shtoink

If you'd like, I might be able to do up the pattern I have in mind for you. It might make what I was talking about a little clearer, too.

Not that I have made one of these, but it still looks to be a little too thick to me. The other thing I notice is that it isn't flat over the whole surface and the corners allow for it to be snagged out of the book, which might account for it not sitting right on the corner. If it were me, I would try to find a way to get the edges to over lap and use glue to secure it. Have it made from one slightly larger triangle and one slightly smaller one, skive the outer edges of the larger one, roll them over to the back and glue them down to the smaller one, and use some sort of press or roller to flatten it all out. Doing it this way eliminates the seam, which adds bulk to the outer edge and can dislodge the bookmark. Using a thin, plastic cutting board will allow you to flatten it out and it won't stick. It shouldn't be experiencing any real stresses that would overcome a glued joint. Getting the seam very close to the edge of the leather means those are very weak spots where the leather might fail and it can fall apart. Once again, this is me and not the only way to do this.

It's actually kind of interesting in this area. Since we have this large body of water in the middle of the state, a great deal of uneven terrain, and no straight roads longer than a few miles, we have our own method of describing distance. We will describe it as taking an hour or two hours to drive somewhere, even though it's only 10 to 15 miles away as the crow flies. The distance from my location to Seattle is only about 15 miles or so, but there's this body of water called the Puget Sound between us. I've had had phone support from people in the Midwest and the South that describe some service center or store being really close when they check their computer. Drive time is even longer if you live on one of the many islands and require a ferry to get to your destination. You need to time your travels with the ferry schedule. They have no idea what it's like up here. The only other place that might be similar is areas around the Great Lakes. I wouldn't change a thing, though.

How do you deal inside of the snaps with the cases for phones? Do you have a way to cover the back of the snap to keep it from scratching at the phone?

The only issue I can see is that there is a potential for damage to your gear with the strap retainer on the inside of the bag. If you think of the many ways in which this bag will sit throughout it's life, flat on the side is one of them and it will possibly position that metal nipple in such a way that it can be a source for damage to a laptop screen. This is also a possibility if you are carrying it on your shoulder and it gets pressed between you and something else. If it were meant to carry the generic shoulder bag type things, the strap retention for the internal straps would not even be an issue. Having those used inside a case meant specifically for a laptop looks to put your laptop at risk from the bag. I could be completely wrong, since the angle the second picture that shows the inside doesn't allow for you to see the just where that metal nipple will press against the opposite side. It does look like it will land about 15% to 20% of the way down and right into the laptop that looks to be in that pocket. Maybe a simple loop of leather to keep the strap captive would be enough. Once again, I could be wrong, as I'm still working on my coffee as I type this, but if the idea is to protect the laptop when in transit, it's something to think about. I must also say that I really like the bag, so don't take the above as anything other than me bringing a small detail to your attention. It looks well thought out and nicely executed.

It's sort of part of Port Orchard. Like a suburb, so to speak. Not really a clear line where one starts and the other ends. It's good to see some other people from the wet half of the state.

Found the thread in question... Looks like it was slightly more than a month ago.

The plus side is that there isn't any of the stink you get with vinegar and steel wool method. You also don't need to wait for weeks or filter out the excess rust, oily residue, and other gunk that comes along with the vinegar and steel wool.

Are you planning on modeling it after the paniers available for bikes commercially? I don't have any, but thought it might help in others being able narrow down the type of bag you are aiming for.

I don't know why I never thought of using Excel... I have used Excel to do some pretty sophisticated things and I feel so silly not thinking about using it to generate a custom shape like that. Thanks for the suggestion.

It might be worth locating some desiccant packets to keep away any moisture.

There is an enzyme based pet cleaner that I have used for our dogs. It does an excellent job, smells like vanilla, is pet friendly, and pretty cheap, too. I don't know if other places carry it, but it can be found at Walmart for certain. The idea is that the urine is actually broken down into other, non-smelly, substances by the enzyme. I don't know how, or if, other similar products will work, but I can tell you that I swear by that very one that I linked to. I've used it in the cars, the kitchen, all sorts of places. I've even used in the washing machine to get rid of dog related accidents on the dog blankets. It has worked well every time. I have tried several other enzyme cleaners, but everything else either didn't stand up to the task or choked me out with horrible perfumey stink. This stuff has a mild vanilla smell that dissipates to... well, nothing. Hopefully it works, if you try it. I suppose anything is better than having your bag smell like a yak urinal. *shudders*

I have seen a ruler like tool that is made by Fiskars. Unfortunately, I can't find it on their site anymore, so I don't know how availability will be for you. I did find an online art supply store that at least had it and you can see what it looks like. I have one and had actually thought about using it for a guide to cut the edges of my leather patterns with, but the stitches sound cool, too.

Would you mind a little more clarification on this? I can see the tracing of the canteen, but do you mean increasing the radius of the traced circle by 6mm for the final pattern? Wouldn't it be easier to measure the diameter of the canteen, then add 12mm (or about 1/2") to that measurement, and then multiply by pi (3.14 and some change) to get the circumference of the new circle you want? I am just thinking of the difficulty of trying to measure the circumference of a drawn circle directly. I ask because I can see measuring the circumference from the canteen being done easily,but it just seems rather fiddly to try to hold a tape measure and get to to match a drawn circle to get a measurement that way.

HA! I read the topic for the thread and the fisrt thing that came to mind was someone that was venting about issues with their boss (employer) and not Boss (sewing machine.) So, when I started reading the first line, I was totally confused. I thought that maybe they had a impossibly horrible boss and needed to get some guidance on how to deal with it. It wasn't until I got to the part about tension that things started to set in that it probably wasn't about an employer but possibly about a sewing machine. Clearly I needed to reread it. I realize that this doesn't have anything helpful contained within, but I thought it was rather amusing and still worth sharing...

In an effort to assist with this question, I think it might help if the term "ERP Software" was defined. I had to do some research on the topic and the question didn't have much meaning for me until I did. ERP is Enterprise Resource Planning and more explanation can be found here. ERP Software packages seem to be numerous and some further assistance with a list of packages, free and otherwise, can be found here. I hope this helps...

It was stated earlier about the double sided tape, but maybe something a little more aggressive might be in order. The makers of Gorilla Glue have a double sided carpet tape that claims to be extremely sticky and bond very well. I'd have to read the instructions to be certain, but I think the adhesive has a cure time and creates a permanent bond. The thing is, will the adhesive stick the needle in your machine and make a big mess? I have no idea and no way to test it. It's just an idea being tossed out there to see if it sticks and I am pretty sure the only way to know for certain is through testing. However, if you are trying to find an expedient method to perform your stated tasks with low mess in order to be sewn through later, this might be your best option. There are certainly other brands and types of double sided tape and it's possible that you may find one that does exactly what you need.

Is Clear Lac similar to NeatLac?

Do you mean inside as the inside of the flap or inside as in inside, within a defined border, on the front of the flap? Sorry if that is a confusing sentence. I would mock up with some spare 1" strap to see if it's fitting to use that width. It may "feel" unbalanced with that width, it may not, but better to give it a quick check to test than to have it assembled and think that something looks "off" about it.

I cannot agree more. I had joined a traditional archery forum and was pretty active for about 5 months. It had gotten to the point that nearly every thread became a rant about politics, religion, race, or all of the above plus more. I couldn't take the negative atmosphere and just dropped it from one of my regular haunts. It's a real shame too, since there was a good deal of useful information, but it just wasn't worth wading through all of the venomous hatred that ultimately ended up everywhere. I do remember Mike (TwinOaks) mentioning about restricting the updates from a facebook something-or-other since it was itself was in violation the board rules. (I don't deal with facebook or any similar social networking, so I don't know the specifics.) I'm glad for that, because it seems nothing can turn a thread sour faster than a flame war over differing opinions. I'm certain that more than a few friendships would be destroyed in the process if it were allowed to happen, too. I must point out that I don't exactly feel comfortable with commenting or critiquing the work of someone more skilled than myself. The only exception to this I can think of is maybe asking how a particular aspect was achieved or a description of your complete awe if it is a particularly spectacular outcome. Maybe I am alone on this, maybe I'm not. To me, it just seems like respecting the pecking order, I guess.

If you can still locate a link for it, would you mind posting it?

Doesn't that leave the rest of us hanging?

I just clicked checked the provided link and saw no security warnings with Firefox. It does show up as https and popped up very quickly. At first glance, it looks very much like an early rendition of etsy. There is a fair amount of items available to choose from and does look like it could be promising. Funny thing is, I was actually expecting it to look terrible, throw up all sorts of scammer-like red flags, and have nothing but fake stuff from China listed. It was nothing like that and even had a bit of a professional touch to it. I did not sign up for anything and only gave it a quick look around, so take it for what it's worth...

I also ran across a book from 1886, which means that it's out of copyright and is also freely available for your viewing pleasure. The book is "Guide for Drawing the Acanthus, and Every Description of Ornamental Foliage" by James Page. Our friends over that Internet Archive have generously provided links for multiple file formats so you can view it on your computer or favorite eBook reader.

True, but I think in this case things turned out better by fixing a mistake than what you originally planned.