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Hi superpacker you might want to try Springfield leather they sell pieces of leather by the square foot. This will give you a start as in what to look for http://springfieldleather.com/32557/Piece%2CHermann-Oak%2C3-4oz12%22x12%22/ it is more expensive to buy leather this way longterm but for starting it will do what you need 3-4oz will be fine for what you want to make, that picture actually looks more like 3-4 oz to me. Tooling leather is plain vegetable tanned leather that can be carved or stamped upon ie it has had no oil or finish added to it yet,it's what the majority of members use here.

I originally used Angelus dyes but couldn't handle the ethanol smell of them, then swapped to craftsha Japanese waterbased dye they had some nice colours as well but the penetration of the dye through the leather wasn't that good for some leather so I now use the Fiebings Oil dye and I really like it. I can handle the smell of these but to be on the safe side I purchased a Artograph spraybooth through ebay and it works great. I had to purchase a voltage convertor to get it to run properly but I wouldn't be without it now no more having to wear a mask or having a spray cloud above me. They do a couple of sizes, i've got the bigger one best price for me was off ebay due to the shipping cost.

Thanks Tina, thankfully my local store has it in as I didn't fancy the delivery hassle with the Christmas rush going on.

Hi Tina, just wondering do these turn the leather a different colour afterwards as all the liquid latex I've been able to get in Australia tends to turn the leather a light grey which is okay if I'm using dark dye but a pain if I want to keep parts natural. I've tried removing the grey stain with oxalic acid but it won't budge, I have a feeling it's to do with the amnonia content as it occurs on all the leather I've tried e.g Herman Oak. South American, Australian and European. My local art supply store carries W&N stuff so hopefully they have it or can get it in if it doesn't do the colour change thing. Thank you for your help

In agreement, this place generally has a good reputation for all things leather talk but it won't stay this way if this kind of stuff keeps up there is no need to be posting links of other people work to be picked apart.

For anyone one else that may need to ship to Australia in the future here is our government page that outlines what you have to do http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page4369.asp#e1055 and http://www.environment.gov.au/topics/biodiversity/wildlife-trade/wildlife-trade-permits-and-forms#need and specific CITES information http://www.environment.gov.au/topics/biodiversity/wildlife-trade/internationally-endangered-plants-and-animals-cites/cites-species Make sure that both you and your customers are aware of the requirements as this is taken very seriously by the authorities here.

I know the thread on here you mean that was actually from a few years ago, there has been a few threads recently about tiger,if you do a search for tiger thread they should come up. I don't use nylon a lot the 3 ply I've got is 415 and is about 0.8mm, my digital calipers need a new battery so I can't give you an exact thickness.I mainly use 1mm and 1.2 mm Tiger for what I do 0.8 will be fine for most things. I tend to do heavier stuff so like thicker thread. Tiger thread can be bought in America from Windmill English Saddle Supply, I am unsure as to what colours they stock though as I buy from Abbey England. After you have tried your sample and if you like it it's more economical to buy it in the rolls. Tiger/Ritza 25 thread is for hand sewing if you want to do machine sewing you need the Ritza 44 which is also available from Abbey.

I'm reading your message as a cutting die, would that be right if so round ones can sometimes be found on Ebay. If you can't find what you want there, I had some mallet dies made by Texas Custom Dies http://www.texascustomdies.com/ very good quality and a pleasure to deal with. My seven handle dies range in size from one inch to seven inches long I mostly cut 3-4oz leather. They can get very busy at times though but the wait is worth it.

You might be hit up up for customs fees for kangaroo skins going into the US so it might not work out cheaper,look into it before purchasing anything from Australia.

I haven't ordered from them since they stopped the online form for wholesale, too much of a hassle for me. I got asked to fax, email or leave details on answering machine of my credit card number pffft no way I'm doing that.

For manual clickers in the style your after there is only Weaver and Lucris. There is a pull down style it's not designed for thick leather but for vinyl and if you are doing small things it could be suitable it's available from here http://www.buttonmakers.net/product_info.php?cPath=&products_id=851 I've never used it so can't say what it is like, there was a thread here about it awhile ago but as the person wanted to use thickish leather it wasn't recommended from members here, perhaps contact buttonmakers they would be able to give a better idea if would be suitable or not for what you want to do.

I've dyed braided polyester thread with no problems sealing the thread with wax will help with leeching, some of the stuff I have done is coming up to nine years old and there has been no colour shift or leeching I only make decorative items though. But what Aaron and Dwight said will no doubt come up with stuff that is flexed a lot, if you are making belts, wallets, bags with flaps etc I would try and find the colours you want already done or if you do want to experiment use linen which can be easily dyed.

Yep if possible pics of leather stuff from over there would be very cool.

Looks great Cheryl, well done

I have both, electrathon is right go for 1.2mm in Tiger if you want the same look.

What kind of leather are you wanting, if it's veg tan it's a long process anyway whether a large tannery does it or somewhere small. For chrome tan I'd expect the local taxidermist isn't going to be set up for it. That type of tannage still takes 4 - 6 weeks and for small runs your likely to be at the back of the line. "To order some of these colors by themselves is cost prohibitive" this says it all it will be cost prohibtive for the tannery or knowledgable taxidermist as well and so they would be very reluctant to take this sort of thing on. To begin with you are probably better off buying ready made it's not going to be any cheaper supplying your own hides as it's going to be negated by the tannery having to set up for such a small run even if you can find someone to do it. You don't say where you and what you want to make if you can supply that information we might be able to help you with a bit more information.

When Leather Direct was in Perth city, Paul told me about someone doing fish leather didn't give me the name though so I completely forgot about it could be the same place. Might have to look into it as I've wanted to try something with an inlay for awhile and snake skin gives me the heebie jeebies.

I find it cool you did the whole process as well Texaslady well done. If anyone else wants to have a go with fish leather and doesn't want to do it themself heres a place that sells it http://www.sealeatherwear.com/ I haven't used it but they have been advertising in the PSLAC magazine for a number of years and I'm sure there was article about them as well in one of the mags.

Not yet, I plan to once I've used this lot of Hermann Oak up with the Aussie dollar on the decline it's probably going to get too expensive for me to bring as much in. I'm sure someone on the forum has used it though, might of been leatheroo.

The Leather Conservation Centre did some research on red rot an article on it can be found here http://www.leatherconservation.org/treatment-for-acid-deterioration-leather/ DJ, have you looked into Greenhalgh Tannery in Australia http://www.gretannery.com.au/ they still vegetable tan and it might be a bit cheaper postage wise than from America.

Yes, Yes and how I was shown to do it, this piece was done in the middle of summer in the midday sun for about 20 mins,the sun in Western Australia is very harsh in summer so it doesn't need to be out there that long. Oiling afterwards replenishes the oils in the leather.

Now that is cool, sweet looking ride as well.

I can't remember exactly but I think Paul Cunningham (leatherhead sports) could have some sort of IP thing going on with the lemonball so I would be carefull if you want to sell them. He was also a member here at one time. If you don't want to pull old baseballs apart cores can be found here http://www.widgetco.com/cork-balls they are wrapped in string and dipped in a latex adhesive mix. There are some videos on Youtube showing the process mostly for cricket balls but it's the same principle for baseballs.

Sugru is more like a silicone rubber alternative, if you want something that sets hard that has a longer working time there is Magic Sculp and Aves Apoxie Sculpt. I've used the Aves stuff quite a lot comes in a few different colours which has been handy at times.

Neatsfoot oiling for that tan look works best on the more russet coloured leather like HO and the leather from Greenhalgh tannery in Australia. On the imported light coloured stuff it goes more a muddy light brown. The pic for my avatar is HO and has only had Neatsfoot oil applied after been suntanned for a little while in sun.