Rawhide

Scissor, You can do that with what's called Block Dyeing. wrap a t-shirt type material around a "block", then apply the dye to the shirt with a eye dropper. Tap off the excess, then dye your project. This is described pretty good in Peter Main's book on coloring.

Thanks a bunch Tina. Andy, I bought the string at Hidecrafter's. I'm not sure if Tandy sells it. It is paper thin already, so it didn't need thining. I did pull it through some Fiebing's 4-way care (same as Lexol), and coated it with parafin wax.

Bob, the only reason I think that folks buy the markers is for the angle to put the awl blade. But if you use the flat of the blade and keep it parallel with the edge directly above it, there should be no issues. I may have to look into some of the gomphs. How much is average cost from Douglas?

Well Bob, since I was born in the seventies and love sixties and seventies music....I guess this is a fitting belt for me . I always get "You're the oldest young man I know!!" Thanks for the compliments. I think I could have done a better job on the interior, but I think it looks a little better online than in hand. Anywho....Thanks

Sounds like all you need is a pebbler stamping tool. See this thread and post #11 by Tina shows an example. If that's what you are talking about, Hidecrafter's carries a fairly inexpensive set, or you can get top notch from Robert Beard Tools.

Well, you could raise cattle, shoot them when mature, skin and tan the hide and cook the meat while listening to Christian music, then pound on the leather when the tannage is complete!!! It sounds like a circle of life!!

Thanks Roo! that's what I was shooting for, but that's the stars and I'm still here on earth. You're welcome. I try to improve or learn something everyday, so why not share to help someone do the same. Thanks for the compliments. Madmax, that could be what the problem is, the black could be detracting from the interior. Though I wanted a black belt, this wasn't a dye mistake. That's why the stamp pattern is very simple, I didn't want plain, but there's no reason to get too fancy with a black belt. Thanks Darryl. Thank you Bree. Thanks Rusty. I appreciate all the comments and critiques. They definitley help to 'fine tune' the art. Thanks everyone.

Actually you can use sawdust. The wood putty I'm not sure about. But mix the sawdust with rubber cement to the consistency of wood putty or peanut butter and you're good to go.

Do you have any sample pictures of what look you're after? That would help a lot!!

This is a belt I made from a Tandy blank for the top, and a rather thick 6/7 oz liner (from hide crafter). The belt pattern came from one of the LCSJ issues. The buckstitching is done with very thin rawhide lace and handstitched the old fashion way (without putting the awl down, and punching one hole at a time). I just had to see if I could do it. I actually stitched much faster this way. I'm not too keen on the interior carving. I could have picked a better pattern as well as carve and dye better, but it's on the inside, so...what the heck. Enjoy and please critique. I can always get better.

Glad I could be of use to at least one person!!

I would cut the border, BW up to the border, then bevel, then camo/boarder stamp.

'tis best to get permission first, 'cause they aren't cheap!!

Barry King makes bead blades, as well as Robert Beard. King Tools Beard Tools They are out there, you just have to find em. I have one of Barry's and it's 1/8" blade. Ask for the smaller shaft so it will fit in a tandy knife though.

Randy, The family of Verlane asked to remove all the tutorials down from that web page so I think it's no longer available. However, to answer your question, when you sharpen an awl, you should lay one of the flat edges on the stone and use a push pull method to sharpen it. (imagine like you are stabbing the leather). Do that on all four sides. Then when stropping, pull the blade on the flat AWAY from the cutting edge only. this should help you some.

For hand sewing the twist doesn't make a difference. For use in a sewing machine, one would use the left twist. I buy the left twist just to give me the option to use a machine. I'm not sure the specific use of the right twist.

Josh, I use, (for belts, wallets, etc... anyway). 3 cord, flax thread made by Barbour's, and I get it from Campbell-Bosworth. I also use size 4 needles by C.S. Osborne, from Campbell as well. These needles are smaller than the tandy's and I really like 'em. The thing to watch out for is the awl size. I use an awl from Peter Main with this combination of needles and thread and it works extremely well. If you've got a large awl, you may want to up the size of cord to fill in the larger holes.

Sure no problem. For 1/8" lace, I use an overstitch wheel that's 7 stitches per inch to mark the locations, then I use one of these to punch out the slits.

Thanks Bree, Guess I was thinking too thick!!

Thanks Steve. I would have guessed 138. Looks like I guessed too big. I forgot to mention the cushion will be used for a large dog.

Google "farm woodwork stitching horse" There's a google book for this. See page 99.

My wife was commissioned to sew a large pillow cushion (42" x 42" with 3" gussets). She wants to know the best size thread to use. It looks to be about 4/5 oz, upholstery grade hide, not a real smooth hide like chap, but a little grainy. If any more info is needed let me know and I'll post. Thanks, Marlon

I'm a design engineer and design 5th generation fighter jets.

The best way to weed out a lot of potential bad clients is how you screen them. Fisrt, have an application fee. this should be the cost of running a background check (sheriff's dept.) and a credit check. Then have stipulations on the rental agreement i.e. no pets allowed...no more than 'x' number adults can live in the house. Income of tenants must be above 'xxx' per year, etc... Then you can hire a property manager. the avg. cost is usually 10 percent of the rent. they handle all the calls, and dealings with the tenants. the managers only call you when property damage exceeds a threshold that you've set for notification. for instance, you tell the manager to call you when damage exceeds $50 dollars. There are all kinds of stipulations you can put in a rental contract, just be mindful of discrimination laws.., you can't say things like no more tha 3 children, or something like that...check this with the state the house is located in. Check the age of the house as well, if it's older than 1976, you'll have to disclose lead based paint. Good luck.

If it gets on your veg tanned edges, just use a fine grit sand paper to remove it, something like 600 grit will do.