BDAZ

You can get a used but reconditioned and sharpened punch from Bruce Johnson for $35. $35 - $10 = $25 net cost, add in the cost of your time and the fact that you still have a saw blade instead of a quality US made Osborne punch.... Not a good deal IMHO. Bob

I was playing at an Old Time Gathering in Centralia last summer. Slusher has 90,000 authentic Hawaiian shirts and at least 5,000 in the store. I bought 10! Bob

Actually the hides were cut into long straps 1", 2" and 3" wide by 12 feet, stitched and decorated and hung in an upmarket hipster bar. Bob

I just completed a project that required 2 full bison hides and days of machine stitching. I usually work in 5-6 oz vegtan, so this was very different. The leather is very supple. The client was very pleased with the results. Machine should work like a champ. Bob

Maybe I am just lame but I don't understand why you would use any tanned leather for a teether. I would be afraid of all sorts of nasty contaminants. Drum dyed vegtan stamps very well when cased (dampened) with just a standard press and stamps, including alphabet stamps for initials and smaller type sets for full names. I assume you could blind stamp custom letter sets. Your business model makes no sense to me since you are producing custom items. I use an arbor press and off the shelf alphabet sets to produce custom items. I also use non toxic acrylic paint if I need to enhance the impressions. The strap below was a test done some years ago to test the durability of the Acrylic paint. It's absolutely pristine after years of heavy use on my banjo. Not sure how well the paint would hold up in a kids mouth though. Bob

I have both a snap/rivet setter and a 2 Ton Arbor press. IMHO it's not a practical solution as you have to have both parts of the system machines and they have to be perfectly aligned. A PIA, especially when the press is already set up. Then you have to change dies for the other side of the snap. For $69 you can get a press and 1 set of dies with $.99 shipping from: https://goldstartool.com/heavy-duty-press-for-grommets-snaps-buttons-rivets-die-set.html Around here it would cost more than that to have the parts made and machined. I use my Goldstar press almost daily and when not being used it sits on a shelf. I use the 2 Ton (my 1 ton was insufficient) for 3D stamping, small custom plates and maker's mark as well as punches and smaller custom dies. I have a 12 ton for larger items. Bob

I bought a belt with a Zuni buckle around 1980 when I was in Phoenix on business. I went up to Jerome, a decaying mining town at the time, to play some music and found a store selling turquoise stuff out in the middle of nowhere. Around 2013, the belt, an embossed western belt and worn daily, was done, and I tried to find a decent replacement. Because the original belt was 1 1/4" I was not able to find one off the shelf, so I went down to Tandy (Broadway store) and asked if they knew anyone that could make one and how much.. They said I'd bee looking at $200 plus for a custom, carved belt but they showed me a kit for $60 and that was the start of a long slippery slope. I next made a wallet which I still use daily. After hand stitching a few belts I ordered a CB 3200 and the rest is history. I started making musical instrument cases and instrument straps and now produce semi custom items on a wholesale basis and have shipped items to over 20 countries world wide. I was a former competitive handgunner but decided that market was saturated. I did design, what I think is the most practical pocket holster, custom made for the pocket, but I have only made them for friends. I am afraid of liability issues. I am also getting work with local architects decorating new bars and offices. I have pretty much converted my house to a workshop, the dining room is now a cutting room with a custom table with leather storage, the family room is loaded with benches and tools including 3 presses, and a bunch of other bench power tools. I still have other businesses so this is a part time venture, but I am usually backed up with orders. I definitely want to get back to carving. Below is the first step on that long slippery slope: Bob Ever been to Slushers rare coin?? One of my favorite stores in the whole world! Bob

Well maybe a more palatable stance is that one is art and one is Fine Art. Anyone who would put a Keen in the same plane as Rembrandt is either ignorant or on drugs...really good drugs! Bob

Thanks to all. This is primarily for stamping and embossing production work. I trim top and bottom to the exact size, stamp or emboss the top and then tape and stitch the top to bottom. I need to eliminate the stretch in the top , which requires additional trimming once top is attached to bottom and prior to grooving and stitching. I've used backing for carving years ago, but forgot all about it. I will try 3M packing tape and I recently acquired some 3" paper seam tape. Gluing is too time consuming and messy for production work. I'll do some tests today and report back. Most of my leather is 5-6 oz and wetformed. Thanks! Bob Update: I tested the paper seam tape, 3M Packing tape and a control with no backing against unembossed leather and the results are inconclusive. I used a 1 inch strip of drum dyed Wicket and Craig through my Speedy embosser and there was very little difference. The Paper tape was marginally better and removed a bit more easily with better results on the flesh side, than the 3M. It is not worth the hassle for 1" embossed straps, which I make often but width is not critical. I will try both on my next production run which should produce more obvious differences. Thanks, Bob

Very nice! Thanks for posting the others. Bob

What do folks use for temporary backing for preventing stretch during carving/stamping/embossing of cased leather? Most of my work is < 3" wide and includes belts, straps and long narrow cases. Thanks! Bob

Should have said the disk was gued inside and flush to the bottom. I tend to go with the easiest method requiring the least amount of time.

A lot of it has to do with the unavailability of more work from the artist. Most of the music artists you refer to (I worked for Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix in the 60s) didn't commit suicide, they OD'd, victims of their lifestyle. The few that have hung in there like Jager, deserve it. Bob

I don't have any other photographs. It's been years since I made this one off. If I remember right I cut the cylinder leather, decorated and dyed it, then stitched top and bottom and then cross stitched the back. I cut a disk out of 12oz skirting, dyed it black and glued it to the bass of the cup. The cup is still in use daily at the sushi bar. Hope that helps.

I know the feeling! I usually do runs of 24 but do them in stages and NO CARVING. Would reduce my income to $.50 an hour! I have had clicker dies and embossing plates made including logos of my customers. I try to keep total time to <1 hour plus trying times. I have two drying cycles, one casing and the the other wet forming. Usually pretty quick in 30C 5% humidity. Materials are $<20. I bill at around +- $100 for singles and less 25% for wholesale. Bob

A bit like leather carving? Bob

Fame is overrated. Most artists don't become famous until they are dead. Where in Tucson are you? Bob

I only use it for straight lines and where I have curved areas I glue a bead between the taped seams.

I dropped it when I moved back to the States. Something just wrong about shooting under a clear blue sky in California is shorts, and a t-shirt. I missed the Hunters, Barbours, bacon butty made by the farmers the frost and the drizzle. It was out corporate sport, instead of golf, and my boss had a pair of matched Purdys which cost more than my house in Berkshire. Bob

I only use it for machine stitching where it works like magic. There are other types which may work better with hand stitching. One I also use is a red (release paper) tape and is more rubbery. It is also very strong but more expensive than the Tandy tape.

I gave up using almost all glue a couple of years ago. I do production work of 10 to 20 pieces at a time. I make an instrument case that is approx 3" x 20" and I would often get glue on the edges or smeared on the grain side. If I had to line the cases with suede, I used a spray adhesive outside and that was also a mess, and then when windy everything stuck together. First for holding top to bottom for stitching I use double sided tape from Tandy, although there are other, better available on Amazon. You apply to the edge of one piece and then you can remove the release paper as you position the second on top. Some of my cases go a yard long so this is a useful feature. If I am lining with fabric, I use acetone to clean the edges of the fabric to promote adhesion of the tape. Another trick is I use HeatnBond to laminate linings to heavier leather. It's available at Walmart, Michaels and all fabric stores. I use a t-shirt press (an Iron works well for smaller items) and have cut my "gluing" time on a case from 1/2 hour to less than a minute. I have not had a single problem with hundreds of items delivered. It hold as well or better than most cements and glues. I still use a drop of glue here and there for touch ups. Bob

Nice stuff! Here's an idea for you: I made this for my local sushi bar to hold their pencils. I assume they are as numerous as they are here. They wanted more but it's not really what I do for $$. It says Sushi in Japanese. BTW I transfer the design which is printed in reverse on a laser printer. I then tape it to the leather, toner side down, saturate the paper with acetone and then run over it with a creaser. And Bob's your uncle!

Unfortunately this is the US legal system and just wouldn't be practical. I used to live in the UK and it's a completely different kettle of fish here. Even if you win, it's unlikely you will collect unless you have a lawyer and that costs more than the jobs worth. Been watching "Can't pay, we'll take it away" and it would never work like that here. BTW I was an avid Sporting Clay shooter and occasionally won the club trophy at the Christmas Common club near Oxford. I was out every Saturday and Sunday and have a custom Winchester of which only 500 were made for the UK market. I took lessons at H&H. Cheers! Bob

Super bags, elegant, bullet proof and very salable. Great idea and a very nice meld of the waxed cotton and harness leather. Bob

The actual percentages are a "trade secret" in all MSDS and SDS documents. I believe that the reporting requirements may have changed in the past few years. and that could be the reason it seems to have disappeared. I'd check but it's probably not worth it. I discovered the Ethyl Acetate component on a RECENT document listing products containing EA, but with no percentages given. I formulated a biobased solvent which had just 3% of a specific chemical which made a dramatic difference to the performance of the solvent in removing layers of lead paint. So it's hard to tell the impact of adding a small amount of a chemical on the final efficacy without being familiar with the chemistry, which I am not. I think at this point, let's see what develops or dissolves.. Bob