leatheroo

thanks clair...i quite like the birdsall dyes.

I received the sad news this morning that Australia has lost one of its finest saddle makers and craftsman. Merv Rowland passed away on 22 October 2010. I had the honour of taking some classes with him at the Dimensions in Leather conference and he was the ultimate gentleman. He was so happy to pass on his skills and the amount of knowledge he had was astounding. I will always laugh when i remember his favorite saying when talking about bad quality tools..."there're not worth spit" Our thoughts are with his family.

thanks clair

i think they were hopping around my backyard last month...lol...they look beautiful...who did you get them from??

nice work...now we need some closeups!!!

nice work

excellent, love this style with the exposed rivets

I wanted to try something with a bit more detail, but i am a bit limited by the number of tools i have, or i should say don't have. Anyway, i managed to create this with three barry king bevellers and peter mains modelling tool. I realise i need some much smaller bevelers...so time to start saving!!!!

stunning!!!!!

nice work, i like the skull the best cheers

I just found a picture of my seat on the finished custom trike!!!!! Trike made by http://www.gworkscustomcycles.com.au/

Hi Desib, i have never had the problem of tannins leaching out of the leather. However, to make and mold a mask, the leather is first soaked in warm water for about 30 seconds and the water ends up a brown color. After molding and drying i then airbrush without any sealers. I used to water down the acrylics, but i found the color was a bit washed out. I have just started to dilute with spirits (metho)and find this works well. However when you mix with spirits there is some sludge at the bottom so i only use the liquid that sits at the top otherwise the airbrush blocks up. How much to dilute will be a bit of trial and error depending on what airbrush you have. I use Jo Sonja's acrylics....great colors and a very good price...the cheapest price i have found is from Spotlight. Lumiere is also very good, but very expensive but they have some beautiful pearlescents and metalics. Cheers

I havent made a mask in a while, so i thought i would make a small girly mask. Made from 1.5mm veg tanned leather, airbrushed with acrylics. It started out as a full faced mask but when i was cutting out the eye holes, the scalpel slipped....so i had to cut away that section and decided to go with a two piece creation. Modelled by my daughter. cheers caroline

excellent work, very original design, love the way it wraps around the tank

well i like skulls and i really like your seat. Nice carving and lacing. I have shop envy as well...nice working space

There were four layers of leather..three were about 2.5mm thick and then on the bottom i stuck a very thin layer of soft sheep skin leather to protect the tank. The top two were veg tan and the main biggest piece was a piece of leather that i had that looked like veg tan but was a bit softer and would mould to the tank shape. To protect it i used first neatsfoot oil followed by Renaissance wax which is mainly beeswax and then sprayed the whole thing with a spray craft gloss. cheers

thanks everyone....here is the strap fitted.

stunning work bevan!!!!

i braided the ones i have had to do....

hey tom, i have been using jo sonja's acrylic paints and find them to be excellent quality. I also had the problem of watering down to get it thru the airbrush. My last project i thinned the paint with some spirits instead of water...it worked really well........ i think the spirits evaporate and the leather doesnt get as wet.

The glue i use is called Kiwi grip....i find it SUPER strong, maybe what you call contact cement is a different product where you live. This stuff is spread on both layers and then when it is nearly dry, both pieces are pressed together. Cant help with the stitching.... i have never stitched a mask good luck

Here is a tank strap that i was asked to make for a customer who had a sterling silver feather that he wanted incorporated into the design. He wanted it framed and set down a bit. I used three layers of leather, roo lacing, black dye and the bronze is acrylic that i airbrushed on. The customer lives about 1000km away, so i only had his measurements and photos to use. It will sit under the tank console and the bottom will go under the seat. I hope the bronze is a good match.....i have just posted it and hope he will send me a pic when it is fitted. cheers caroline

Mostly for fancy dress parties...... this one just hangs on my wall cheers