cjartist

These truly are amazing. I am curious about the process if you'd care to share more. I assume that the majority of the stitching is done with the ball inside out. I can't figure out where the final stitching takes place. Is it the laced portion? Is the finish acrylic paint? I understand if you don't feel comfortable putting it out there publicly. But I do feel that the process could benefit many people. Thanks!

I second that opinion. There doesn't seem to be a unified pattern there like you would expect from a stamp.

Golden was my preference when I was painting on canvas. They are much more expensive than other acrylics in part because they contain more pigment than many other brands. That is probably why the coverage is better. The only question left standing is what is the binding material and how does it act with leather. I would like to know. The very nature of acrylic paint means it is flexible regardless of who makes it.

You'll probably be able to sell a ton of those. But then I wonder what separates you from an outfit that is mass producing this sort of thing in China? Don't get me wrong, I'm not slamming you. I mean it is business after all.

You can probably get away with 5/64" hole but it will be a fight to get the lace through each hole twice. You may need to use pliers occasionally to drag the needle through. I went up a size instead of down, but the foam did end up being visible. The stitching went easy that way. If it was me I would probably make the holes 3/32". Keep in mind also, because it is round, you will occasionally have to go through a hole three times. The reason being is that you will have more holes on the side piece than you do on the top piece. As far as spacing, my 1/8" holes are spaced 5/16" apart. Mine are spaced at that distance because I made myself an arbor press jig that holds five hole punches to speed up the process and save myself the physical pain that rotary punching all those holes can cause. You will want your holes closer together with a thinner lace. You will want to stay under 1/4" on spacing. As far as spacing from the edge, keep it as close as you can without leaving it so thin that it could potentially rip through. I would punch holes, dye, then resolene before lacing. The resolene will help protect the leather. You may then decide on another coat after lacing. Be prepared, this will take some time and effort. But in my opinion, nothing else looks as good as the mexican braid.

This feels like an introductory post, so welcome to the forum. Looks like you are up to some really cool things. With your machining abilities, I'm sure you will make some really awesome tools to aid in your leather work.

Dog collars, gauntlet or other armor, tool pouch, suspenders maybe.

I didn't even know they made a black resolene. That's interesting. I like the round holes because you go through each hole twice and both times coming from different angles. Some of the folks doing the motorcycle seats would recommend a smaller hole than what I used but it does make it harder to force the lace through that way. I'm using 1/8" lace and the holes are 9/64". The sides are just at 90 degrees to top edge. Lace it on the foam just to try and keep the top centered. You might even use a couple twist ties to hold it in place. Same lace pattern in both images. It isn't hard to do but takes a bit to get used to it. Everytime I start one, I go back to the Tandy Lacing book to remind myself how to start. LOL

Veg tan would be fine. If you seal it with resolene or super sheen it will give it some grip. There is absolutely no reason you can't lace the edges. Look at most of the motorcycle seats being made. Use a sturdy lace like kangaroo or premium calf lace and do a round braid (mexican braid).

I just took this picture with my phone so it may not be the best. The scratch mark to the right of the leaf, I actually already applied more super sheen which made it darker.

I am making a seat cover and decided that i wanted to keep the color of the natural leather. So the seat has about 4 coats of super sheen on it and now I am doing some lacing on the edges. As I work to complete this project, i am noticing some smudges and have made a few scratches in the super sheen and overall this piece is just starting to appear dirty. Is there any way to clean it up without making matters worse? Thanks!

Looks great, and I think it's amazing that you took that on without previous woodworking skills. I'm impressed (and a little bit jeal-y).

I absolutely agree. Wow! Looks nice.

deer hide tends to be soft and inexpensive for a bigger project like that.

I bought one of this a little while back. Removing the head does make it much easier to move. I made the mistake though of putting the table in my van right side up. First left turn sent it crashing down on top of the head unit. Thankfully nothing broke, but I had a 40 minute ride of wondering what I was going to find when I got home to unload the potentially destroyed machine. LOL ... good times!!

Must be nice to have suppliers nearby. Welcome to the forum and the trade/hobby

I probably shouldn't even chime in here because I have no experience on the issue. But I did see a video where someone used newspaper between the leather and the feed dog to reduce marking. Then after sewing you can simple rip the newspaper away. Might be worth a try.

Looks fantastic. I'm not even sure how you accomplished some of that coloring, especially the denim shirt and some of the highlights. Only thing I would have liked to see was a bit of shading on the underside of his (his left side) hat. I am still in awe though, Amazing.

On his etsy listing he lists pva glue and resin. I suspect he is forming over something using thin leather and a strong glue. Curious to hear if anyone has done this myself.

Welcome to the forum. Looks like you have been busy and are off to a great start!

Good to know. The solvent is alcohol based in all their dyes then?

I did not see the gallery photos but am wondering, how does the bag open? Did you split the tire at all? Looks really cool.

To add to this, you should be able to get some catalogs for free. Tandy puts out a big one once a year. Not sure on any of the other companies though.