Sluggo001

i read this on another post awhile back. TSC sells rubber horse stall mat. 4X6 for $39.99

Restaurant supply places are good sources of poly cutting boards

Have you tried heat setting your paint with a blow dryer? That's what I do. Then, I apply 50/50 Resolene in several thin coats. There are additives you can use that are meant for making acrylic paint permanent on fabrics that are machine washed

I use a leather bag of shot.

Bob is correct. Resolene is OK for oil dyes, not water-based dyes.

I think you've gotten a bad can. I use high tack and low tack for all kinds of projects. Never had that happen. Don't clean the spray head- turn the can upside down and let the propellant blow the remaining glue out.

I make a lot of boxes with mitered and sewn corners. I normally make wooden forms to wet-mold them to perfect squares. I make different sizes and I got sick of pulling out the table saw. I found something better. Target has a version of the Jenga game...small identical wooden blocks. I creatively place them inside and make it tight with scrap leather. Another benefit is that they aren't as difficult to remove as a form. Remove one from the center and they all come out easily. I told my wife I'm an genius...she's still skeptical.

Slick is correct. Push the awl through until you see just the tiniest bit of the tip. if it's not where is should be- adjust. Stitches made through a bigger hole look better than stitches that wander up and down out of the stitching groove. Until you get better, it may help if you start the backside hole with your awl and when you use the awl from the front...most of the time, it finds the backside hole.

I like to protect the paint from wear. I use a acrylic matt medium over the paint as a top coat and 50/50 resolene over the entire piece as a finish.

That looks like a "painted" finish with hot foil embossing. Bicast leather (also known as bycast leather, split leather or PU leather) is a split leather with a layer of polyurethane applied to the surface and then embossed. I think it's the poly thats cracked. It's going to be difficult to remove the finish without removing the embossing. If the finish is still firmly attached, you may be able to color match and fill the cracks. I wish it were mine, I'd love a crack at restoring it...well bought.

IMO, Tandy skiver blades get very dull, very, very quickly. In my experience, in 8-9oz, it's two or three passes.

Thanks!

Never lined a belt with pigskin. Which side should be exposed...the flesh or the grain?

I have a large Torino leather upholstery skin that has a obvious fold line in the center. Can anything be done to remedy it?

I finally have enough experience to contribute! This is what worked for me....dampen it SLIGHTLY and roll it in the opposite direction. If you want it perfectly flat, put weight on it and let it dry.

4 layer edges

When would I apply Resolene ? After I burnish with saddle soap and before I burnish edges with wax, or after the wax? The wax wouldn't let the Resolene penetrate would it, and vice versa. It's an item the may get wet, should I just use neat lac instead, as the last step?

Nevermind, I found out that it's an all-in-one stain and finish. I'm moving on to oil dyes.

Whats the difference between these three? Also, I'm graduating (only took a month) to dyes from Eco flow. Correct me if I'm wrong, I think the steps are: oil, dye (Fiebing), and one of the three. I think I,ve read that some use Neatlac after oiling for more blended dyeing results Can I get a recommendation on which one I should be using for something that may be out in weather. As always, thanks for your support!

I'm using eco-flow fudge brown and the directions say " apply with cloth". When I try that it doesn't get into the tooling. Then when I tried to reapply to get the tooling I get dark spots. The next time I tried a swab. It did a fine job in the tooling,on the smooth surfaces I got a great effect....if you like a woodgrain pattern. Should I be prepping the surface, or throwing this stuff out and using an oil?