Basically Bob

Man, I like your work, Andy! Love the look .... and presentation. Just "liked" your facebook page.

I really like the designs and your attention to detail. Curious about a couple of things .... are the slits, simply slits with no separate liners for each of them? Also is the stitching for decorative purposes only?

Kelly, I have recently ordered and received one from Abbey England. I was nervous ordering from a company overseas but it worked out really well and I would definitely order from them again. Here is a link to a thread that would be worthwhile reading through. It's only a couple of pages long. I replied on that thread and on page two, included some photos of mine and the modifications I made to suit my personal needs. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=47647&st=15

+1!

Welcome, ShawnM76! I'm from Simcoe, just down the road from you and new to this amazing craft as well! The guys at Tundra are awesome and are happy to share their amazing skills and knowledge with you. it would be very worthwhile to check out the CSCL as well. Bob

Jonathan, you sure put a lot of work into that! I really like the design. Is it a 3-piece gusset?

shtoink, I like it a lot & am going to be on the prowl for one, now. I find it especially interesting because a lot of the guys in my "music world" use old, small, suitcases that look much like the clarinet case, but larger, for P.A. and electrical cords. Thanks for posting.

This photo shows the stitching pony I was using and my recently purchased stitching clam with the leather and loop that I added on my own. This photo is a close up shot of the leather loop that I made. It simply slides up and down on the clam to tighten or loosen the jaws. I really like this method and take no credit for it whatsoever. . To make the loop, I just cut a strap off of a piece of scrap bridle leather I had, cut it to what I thought would be a good length, glued and stitched it together. Nothing fancy, for sure but it sure does work for me. Hope this helps.Bob (sorry for the "screwy" positioning of the photos - haven't quite got all this tech stuff down yet)

Sure, I can do that. Will be in a couple of days, however.

Invasion, There are a few reasons: the curved jaws and sides allow for a larger object to be held easier without bending it as severely, the angle of the clam can be varied while you are working because you are not sitting on it and I really like the leather loop that I made for tightening the jaws instead of a bolt/wing nut (thread will not get hung up on it). Bear in mind that this is my personal preference only.

I recently purchased one of Abbey's and am very happy with it. Covered the jaws and base with leather and cut it to bring it to a comfortable level while using it in a straight up and down position. I also sewed-up a leather loop to loosen and tighten the jaws. I really do like working with this much better than the stitching pony I was using.

The Leatherworking Handbook by Valerie Michael This book focusses primarily on stitching and assembly techniques rather than tooling, carving or decoration.

Hook up with a local leatherworker's guild or association and develop an informal mentoring type of relationship with a respected leatherworker that produces the type of work you are planning to produce.

Well Bob, I'm not a horse or saddle guy but really admire and appreciate the workmanship, time and effort you have put into this project. I have just started leatherworking and this forum has given me a real appreciation for saddle makers. (another) Bob

Joey, I understand! I am new to leatherwork and just love working with my head knife.

I normally stitch at 7spi and multiply the length of the run X 4 and then add a bit to allow for the extra I want when finished.

That's awesome! Beautiful stitching and I really like the design! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for taking the time to answer, Lee05. Please advise if you decide to split the set. I am very intersted in the two tooth iron.

... I just purchased a couple of #7 Dixon (1 1/2" and 1/2") pricking irons. Do you know how the tooth size compares? I would really like to have a 2 tooth iron.

Test It worked!

Randy, I really like your shop. It is really obvious that you have spent quite a bit of time planning and thinking about work flow and organization.

Thank you, so much, Nigel! I really appreciate the time and effort you put into these videos.

I'm from Simcoe, Ontario ... most definitely a newbie. Just setting up my work area, now, and planning to purchase tools and start my first project, shortly.