David8386

Just do one that is a little smaller than the bottle, sew it or lace it together and slide it on the bottle no curved needles unless I am missing something. Just need your true length for the pattern David

Welcome to the forum. Those gauntlets look like they were fun try to put together. David

Very good job, welcome to the forum. David

I usually use old cotton socks or t shirts but anything soft like that should work. David

If they have a hobby lobby around I found glass jars that fit in the harbor freight air brushes okay. David

Looks good, nice job on the roses David

Hey Dennis, the USMC black is good just make sure to buff the crap out of it. Then when done do it again. Like Dwight said it is good stuff but takes a long time to buff out. David

A lot of times you won't get a good black color until you neutralize it. Just remember you can always redip it in the vinegroon if a place is lighter than the rest. I have had to do that especially with tooled leather. David

Does it have finish on it yet? If not try a light coat of neats foot oil on it and let it dry. Oil can darken it a little also though. David

That should help you out a lot and it has a lot of pictures. I haven't made a messenger bag yet but I usually wet mold the gusset ends on the bags I have made so they are stiff. Page 62 in volume 2 has instructions on making a pleated gusset like what you want I think. Make sure you post us picture when you are done. Good luck David

Tooling looks good on it. David

If you are close to a Tandy store or another dealer the al Stohlman books on making cases are very good. There are 3 volumes but they cover everything that has to do with cases/ bags. I like to have them for reference. What Andy has posted should work great for what you are talking about. Good luck David

Welcome to the forum George. Where is Tonganoxie at? David

Very nice job the colors look very nice and the layout is good also. David

I think the retention strap looks like it will work a lot better. Like the cartridge belt also. David

I have a 99k that I have used a little for wallet linings and pockets. I have stitched 1 layer of 3 to 4 oz veg tan to pigskin lining sometimes you have to help it get started but it runs okay. I think that would pretty much be the limit on it. I was given the machine. If you are going to buy a sewing machine I would listen to the earlier posts. David

If you don't get the nippers to punch the bottom. You can do it pretty easy by putting a piece of 2x4 in a vise and using that to back up the leather when you punch with your chisel. I have used a piece of PVC pipe in a vise also but the wood was better. David

Very nice looking. David

Very good work. David

I like it, very sharp. David

Came out very nice. David

It came out very nice. You will be surprised at the difference finishing the edges does to the over all appearance so look at the posts on doing that. If you broke two needles are you using the needles that get bigger at the eye? If so when it comes time to get new ones get harness needles. There are some very good posts on stitching also. You did a great job on the wallet Congrats. David

Are you using auto focus? Because you are losing your focus on some of the pictures on the far side of the piece. Like the stitching on the brown wallet in the open picture is out of focus on the bottom and left side. Like Tom said above auto is not always your friend. You have some great work. David

When you use your swivel knife try relaxing your hand some. Try using a metal ruler as a guide and cut some straight lines. While doing it notice how you just tilt and go following the ruler. Now start without the ruler and do a couple of straight lines keeping the same feel of the knife in your hand. Now start doing some curves but keep everything the same except rolling the knife with your fingers. If your knife starts to drag strop your blade or your leather is drying out. I am still not good with a swivel knife but I found when I quit tensing up and trying to force the knife it works a lot better. Just like wood working let the tools do the work and when they start to drag sharpen them. On casing take a practice piece put it in a sink with warm water for a few minutes as in 1 or 2. Or when bubbles stop coming out of it. Take it out and get the standing water off with a rag or paper towel. Put the leather in a plastic Baggie or bag and let set over night. The next day take it out and let it stand until the color starts to return to normal. Then start cutting on it. If you have to stop put it back on the plastic. If it starts to dry spray it with a little water. Hope this helps a little David

Very good. I like the mix of the floral carving and the butterflies in color, it looks very sharp. David