Sjohnsone

What did you do to prevent the cards from sliding down? Did you make pockets, and if so, why aren't there stitches on the other side?

Well I figured it out - thought I'd thank you guys. I completely forgot I (luckily) looped off my saddle stitch to make dinner while doing the first side, so I ended up piping the threads back from that tie-off and fit the whole thing down to be even. Looks right as rain! Life tip learned. From now on I'll sew each panel in its own segment to be safe!

Did you use some sort of lacquer to finish it? Is it an old piece of leather? If it's old leather, try throwing some Dr. Jackson's on it or Neatsfoot oil or something. It's probably really dry. The conditioner will soften it up. Just out of curiosity, what was the deal with the veg tan? Was it sitting somewhere for ages?

Not a bad tactic and I may go that route, but It's soooo close to being one continuous piece. Pah! I'm so frustrated.

But the oil could stain the journal pages as well, which was my concern.

The closest eco flow color to this in my opinion is timber brown.

All the oil is going to do is condition and soften it. Try some of the Fiebings Leather Balm I think it's called - it's a white/yellowish liquid that is a beeswax compound of one sort or another. It may darken it a tad as well, but there really is no reason you need to put neatsfoot on it. Also, if you want that added flexibility you may try just a minute amount of it - like next to nothing. A little of that stuff goes a long way. If you're worried about color runoff, just buff the living sh*# out of it with a soft cotton rag for until nothing comes off. Hope that helps -Seth

Hey guys - I don't know how I did this, but i feel like a freaking buffoon. I've never done anything like this - must have been a mismeasurement - my problem is: I'm making a leather backpack out of veg tan 4 oz and I i'm stitching the front panel to a 48 inch gusset and got 3/4 of the way through it only to realize IT'S 1/2 INCH SHORT ON THE END!! So what do I do to fix this? I thought about cutting the rest of the backpack to match the short side, but if I cut through the beginning of my saddle stitch on the right, won't it slowly just sort of fall apart? I thought about cutting all of the stitching and re-adjusting but all the darn holes are already pushed through and it'd look like a train wreck (i pride myself on super clean stitching). If I were to cut across the top and lop off 1/2 inch of the right side (beginning of the stitch, what would you guys recommend doing? I feel like an absolute bonehead. -Seth

Man that jacket is sweet. I wonder who made it? Probably goes for a small fortune. Thanks for the input and information guys.

a little late to the party on this one - but I believe the piece was decorated, then sewn to another piece of leather with filler in-between, perhaps to give it a little body. This really got me contemplating the possibility of people embossing leather back then on more of a production level. I feel like whenever we envision people from old days, if you weren't rich then you didn't have any decorative clothing; however I feel like decorating leather with a press or stamp is a no brainer to sell more than your competition, especially if it's being taken on trade routes. I feel like a leatherworker 800 years ago would run into the same issues we have today: How the heck am I going to get someone to pay for me to spend 20 hours working on just one piece?

I am! It's a four string - 30's Gibson pot with a Weyman Neck.

Well ain't that a bummer. I'm assuming you're talking about the oilyness it has to it and not the dye? I feel like I should do a test of this on some white linen and provide results.

Embossed lamb?

Howdy and good day folks. I bought a 22 sq ft chromexcel hide and the leather is a bit differnt veg tan, which I'm used to. It's a bit stretchy and it's beautiful really - the awl goes through it like butter. Does anyone have any project ideas it would be good for? I was thinking about maybe trying to replicate a pair of boat shoes or moccasins with it, but I have ZERO experience doing footwear, though I really want to learn (any links for making of shoes would be greatly appreciated). Has anyone used it for bags? Does it stretch too easy with weight in it?

that's actually pretty darn good.

I did a dog collar and that was enough for me...

Dude - that's different. i dig it. Way to not make cookie cutter stuff. The bone/tooth eyelets is a great idea (what the heck are they?)

If you have a bone tool, you can just jam it down inside and move it along the seams. You can also use your fingers I guess. If you have any leather conditioner, that might work. I'd suggest a little water, but don't want to ruin a good thing; however it'd probably work if you just slightly dampened it and stretched it. Either way you're not going to make the thread farther apart, so if it's hitting stitch, then that's that.

That's awesome, awesome information. Thank you for taking the time to write that! I'll start looking for dealers close(ish) to me. Good news for me. I think the Toledo Industries folks are just a hop and a skip away from me in Long Beach!

Buckle guy has nice stuff. http://www.buckleguy.com/ Depends on what sort of style you're going for.

Hi there, I've been saving up for a machine for a bit now and I'm curious if anyone could recommend a machine that has the widest range of ability, whether it be new or old. The leather weight I typically use is anywhere from 2 - 6 oz. I make bags, wallets, belts, etc. I'd like the ability to do garment leather at some point; however i'm pretty sure i'd need a different machine alltogether for that. Thanks for your time, Seth

shoot - for 30 bucks, buy the original, make a pattern and then sell the pattern to people for 5 bucks.

Steel - I asked like 3 small companies where they get the supplies and I think it's one of two things and perhaps both. They A: don't want you to have them or B: don't want you to know they dropped 3 grand to get them. I contacted the "guy" at "The Buckle Guy" and in order to get them you have to spend about 1700 bucks for 10,000 snaps. I don't even know what i'd do with that many snaps, never mind the fact I want line 20's and line 24's. I suppose i could always weigh one and see what that is x 10,000 in scrap value in the event I couldn't use TWENTY THOUSAND SNAPS.

You sir, are a geometry wizard. Seriously. You just made my week. Thank you all for your replies!

I think i might be the only person on here that likes the result of the splotchy eco flo compared to fiebings solid wall of color. I feel like the texture of the leather is allowed to show off with a light eco coat.