Regis

In the mail yesterday was the drawing prize from the First Ever Leatherworker.net Carving Contest. In the package was a great modeling spoon and stylus. Both are much nicer and better than what I've been working with and they will see lots of use. Thanks to Jim Linnell and TLF for the prizes. Thank you Johanna and Clay for conducting the contest/drawing. I'm sure looking forward to future carving contests of any kind/type you can come up with. Regis

I am making a molded holster. "Thought I was being smart by dying inside before sewing. and for some reason ( :ranting: ) I used eco black. Dyed fine and dried for 5 days before I got around to molding it. Wet it under sink and dye went everywhere. It ran like,,,,,,,,well, like dye running down the drain. This absolutely convinced me NOT to use the eco dyes on anything that will get very wet. I know it didn't have any protective coating but, for anyting that will get real wet, it would need to "absolutely water proofed". Actually I'm glad I found out now BEFORE my neighbor returned it with dye running down his pants cuz he slipped and got holster soaked. Any suggestions where to go from here? Happens to be on a matched OWB pair of 1911's. Are the holsters just throw-aways? I think so unless someone has sealer or cleanup idea.

:D Looks like it may be up and running. Some of us have suffered withdrawal. I know there is a team of very very tired but dedicated people that are restoring this great community place. Johanna and CitizenKate and others I'm sure. YOU are hero's Regis

Agree - Safety Beveler good and Super Skiver poor. Regis

Pete, Good idea but, not sure how we can make it an easily accessable reference for new folk. I'll start entering didn't work - old cheap leather(seems like bargin); pull type skiver you never used - Skiving knife (Hurst video); Manul sewing "unit" needle/thread/awl in one was worthless - Rotary punch from TLF can't live without - individual hole punches; very sharp angle or filigree blade on swivel knife; modeling tool; optivisor; found a better substitute - heavier mallet didn't work as advertised - black eco-dye must have - propetal; cutting matt; stable/heavy/marble tooling base - I would buy very minimal tools and add only when I could not do some necessary task. - Would buy better quality tool when convinced you will use it a lot. - Buy best leather within your budget from reputable source that offers full refund if not satisfied. - Don't just buy leather, have a purpose and ask for weight & type reccomendations

Glad to have you join Dave. Looks like you are off to a great start.

Thanks BM. I'm a Bick4 user myself Luke, Thanks, I'll tell her to give you a call and try to come by. She's heading back to Memphis tomorrow or the next day. She's pretty unhappy (understatement) with the TLF guy for reccomending rejuvinator. She talked to a lady here that has been repairing leather for 30 years and told her that rejuvinator is a good product but ONLY for dark leathers. And never ever use it on light or white leather. She gave her a cleaner and seperate conditioner (Apple Brand) and I made sure she understands to use it FIRST in small hidden area. By-the-way, I'll probably be in Memphis arround 6/7 January and hope to see you. Regis

That is some fine tooling Pete.

CleverPony, Welcome to the forum. Your 1st ever project is much better than mine was. Looking forward to seeing you gain skill and experience.

JJS, Welcome to leatherworker.net This is a grand place to read, ask, and learn.

I think this is a fine idea for a few folks (maybe hundreds). #3. Patents are important for something that will have high volume or high price. If there is a market for as many as 1,000 of these, you won't have to worry about Chineese or others. If it were 100,000 or million, then you would need to worry about protecting. If this wasn't available and I wanted something to do this, I'd simply take 2 strips of aluminum fastened together in the middle making an "X" with a small eyelet and accurately bend flanges on the ends (to lay against side of strap). The eye would need to have a little play so you could get a sissor action. The eye would always be centered. But, I'd buy one if it was well made and not real expensive.

Merry Christmas and may God graciously bless each and every one of you throughout the year. Regis

Chuck, Glad to have you join and looking forward to seeing some of your carving.

That's a nice group of gifts. Look pretty good to me and recipients will be pleased.

John, Last I was there was probably 1961 and it seems we hunted just off 119 and went in through an apple orchard. Hunting buddy of mine was related to the guy with the apple orchard. But, that's about all I remember. That was the close-to-home place, otherwise, up around Bradford & Waren County. Regis

Welcome John. Glad to have you join. I grew up in Irwin and hunted deer not far from your area in the late 50's

Hi Ken-First, let's get Rege off the hook here. I live in a different city and didn't consult with him, only TLF, prior to using the product. Thanks for the info. I'll try the Armour All Cleaner. TLF seems to think the discoloration is from oils in the previous owners skin. I just didn't realize it would turn black when I used the rejuvenator. Oh...and the strip of black turned that way as soon as the rejuvenator touched the leather.

Luke, That is quite a dramatic design. I like it.

Jeff, Glad to have another experienced leatherworker to help guide those of us that struggle along. Good looking holster. Is there a belt clip or loop on the back of the clip & flashlight cases? Regis

I'll let my daughter explain her car problem. Hopefully, someone can help her. Thanks, Regis TLF suggested Dr Jackson's Hide Rejuvenator. Hi all-The leather in my car is ecru (ivory color) and it was lighter in areas, like the arm rest. TLF said it needed cleaning and they suggested the above solution. I rubbed the rejuvenator in all over the seats/arm rest and many places (particularly the arm rest) got really dark...almost black. No matter how much rejuvenator I put on, it's not getting back to ivory color. (still dark) Any suggestions? Thanks, Karen

Patrice & others. Don't be toooo discouraged because I just discovered that the oak leaves in my yard even look bad compared to Jim's. Even tossing in a few acorns and arranging in nice display, the leaves in my yard are flat and uneven.

Clay, This deadline issue is not so important but, by the same token, some will find reason to miss the next one and some will miss every deadline. Why not ask how many will "commit" to an entry if you delay 15 or 30 days? For future ones, I like Scouter's idea of shorter deadlines (when the subject is reletively simple). Then, you either jump in and patrticipate, or not. I tooled mine on odd shaped scraps of leather. And after reading some of the discussion here and other posts, I think I should have at least faded out to some type edge or frame or toward some end product. I think this is great experience especially for those of us that have never submitted work into any guild or show. Competition grows every participant's skill and knowledge (even the big kids). And, this was a good way to start the ball rolling reguardless of the particular deadline or prizes. I looked forward to seeing the various designs and tooling as well as how mine compared (on the same subject).

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It is a hand operation. If you haven't done this before, it is very important that the tap is perpendicular (90 Degrees) left to right and front to back. Remember pipe threads are different than bolt threads so be sure you get the correct thread as well as diameter. Use some kind of oil and turn the tap about a half and back up a quarter. Keep doing that until you complete. Typically the tap is slightly smaller at end so you have to go a little farther than just barely through. When you buy the tap, be sure to check the exact size drill bit to use. Close or eyeballing is not good enough. Be sure to clamp in vice to drill because any wobble will mess up your threading. So, now I've told you all the mistakes I've made tapping.

One design I created for the oakleaf exercise/contest took me a bit beyond. I tried to show a leaf limply draped over a branch. It seemed as though I could show the immediate arch over the branch BUT, could not get back down or fade to somewhat flat surface. Does anyone have any examples or tips on how fade an object like this that also has its own features. I would like to use this look in various places if I can learn to taper/fade within an object. Thanks, Regis