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SmilinJim

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Everything posted by SmilinJim

  1. Hey folks Sorry about no pic on the other post, still got some problems. Hope it loads this time. As for selling the plans, sorry I'm not, but I am giving them away. If ya make one and it pleases ya then let me know, if you want to send something then do so. Doesn't have to be money. A nice rock, an interesting piece of wood, nothing extravagant. I am going to sell some of the sets so if interested then pm me, maybe we can trade something. Keep on Smilin Jim
  2. Hi folks Not only was there a crash on the site but I had a few problems too. This is my final 'design?' for my lace maker and splitter. They are for smaller lace, I've made 1/16 inch and very thin, up to 3/8 or so. I've lost the addresses of several of the people that wanted some so pm me with an address if still interested. I should be sending out the ones I have addresses for this weekend. Still have yours Jacque (Horsehairbraider) The lace maker works just like the Tandy plastic one except it is adjustable. If you would like to make your own then I'll be glad to send pics and dimensions and some of my 'explanations. If anyone has already made something similar let me know as I would like to improve as much as possible. Would like to be able to add beveling if I can work that out. Keep on Smilin Jim
  3. Before the great crash of 07 I had asked a question about refinishing motorcycle leather. I have a project to refinish a seat, one of those 'Oh yeah, I can do that' things. I've already sewn the places needing it and other minor repairs. It's had a lot of wear but is still in good shape. What should be my steps? I had thought that it should be cleaned and conditioned with Lexol then redyed, black of course. No trouble matching colors if I redo the whole seat. What would be the best dye to use? The tandy eco dyes, tandy prodyes or oil dyes or ___ . Please help me fill in the blank. This could lead to a bit of other work for quite a few guys and maybe just be worth my while to learn refinishing techniques. Any help will be appreciated. Keep on Smilin Jim
  4. Do a little research on the difference between singlediamond and four seam work. A lot of multi strand work is plaited using 4 seam method which is 4 sided. Single diamond is o1 u1 along each side and will result in a 'rounder' braid without a core. But single diamond takes longer and is a bit stiffer. I'm far from an expert so that's the reason I suggested doing a little research. I roll my braids between boards and that helps a lot. Keep on Smilin Jim
  5. Hey Crow I sorta did the same. I used a 3/8" wooden dowel for the one I took pics of and have since replaced with a 3/8" aluminum rod, less drag on the lace. I just glued it in and it was easy to work with. Also I cut a notch in the wooden dowel and filed a notch in the aluminum so I would have a way to start the lace into the blade. Not sure if that shows on the pics. I've wanted up upsize it to do wider straps, say up to 1 1/2" but I want to keep it easy to find blades. One of the Stolman books on leather tools has a pic of a large leather splitter that I think I could build to do 4" to 6". If I do I'll post some pics. Hey Cora and Steve, PM me with your address and I'll send to you when I get some done. With work and holidays it will probably be Christmas week when I get to cut some. I'm off that week. Keep on Smilin
  6. As usual stepped in over my head. How many of you have been in the conversation "Hey I've got a... Think you can redo/refinish/fix my ... " and I say "Well of course I can. " Need some suggestions. Friend at work has a bike. In January he wants his bags refinished (maybe redyed, refinished ) whatever. Black is the color so color matching isn't a big issue I don't think. What would be the best way to approach this. What type of dye and what type of finish? He rides a lot but bike stays inside a lot not exposed to weather all the time. Has a place to store bike in his travel trailer while working out of town. Thanks Jim
  7. Hey Crow, here's some more pics, hope they help. Nothing really critical on dimensions. Just make width for the blade you intend to use. I use a razor blade from a beauty supply store and regular utility knife blades. Strop them before you use them. Hey folks, I'll definitely sell some, got several requests. Just don't know what to charge yet. Give me some hints. I thought $12-$15 dollars plus shipping for both the lacemaker and the splitter. Give me some feedback. Keep on Smilin Jim
  8. Hey Nick Glad I got to see ya before you left. I really hated to see you go but I know it was what you have been waiting for. You were a great help with a lot of stuff for me. Thanks for all your help and pointing me in the right directions. I've got a long way to go but I like playing here. You need to post some more of your work too. Anyway, the best to you my friend and remember Keep on Smilin Jim
  9. Hey folks, if you want one okay. Just a few dollars to cover cost of wood and shipping. I'll cut a couple out and get back with you on costs if okay. I like the one with a dowel for the pivot point seems to work better. They're not fancy or even finely finished but seem to work okay, may want to do a bit more sanding. I've juist split some lace to make necklaces for Christmas. Wife does the dangles and I do the braided necklace. Crow, I'll post some more pics in the next day or so. Wife going in hospital and I won't have much home time for a couple of days. Keep on Smilin Jim
  10. That's got to belong to Shane. A superintendent I know that is always pulling practical jokes. Some not so funny. Two years ago the guys on the job got fed up and as he was in a meeting towards the end of the day they used a tower crane to sit his pickup on top of a 3 story building. He came out late and everyone had gone home. He thought it had been stolen and called the cops. When they arrived he went to his office and found his keys and a note saying they didn't want to leave it on the street because of all the thefts. His practical jokes slowed for a while. But only for a while. Keep on Smilin Jim
  11. Need some suggestions. Doing another bag. Will be for brother-in-law blackpowder works. I cut a strap 1 1/4" wide and will line the backside of it. I had originally thought to attach with tabs to the front, you can see where I left off lacing and left tab attach points. But I think attaching to the side gusset may be better. Any thoughts or rules to go by? Still got to lace the flap and will continue lacing over tab points or lace tabs to strap. Will be non-adjustable strap. Made just for him. Competeing for wife for table space. She's painting Santa sweatshirts for Christmas. Jim
  12. It really pisses ya off doesn't it. A few years ago I had parked our car on the road and not in our driveway, we're rural. Around 2 am my wife woke me and said she heard a car outside. I went to the front and stood on the poarch and could barely see someone in my car. I yelled " you know that's my car don't you. Myra bring me the gun" I saw someone waving, and a small light colored car with a loud muffler drove up and 2 figures raced to get inside. I did fire a few rounds off into the ground, They did seem to get faster. Myra had called the police and they showed up 15 minutes after the car had left. They wanted to know if I could identify the people and I said no that all I could tell was a small light colored car with a loud muffler. No mention of gunfire. Back to bed and about an hour later there was a knock at the door. I opened the front door and there must have been 6 police cars, blue lights flashing, in front. Local police, county police and even a state trooper. Again the police wanted to know if I could identify the people. I said no but I thought that was the car since it was loud and light colored. They got the 2 guys, the wife of one of them and the baby seperated and evidently someone cracked. It turned out they had broken into 4 cars and 2 churches that night. About 9 months in jail for the 2 guys. About a month after they got out they broke into a house about a mile from me. They had a gun this time. The house was Ralphs and Ralph was home. If those 2 guys had spent as much time and energy working for a living instead of stealing then maybe one would still be alive and the other wouldn't be paralyzed. Sad but hard to feel sorry for them. Jim
  13. Hey Regis, nice work. Do you hand stitch or use machine? NOTHING I sew comes out straight. Jim
  14. Nice man. From concept to design to build. Great work. Luv the colors. Now I gotta try one, my daughter wants something done like that. She's like daddy, she likes different. And you gotta admit, for leather, that's different. Keep on Smilin Jim
  15. On the net I've seen them called possible's bag. I made it for me for carrying my shells when I bird hunt. Got a double 20 so have to have shells handy. Before anyone says how good the stitching is on the pockets I should tell you that this is a recycled leather jacket from the thrift store, had a big tear. Cost $4.00. So I stripped the pockets, arms and back. Had to splice for the gusset and strap. Got snap pockets on front and rear and a flap cover. Now for the good part. A friend wants it and is willing to trade me an unused sewing maching he has for it. Won't have to beg the wife to use hers and can experiment more. Not a 'leather' machine but will handle thin stuff. Keep on Smilin Jim
  16. Relativity, which way is up? Besides when the checkbook is open to use you can't see the horse. Still a nice project. Jim
  17. That's nice. Like the strap design. Friend of mine plays in a 'Gospel' band. I'll have to show yours to him. Good work. Jim
  18. Thanks folks, almost had to do one with something like a Big Orange on it, but luckily he changed his mind. I'm old, er that's old school, my sewing machine is a White Rotary, circa 1920's, I'm not quite that old, bought at a flea market. Wife told me to stay away from her electric. And yeah I did an iron on. Been told I couldn't do that on leather (don't ya hate it when people tell you can't do something) but it's worked several times and I haven't had any problems. But time will tell. Keep on Smilin Jim
  19. One of our truckdrivers wanted a visor pouch to keep tickets in. I put snaps on the straps that hold it to the visor and on the back of the pouch. He can collect his tickets during the day and take the pouch off to take to the office. Simple and sewed edges yet. I did the black border to cover my not so straight sewing. Simple project from a simple mind. Keep on Smilin Jim
  20. That's great. I wish I could sew. The design is great, the colors are great. You did good. Jim
  21. Lots of working room. But what's your basic concept, since it is your bike. I see maybe a large scene, dragons/wolves lair on the back with dragons/wolves coming to front to meet the fearless knight/woodsman. All pieces add up to the whole. That sorta what you have in mind? Not just 4 seperate dragon/wolf pics. JIM
  22. Hey Wolvie Another thought, go to deviant art and search dragons, there are thousands www.deviantart.com Jim
  23. Hey Mike How about posting some simple dimensions for the seats,maybe a sketch, doesn't have to be exact. You can juggle the positions, sizes, after you get some ideas. Jim
  24. Nice Freak. Good design on your part too. That's the kind of tooling I like to see, different. Not traditional western floral myself. Check some of the airbrush mags for some more designs. Or maybe this site, www.airbrushartists.org. Lot of the biomech stuff is just grays to lend to the metal effects but I think any way you finish it would be great. Keep up the good work. Keep on Smilin Jim
  25. I don't like the clips either, but ... and this will be a cross draw. He wants to wear it on the left side and draw from the right that's the reason for the cant being backwards. But still have the question ... what is the proper way for the thumb break to operate? If you are righthanded and wearing a holster on the right side should the thumb press the break into your body to release? Does that provide more resistance to opening the snap? Or should the thumb press the snap to the outside of the body and therefore have less resistance? The majority of the holsters I have done have either had no snap retainers, western style, or had a over the top strap and snap or a flap. I work in the woods alot and I prefer a flap holster. I don't do fast draws, mostly for snakes. I've actually caught more and released than shot. But back to the thumb break. I have no personal experience with this type of retainer. What is the proper way to install one? Jim
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