Leela Valley Leather

It came from a well known supplier in Sydney, Australia. Birdsall Leather

Mac-Lace ( www.maclace.com.au ) have roo skins for $au100/m2 (wholesale), you'll have to contact them for a login to their site and orders are done by phone,fax or email. Best to send them an email and ask. (NB: no connection other than a happy customer)

The folling image shows why. (1.2mm chrome tan cow hide, sold as 1.2mm modelling sides) I contacted them by phone with this and other images then sent by email. Their response? Well I'd like to say they are organising a replacement side free of charge, I'd like to say they are refund my expenses and I'd like to say they were helpful. Unfortunately all I've gotten is silence.

It's amazing how long it can take to write up processes and instructions for things you do and tasks you perform without thinking isnt it?

with the cost of shipping that goo is a bit expensive so... http://www.instructables.com/id/How-To-Make-Your-Own-Sugru-Substitute/

Hello good people, I've had a request for an apron from a friend of a friend. He has stipulated that the apron will be used at both a timber mill and a foundry. The problem I face is finding the right type of leather. Neither the customer or my self are overly concerned about the conditions at the mill, it is what the apron will face when used at the foundry (I assume it is a small semi-commercial set up). While the usual chrome tan apron split will be OK at the mill the customer wants something more durable for the conditions at the foundry. I believe that a chrome tan leather would be more durable than a veg tan given the conditions, but I then have concerns over the conditioning (neatsfoot oil etc.) of chrome tan over veg tan. Any and all suggestions are welcome on type of leather and method of finishing. Cheers Andrew

Here is a cheeky idea for you all, why not send him (the patent troll) a cease and desist letter for bringing the trade into disrepute with the crappy quality of his work?

I can see a few things in those photos... Live primers on some cartridge bases Stitching uneven and well... yeah. Needs to take better photos Conclusion: If he was my competition in my area I'd be celebrating, it looks like the stuff I was making when I was 13...

*looks in the scrap bin* Yep, damn right we do!

Did I just hear you volunteer to do a write up? Just kidding, but do let us know how it goes, thinking about it I can recall working with some pretty thick cake mixes in the past

Grey Ghost Graphics made me a nice delrine stamp with great detail.

nice idea, but I'm not sure it would be fast enough (or the motor robust enough), worth having a shot at though.

My grandfather once said to me (he was a blacksmith) "The day you stop being critical of your work is the day you need to walk away". I asked him what he meant by this and he told me that when you stop caring about your work it will show and others will notice. Personally I'm never completely satisfied with what I produce, BUT, as another local leather worker pointed out 99% of people who look at your work will never notice the things that you think are not good enough. From a commercial stand point your products need to meet the expectations of your customers, beyond that you start to run into the law of diminishing returns. As an example, is it worth your time and their money to spend an hour or more putting a perfect mirror like burnish on the edges when a nice smooth and even finish will see the customer happy?

That really depends on the dye, the red I have takes about 10gm/litre where as the methyl violet takes about 2gm/litre you just need to experiment as there is unlikely to be a single workable ratio. http://www.thewoodworks.com.au/shop/shop-browse/117?vmcchk=1 Get in contact, they may ship international, and they now seem to be responding to emails...

You can use the aniline base dyes (that are used to colour the stains), I've had some great sucess getting thne colours I want with powdered aniline dyes (water/alcohol soluble).