Johanna

Chatzilla is probably the way to go if you need to use Firefox, but I use mIRC in Internet Explorer. It seems easier. But nothing about IRC is ever easy. You are welcome to use this chat room (Live Chat link at top of page) and create private rooms if you wish, too. No additional software is required, and it works with FF or IE or whatever browser. The chat software on this site is pretty easy, but it has less features than IRC. But. that might be a good thing, depending on the level of experience of your group. You would have to do manual logs. I don't have it set up to keep logs on the server. (I figure that way everyone has their privacy!) Johanna PS Sidney, if you have anything you want me to upload on the main pages, I'd be thrilled. Did you have a look at "Knothead"'s site? (I'm a compulsive list maker, and so you can imagine how impressed I am with the archives!) I'm looking forward to learning from you knotters and braiders. You guys are only limited by imagination.

How long does it take you to tool a belt, and what is your shop rate? You have to price belts like anything else. Materials + (time spent X shop rate) X % of profit. I've always been amazed at how you carvers/stamper/toolers can take a crappy looking strap and hide every blemish in it with your tools. However, I can appreciate the difference of cutting into a high quality hide vs. trying to compensate for a non absorbent or spongy leather. Maybe someone can help you out with some straps? Johanna

This is going to be a fun time! Show info here Classes by Jeff Mosby, Paul Burnett, Chan Geer, Ava Gannon, Charles Crenshaw I'm going, hope to see you there! Johanna

This is from 2003, courtesy of Ernie Wayman, Pres. IFoLG IFoLG Guidelines IFoLG Suggestions (from the tips&tricks page of Leatherworker.net) When a guild hosts a show in the IFoLG they have discretion over the rules. When a guild hosts their own show (like the one the Central Indiana Leathercrafters Guild has coming up) they set their own rules. So there is no definitive rulebook set in stone (or leather). There is some common sense stuff- like finish your edges, no ballpoint pen showing, line up your snaps etc... Because of the training I've received from some of the best in the business, and having been a judge at Midwest Federation shows and IFoLG and a couple of State Fairs, I feel comfortable with evaluating a project. The first thing I look at is "curb appeal". Is it ugly? crooked? Then I examine the piece. Is it functional? Does it have all of the parts? By this time, I've gotten to "know" the work. Then the critical eye comes in...and this is where even the very best leatherworkers make "mistakes". And there is a gray area, too- did the maker intend to do it a certain way for a reason? Sometimes there are several ways to do something- is one more "right" than another? That's where experience comes in. If it isn't ugly, it works and you don't see unacceptable flaws (like filigree that went too far, for example) it's hard to be objective. And when you are comparing apples to oranges, and you know the makers (even though the names are covered up) you have to depend on the professionalism of the judging team. There are always a few heated discussions behind closed doors. At the show in Topeka a few years ago, a Head Judge had to mediate an angry dispute. And in the end, you are looking at a Ford and Chevy and trying to say one is better than the other. If you are judging, be prepared to defend your reasons. I think this is a great topic, and I'm going to leave it here so it gets the maximum attention. I hope you get the answers you are looking for about the competitions. It's easier to win the game when you know the rules! Unfortunately, there aren't any hard and fast rules in the industry, unless we set the standards for ourselves. One year the IFoLG talked about making a formal guideline, but I don't know if it ever was completed. I would be glad to put one together for their approval, but I'd need help from all of you to do it. I'll discuss it with Ernie in Indianapolis this month. Johanna

Hello, Clay M! I hope we get to see pics of your green man, too. (Everybody, let me introduce you to Clay Miller, one of the best leather carvers and all around good-guy.) Dale is awesome, and I'm trying to twist his arm to do an online lesson or two. He keeps mumbling about parenting, day jobs, current projects, the usual exuses. Clay, will you post your Green Man in progress? I hope you have time to be a regular here, too, Clay. We could all learn from you, too. Hang around long enough, I'll start bugging you for lessons, too. Seriously, I've admired this Clay's work for a long time. Click his link below and check out his site. He can do magic to cowhide. Please post some of your work in the "Show Off" section, Clay. (We encourage leatherworkers to shamelessly promote themselves and their businesses.) Work like yours deserves to be seen, admired and commissioned. Johanna

Oscar, please accept my sympathies for the loss of your mother. When my husband John died, in his things I found a wallet that he had made for his father, who passed away in the 70s. It was one of the first projects he ever did, and his dad obviously cherished the wallet. His mom said she gave it to John as a keepsake, and he did keep it, for nearly 30 years. It's not his best work, but I saved it along with his other things for our children, when they are older, because it meant so much to him. Again, I am sorry about your Mom. May God's hand rest on your family's shoulder during this difficult time. Johanna

I'm going to move this to the Saddlery section. Maybe this topic just isn't getting noticed in "off-topic". Please share your links with all of us! There are no rules here about having to take subjects off-list, unless they concern private matters between individuals. Blake, I edited out your email addy from your post because the spam bots will get it on the forum. Anyone can click your name and send you a PM or an email (if you have those options enabled) and the addresses can't be found by the web crawlers that way. Johanna

I added some new smileys tonight. If you have emoticons you'd like to share, email them to admin @leatherworker.net. If there are any you hate and want gone, let me know. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, click "add reply" to a post instead of "fast reply", then in the smiley window, at the bottom, in the center, click "show all". If you would prefer not to see smileys, disable the feature in your control panel. Johanna

http://www.instructables.com/id/EU0DY6QKNCEZ7BHEZ0?ALLSTEPS Johanna

I counted 19 (that I know of for sure) from the member list. Come on guys, introduce yourselves. Oops, excuse me, there are three ladies on my very unofficial list. Johanna

"Lacing and Stitching for Leathercraft" My copy is old and marked stock # 1906 with a price of $2.99. Tandy Leather Factory http://www.tandyleather.com/ Johanna

Tandy is advertising two new sets of rope stamps (same stamps, different sizes) for $20. Roping tools are tricky, and I was interested in looking at the tip sheet they have on their website. (I get the weekly newsletter, and that's where I saw the stamps.) I had a lot of trouble getting the tip sheet to open, and just in case anyone else runs into the difficulty I had, attached is the tip sheet. Rope stamps can make quick borders. I like the barbed wire stamps Tandy sells, too. Johanna

Raise your hands everybody who has worked like crazy right before Christmas to satisfy all those "last minute" gifts that you or the customer should have thought about in September, not December 15th. Spring made it to my part of Ohio, and I've been spending as much time outside cleaning up from Winter as I can. I have a few flowers up, and the garden needs attention. By next week I will need to cut the grass, and the dogwoods will bloom by Easter. I love this time of year. Ed, one of the nice things about a forum like this is that you can drop in whenever it's convenient. If you're particularly interested in a subject, use the function to "subscribe to a forum" in My Controls. You'll get an email notification if a new topic is posted. If you are interested in the topic, click the second link in the email "track this topic", read the replies already posted. and then if there are more responses, you will get another email notification. Then, when you have the time, you can relax and catch up on the board. Raise hands everybody who has just been asked to restring a ball glove that's been ignored since last season or longer? I fixed two this past week, and said some bad words under my breath about people who refuse to oil leather and cheap dry-rotted latigo lace. What I had sitting in the cellar for the last 10 years was in better condition that a relatively new glove, because it was a higher quality lace. Now is the time that youth leaders are planning their summer programs. Vacation bible schools, camps, day care centers, the Y, Boy and Girl Scouts, 4-H, museum and other educational facilities. Consider volunteering to teach a camp staff the basics of leatherworking. Consider volunteering to show Scouts how to do your thing, or being one of the "fun activities" at the County Fair or the church bazaar this year. Each one, teach one. Show a daughter, nephew, neighbor, god child, grandkid how you do what you do, and if you get your fingers smashed a few times, so what? Who knows, you might be mentoring a future Al Stohlman Award winner? A lot of kids love to work with their hands. It's important to keep their hands busy and out of trouble. (Idle hands make the devil's work!) It's hard to pester your sister if you are concentrating on a plaiting a braid, or painting a design. I have to admit, the shop has saved my sanity on many a rainy day with bored kids. I make them follow shop rules, and they are proud of what they make. My girls (8 & 10) love to make bracelets and anklets, and fancy necklaces. The 13 year old just designed a cell phone case (with my help) that he decided he wanted to make. My 7 year old likes braids and knots. Johanna

2oz. leather is relatively thin. Perhaps the dye is drying it too much making it seem thinner? Carved or stamped leather often seems thinner because the fibers do get compressed (a nice word for mashed!) with the tooling. What kind of conditioner are you using, and at what stage(s) in the process? Does it seem thinner when you wet it, or does it puff up when it absorbs the water? Sometimes thin leather seems to stiffen more after it's been dyed. Also, the thickness of hides will vary, some considerably,depending on what part of the animal the skin was on. If you don't like the thickness (or lack thereof) after you dye it, you might want to consider bumping up to 4oz. weight on your next order. HTH Johanna

Wolvie- I'm about to do a major IPB update that is supposed to solve all the problems, end world famine and secure peace in the Middle East. You are right about vBull board mods (I have a vBull board, too) but IPB works a little differently. Any custom mods I do now will need redone when I do the upgrade, and I am just waiting for IPB to announce they have fixed a couple of bugs in the latest version before I leap off the bridge. It will be within the next week or two. Sorry for the hijack, Gary, back to the wolf pics you shared, and our regularly scheduled programming.... Johanna

The problem was that each of the pictures was over 2Mb in size, and the forum wasn't processing them corrrectly. I resized them, and here they are...thanks for sharing, Gary....Wow!! Nice! Johanna

I had trouble uploading an attachment yesterday, too. The forum uses IPB, and I received an email from them this morning that said they experienced some technical glitch yesterday, but that it is corrected now. Maybe try it again? If it doesn't work still, send me an email to admin@leatherworker.net and I'll investigate (include the attachment and I'll try to post it so that I know how to complain to tech support! LOL) Sorry for the inconvenience. Johanna

I think it's neat that she is participating in the family business constructively, and that she has set goals and is working to meet them. Maybe an hourly wage with a bonus for XX items completed in a given length of time? Or a big chart on the wall with how many collars she needs to do before you give her the balance she needs for her dog? Then a chart to earn his shots, food, toys, etc? Johanna ps your Gremlin is a cutie! Be sure to post a pic of her and her well-deserved dog!

From Brandon: Knot_Heads_World_Wide.pdf Johanna

Click Here for more info on posting attachments. If you want to upload something not listed here, please PM me. Johanna

Some file extensions are not enabled for security reasons. A malicious user could exploit the board (and the members' systems be vulnerable as a result) and not every member is here is computer savvy enough to know potential risks. If you have a clean (virus free) upload with an extension on the no-no list, email it to me and I'll post it. I didn't set the board this way to inconvenience people, but to protect them. You can hold the applause- I do tech support for many people in the Leatherworking community, and I'd feel awful if something on this forum did damage. We need to have all clicks here be "safe". Johanna

I have two daughters who love their Barbie dolls, and would love a fashion handbag like that! I resized the picture- it's a little fuzzy, but I was able to see how you made it. Very clever! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks, Shirley! Tell her I said, "Hi!" and give her my best wishes, please. I hope she joins the board. Dee has loads of experience in Leatherland, and she'll find some old friends here. Johanna

Saw this on Frank Zaharek's Commercial Leather Yahoo list and thought I'd pass it along. I didn't look at the tools (I'm not the eBayer in the family!) but perhaps some of you will be interested. I have no connection (that I know of because I don't know who is selling the tools!) to the seller either, but Frank is a great guy,and runs Mountain Man Leather in Virginia.Johanna

I didn't want to color anyone's opinion, so I responded to Jack by PM: Johanna