panku82

That looks good and before I started learning to draw I found all my outlines online and just adjusted them to fit. Gauging by that color on the fender you have a 2008 Anniversary Edition ( Heritage maybe ?) and the way you did the 2 tone matches well. Good Job!

Really like this and I love the way you used the Veiner to make the scallops over your lace ... really caught my attention. Good job!

Yeah with that thick of a piece it should keep it's shape no problem and wet forming is the way I'd go. I included a side pic so you could see the curve I put in it. As for the braiding once it's started it's just a repetitive pattern the key is to make sure you always keep your lace straight and don't get twists in it. Also, don't try to use too long of a lace. I stick to around a 6' to 7' length and just splice as needed. I use the Tandy Lacing & Stitching book and also recommend the Encyclopedia of Rawhide and Leather Braiding by Bruce Grant. Thank you for the kind comments it is truly appreciated. Have a blessed day and many beautiful projects

Forming it is used a lot and I've done that with a couple bibs but I live in Tx and we get a little hot and I have seen the bib start to curl at the edges if it isn't taken care of properly ( How many people actually will do what we tell em about conditioning it O.o LoL )but I think forming would still probably work with a thicker piece like a 5/6 or 6/7 oz. I used a lighter leather 3/4 so I used a piece of Kydex formed to the fender (which is why you see a couple ripples, still learning to work with that stuff) and then glued (DAP Weldwood) my top and back to that then braided it. It's hard to see but that piece is actually laying completely curved to my fender. Hope that helps explain it a bit better. For your drawing ... Hell I can't draw for crap either just try my best and practice, practice, practice

After the grips I did I decided to learn how to draw celtic style and this is what I came up with for a fender bib.. not perfect but for my first drawing of celtic work on my own ... yeah I think I like it

very nice work!

Thanks JayInOz appreciate it... Yeah I just put them on right over the stock grips and I found on another set I did, that in rain they will slip, so I used DAP Weldwood and put that in the middle 2/3 of the cover and the grip. I don't think these things will move at all

TY all for the kind words. One thing I forgot to mention... this was something totally new to me but I did this with just 3 tools. A Swivel knife, a modeling spoon and a backgrounder... So you don't need a lot of tools to do something kinda fun I guess

Great job ... wish my "first anything" looked that good ... keep at it !

Ty for the kind words and yeah I agree they so look better on ... i just did a super simple x stitch and then added another strand of lace once tied off to do the 4 strand round braid.

Thanks for the nice words. TargetrockLeather here you go ... this is on my Roadking

Thought I 'd give a celtic knot a try. Came out ok I think. These are 4" x 4 1/2" so I made into grip covers for my Harley. Yes, there are 2 of them but I just posted one for file size.

I've not tried forming them yet as I don't have a extra fender (yet, I work at a dealership so maybe I'll get one from the scrap) but I've seen a few here in TX that have curled up ... I presume it's from the heat and drying it out. They obviously weren't kept conditioned properly as well. Ty for the tips Mark842. Ty for the compliment. I put painters tape on the fender then a cloth over that to protect the paint. Remember the Kydex will need gaps cut into it so it can form more easily with a smoother finish. Then I use a heat gun and wear gloves to help form it by hand w/o getting burned too many times anyway O.o

Thanks for the back shot ... excellent work like I said before!

Very nice work! Wish you showed a shot of the back of it as well. Beautiful piece!

Ty for the kind words and glad you like my work. Like you, I'm just learning and I promise, I learn something new everyday! I just started learning a little before you did.

Ty leathermunchkin, the carving itself took most of a day. But I kinda suck at drawing so it took me longer to come up with the design than to carve it

LoL, Alpha are you sure about that?! or do you just remember my seat fiasco O.o BTW I did a new piece to go on my bike its a Fender Bib and is shown in SHOW OFF if you want to see it and Munchkin I recommend the Encyclopedia of Rawhide and Leather braiding, if you want to do braiding of any kind https://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Rawhide-Leather-Braiding-Bruce/dp/0870331612/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1521670554&sr=8-1&keywords=encyclopedia+of+leather+braiding

Welcome to the craft! I haven't been doing this long either so I can definitely empathize with you. This can get confusing and you're going to see a lot of different opinions. Differing opinions doesn't mean they're wrong it's just what works for that individual but there is a TON of useful information here and some of it applies universally. For instance I sure wish I hadn't used Olive oil on a seat then used a water based dye!!!!!! (Yeah I have to remake the seat all over) First you have to know what are you looking to achieve, ie. are you tooling the leather, or making garment style articles. different styles of leatherwork require different tools obviously. You're going to buy tools that you almost never use, it's going to happen (at least at first you won't use them). I started with just a basic Tandy tooling kit and then started adding tools as I got to understand what I was looking to do or how I wanted the piece I was working on to look. I have found I can do a heck of a lot just using basic tools and some creativity. Have fun !

Thanks Dave I appreciate it. The lacing is a Round Braid or Mexican Basketweave. It's called both in the Tandy guide to lacing.

yeah that is exactly why I came up with that idea. that and the edges tend to curl after awhile so I'm trying to prevent that as well. I really like the result I got I used.028 thickness and got it off of Amazon. Here's a link to it ,https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BR38ZS8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 The nice thing about covering it front and back is that your Kydex doesn't have to be pretty

the way I made it was I tried something new with this one. I used Kydex and formed it to my fender then glued the top piece to that and used a pig skin lining on the back. made the lace out of 1/2 veg tanned leather cut at 1/8th in. And Thanks Battlemunky much appreciated!

My latest piece a fender bib for my Roadking. Overall, I'm happy with it but can always use advice.

It looks like you're doing a good job on it all. As far as an adhesive I use DAP Weldwood (It's a red can). I first read about it here on the forums and yeah it works great and it's about all I use now.

lol thanks Rockoboy, it's a struggle for me it honestly is. When I started learning I read a thing that really gave me the patience to keep trying and that was just remember when we started learning our handwriting as kids it wasn't that good but you keep at it and you write better and better. I thought yeah that is true! And then I thought Holy Shit I'm never gonna be very good at drawing if it's anything like my handwriting and I've been doing that for 50+years ...