Jax

Tannin, I as so pleased that Dixons put your pricking iron right for you, I may just go & see them & get a couple more now

Thank you for sharing Tom

I like my awl to pretty well match the prickmark if it is too small it will be easy to make your hole in either the top or bottom of the mark if you are not carefull, making your stitching look untidy. My preference is a small mark & small stitches but that's just me its a personal thing everyone is different. I would give Dixons a call & see if they will make things right for you, as I said earlier in this post it's been a good few years since I dealt with them & things may have changed. I never saw how the tools were modified, they used to just take a stock item off into the workshop, a few minutes later they would return with a hot, modified tool which was then wrapped carefully in oiled brown paper, the guys there in those days were lovely. I really hope they make things right for you.

I saw a Bob Beard class on-line the other week, he said if you tip the beveller forwards it works much the same as a steeper angled beveller

Sorry to see this news Ray, I hope all is well with you & best wishes for the future.

Aaron, its a facebook page, just look for Leather Artisan's Digital Guild there & ask to join. Its an awesome group of people of all abilities.

Hi Sarah

Wrumble, I have found this is excellent. http://leatherworker.net/bob-park/FinishingEdges-2-15-11.pdf

Make sure your knife is really sharp, mark your line with a scratch awl or similar, then follow the line with your knife, takes some practice but is easier in the long run, in my opinion

I also use a little camping gas stove to heat my creasers, some people have a wet sponge to dab it on before using it on leather, I'm not so refined....

I'd return it, or at the very least speak to Le Prevo about it. I heat all my creasers & veins, its how I was taught to use them, the line doesn't usually stay on the leathers I use if creasing is done cold.

I've started to use painters or "frog" tape on the back of my projects to prevent stretch & dye on the backside when its not wanted, that works well for me & doesn't leave any gunk behind

I just use anything circular to hand, which is the required size & draw around it.

Check out Proleathercarvers on ebay, they often have those for sale.

I also had bad luck with Tandy's "superior" calf lace, mainly dark brown, the last spool was returned this week & I am waiting to hear back from them, I live in the UK & have difficulty in sourcing lace which is why I keep going back to Tandy in the vain hope that the last spool was just a bad one. I don't think we have a supplier for kangaroo lace so will have to import it which makes me think hard if its worth it as sometimes the cost of materials alone can add up to as much or even more than some items can be sold for.

I normally use 18/4 or equivalent for 8 spi

I'm in tears here....so funny but so true!

The 1st bag I made I laced up instead of stitched.

Hi Damoomad, I think you'll struggle to find a decent 45K for that sort of money & Adlers are usually much more expensive, the only guy I can think of off hand is Hartley Sewing machines in Walsall, he repairs & deals with leather machinery all the time he is very good & knowledgeable....but he's not cheap, sorry I don't have any contact details.

Hi Leatherstrap1, no the machine I used wasn't in such nice condition as yours it belonged to Colt Saddlery, I used to go in there from time to time when I was at college in Walsall & sometimes machined rubber rein grips on with the Pilot, as I remember it was a lovely machine to use but a pig to thread up, we used to leave an end from the thread being used & tie the new thread to that & pull it through to the needle. I am sure you will love yours & I am glad its found a good home.

I used 1 of those at a saddlers in Walsall & loved it, I wish you all the best with it.

I have the 2 books (Leather Secrets & Design Artistry) from a previous print run, they are lovely but I must agree with WyomingSlick, they are very dated. I am glad I have them in my collection but I don't know if I will use any patterns from them.

WyomingSIick, found your index a while ago and a copy of it lives under my laptop for reference, its very useful, thank you so much for taking the time to compile & share it.

I saw somewhere (immiketoo I think) was using an eraser to remove the almost metallicy like bluey/purple hue off the project after dying but before applying the finish, that worked great for him.

What a lovely collection, I hope you find the information you are looking for.