GoldenKnight

bad link. please update with a good one. thanks.

Many, many thanks for your work and kindness.

This is similar to what I saw, but is actually more fancy. The jig I saw was like a half circle with a lip on the bottom to keep the edge flush along the edge of the belt strip. The guy would score the line for stitching & move it down the strip. Then he'd flip the belt strip & do the same on the other edge.

I saw one fellow make a pattern (about 5" long) out of plexi-glass. The pattern was then glued onto another narrow lip piece of plexi-glass at the bottom of the pattern piece to keep the margin constant on the top and/or bottom of the belt strip. He could then score the stitching pattern on the belt & slide it down the length and the ends of his fancy belt stitch pattern would just keep repeating. I hope this makes sense. Wish I had a pic to show. Maybe some one has a pic and can post it.

Thanks for the posting. Good to have for a future project/order.

I know this post is very old; however, I was just given 2 (two) brand new copies of the same book, 48 Patterns - Midas Magic Belt Designs - by Paul Burnett from 1980, for Christmas. I am going to sell the one copy and am keeping the other. I looked on Paul's site to see what I should price it as, but they don't even carry it on his site. I can't find it on Amazon either. Anyone know what I should charge for this? I'll probably eBay it in the very near future. Thanks for any input.

I just ordered one (cheap) in an ugly light pink in hopes of dying it to a darker color of red, maroon, brown, or black. Would deglazing it work before an oil dye? I guess I'll have to try when it gets here.

With living near a larger metropolitan area and people being transient with the housing & foreclosure market & jobs, I have come across some leather couches & chairs that I have repurposed. When I find one, I cut a small slit at a seam edge in an out-of-obvious area to see if it is leather or vinyl. Sometimes a few small incisions are necessary as different brands will use more or less leather vs vinyl in various areas. The reason I make small incisions is so that if someone else wants or needs it, it isn't destroyed and they could use it. No sense in destroying something that someone else may be able to use just because I can't. I use a box cutter and will go thru about 4 new blades "skinning" a good leather couch.

I can't believe there was no response to this. This post is almost a year old and still nothong. I'll be relocating to the Knoxville area in a few years and was hoping there were a few leather guilds in the surrounding areas already in place. Amazing. There's leather crafters around there. There is a Tandy store in Knoxville, so there is business there. However, my experience with Tandy in my area is they want folks to believe there is none other than Tandy in the leather world, so they don't lose business. Hope someone sees you looking and responds.

Another great little book by Al Stohlman is Projects & Designs. I mainly deals with small projects, but this book will teach you principals that can be used on larger projects - just like books 1 thru 3 on making cases. Although you may not want to make a camera case, thermos cover, walkie-talkie holster, etc., the principals will teach you the proper techniques to use so you can look at an item, or imagine and visualize what you want t make and use the techniques to design your own project to your specs and not someone else's. Look at the proper methods of designing the straps, handles, ways to secure a lid or closure, attach a belt loop, and you can make anyting without someone's pattern. Along with crafting, fabricating is a huge amount of a fun challenge and results in a whole new level of satisfaction.

I know ... this post is almost a year old, but I learned a cool trick from a great leather craftsman (a master craftsman) down here in Miami, FL (Lui Rayon - owner of Daddy's Leather Supply) that has taught so many of us locally at his shop. He took a piece of thin plexiglass, coated it with rubber cement, let it dry, and uses it for tooling smaller pieces of leather. The surface is just tacky enough to hold the leather and keep it from moving around or stretching, yet doesn't come away with any sticky residue from the rubber cement. Great when tooling details on key chains, bracelets, etc.

Just curious ... would it be possible to use a nail setter or even a nail to add the dimple? It's an extra step, but serves the purpose to indicate the direction to pull. Just a thought.

Another option would be to make a similar design out of a wood dowel rod. Oak would be a good hard wood easily obtained at Home Depot or Lowes in various diameter dowels. Drill out the necessary width for the thickness of the leather to pass thru, then cut to the needed depth/length and attach to the project/purse with a screw or two to secure it. The wood could be shaped to other than a circle, be stained, and you would not be limited to a specific size. No dead ends - only detours.

I wish I knew specifically where, but just to make sure ... there was nothing that Springfield Leather, Zack White, Tandy, Brettuns Village, or any of the other usual suppliers had?

I also like the "See similar posts" feature. It was really helpful for me several times & also directed me to other very cool posts. I especially found that it was helpful on my mobile device (what I am on primarily - including now).

Wicked cool! Really like the coloring - grabbed my attention first. When I enlarged the pic (using my phone to view while away from my computer), I was able to appreciate the detail in the carving. Very nice.

As a general rule, the dyes penetrate the leather vs. paints that stick to the surface of the leather. If you are going to take the time and attention to detail to paint portions or parts of the seat, then why not simply do that with the colored leather dye? You will be investing just as much precision into the coloring process & you want it to last. Just my $0.02

Very nice work. Great color. What color, brand, and type of dye, stain, or antique did you use?

http://turtlefeathers.net/text/angelus/dye.html Angelus has a "pink" spirit dye. How do I know? I have a few customers looking for me to do some natural colored veg tan leather bracelets with pink leather accents layered on top for October's Breast Cancer Awareness drive they are doing. I've done projects like this with other colors, but not pink ... couldn't find pink dye anywhere. Can't mix Feibing's white with red because the gray and white can't be mixed with other colors, unlike all the other colors (go figure). I went to a shoe repair shop and they sold me a can of what they called spray-on dye ($8.00), but it is just a top coat and it could be peeled off if scratched with a fingernail or brushed against a wall ... I got some dusty rose pink spray paint from HomeDepo and that actually worked better than the expensive "leather" shoe dye from the shoe repair guy. Finally I found a post on here about pink spirit dyes that mentioned Angelus dye in pink, so I'll give it a try. I'm not a fan of most of the the water-based Eco products that Tandy has from past trial & errors. So I'll be trying the Angelus dye and that should fix the search for this very unavailable color. You may want to check it out too if you're not quite satisfied with the Eco hi-liters.

I've found that gum trag does not hold up well next to sweaty skin and will actually get slimy. I have had much better results with a light coating of Bag Kote and immediately slicking with a wood slicker to smooth out the fuzz. This works very well & doesn't get slimy with sweat.

<br /><br /><br />I have a Tandy store about 30-minutes away & that's helpful. I also have A REAL leather shop about 20-minutes away where I can get leather & supplies. However, if I need something like a side of harness leather or English bridle, I order directly from Wickett & Craig. Wickets & Craig's Tannery Runs are inexpensive (even with shipping) and their grades up from there - unlike anything you can ever expect to get at Tandy (at least my local one) they are top quality. You will not be disappointed. Wickett & Craig has GREAT custom service and they'll split your leather down to whatever thickness you request and the flesh side will be razor cut smooth.

You could check out the Tandy Hi-Liters. I have done swivel knife cuts in black (and other colored veg tanned leather), used a coat of Bag Kote or Resolene, let it dry, then applied an application of gold or silver Hi-Liter, let it dry a little, then take a lightly damp cloth and rub off the excess. Every time, it comes out really cool.