immiketoo

Blackie, I added enough length to the original pattern to accommodate the thickness of the leather, in this case, about 1/8 bigger circumference. Then, measure around the circle to get the length of your side piece.

Thank you! Post up pics of your results

I put on three heavy coats, about an hour apart, then let it sit for at least 24 hours to ensure it has fully cured. Then, during application, I and like a mad, frantic badger wiping that stuff off ASAP! A Miyagi-esque wipe on, wipe off. I don't let it sit.

Thanks everyone. Tom, I have over 60 hours total in this one, including design time. Jeff, ya got that one right!

I haven't posted much here in a while. Been super busy with orders like this one. Taylor Guitars request I make this for their visitor's center in California.

I had issued with super sheen until I learned how to use it properly. The single biggest issues are as follows: Drying time. Let it set overnight. If you lack patience as I do, wyosheen or other lacquers are your friend. Resist the edges of your tooling. If your flower has a raised edge, resist the sides of it, not just the face, otherwise, your dye/antique will discolor the edges of your resisted area. Lastly, I have to disagree with Cyber on a little bit. While technically hilite isn't a dye, I use it to color leather all the time. This barstool was resisted with super sheen and colored with eco flo hi liter.

I use the Tandy natural calf lace to great effect. Its relatively consistent, and its very strong. Plus, you can dye it any color you want once you're finished. You will be better off if you condition it, and bevel it, but I really like it. Can't beat roo though.

Crisp work as usual!

Charlie, that's great. I'd love to learn how you did this. I need to make one for a watch I have laying around here. How's the goat holding up? Whats in the inside as the core?

HEy there Play, Two things I would recommend is to move your stitch line in closer to the firearm, especially around the trigger guard. Secondly, I'd make it so the stitch line around the trigger guard prevented the pistol from dropping that far into the holster. You need to leave room for your knuckles at the front edge of the grip.

Thanks everyone. I showed this to a little girl in the neighborhood and she hid behind her mom! Yikes!

Richlee, I used the knife, spoon and a figure beveler.

Excellent! Looking forward to meeting you Robert!

The hardest part was getting the wolf to sit still while I carved the leather.

Sometimes, orders are challenging and it's best to practice new techniques before you commit to the actual project. This one had a lot of new techniques. I should be able to refine it on the second go round...

I agree with Tim. Shars tools has 12x18x3 surface plates for under 50 bucks.

Cool...

What the? I don't even.... Wow. Well, good luck. We will still welcome you back once you make the rounds.

Eva, if you look on ebay, you can fond some decent knives. Bruce Johnson may also be able to help. He is a member here and he sells vintage tools that are worth a look. Good luck!

Eva, Buy it NOW. The WORST advice I ever got from a leather worker was to not buy one because they were hard to use. NOTHING could be further from the truth. I have a Leather Wrangler knife with the pull cut feature and a knife by Terry Knipschield. Both are amazing and they are by far the most useful and valuable tools I have. The learning curve took me about five minutes. It only took 5 seconds to realize they are FAR superior to any other tool for cutting leather. I can easily cut complex curves out of 9-10 oz leather, and anything thinner than that is a breeze.

Thats really eye catching.

Thanks everyone!

Fish skin can be highly durable and useful. I have a djembe that has a sturgeon skin head. I've beat that drum as hard as possible and the skin holds up like nothing else. I wouldn't make a holster out of it, but it would be a cool inlay.

Howdy Jeff! The cup holder goes on TOP of the stool!