Reegesc

Now this is uncanny. I'm on my way to the store to get, among other things, food coloring and Lard. The Lard was going to be an add to my my first batch of homemade leather dressing which is giving me fits because (a) it's too hard and (b) it won't shine. Lois, you have made my month with the food coloring tip and now the triple top secret recipe for the perfect leather dressing. Thank you thank you thank you!

Oddly enough I've been thinking about this very thing while researching making my own dyes. I love "cross-purpose discoveries." The discovery alone is worth the effort but you're also rewarded with significant cost saving most times and the feel good aspect of sharing your find as you have done here. Thank you.

Wow, absolutely gorgeous, and even cooler that it's a wastebasket lid. Like that old Circus saying: "If you can't do it over the top, why bother?"

I wonder how long it will be before we have RoboCop. It's coming. AI is already moving into the Legal Industry in a big way. "Robot Replacing Lawyers A Near Certainty" is a recent headline in the Australiasian Lawyer Journal. The medical field is going to be changed big time as well and heck of a lot faster than most realize. The future cometh, and that right soon.

It is silly when you think about it. All of it, the registration, vehicle inspection, insurance, heck even a driver's license can be accessed digitally. However, It would be a major disruption to pull-over protocol. If they couldn't ask for documents, what would be their introduction statement when they pulled you over? "Good afternoon Sir. Approximately how many hairs are on your head?" Then go back to their car and make sure you're not lying and check to see if your have any outstanding warrants. Heck, the technology exists today where they could just scan license plates from a camera and send you a ticket for no insurance or expired license and registration. But there's this matter of having to have "Probable Cause" first.

I've always been one to keep my automobile documents organized and readily accessible, unlike my wife who favors the glove box pile approach where the rule is if it's a document and has something to do with her vehicle (tire receipts, oil change receipts, car wash receipts, registration receipts, parking tickets, etc) it is safely stored (crammed) into her glove box. I recently had to replace a blower switch in her vehicle which required removing the glove box....and its contents....and decided it was time to get her organized document wise. I made two piles: (1) Trash and (2) Required Documents (which are just two documents -- proof of insurance and vehicle registration). Rather than putting these back in her glove box as seed material for a future pile of unnecessary documents, I made both of us a handy document case that fits on the driver visor and is securely fastened with two sets of super magnet discs. One set of magnets is installed (glued) on the visor and the other set is sewn into the document case It's best to position the case such that all the paper work and case are sandwiched between the two sets of magnet discs as shown in the pic. If you think that is a little over the top, how about making our own Insurance Card? I did. Not a counterfeit, just a cooler looking document with the same information as the ugly proof of insurance document.

It started off as a briefcase/laptop case and that morphed into a weekend bag which grew into a medium sized suitcase. Nt pattern or anything, just thought I'd try making a bag....a big bag. Really wasn't that difficult, just a lot of stitching and I do mean a LOT of stitching. I couldn't get any decent interior shots once completed but i lined it with an Alligator emboss lining and installed a wood (plexiglass actually) rigid bottom and made my own feet out of sterling beads. No pockets or anything, just a big ol bag.

Been a while but I made a pair for myself today using horse veg tan...I thought they kinda looked Moroccan, but no big deal and I was in a hurry and botched the stitch line, but that's ok. What I really wanted to point out was this little copper kettle I made out of copper sheet metal. The sign says "Clyde's Triple Top". What could be in that little kettle that is triple top secret? I'll tell ya -- homemade secret recipe leather conditioner (Beeswax, Paraffin Wax, Lard, and Tallow). First time making it and I'm really pleased with it and so I made the little kettle to commemorate having finally making a batch, something I've wanted to do for a long time, and to have a cool container to keep it in out in the shop.. Once cooled, the concoction has the consistency of a high quality shoe polish, maybe a little harder. Very waxy but with a richness that the fat provides. Really like the rubbed finish it provides, as shown on the cool wallet I also made myself today. I can't take credit for the stylish design however, that belongs to Steve B Leatherworks . The guy has some really cool original designs . I just borrowed the shape, the rest of the wallet is completely different. One thing I like about this shape (He calls it "The Finn") is the deep cash pocket. I like it just because it's deep, and deep is different, you have to admit. The flip-flops needed a little something and so I added neatsfoot oil to the straps. Turned out even cooler I think. Oh, and the other thing I did was tool the soles with a basket stamp to serve as tread. Cool huh?

Yet another suggestion. You can resize photos in Excel and Word (Excel is easiest). Open a workbook, drag and drop a photo. Select "Picture Format" from the menu bar and enter the dimensions you want. Or just click on a corner of the pic and drag inwards to make it smaller. Right click on the pic and select "Save as Picture". Piece of cake.

Impressive.

Well thank you very much. You're too kind. Everything I do stems from being envious of Monica Jacobsen's talented work.

Hahaha...you're a mean one Mr. Grinch.

Yeah, I doubled the thread (Chinese Poly 1mm) to make it more pronounced. It makes it more "hefty" looking. Here's two pics and two balls, front and back. Both are a little over a month old, and they get used fairly regularly at the dog park, but that's just retrieving. My dog isn't interested in them outside of the dog park. She's not a chewer, unless it's a bone. But a friend whose dog is a toy destroyer reported that she had to restitch a section of her ball after about a week. I haven't checked back but her horse of a dog (Mastiff) has probably eaten it by now. Mileage will vary...

Word Art, I gotta helicopter question. I'll pm ya here in a few. ++++++++++++++++++ According to the Reddit Leathercraft group, Acadia is a new outlet store for Thoroughbred Tannery in Maine. Every hear of them? Me either. Reddit folks also had good things to say about their recent Acadia purchases.

When Mike gives his approval, that's saying something. For reals. Just spreading the Millennial Gospel brother. These kids impress the shit out of me.

Word ++++++++++++++ For those of you scratching your heads over "word", it's a relatively new text word that kids are using. It means 'word for word' or 'words of truth' 'or 'exactly what she said' or' 'the damn truth, definitely'. Once explained to me It still seemed dumb, then I saw it used more and more and in different contextual situations and it grew on me and now I use it regularly too. It's actually a pretty clever word that combines a lot of things into a single message. I identify with four meanings but there may be more 1) Very strong form of agreement, perfect agreement 2) Affirmation of a truth 3) A compliment to the sender 4) Acknowledgement that you are unable to improve on what has already been said perfectly Yeah, that's a pretty cool word all right. Packs a punch. Now you know.

Just had a look at Acadia's site and man they have some good deals on really decent leather. Looks like odd lot stuff like Maverick deals in. Definitely checking them out come ordering time. Suprised I've never run into them...Must be a new outfit? Anyways, thanks for the referral.

I have. Got burnt on what is advertised as sole bend but turned out to be what I call linoleum leather -- hard rolled leather with a thick painted tan surface. It was so-so thick and quite pliable. I didn't return it because I never return, and will not return. They come off like huckster used car salesmen and that turns me off. I just let greed get away with my better judgement that time, knowing full well that getting high quality sole bends at 1/2 - 1/3 normal retail is about as like as _________________________ [insert your favorite impossible analogy]. Surprised that nobody has mentioned this tannery, one of the oldest and best quality in the US (among the top three I'd say): Wicket & Craig -- Gorgeous leather. Unlike Horween and Herman Oak, you can buy direct from the tannery and there isn't (or wasn't) an order minimum. The downside is they do bidness the old fashioned way, phone calls and sales people are slow to get back with you and they're slow getting your order out, It's not that they are incompetent, they just like doing business like they have been doing since the 70s. I'm just guessing that Old Man Whomever dictates that and the heirs are chompin at the bit to use those new fangled online ordering systems.

I just wet the leather and sprinkle " Barkeepers Friend" directly on the leather and scrub it with a damp/wet cloth. Rinse off. Works great. You can find "Barkeepers Friend" at any major grocery store in the cleaning what-nots section.

Love 'em or hate 'em, I challenge anyone to show me a leather supply firm with better customer service than Springfield Leather. The Customer Service Love Culture that Kevin has created is exemplary. I was going to add IMHO, but it's not an opinion, it's a measurable fact. I won't bother you with my personal experience, but once again they took care of me on a special request and exceeded expectations. Springfield doesn't get enough praise on this forum (now that is an opinion) which I understand because when things go your way there's no need to alert the entire Global Leatherworker Community, but when they go bad most want the entire planet to know. Human nature I suppose. I got to thinking about all the times they impressed the heck out of me by going above and beyond and yet I hadn't reciprocated in any meaningful way beyond being a customer. So I decided to do something nice by way of some praise here on the Forum. My initial thought was to enumerate all my personal experiences, but that doesn't have much impact since if you're reading this you likely have the same stories. I wanted to do something that had a further reach, ideally something that could potentially have a multiplier effect by word of mouth, like this Urban Legend that demonstrates just how far Kevin will go when comes to taking care of his customers. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ So the story goes that a friend of mine who is also a leatherworker has a buddy who lives near Springfield Leather and he's been a regular for years, often stopping by just to shoot the bull with Kevin and Rusty. Not only is he on a first-name basis with the entire staff, he knows all the regular customers too. It's a tight leather community up there as you might imagine. So this one time he's in the shop and notices Kevin chatting with someone he didn't know and hadn't seen before and that caught his attention and was sizing the guy up while he searched through his memory banks to see if he could place him. Rusty, Number 2 Guy at Springfield, noticed the buddy staring at "Stranger" and walked over chuckling "Man you are spending way too much time here if you're sizing up new faces." The slightly embarrased buddy replied "What else is there to do in this town? It beats looking at you. New customer?" "No, actually he's a long-time online customer, but it's his first visit to the store. He's on his way to Branson for vacation and decided to stop by and meet some of the staff. Helluva nice guy. Was there anything else you wanted to know, Inspector Smith? "Yeah, where can a fella get the same goofy haircut you got?" Rusty had just gotten a money's-worth haircut. Just then the "Stranger" said "Thanks" and shook hands with Kevin, then turned to the counter waving his hand and yelled out to the staff "Nice meeting y'all. Hey is that clock right?" Kevin said that it was but "Even if it were broken it would be right twice a day." "Oh Shit! I forgot about time time change. Dammit I'm way late! I gotta dead body to bury!!!!!" As soon as he said that he froze and my friend's buddy said that the entire store went dead silent. He said that everybody was looking at each other for confirmation that they actually heard what they thought they heard. The pause that followed made it obvious that it wasn't a joke and it sure as hell wasn't supposed to tumble out of his mouth like that, but it did. Kevin, who was standing fairly close to the guy all along, hadn't exchanged confirmation glances as everyone else had. He was just being polite not sure if the Stranger was finished with his thought. When it was clear that the Stranger had finished speaking, Kevin look a half step, leaning in closer to the guy, and said in a low, but still audible voice: "You need to borrow a shovel?"

Wow, beautiful tools. Thanks everyone for posting pics.

It's rough, but it's original. Anyone can learn leatherwork techniques but few can claim to be original. Good job.

Late to the party... Searching for a duffle bag pattern and saw this. Wow Monica. Just gorgeous. Tell me, how can I do work like that? And don't give me all that practice and practice stuff. I've already tried that. Just tell me where to sell my soul and I'm in.

5-7oz but it doesn't matter much. Whatever you have in your scrap bin will work just fine.

Not to get all technical on you with Squeak Theory , but there are two parts to a squeaker: The bladder and the reed. You can buy ready-made squeakers all day long on ebay, but they are those little dinky things that come in those cheap squeaker toys that you'll be replacing. I tried just stuffing a bunch of those in the football along with Poly fill, but it doesn't work because they just slide away from the force of the bite. The squeaker needs to be stationary inside the toy and in place where Fido can get a good grip and crunch down on it repeatedly. So...I decided to make my own. I'm still experimenting but right now I'm using an 8 oz squeeze bottle as it's the right size and shape to fit in the center of the football which I then surround with poly fill. I drill hoes and glue the replacement reeds (30mm) on either end. One on each end is plenty loud, but I'm doing two on each end and it's really loud, which is kinda the whole point. Both the squeeze bottles and replacement reeds are sold on ebay -- a little over a buck per bottle and like 5 cents per reed (pack of 50 for $2.50). Search ebay "8oz Tattoo Squeeze Bottle 250ml" and "Replacement Squeaker Reeds 30mm" ...lots of listings for both. I've got a couple weeks experience with these and they're holding up fine, but then she's not a chewer and we only use these at the daily dog park visit. She's a flirt and takes them with us to the dog park so the other dogs will chase her and she can chase them. Chase and be chased seems to be the game. None of the squeakers have been killed yet and I doubt they will be because they can't get close enough to it to puncture it (punctures are easy to repair btw with duct tape). Here's the three templates I've been working with. "Too big", "too small", and "just right" are what my dog likes. For throwing, I like the too big. So now I'm giving these to friends as gifts for them and not their dog. They're just fun to throw and if you happen to have a dog that will bring them back to you, well that's a bonus. EDIT: So that would be for four panels to make the football.