The Major

I'm not disorganized, everything is exactly where I put it, now if I could just remmber where it was I'd be ok.

OMG, I cant stop laughing.

Patrice, Actually the process works very well. I started playing around with doing this about a year ago for making some leather versions of charms I have cast out of silver and gold. What I like to do is first make a wax piece using the mold, when cooled I remove the wax from the mold and make the necessary trimmings on the wax. Next I soak a piece of leather (1/2oz) in warm water. Lay the leather in the mold and place the wax piece in the crevass of the mold. Now I simply use pressure to make the impression on the leather. I use my clamp type vulcanizer, but a couple blocks of wood and some "c" clamps work just as well. Just leave it there for an hour. Take the leather and wax pieces out together and see how good of an impression you have. You can fill in the details by spraying a little water on the positive side of the impression and using a modeling spoon. When it is where you want it, stop, and spray with water until saturated, and let it sit overnight. Now that it is dry you can do your coloring. At this point, take out the wax piece. Finally you have a couple options. 1. Coat the wax piece in a few coats of a clear acrylic finish. and glue this in your leather piece as a plug. 2. use sawdust or leather dust to fill the void. toss another piece of leather on the back and glue it down. trim and glue the edges. and wallah you have a finished piece.

thanks Bruce. I'll give her a call.

Anyone know of anyone who stocks their liners. Hidecrafters dropped this line of products, and the only other company I could find on this wondrful internet is a place called Hitching Post Supply. They have a very small selection on their website. I have sent them a couple emails with what I am looking for but have gotten no responses. :fire: I have also sent emails to Chaylor directly to set up a distributor account, but they have not responded either. :fire: Or does anyone know of any other suppliers for nice roo, calfskin or even goat liners. It does not have to be Chaylor, just nice liners. I am trying to avoid making my own as time is very limited and work is piling up. Hopefully someone out there can help. Thank all.

As many have mentioned, thank you for starting this up.

Had another thought on the subject. Not sure if it is cost effective for you, but why don't you try using a steel strapping (like pipe hanger straps). those are more readily available. But I am wondering, if spring steel would be too flexible and not give you the support you need especially if you go with the thinner materal. Hopefully that made sense, my brain is fried right now.

definitely

Spring steel is a low alloy, high carbon steel. AISI 1050, 1055, 1074, and 1095 are all considered spring steels. I have bought from http://www.toolkinginc.com/ for some steel in the past, Also Jorgensen, but have not bought from them since they got bought out by EMJ metals. http://www.emjmetals.com/. Most spring steels are more commonly available in wires, but flat stock is also available. Check your local yellow pages for steel suppliers. Most steel stores will have the stock available.

Also Weaver carries a 9 in 1 slicker which chucks up easily without modification and you get different grooves and diameters for your projects. Plastic is #65-2962 (14.95) , Wood is #65-2961-24.95

You got that right. I picked up a set at Butler from him, and I absolutely love them.

I am also not sure about the type of angel wings you are looking for. But here is an angel I drew up for my tattoo hope this helps out.

Great start. I wonder though, what type of beveler are you using? Also, dont worry about de-halo'ing' so much with sheridan, you need that halo. Hopefully one of our Sheridan experts chime in here (hint hint Bruce) I have only experimented with Sheridan. But I really like the Sheridan Bevelers for other non sheridan tooling.

nice looking seats.

HUH? Maybe over the years our prairies have gotten overtaken by cornfields and cities, but we are still a prairie state at heart.

You could also try: http://parts.singerco.com/. The have the majority of their manuals on there as pdf's.

If this is something you are going to be consistenly doing, I would invest in a paring machine. You can get a manual one new for about $350ish. But it is really worth it if you are doing it allot. You can also use a spokeshave. Yes, but it also depends on the final look you want, and what else you are doing with it. Leave a minimum of 3/8". Dont forget the bend allowance. If nothing is going on the back, you may want to leave a little more so you can straighten it out when all is said and done. Also, I forgot to mention you could also put piping on the edge too, this way you dont have to turn it, but you will still have to skive it.

Pick up the book "Leathercraft Tools" from Tandy or Hidecrafter. It goes into the care and sharpening of most tools including bevelers.

You can do it, but you will need to use a polishing iron rather than a slicker. Polishing irons are made of brass, bronze, or in modern times stainless, but you will need to put a stiffener tape on your seam before you do this. But in the end, this process is a pain on chrome tannage. You might want to consider skiving your edges, turn them in , and sew it. Its actually quicker than trying to properly burnish the edges of chrome tannage.

Thank you. I'll have to check them out.

Does anyone know of a manufacturer for semi transparent acrylic colors. Or better question, do they exist. Or even better question anyone mix their own?

If anyone is interested, I have a few 50pks of super skiver/injector blades. This is a pretty common blade used in allot of the tandy tools and others like the aussee strander, lace maker, etc. $10 per pack on ebay right now. Ebay item number is 160082795572 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...95572&rd=1&rd=1

What did you use as your base finish coat before you put the antique on?

Holy crap. And I feel guilty charging $75 for a small clutch. I really need to reconsider my thinking.

For a one time project I will print it out on vellum. For repeats, I print the pattern on the clear transparency film used for overheads (commonly refered to as mylar's)