Hilly

Hi Wolvie. Did you try rolling the braid at all? Sometimes if you roll the braid, it makes the strings lay nicer. It might help a little? Otherwise kangaroo lace makes real nice braids, especially if it's beveled right.

I like them both! I really love the rawhide covered handle on that knife, too.

Nah, we just grow big rabbits up here.

Heh. Been there, done that. My last effort was still at least 1/2" too short to completely wrap the stock, even after lots of thought. I'm sorta at the same place you are right now, but maybe we can give each other ideas... Are you trying to make a cover that covers all the way to the front of the butt stock??? If so, you must have a real sense of adventure. I'm only trying to cover the back 2/3 of my AR15 style rifle: a Panther DPMS LR-308L Here's what I've done so far, after the first screw up. After getting the same results as you, I took a piece of ugly leather the same weight as the stuff I want to make my cover from. I used the leather to make a pattern. First, I cut one edge straight. I took that straight edge, and laid it exactly along the center line of the underside of my rifle stock, and DUCT TAPED IT there, so it would not move at all. I carefully wrapped the leather around the stock, and eyeballed where the straight cut edge laid under the wrapped leather. I marked both ends of that straight cut on the overlapped end. I then marked on the leather, where I wanted the front and back edges of the cover to end. I removed the leather from the gun stock, finished marking where the second straight cut would be, then made the cut. I used it to make a pattern out of good leather. Now, I'm doing one for an AR15 military style rifle, so my pattern is going to be a lot different from yours, as I have to allow clearance for the charging handle. It will not go completely to the front of the butt stock. I also don't have any real contours that your stock might have. I plan on doing some Sheridan carving on my cover, and lace it together along the underside of the stock. I also am going to do a cover for the front stock, as it is pretty ugly, being a simple "tube" of carbon fiber which encloses the free floating barrel. I hope I've at least given you some ideas how to deal with your rifle. Let me know how it goes, or if you get any ideas that are better than mine! I can use all the help I can get, too!

Hello Bill! Grab a cup of coffee and a donut.

Welcome to L.W.! Always nice to see new faces here. Grab cup of coffee and a donut.

You can buy "Prevail" sprayer, and spray the dye on. Google "prevail sprayer".

Freak, you crack me up sometimes! Love the helmet!

I've never seen craftools for $3.33, either. All Tandy's craftool stamps are $3.99 for some of the 3D stamps, and $7.99 for most all of the rest. Maybe he's talking about some eBay auction or something.

Beautiful work! Very clean and professional. Thanks for sharing.

I've always used a scrap piece of thick leather (skirting) on my bench. Luke, do you really use end grain? Do you find your punches dulling?

Welcome, Paul! Always glad to see new faces here. You do some AWESOME work!

If it's one of the inexpensive knives from Tandy, just grab the barrel in one hand and the top in the other, and pull. The knife should come apart easily. These inexpensive knives are a great way to learn how to use the tools. Many people stick with them and are happy. No need to upgrade if you are comfortable and happy with what you have and the results you get.

A picture is worth 1,000 words:) You just plain get better looking results with better made tools. Even if your work is flawless, it will still look better when done with better made tools. Just to get things straight, I've never used the term "CrapTools" in even one of my posts. And I've already said that craftools are a great way to get your feet wet. I'm getting more serious about my work, and I simply prefer crisp, clear impressions over the blurry impressions that the lesser quality tools make. I'm not in 4-H anymore, I've grown up, and can afford to buy quality tools. Even if it's only 1 tool every couple of months, I'm gonna replace a lot of the craftools I currently have AND USE. Call it snobbery if you like. A lot of us know better. To me it just sounds like you're whining.

I've used sharpie on small areas, but that's a lot of black. A small pointed brush might be easier.

Dakota, I see the leather addiction starting here. My advice? Run! Run away as fast as you can! If you stick around here you will be assimilated!

Who can tell which flower center is a craftool, and which one isn't? Who can tell which basket stamp is craftool, and which one isn't?

You missed figure carving, Celtic carving, the skull crowd, and tattoo flash crowd. And yes, florals are pretty much traditional. Why, are you a flower hater?

The customer's is always the most important opinion. Great save! What is it that Ron Ross used to say...... We don't make mistakes, we just have happy little accidents.

Sounds as if you are not "casing" your leather properly, and trying to work it waaay to wet. Try letting the leather return to a mostly dry color, then just when it reaches that color, put it inside a plastic bag for several hours, so the moisture can even out all through the leather. Try your stamps again, and see if you have better impressions. It might also help you if you do a search on "casing", and see what others do. If you ask 10 different people their method, you might get 10 different answers. The old timers will almost always tell you to case as I have described. Eventually you will find what works best for you. What kind of surface are you stamping on? It works best if you can stamp on a piece of marble or a stone surface. Wood does not work as well. If your surface (or table) are bouncing, you might get bounce as you've described. Get one of those marble slabs that Tandy sells, or find a place that makes headstones, and ask if they have a scrap of stone you could have. You can also sometimes get sink cutouts from places that make stone counter tops. The studs and measuring part is something you will just have to slow down and work with. One thing about leatherwork is that if you get in a hurry to do something, it's real easy to wreck a good piece of leather. Take your time and think things through before you do them. Enjoy the learning experience, and learn from your mistakes.

Welcome back Tashabear. I'm very sorry for your loss. My husband got the H1N1 virus, too. He was very sick for a long time. He developed pneumonia, and then one of his lungs partially collapsed. I thought I might lose him too, so I know at least a little bit of what you went through. The sleepless nights, the worry, the heartache. My heart goes out to you. Hopefully, you can occupy your thoughts a bit with your leatherwork, and with all the wonderful people here on this site. (((((Tasha))))). Hilly

Great! Business is probably going to be brisk for a while...

I know, the ones that come in the "starter kits" are pretty crummy. I have one that doesn't spin more than once. Saved my money and bought an "Old Smoothie" from Chuck Smith. Also got the colbalt Sheridan style blade. Blade is nice and sharp, and the swivel knife spins and spins and spins. It's like knight and day compared to the Tandy swivel knife. I love using it. If I were you, I'd save my money, go to a leather show, and test drive them all. Find something you're comfortable using. Just my $0.02.

Very nice. I like your airbrushing.