOP OF MATERIAL COSTS. I reiterated that that was NOT what I'd described or asked for and I wasn't going to pay him $300 + silver and gold to make the stupid thing he 'designed'. Sorry for rambling... I basically came to the conclusion I'd just make the doggone thing myself... I am very handy with tools, torches, etc. so I'm sure I can do it...just need some general guidance on the techniques and what order to do things in.

I need help making an item for my own personal use (I won't be selling them)...I'd like to talk to someone that is familiar with dapping. If you don't know what that is, then you probably aren't who I need to talk to. (Not trying to be a jerk, but it's true...I need someone that has done this before...preferably several times). Anyway, the item I will be making will be silver and will have a gold emblem soldered onto it. If you are familiar with dapping and can help me, please send me a PM. Thanks...

Sent you a PM re: Springfield...

In my experience, heavy-duty machines like this do not depriciate very much at all. In fact, I had an old Sailrite and was able to cover almost all the cost of the next model I got when I sold it. They hold their value pretty well.

If you can send me the specs for the holster, I might be able to locate a hardware source for you...I've run across quite a few in some of the non-leather projects I do...

Those look great...I'm not sure what 'double milled' means...need to look that up... What do you use to finish them that gives that nice finish?

So I've invested in a lace cutting tool that bevels and splits also. Eventually, I'll be buying some drum stuffed roo hides to cut, but I cannot do that just yet...also, I'd rather practice on somewhat cheaper hides. I understand there will be differences in cutting various types of hides, but I want to get the basic technique down first anyway. The lace will mostly be used to make lanyards, keychains, bracelets, hatbands, etc...stuff like that. I'll be round plaiting and adding various knots to these items. I've read goat and cow can yield nice finished products...which should I start with? Where can I get hides for the best price for a decent quality to use for lace? I already checked ebay and am not impressed at all with what I saw there as it is all very overpriced...that's why I'm asking here if anyone can recommend something other than kangaroo hides to practice on. To reiterate......I'm looking for suggestions on hides that would work well that are NOT kangaroo. Thanks...

You should be able to get those parts (LED's and battery pack) from mouser.com... e.g. http://www.mouser.com/_/N-8usfj They also have lots of different color LED's...gives me an idea...I might have to develop my idea on kickstarter or something...

NVM...went with something else...

Yeah, I was afraid of that...well, it looks like I will need to find another source to buy my supplies from now on if they cannot ship and faster than that...that's ridiculous. I know there are other suppliers that do ship quickly. Hopefully, someone will see my want-to-buy ad for a lace cutter...then I can cut my own lace.

He said in the post immediately before yours that he's not allowed to give out the pattern.

How long did it take them to ship your order? I placed an order for three small items (to the tune of $60+) Monday evening and it still hasn't shipped yet.

Ok, well thanks for all the detailed info on how you made it...

Looking for a good deal on a used lace cutter. Please PM me if you have one available, along with details and price. Thanks...

So how did you make it?

Makes me want to start a leather guild in my area even more now... I guess Springfield and others will be getting more of my $$$ in the future. I sometimes stopped by the Houston Tandy store when I was in the area to pick up items I needed soon, but I guess I will forgo that now.

Just saw it has to be 1.5"...oh well... There is this... http://www.paragear.com/products/10000045/W9870/ It is mil-spec and has a tensile strength of 1500lbs, but if it's too thin, you could always double it or use it as the outside for color and use a heavier base webbing. They have it in "green"...not sure what color "lime" green is...the regular green they have is an emerald green color...close the to color of the outside of a ripe lime. They have 1" in "neon green", but not in the 1.5"...though you might contact them and see if they happen to have it in 1.5"...they sometimes have smallish quantities available that aren't on their website.