MikeG

I wind bobbins with an electric drill and a nut & bolt through the bobbin. Here's a neat idea I might try as it is much more elegant and I have the bits:

A great idea and well executed. It's a beautiful satchel. How long have you been doing leatherwork? If it's just a year, you're a very quick learner!

Very nice looking, but I wish your pictures were larger (or my old eyes were better)!

Very nice set! Will you please show a picture of the bottom? Is that a tie down? The sheath and the knife are both beautiful.

Nice arrangement!

Does this help any? http://stormdrane.blogspot.com/2010/02/ringbolt-hitched-paracord-bracelet.html

Cheryl - Fun items! The Stohlman's had a book of coin purses - I have no idea if they would sell, but it's a thought. I could send you some pictures if you like. -- Mike

The treasure chest is very cool - can we see the inside?

I went by Coey Tanners in Wartrace - They have lots of deer and elk hide. I picked up a piece of white #1 deerskin for $3.25/sf. They had tons of deer in natural and white, looked to me to be good high quality. Nice folks, they do not do any veg-tan; they used to do rawhide but don't anymore. (They used to send it to Tennessee Tanning to dry it). Aside from deer and elk, they have glove-tan pig and cow. I also picked up a "Saddle Tuff - pig" hide for $1.65/sf. They did not have any latigo leather. He told me they were in a low period but if I come back in January they will have a full warehouse. Phone is 931-389-6423 website: http://www.coeytanning.com/

I saw a post recently describing new patterns and a kit from Springfield Leather: http://leatherworker... +leather +deal I ordered the kit to try and get myself back in the leather game. I wanted to be able to use my No. 9 stitcher, but the gusset turned out to be WAY too small. I try not to do too much handstitching due to arthritic hands. Here's the finished bag with some impressions: The kit included a front piece, back piece, front pocket, rear pocket, an optional front pocket that I used, an optional rear pocket I did not use, and the gussets and straps. Construction required overlapping the front and back pieces and stitching across 4 layers at the bottom. When the gusset is added, that's 5 layers. I'm sure that allows getting more pieces from a hide, but 2 long pieces will make a prettier bag if I do another. I tried to machine stitch the bag, even though the instructions said I couldn't -- they were right. I ended up removing the gussets, laying the bag out flat, and then using the machine without thread to punch the holes through the bag. I then glued the gussets back in place, then used the stitching awl to go through the prepunched holes in the bag and only one layer of leather in the gusset. It worked fairly well. Another post gave a hint from Will Ghormley on using a dowel as a backup for the awl: http://leatherworker...hing#entry75322 I liked his idea and so I took a wooden mallet - does anybody really ever use these for anything? -- and sanded it down so I would have a long straight backing, the end of the mallet head, and the mallet handle to use to back the leather. Coated it with beeswax and it worked great for both the long runs and the tight gusset! The kit was fun, everybody seems to like it. I think I'll probably do another with some changes. I won't use light colored thread on the next one, either - I think it takes away from the vintage look. I'm also not entirely sure of the flap and whether it could use some type of fasterner. Thanks for looking! -- Mike

"Tennessee Tannery" brings up a bunch of different results. I'm off today and am going to try and visit Coey Tannery in Wartrace and Tullahoma Tannery in Tullahoma, both of which are within 30 miles of me. Buffalo Creek Tannery looks interesting as they do custom tanning of hides you provide, but they are 4-1/2 hours away from me. I'll let you know if I am successful visiting and what they tell me about direct purchasing. -- Mike

I googled them but didn't find them. Coey tannery is just up the road from me, but sells through Legacy Leather in Wisconsin. Tanning seems to have a strange business model.

TXAG, I have done some paracord work with globe knots and turks head knots (Wait - don't shoot yet!). I have found two books/kits that you might find useful -- the Globe Knot Cookbook and the Turk's Head Cookbook by Don Burrhus. These include cylindrical pvc templates and directions for a multitude of knots. Don essentially figured out how to make a flat diagram into a tool. You can see his kits and descriptions at knottool.com. As a side note - I have tried some of this work in leather, but my problem always has been how to handle the ends. With paracord I can tuck them under and melt the ends so they won't come undone. I guess I need to start lurking the braiding forum and try to get some hints from you guys. Leather has just so much more class. Cheers, -- Mike

Get a copy of Al Stohlman's "Art of Making Leather Cases." Get into a couple of classes at the Tandy store. Don't know where you are, but there might be a guild nearby where you can learn. My finding - good leather is expensive; cheaper leather is harder to work with. I really hate to mess up a good piece of leather. I have to give myself the right to start with refrigerator art before trying to create a masterpiece. If all you want to do is have a camera case - you may not want to invest yourself in the time, tools, and materials. If you want to learn a new craft and eventually be able to make a case like this, it's a worthwhile undertaking and a skill that can last a lifetime. Good luck!

I love the effect you achieved - May I ask if you died your leather a base color before doing the marbling? If so, do you then let it dry before putting it into the gel? Thanks, Mike

Nice job, Chief - I was with the COE for 18 years - you captured the castle perfectly

Very cool - please show the finished necklace!

Looks good, Joe. I'm glad to see you are doing well. I'm still trying to psych myself up into making something from leather to post here. I'm thinking if you pulled the stars in just a little, it would give you room to do a good edge burnish. Great job coloring all those little stars. Cheers, Mike

I like the bottom one-clean looking and the two-tone stitching sets it off well. Clever key covers, too.

I'm looking about at leather patching machines and ran across this "modern reproduction." Does anyone have any experience with it? http://www.leatherpatcher.com/ Thanks for your opinions. --Mike

I like your experimenting with color. The picture of the second one comes over my computer as a kind of mildewed look, which I kind of like - it looks like it's been around for a long while. I think the difficulty with the 3rd one is that the rivets don't hold the corners or edges together. Maybe a gouge on the inside would help your fold look more finished. Hard to tell, but I think perhaps if you cut the leather closer to the rivets it might eliminate some of the "flap" that makes it look less "finished" than the other two. You could also put a decorative corner piece across the bottom joint - a piece of brass would be keeping with the ren look. All that said, I like the ones with the laced construction - looks more period to me. Maybe even a leather button instead of a snap closure. Make some more!

Pretty cool, Stewart! Did you really start leatherwork 3 years ago? I can only imagine trying to get a baseball to turn out round. Do you buy the cores? Strip the covers off other baseballs? Inquiring minds want to know. . .

Looks good from the pictures. I wonder if it will slide off if the knife is imbedded in something and you pull on the handle. I wish my first project had looked that good - and yes, there is a vast difference in leather. What fun!

Thanks, LL! that does help. I had not considered sheep. Appreciate the advice. This weekend is going to be too cold for anything else, but good to get started on some leather projects. -- Mike

Thanks for the responses. I guess I didn't communicate my question well - What I am really asking is - is a belly better than a side, or a shoulder? My limited experience with a couple of different leathers of similar weight is that one molds beautifully, retains its shape nicely, etc. while another either refuses to make tight curves (won't bunch or stretch) or it won't retain its shape. Dwight - as an example I mentioned covering a horseshoe. I have also made a few cases (folding knives, leatherman tools, handheld radios, etc.). I have no talent for tooling, and my goal is more toward getting nice tight shapes without wrinkles or puckers in the finished product. Jimbob - 3-4 oz is what I have been pretty much using. I would not have even thought of trying to mold a piece of 9 oz! Thanks for the responses. I think I'll also contact some of the suppliers and get their take. If they have anything to add, I'll post it. -- Mike