Halitech

If you are nervous about using an awl by hand, get an awl blade, put it in your drill press but do not turn it on. Use a stitching wheel to mark your hole locations. Put a piece of cork board on the drill press bed, put your leather down, then use the drill to punch (not drill) your holes. Just make sure you put a slight angle to the holes to make them look right. Also, make sure you use a good quality glue and let it dry first. Is the above proper use? No but at least you end up with the right shape holes and they will go straight through

I mixed up the 2 types, full grain is untouched, your basic veg tanned leather, top grain has been sanded and a top coat added. I meant full grain when speaking above., sorry for the confusion. Yeah, top grain probably would look cheaper and wouldn't develop that natural aged patina like full grain would but full grain will develop a patina as well.

welcome to the addiction lol That punch shows what quality is all about and I bet if it could talk it would have some real stories to tell. Treasure it and I bet your grandfather is smiling down on you as you start your leather crafting journey

I do all my belts from top grain veg tanned leather and no one has ever said they look cheap. Personally, I like the look and feel of a top grain belt as I know it's not going to break unlike the "top end" belts you buy at wally world. The only difference between regular veg tanned and English bridle (from what I understand) is that English bridle is dyed and finished after it's tanned but both are tanned in the same way. It all depends on what you consider "classy" and what you consider cheap looking.

I think I've got some of the same stuff and I agree, it's pretty stiff stuff. I made a wallet out a piece and even after 6-8 months in my back pocket, it's still pretty stiff. It has softened some but I think it's just the nature of the leather.

I started out on an old kitchen table then moved to my old military desk when I moved house. I picked up a sheet of 2x4 3/4" mdf and started making tool racks. I keep scraps and dyes and stuff in totes under it. I try and keep it clean but seems everything ends up getting tossed to the right hand side of the desk :/

hard to say on the type of lace they used, probably roo but could also be kodiak. Far as how it's done, looks like a basic whip stitch done from the middle to me on both sides

really nice. you did a really nice job with the meander around the edge

http://www.fineleatherworking.com/leather-electric-creaser

no because the dye will soak in but it won't protect the edge or give it smooth finish

without seeing the edges, it's hard to tell for sure but I would say it looks like 3 pieces. Depending on the look you want, you can also skive down the pieces you cut out, trimmed them a bit and put them behind the inlay pieces so the inlay is the same height as the top layer.

goat and sheep skin, really any chrome tanned based leather, aren't going to burnish well. Use edge paint as thefanninator mentioned or you will have to get a heat sealer to burnish them.

I agree with the rest, beautiful work. Only 2 minor things is on the bible cover, I'd move your makers mark down almost into the corner between the leaf and the spine piece and as jt said, don't go through your makers mark, stop at the edge.

I usually go with the thickest piece of leather so if I'm joining an 8oz (3.2mm) and a 6oz (2.4mm) then I will go in 3mm On the bottom right where your stitch line ends, you should stop your stitch grove as well. And on the upper right where you start, continue into the single layer, it will help prevent tearing on that corner.

I've used some dark stains with a resist then antique before and what does get enhanced are the tooling and carvings. The dark antique gets caught in the tooling and does make it pop more. Obviously if you use really dark brown or black then yes, the antique will have minimal effect

I use super shene as a resist all the time but you need to put on at least 2 coats and let it dry a day between coats and then a day before you do the antique. If you don't, you end up with it staining pretty much everything. Tandy used to have a resist product but I haven't been able to find it in ages and it was a true resist.

Check out this tutorial http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=54776&page=1 What I do is cut my pockets then on each end is mark a line 1/2" from the top and 1/2" from the side and then cut it out so you end up with a fat T. Then sew along the bottom and the remaining edge.

you are right and the fact that he likes it, you like and you did a good job putting it all together are the main things, not if anyone else likes the color combination

Looks great and I'm guessing machine stitched? I like the design but I'll admit the blue accent pieces with that color for the main body aren't something I'd go with for myself but if the customer is happy, that's the main thing.

Looks really good. You did a good job of keeping your stitching straight and even from the edges. The color looks really nice. The letters do look off but the wallet is also not completely level in the pic which is probably making it look like they are off. 1 suggestion, and not to say you did anything wrong with the way you did this one, but to cut down on the bulk on the edges, if you cut the inner pockets into a T shape, it will give you less to sew through. Will make it easier to punch and line up your stitch line.

Nice work on the stamping. See a few spots where you got off a bit but nothing major. Use a sponge to apply some EVOO or neatsfoot oil to the inside of the flap, it will help soften it a bit. And don't take this as a criticism against you because it's not but you can tell it's a tandy kit because of the size of the holes both for the lacing and especially the stitching, both of which make it hard to get things snugged up properly.

did a second one just because I was sitting here trying to figure out how to make this style. It's basically the tandy style they sell for 40.00+. I figure there might be 10.00 worth of leather at most. I used the chestnut all in one to stain it (and my fingers) and lined it with felt just because I couldn't see using stick on velcro to keep it closed so I wanted something to cover the snap head on the inside.

one thing that will help is getting the Horse Tack Accessory pack from tandy. It's 3.99 for the download and you can print it off as many times as you need. You'll probably find they are using a 1" strap as opposed to 3/4". May not seem like much, but you'll probably find that 1/4" makes a world of difference

Thanks everyone, now hopefully I can sell it and make some money

I have the Fenice edge coat and it doesn't have a warning about freezing but if the bottle says do not freeze, then I would let Amazon know and get it replaced. It may be a difference between Fenice and Fiebings on freezing but chances are, the freezing didn't do it any good.