MakerUnknown

Here's a button I've done. I'm sure I'm not the first. Rolled and glued the cylinder and then put it in the drill press and drilled out a series of holes in a line, cleaned it out with real thin Japanese wood chisel and saw. Here's one in action on my bike lock device. It's a two sided affair that takes two U-locks. I got tired of people stealing my bike in SF and decided I needed two to thwart them. This has been out in the weather now for close to a year.

Wow! Beautiful!

I make business cards out of small scraps. I burn my mark into them along with the pertinent info on how to reach me.

Nice. And whoa! Those are big flasks!

Beautiful and looks like top notch craftsmanship as well.

Now I feel silly...I've passed over those and see now I shouldn't have.

I've done a tiny bit of experimenting with two different processes. I like to make traditional Mexican Molés where you roast the various dried chills and then soak them in hot water for an half hour or so. The water, which for the most part is thrown away, is a beautifully complex dark brown color and I've dunked leather in it to see what happens. It colors the leather depending upon duration of course on how long you leave it on. The color is not a drastic change at all. I haven't really done extensive testing on it for longevity. The other process which is instant and I'm thinking permanent is using a mixture of vinegar and steel wool. I make furniture and sometimes I will ebonize the wood. It's an old process of applying a rusted solution of iron to the wood and the tannins in the wood react to the iron and turns the wood black. So I got to thinking that leather has all kinds of tannins in it and did a little test and bingo, the leather went black instantly. Here's a link to the process for wood but there's information in there about making the iron solution. http://www.popularwoodworking.com/techniques/ebonizing_wood

Yes, very nice.

I don't know about saddles either but it really looks beautiful to me. The hand stitching looks especially nice.

I posted one awhile ago on the oldest leather tannery in the world...in Fez, Morocco... but couldn't find it. But here's a similar one. Who knew that pigeon droppings was a key ingredient in making leather? http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/places/countries-places/morocco/morocco_leatherproduction/

Ahhh...of course..

I'll admit it but I don't know the difference between a horse and a pony...at least the stitching kind. There are some for you to look at in here. This recent thread http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=40064

Very impressive!

Those are uber beautiful clamps he makes. Wow!

Thank you, ramrod.

I'm thinking along those lines except I'm tending more toward a sliding dovetail arrangement. The problem really is inertia. It works they way it is now and I've got a million other projects that are taking priority. But yes, your idea would certainly work.

Although I don't think this is finished, this is how I built mine and use it. I wanted to accomplish a couple things with the design. I didn't want something running through the body of the horse as the method of clamping. I think a bolt running inside the horse would get in the way if you needed to clamp a longer piece. I didn't want objects on the outside of the horse that would catch the loops of thread while sewing. And I wanted a quick way of applying pressure and releasing the pressure in order to move the piece. So what I came up with is this. A thin flexible piece of wood that exerts the side force by being in tension. It works. There's a wide range of thickness it will accommodate within it's range. I lift up to release pressure, move the leather, release the thin board and the pressure is right back on it. I clamp the whole horse to my workbench and work standing up. I don't own a TV and have no need to sit and watch something while I'm stitching....it's better for you anyway to stand. So far loops of thread run on it without catching onto anything. I say it's not finished because I want to come up with a system that I can change the anchoring point for the lower part of the thin flexible wood quickly without needing a clamp.

Mine.

You're on a nice roll with these. On your way to becoming the Bar Stool King!

Very nice. I would like to see some close-ups and details of it.

There's a surprisingly active forum just for the Tormek...Mostly the same people chime in (me occasionally) but always good advice on the latest. http://www.tormek.com/forum/index.php

Mine is 1"x 2 1/4" See this post http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=45401&hl=branding

There's also Westernstorex in Burlingame. Lots and lots of fasteners as well as tools. http://www.westernstorex.com/

Sssweet. I love well made, well cared for tools.

It's interesting that on page 48 that the author says the use of a splitting machine should be avoided and that it injures the leather if you do....I may be reading out of context, I'm just leafing through it at this point. Great find.