Johanna

Artisan has been hard at work! Check out their latest machine! The Artisan Toro 3200 is complete with a twelve and a half inch throat and will sew 7/8 oz leather! Johanna

Kate and I are ahead of you guys. We are installing a link manager to LW, and you will get more details as soon as we have all the kinks ironed out. If anyone needs help with their web site, please PM me or Kate. Johanna

He last logged in about a week ago. Oh dear, nothing is wrong I hope. Sidney Wood. Calling Sidney Wood! Check in and let us know you are okay, please! Johanna

Kevin has been busy- check out his "new and improved" website! http://springfieldleather.com/store/ Forget Fire Mountain! Who knew he had all those beads and findings there too? I didn't! Memo to self: never give Jane (my 11 yr. old daughter) a credit card after she's been looking at Kevin's store online! She wants it ALL! They are still running the $4.79 square foot price for Hermann Oak Leather, too. The store has finished leather goods, sewing machines and splitters, and every leatherworking supply you can think of, plus they have top notch customer service. Springfield Leather tip #279 If you don't see it in the catalog, call. If Kevin doesn't have it, he knows where to get it. Johanna

PM sent. Thanks everyone for the kind words. Johanna

Rayban- the day to be there is Saturday. The competition and display rooms will be open to the public from 9am to just before the banquet that evening. I'll be getting in around lunchtime on Thursday, and leaving after the raffle on Sunday. Johanna

Click on a "Springfield Leather" ad on the top of the page or call 1-800-668-5818

The deadline for show registration is August 24, 2009. registration.pdf Who is going to be there? For more info on the show, go to the CIL website. I am teaching two classes on Friday, and then it says I am teaching a class Saturday about leatherworker.net for a fee, but that's wrong. If anyone wants to come by and meet others from the site, please join us for coffee and (fresh!) donuts Saturday morning before or after you get to see the competition and display rooms! (Pics will be up by afternoon, don't worry folks! ) Hope to see lots of you there! Johanna registration.pdf

Posted with permission from Bob Beard: Robert Beard http://robertbeardtools.com

Bob graciously gave me permission to repost this on our forum:

LW is running a special to encourage you to sign up to jumpstart your sales, and reach thousands of customers a month! We will make your first ad banner for FREE (a $50 value!) and if you call or email me to make arrangements for your ad campaign before August 15th, we'll make you a second FREE banner. We have the traffic and the expertise to make a successful campaign for your business, and we will help you every step of the way. Details of our ad campaigns are here. If anyone wants year-to-date stat reports of the site, let me know. All ad campaigns come with daily or weekly reports so that you can monitor your investment. Yes, I know I'm pushing this, but it's a great opportunity for you folks to get effective advertising, and we want to upgrade LW, which will increase our viewer volume even more and help your ad campaigns be even more successful! Please call me with questions or anything on your mind. Best regards, Johanna (419) 753-2612 (419) 953-1386 (Verizon cell) admin@leatherworker.net

Nobearsyet- not to detract from this thread, but in May you were doing your first wallet, and now you have completed a saddle? And in another thread you are going to make a video of how to make a saddle? And in another thread you want to make boots? Pardon me, but I'm having trouble with all this. I owned a leather shop for 15 years, and I don't have the skills or the tools to make saddles and boots. There are guys here that have spent their whole lives learning the art, but you have mastered it in less than 6 months? I'm not going to bring up the debacle on the other board, but can you see why leatherworkers are not taking you seriously? Johanna

Tina will put her pics back when she has completed a current project. They are worth the wait. Johanna

If you are a registered member of LW, Waterhouse Leather is offering you a 5% discount for web orders. The promo code is "LEATHERWORKERNET" and will provide a discount to the total price of the WEB order during check out. "To receive 5% off the total of your next order simply apply the promotion code to the promotion code box during checkout. Code valid for web orders ONLY and must be applied during check out." If you are not a registered member of LW, it's easy and free to sign up (although donations are always appreciated). Click "register" at the top of the page and be sure to tell the board you are a human. We'd like to thank Waterhouse Leather for helping our members, and we encourage you to check out their selection and their competitive prices. Based in Massachusetts, they have been a reputable leather supplier for over 100 years. Johanna http://waterhouseleather.com

I'm going to type this out because there are some people who just don't know... When you set a 3D or alphabet stamp, put it where you want it on the cased leather and give it a little tap. Then make sure the stamp is seated in the impression. NOW you whack it, and do it hard. The first gentle tap helps to reduce the bounce, the second/third smacks make the impression. Call me old fashioned, but that is still easier for me to do then set up the press. Johanna

Jim- I'd like to post your lesson on the tips and tricks page if it's okay with you. Excellent explanation- thank you for sharing. Johanna

Okay, let's get back to Lobo's original post. I don't know where the other posts on this topic have been moved to, but I'll find 'em. I think they need to be together, don't you? Enough of the nobearsyet drama- it detracts from Lobo's topic. Johanna I found 3 "threepersons" topics by Lobo, the oldest from April, all in this forum. The earlier two had just slipped down the queue. I merged them together into this one topic so all the info is in one place. Thank you to Lobo & Chuck and others who share the fascinating histories behind the unusual or the familiar items of leatherwork. We really appreciate the effort that goes into the work, and the research, and your effort to get it up here for posterity. ~J

I will drink to that! Happy Birthday, Regis! (and many more!) Johanna

Masterfully done, as always. Was that your sketch or was the artwork supplied for this one? What is with skulls these days? I've seen them on infant clothes, cell phones and backpacks this summer, and it's not Halloween! Beautiful work, David, thanks for sharing. Johanna

Ummm Deno, get to work and repair and condition Mom's bible. It needs relaced. You have to take the old lace out carefully with a pointy thing, like a modeling tool or a fid and an exacto knife. Do not let the holes break. Pull the stitches a little closer to the front when you relace it, and be careful with your splicing, and you will be fine. I can't tell what it was laced with, but back then goat was premium and that's hard to find. Kanga lace would work well, I think. You can tell how she holds her bible from the wear on it. Your loving hands should fix it while she can enjoy it. Johanna PS your Dad was pretty awesome, wasn't he? Thank you for sharing these things, Deno. Thank your Mom too.

More pics of his benches here . The workbenches are now at Kings Saddlery in Sheridan WY. One of the most improtant things for a stamping bench is to minimize the bounce or give. It's not always practical to do all your hammering over a leg. If I were going to build one new, It would probably have extra legs, a large open shelf underneath for storage and I would recess the tooling marble. Do a search on the board for work shops and you will see pics of shops and benches. It might give you some additional ideas to suit the space you are working from. Johanna

Yep. Hold the needle with pliers (it will get pretty hot) and use a lighter to burn out any leather stuck inside. It will smell bad, and you will know when it's out. I like the life eyes (permaloks) the best. I sharpen them and they glide through the leather. I do not like the hook needles because they tear up my fingers and bend too easily. For a beginner, they might be easier to use because they are flat on the end, and the lace is easier to keep untwisted. But if you follow the "never let go of your needle" rule, you can lace quickly with the permalocks (sorry, but to me they will always be "life eyes!). If lace breaking off in the needle is more than an every once in awhile blue moon type of thing, consider that the quality of lace you are using isn't good. Pull on a piece. It shouldn't break unless it is dryrotted or you are applying tension right on a splice. Kanga lace will strech more than calf and is less prone to breaking unexpectedly. Johanna

Thank you Charlie, and you other guys- you know who you are- that help keep us going. Your kind words and support of this board makes everything worth it at the end of the day. It's an honor to be here and keep the coffee pot on for you all. Johanna

Vegan leather is such an oxymoron that I looked it up. Wikipedia took me here. Bleh. Johanna

If you like this site, and you want us to keep improving it, please let your favorite vendors know that you want them to support it with advertising. Let them know you visit LW regularly! We are just about out of money again, and we need your help. Thank you, Johanna