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SmilinJim

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Everything posted by SmilinJim

  1. It's been hot everywhere, and it should be. It's summer. Besides, if it's hot at my house it should be hot at yours too. LOL. In my little section of central Alabama we had recordbreaking temps above 100+ for two weeks I think, and no rain. We are still in a stage 3 drought condition. But its actually in a small area. It rains 30 miles north of us, it rains 30 miles south of us. The good news is I only cut grass 2 times this year. Our job site is all dirt and dust. We have a water truck that constanty sprays water to keep down dust to EPA levels. Its just so hot it evaporates too quickly and seems to just add to the humidity. But hey, enough bitchin, I like sumertime. Shortshorts, short skirts, tank tops, halter tops, (in some cases no tops) It"ll be winter soon enough. I think we are supposed to get about 2 weeks of cold weather this year. We only had about a week last year. And I'll complain about the wet and the cold and.... Guess I'd be happy on one of those tropical islands where they only had to wear .... naw, I'm too old to think about that too. Hope everyone gets a little cool down anyway. Just take care of yourselves in the heat and don't get sick. Keep on Smilin Jim
  2. Looks good the way it is. I especially like the strap through the flap. That's a neat idea. Keep on Smilin Jim
  3. Amazing work, I really like the Turquoise collar. How do you set the stones? The collars are lined, is there a backpiece for the stones? No matter. Great work Jim
  4. Welcome to the forum, great place to learn. That's a nice piece of work, you will do well. But as my daughter hated to hear, practice, practice, practice. Keep on Smilin Jim
  5. Welcome Charlie, you will enjoy this site. Ask questions and someone will help. This is a great group of people. Come on post something. Wolvenstien, same problem wanted to learn 4 strand round braid for a specific project. Couldn't find what I needed so I went to the great provider, Walmart. Look in the crafts section and the vinyl lace packs for a couple of dollars. Has several types of braid, including 4 strand round. Also the Tandy book Braiding and Lacing for Fun, about 4 dollars. That was my intro. Sold a few projects then bought a few books. Also check out Beaverslayers tutorial on making lace. Keep on Smilin Jim
  6. Strange how you take things for granted. I've had a wireless card for about a year now, furnished by my employer, convinced them I needed it to keep up with my projects. I guess I thought most people keep up with techie stuff like I do, when actually they don't. I've always been a geek. I logged into the forum while sitting in my truck in a traffic jam in Montgomery once. Maybe a few of the folks here will be helped by Bruce's post. I have Cingular and it works fine. Keep on Smilin JIm
  7. Awesome braiding. I have no idea what most of your horse gear is but that doesn't stop me from admiring your work.
  8. Luv your collars and luv the dogs too. We took our dogo/? mix to Do Dah Day in Birmingham, do it every year. He's Repo, a rescued dog too. It's an event where you can bring your dog or pet ( seen ocelots, pigs and snakes, but 99% dogs). Spent some time looking at collars/leashes and checked into getting a permit to sell. Said permit is $300 for 1 day. Seems a bit steep. Keep up the great work and keep saving our dogs. Keep on Smilin Jim
  9. Hidecrafters had a tape/dvd in older catalogs for a cobblers bag. I wanted to order but got delayed and don't see it anymore. Can anyone explain a cobblers bag to me, post a picture or point me to a source. Thanks Keep on Smilin Jim
  10. Ken, you put your foot in it. I'm a hat person. I look dorky in a ball cap. Probably in a hat too, but heck, who cares. Got a hat project you don't mind sharing? I've had some ideas but that's as far as I got, oldtimers ya see. Keep on Smilin Jim
  11. Okay Ken, about the practice part. I've got, ah well had, quite a few scrap pieces of leather of all kinds, retan, veg tan, chrome tan, upholstery, etc. Now I've got quite a bit of lace. Got any projects in mind? But seriously, it does work and practice is needed, at least by me. How about beveling the edges? I've read about it but don't seem to pull straight enough to get it even. Any tips there? Keep on Smilin Jim
  12. Hi Nick Yeah, I'll sign up for any of your classes. Just let me know when, I know where. You should also post some of the other stuff you've done. Bet it would get you some more signed up for classes. Jim
  13. Hi Nick Great looking stuff. You got more that wasn't fried? Post as many as you have. Were you teaching classes this past Saturday? Keep on Smilin Jim
  14. Dang, it's amazing how well a good explanation and a few pictures work. I bought one of the plastic thingies last year and couldn't get the engine cranked. Been sittin in a drawer ever since. Got to try it again. Thanks Beaverslayer for a great (tutorial ?) or whatever. Keep on Smilin Jim
  15. You are a true craftsman. During the period you would be in great demand and probably are now too. Keep on Smilin Jim
  16. That is great. And your site is too. Show us some more of your lacing. You should teach. Keep on Smilin Jim
  17. Not really that hard. It's a 7 part 6 bight turks head that is tripled. I tied a 7X6 knot then followed the lace twice more with different color lace. I used deerskin. But I have to add that I had some trouble learning some of the knots. Tandy has some good books on braiding. Jim
  18. Happy Belated Birthday. Sorry I missed the party, but work got in the way. Wish you well with many more to come. Keep on Smilin
  19. A couple of projects this week. I did a couple of the belt key rings in the Tandy mailout. Decided to change it and do a glove clip since I have to wear gloves at times on the job. The plastic ones always break. And no one can snatch mine to use. Had to use cloth gloves for the pic. My work gloves got sorta wet, muddy, yucky and all that. Been a wet couple of days. Also did a slicker using a piece of deer antler. Glued it into a round knob and covered with a three colors of deerskin lace.
  20. That's really nice Don. I especially like the interior. You don't usually see much custom work on the inside. Another great project. Keep up the good work. Keep on Smilin Jim
  21. Thanks folks Yeah, I wish I could braid that small to Mathew. I just used a 2mm round leather , put a loop in the end and covered with a 5X4 turkshead knot. It'll slide so you can tighten to the eyeglass/sunglass. Jim
  22. I did a top for my table and stained with Fiebings paste antique. When I finished I had what looked like water stains in places. I know some could be from the texture of the leather but should you always clean the leather even if it looks okay? I've read that you could use alcohol but I'm not sure how much, which or when. Any insights would be helpful. I did a no-no and tried to cover by using a darker stain. Not a good idea either. Keep on Smilin Jim http://www.leatherworker.net/forum/index.p...pe=post&id=1788
  23. I started work on a small bed table. I traced the pattern and cut and pounded the leather. Now it was time to stain. Should have asked this question first. Looked okay so I dyed parts black. Had my hand on the leather to steady the brush. Still looked okay. Stained with the Feibing paste. Looked okay, BUT and EXCEPT. Had some places that looked like water stains that was darked than the rest. Is this from oils from me ? How do you 'deglaze/clean' the surface first? I've read that you can use alcohol but just what is the method. I did a no-no and applied a coat of darker stain. Not what I wanted so I guess I'll start that one over. Any help will be appreciated. Keep on Smilin Jim
  24. Wife was in the hospital last week with knee replacement surgery. While sitting in the waiting room I did an eyeglass strap to practice braiding (passing the time) I've done several for use at work. Wound up having to do about 3 sets for some of the nurses, but that was okay, I got free coffee. Photo1. The next is a couple of the belt keyholders in the Tandy Skiver mailout. Did one as a coin holder. My phone case. and the last is a 'work in progress' a table using wood I bartered for. I did some leatherwork for him and he traded me some lumber. Gonna post the questions in 'How do I do that'. Come on folks, there's a lot of members here. Post some of your work. I'd like to see what other folks are doing too. Keep on Smilin Jim
  25. Thanks for the kind words folks. I can see more than three easily. But he liked it and now I have to do a billfold with that pattern on it. Guess I've got a chance to improve anyway. And just as an aside, we are doing this the old fashon way. He's trading me some red oak, cedar and cherry lumber for a few leather pieces. I feel he's not getting same value and he says the same. But I guess if everyone is happy with what they got out of the deal then it was a worthwhile endeavor. Keep on Smilin Jim
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