Murf

Im in the same boat with Ed. I have a maul and several dremel burnishers from him. My previous orders have had a 2-3 week turn around time. I finally got a drill press so i ordered a new burnisher for it. That was 8 weeks ago and i haven't heard from him since. I e mailed with no reply. Its to the point that im actually worried something happened thats keeping him. I do hope that he is just swamped with life but at the end of the day like the rest of us have stated, you have to keep your customers in the loop. Life happens. Im currently juggling 4 seats and several belts and wallets with a baby due any day. People have to understand that life can get overwhelming. But they can't understand if you dont communicate. The tools are exceptional, but it doesnt matter how great they are if you dont have them in your arsenal.

Make sure the motor on the grinder can be used with a speed control, i just built a buffer out of a cheap garage sale find and realized AC motors need a VFD (variable frequency Drive) to be able to adjust rpms and not over Amp thus overheating the motor. A DC motor can use just a variating foot pedal an AC motor has to use momentary or on/off switch unless you drop the cash on a VFD or the other thing i cant remember the name of atm. Bearman makes dremel burnishers in the same concept as the grinder mods these gentlemen are using and i have my dremel mounted into a press that also has the ability to turn sideways.

Im in the works of a quiver for bow hunting. My plan is to buy golf club separators and cut them just shy of the quiver top then strap them in, line the top of the tubes with mole skin to eliminate rattle and put sheepskin across the bottom. Ive never felt the need to carry more then 4 arrows in the field so you only need 2 tubes. In the off season or target shooting the tubes can be removed and fit several more arrows into the quiver. Im not sure how this will work with fixed tip arrows.

I was getting dressed at work the other day and a co-worker saw the tooled wallet i had made for myself sitting on a bench. He proceeded to ask me about making a seat for his custom "Honda-Davidson" bobber. I am in the process of templating a seat pan and construction scheme for my own custom made seat for the harley ive been building and my dads harley. Ive been doing leatherwork for about 5 months and im concerned about my ability to produce a safe water resistant seat that will hold up to the test of a guy who rides as much as my co-worker. We havent discussed if he wants lacing, rivets, or sewn, but as it stands i am not very good with lace and i dont own a sewing machine (my hand sewing looks pretty good though) but his seat is ragged and i dont have to do any work on the pan or the foam. Im positive my tooling can hold up to almost any treatment, my shop stool and wallet still look the way they did the day i made them after a lot of hours being crushed by my butt, and my wallet chain. Will resolene make it stand up to heavy rain sitting in the parking lot? will the resolene make the seat slick and thus unsafe if the rider has to make quick maneuvers in traffic? As it stands i told him im not producing any seats until next summer or fall until i work these concepts out in my head and on my own bike, but then i started to think, why should i go into this blindly and risk my own safety and potentially ruin several hours of work when i can just ask people who make great high quality seats. Thanks, Murf P.S. Im itching like crazy to post pictures of my bike, but its not finished. ive done all the work myself and i have almost no experience building motorcycles but its turning out AWESOME!

My new Project is this little baby i found at a garage sale for 2$. 1/4 HP runs great, the arbor was bent and it came with a 6" grinding wheel. Picked up a new arbor for 4$, a cloth buffing wheel for 3$ (still waiting for that to come in the mail). Rewiring it with a variable speed foot pedal and got an old VFD (variable frequency drive) from work so it doesnt over amp. in all im going to be about 14$ deep on a sweet little buffing setup and then ill take my pinstriping brushes to it for alittle class! =)

Hope you werent expecting anything amazing or fancy (although amazing and fancy was the original plan) Had to get my 2 new Leather Wrangler Sk-3s in there =)

My magnet compass, took a extendable shop magnet and fit it to the lead side of a regular compass and found a small super powered magnet. stick the un-attatched magnet under the leather and pop down the compass the extendable side rotates and the old pointer side acts as a scratch awl thus not marking the leather and providing a perfect circle. takes some time to get the hang of it but it works. My log, i love my log. I wanted a stamp holder but i didn't want to pay the price so i grabbed a chain saw and cut out this way to big section of a tree stripped the bark and started drilling holes, about 3 rows of holes in i thought "i would have to be a millionaire to own this many stamps" so i stopped. over the last 5 months this log has become the hub of my work space i made several larger holes for markers, pens, pencils, styluses, and a center groove for my glass burnisher. i added a strap along the outside to hold awls among other things and now its a monstrosity of sharp objects and tools. It seems simple and no-brainer but its functional and super ugly (Let the wood dry for a long time before you go all drill happy on it or itll split). The most recent thing i saw and fell in love with was Nigel Armitage's log work station with his stitching pony on it, as soon as i saw it I drew up one thats similar (didnt see the whole thing in the video) and currently have my uncle who does chainsaw carvings working on it. Love the parafin wax idea, i had heard of bar soap but didnt care for that idea to much, i have alot of beeswax and parafin around cause i blend it to make my edge wax. thanks for the idea

As far as hand tooling work goes i dont care for my tandy tools at all except i did alot of work with the black rubberized ergo for a long time before i dropped the cash on an SK-3. I love my Barry King stamping tools. I use alot of tandy bought tools such as thronging chisels, al stohlman maul, french beveler, my awl with swapable bits, Over stitch wheel, stitching pony and alot of small hardware rivets etc. Alot of it is location IMO tandy is closest to me and i can have something here in a day. The tools i use from tandy do what i require them to do but i wont hinge the appearance of my tooling work on tandys products anymore, even though im still new to tooling i could tell a major difference when i bought nicer stampers

facepalm*** ive been looking for a new template material for a month now... I work in a factory, these cardboard "covers" are called slip sheets, we use them to layer pet food pallets (Like you said) and not once did i think of using those until you posted while i was at work. luckily im still subscribed to this thread and it e-mailed the post to me. Keep an eye out for the ridged plastic ones that some companys use. if you could get a couple of those they would last forever

Hello, Nice to meet someone also from Iowa. i am from central Iowa and ive been doing leather work for about 5 months and to be honest there are not very many leather workers around Iowa from the research i have done. Ive looked many places high and low trying to find someone to teach me alittle hands on stuff but so far its been all self taught. If i encounter anyone from northern Iowa that can teach you a few things ill post here. If you ever make it to des moines head into Tandy Leather and they might know someone in your area. I cant see why someone who had many years under their belt wouldnt take a few hours of time to show you some stuff, i know if i had alot of experience i would love to pay it forward.

Looking forward to getting my burnishers and Maul. Live in Iowa and never get any big leather shows around here, one day ill make it out west to one of the bigger shows

Ian, every few weeks I work with a custom hotrod interior guy learning the trade when I have weekends off. He gets his leather from a tannery in canada. Im not sure if they handle Veg tan but i know that every single time we have needed a specific color hide they have delivered without question the exact color we were after. We usually pay about 450$ per cow (really odd i know, to buy by the cow) and these are quality hides. Ive read the pamphlet we have at the shop and there isnt even barbed wire around these cows for fear that it might damage the future product. Ill get the info the next time i go and post it here. If they dont handle Veg someone will at least get some info on some great interior leather. Ps. Ive watched your video on tool pouches for bikes and it really got me into the bike leather part of the craft, you may be at your wits end with the business end, but on the crafting end you are great at what you do and have showed me a thing or two.

If you find one, look that specific one up on the internet before you buy it. I have looked at several on amazon and other places and all of them have horrible reviews. I think hammering is the next best thing to a press just because of the lbs or pressure created and the shock factor. But if you find a good hand snap setter that doesnt tweak or break when you bear down on it let me know =)

After thought, Ive heard about "De-glazing" leather and i kinda forgot about it. Something with the veg tan process leaving a hardening agent that may cause the leather to not fully take the dye. When i did my first airbrush experiments the dye wiped right off. a few weeks later i made a hand tooled shop stool and i rubbed it with alcohol after i tooled it and it took alittle luster out of the leather. Then i rubbed aliitle neatsfoot on it and then airbrushed it and i had absolutely no problem with the dye coming off when i buffed it. I dont know if it was the alcohol or the neatsfoot but it worked great and im pretty sure i read the "De-glazing" bit on this forum somewhere in an old thread.

Everynight when i get off work I go into my basement (or as I call it my Lab) and I experiment. Each time I go down there I try something new, experiment. I replaced all the things I could with handmade work (wallet, Belt, utility pouch for work) so i look at it each day and use it, I can see the cosmetic and functional mistakes I have made and while im not in my workspace I can evaluate what ill do differently or spend more time on the next time I make one. As mentioned above True understanding comes through doing. You can read about something for hours but it will never truly click until your jumping into that project. Ive been doing leather for 5 months now and every week I churn out something better then the previous week. Every week I also make mistakes, crooked cuts, bad stitching, and poorly burnished edges (wish Bearman would get back to me about those dremmel burnishers =). As cyberthrasher also mentioned Paul's books are an incredible resource for tooling work. Funny you mentioned pin striping because thats what i practice when i cant get my mind into a leather project, just stripe and wipe until i get my creative fluids pumping then i pick up the pencils and the swivel knife. Most of all, have fun. When im working im in my zone, got my music going, have the entire project mapped out in my head and it just seems to flow. An old saying my dad uses in the garage building harleys and drag cars "There are no problems, Only solutions.". Same goes for working with leather, except when you spill black dye across the tan lettering of the belt you just put 5 hours into. In the end dont look at it like its junk, you made that, you cut that from a side of leathers and fashioned it into a durable item that functions as intended. "why yes, this belt holds my pants up." or "This wallet carries and protects my hard earned money.". Tell yourself "Thats the only belt of its kind in the world". With the internet you have every resource at your finger tips and as far as im concerned this forum has been the best resource I have found, This is the "Brain trust" of leather work. Ps. if anyone knows how to get black dye off the antiqued part of tooling work let me know so i can fix it in the future

Im still pretty fresh to leather work, I used tan kote till about a month ago then i ordered some resolene. not really sure the 50/50 resolene reasoning, the belt i wear everywhere is 100% resolene, I apply it lightly with wool daubers. But since dwight's suggestion of brushing it on i think im gonna start doing that cause daubers cost money. Test a little spot on your project before going to town on it with the resolene.

High density polyeurethane

I have posted about poly boards in the past and its great to see that someone else has had this experience. I used to have a big poly cutting boards from work that we use to edge can chutes with, I used it to clean fish and for about 2 years i wondered why my fillet knives were always dull. Then one day i was hanging out in the maintenance shop at work and a new guy ran a section of the board through the band saw and the supervisor freaked out, the saw cut the board but it took off every tooth on the blade in the process. long story short, every leather worker I have met takes pride in a good sharp round knife. I couldnt imagine taking an expensive well maintained knife and dragging it across a section of plastic. I use a bamboo cutting board used in a kitchen, found at most stores for around 10$. Its soft but hard. a thin bladed exacto will stick in them or break in them if you press to hard but a round knife will go across with a little drag. in my opinion cutting thick leather around 8oz should be done in a couple passes, if your trying to muscle through it your very likely to "slip" resulting in injury and or a damaged hide. with thinner leathers a pair of high end shears are worth their weight in gold.

Feibings pro oil is the best black i have ever used, I used Eco flo before that and it coats well but i have spent days rubbing that dye and it seems like i always get something off when i rub. I actually made a belt recently and ran out of the Eco flo black half way across and finished the other half with Fiebings pro oil black, so ill have to make a thread about that somewhere down the road after i end up on some motorcycle rides where it rains alot. Eco flo antiques on the other hand i have had great luck with. I apply my dyes with a cheap kwill paint brush and my antiques with wool daubers. i used to rush alot and that was a downfall, give your dye some time to set. I then rub with 3oz squares of cotton duck, then I then rub with 3oz squares of cotton duck, then I then rub with 3oz squares of cotton duck, then... you get the point. When you find a method that works for you write down the steps you did it in and pin it to the wall above the place you dye your work. Rule #1 should always be "Don't spill the dye!". As far as the order in which you dye your work in the construction process, do what works best for you. I have heard alot of people say that you dye after construction. Not every projects that same, a recent project i went in with that mentality and messed up some high dollar cloth on the inside of a wallet (i guess being careful has something to do with it too) and had to back up and redo the interior.

My prototypes for small items (wallets, coin holders, and such.) are all originally cut from canvas paper. I buy books of it in the painting section of an art supply store, its thick durable, and the scratch awl takes well to the edge of it. its also cheap and easy to store and comes in several different sizes, the only thing i havent used it for is painting. When i buy a book of it i grid it out with a pinstripers grid 1"x1" squares and anytime i come up with an idea i can jump right into templates with a pen.

Same here. Had a Tandy from the Lucky 7 kit and struggled for a few projects then i ordered a medium sized barry king. After seeing the difference i bought 2 more from BK. I was reading up on something in one of my basics books the other day and it mentioned stropping your beveler. Not really sure what the point of this would be other then to remove micro layers of tanning residue that may build up on the beveler but i dont really slide mine its more of a small scale hopping jackhammering.

I graduated college with a degree as a paramedic specialist, after the 3 years of college and some time in the job I had to get out. Through my teens and college years i managed several small pizza shops so thats where i went when i left healthcare. I moved back to my home town with my fiance and got a job working with my dad (fabricator), my uncle (Machinist) and my best friend (skill-less laborer, lol) in a pet food factory. I make great money but being that my grandfather retired from the same factory and so will my dad I am doing everything in my power to not carry on this tradition. My goal is to do custom fabrication for motorcycles and hotrods, I am currently awaiting a local custom car upholsterer to give me the green light to start learning his trade with him, along with my new found love of leather work, pinstriping and lifelong experience in metal fabrication I hope to build something that can be carried on by my family. My fiance and I are getting married next may/june and after that its full on business plan development.

Recently picked up a chunk from Foam for you, Great price, quick delivery. I went with the 2" high density (it says Punching bags or something in the header for this foam) for my shop stool and 2 harley seats im doing, a cheap 10$ electric carving knife works like a charm on it =)

I watched this video a few weeks back (thanks for opening me up to Explosions in the sky). I was thinking about that adhesive thing at work today. It looks like your leather has an adhesive made onto it and you just pealed it of and pressed it to your liner. either way, love your wallets, and the fact that they can take a bullet. Keep up the good work! -Murf

Im not familiar with the method mentioned, even though im looking for a new method i look at it like this, Drawing = 1st draft, I then light box my drawing and go over it with a sharpie fine point = revision 1, Then the transfer = revision 2, and then the knife = revision 3. this gives me alot of experience with the image and it give me a chance to space things and think about the carving and tooling each time i go over it. "will that bevel crash with another", or "ill gap this out more so the back grounding has more area". Question @ cyberthrasher- You mentioned backing your images with packing tape then using a stylus. How wet is you leather when you do this? im reinventing how i transfer and im struggling with the image not enduring the carving session.