garypl

I make simple eyeglass cases and everyone really likes them. Basically a piece of folded leather, tooled or not, fold top edge over on the softer cases and stitch. Then stitched on bottom and side and done! Here are a couple of examples.

Received 50 sq ft of leather today from the disrupter sale - nice pieces of lining leather in pieces varying from 1.5 to 3.5 oz. I am very happy with the quality, price and quick service from Springfield Leather! Gary

Nice work Forester! Gary

With the amount of tooling you put into this I think it should sell for at least $600-700

You did a beautiful job on this project. Have you tried filling it up to capacity? Looks like it will stick out from your back about 2-3 feet LOL! Gary

Agree on clean up - I clean my Tandy paint roller in the deep sink using an old toothbrush.

I use the Tandy roller pen and works pretty well. Which type do you prefer? (I guess the screen mesh since that is the one you said you use, but is there much difference in performance?) Gary

This may be true, however once you finish it the person receiving it will likely never notice any small flaws that only you will know are there! Since we see every tiny detail in the creation of our projects we know exactly where we had a hiccup and the reality is that most people will never notice. Look at some of the mass produced items you have purchased and upon clos3 inspection I am certain you will find a few flaws! Gary

I agree about using coasters that do not absorb moisture from a glass - pick up your iced drink and it drips all over you. Now I keep my beverage in a Yeti tumbler and it never sweats, so I don’t use a coaster. Has anyone finished the bottom of a coaster with Resolene or beeswax to keep moisture from soaking through, and left the top surface untreated so it will absorb condensation? Gary

That turned out very nice! Gary

Glad to help!

Betty - I agree completely! I do this as a hobby and I just sold my first commission piece to someone that saw a project that I gave as a gift. He was very happy with the results, but I still worried whether I did a good enough job and felt pressure to finish it sooner because he kept asking me about it. Much more relaxing when I am making things for myself or giving items as unexpected gifts! Gary

On my PC I use a free program called Irfanview. I size photos to 640 x 480 and they will be plenty small to post. On the iPad is use an app called Image Size - works well and I size photos to 800 x 600. Gary

Betty - Mattsbagger has a good suggestion to practice on scrap before finishing your main project. I would also add that you may want to experiment with thinning the paint with distilled water (or regular if you can’t find distilled). It can make the paint easier to apply and extends the amount of paint you have to use. Gary

Nice job Texson! Please provide details on project - leather type and weight, finish, thread size, etc. Gary

I wish the politicians would stop trying to save us from ourselves. Term limits would be nice....

Beautiful job!

Back in the 1950’s my dad kept a razor strop on a nail in the back of a door. It was two pieces - a piece of leather that was probably 11-12 oz sandwiched with a piece of heavy canvas. As I recall, it was @3” x 16” and had a swivel snap on the end. I only remember being swatted with it once - after that, if I was crossing the line too far, all he had to do was get the strap off the hook and at the sound of that swivel hardware rattling as it came off the nail, I immediately would stop misbehaving! I would not use this today, but it taught me to respect authority, something many kids today could use some lessons on.

Ohio Travel Bag has a buckle that looks close to the one in your picture - item C-54-1-2-NP $0.35 each https://ohiotravelbag.com/products/item/9ffaa5b0-0729-4bec-b869-379b4ff68cb4/C-54-1-2-NP

There should be some dealers in Chicago and you are not too far from Toledo Sewing in Ohio. Suggest you call Bob at Toledo and see what he has in stock and also check locally. Good luck! Gary

I have seen the same happen with my CB4500 when thickness of leather changes (like when sewing over a strap) - usually it’s not that noticeable, but I try to watch for it and adjust stitch length when I can.

Love the colors and nice job! Only critique is that the stitching seems to change length in a few areas, but otherwise looks great! Gary

I never use heat with edge paint. I experimented using a pallet knife heated over an alcohol lamp to see how it would smooth the paint. It did work and does melt the paint, but at the end of the day I saw no value to doing it because the edges look good without heat! Play around with some scraps and see what works best for you. Gary

Looks neater than my shop when I am not working on anything! I just went out and bought a new shelving unit and plan to move a lot of stuff from my workbench to the shelves. I am embarassed to show anyone how it looks right now! Gary

I couldn't tell how much taper there was in the handle - again, nice looking sheath! Gary