Hilly

Your "strings" need to come through slots in the tool bag flap, and then you can attach the concho with a bleed knot.

Are you asking how to attach a slotted concho?

You get your spouse to feed them to you. That way you don't get your hands all messy!

Hi DaKota. Welcome to L.W.! I'd like to suggest a couple of books that are indispensible to me: "The Art of Hand Sewing Leather" by Al Stohlman, and "Leathercraft Tools How to Use Them How to Sharpen Them" also by Al Stohlman. Stohlman also has books of ideas and patterns you might want to peruse on your next trip to Tandy. I does make a difference what part of the cow you use! Belly leather stretches and stretches and stretches! It might be okay for practice, or for very small things such as key fobs or hair barrettes, but not much else. The belt blanks from Tandy are a good idea to start out with. Just hang around here for a while, and ask questions. There's a lot of people here who love to help. Most of all, enjoy the learning experience, and post some photos of your projects.

Beautiful! Wish I had that kind of patience.

Cool looking seat. I'd be afraid to sit on it though.... it looks like it might bite

I made a photo album (not so much different than a portfolio) by binding my own acid free pages (purchased from http://www.dickblick.com/) into a leather cover, and using acid free adhesive corners to mount photos. A gel pen worked great for captions (or in your case, descriptions). The only part I needed help with was getting the edges of the pages in the signatures even. I took my signatures to a local publishing company, and had them trim my pages for a small fee. The rest was relatively easy. The front cover was carved in the Sheridan style, and the back cover carved in the "Bob Park" finger cut style , and had a stiffener inside the covers. It was lined with suede, and double loop laced all around. I added a fancy sterling silver slotted concha, held on by a chrome tanned leather "string" on the back. I absolutely hated to give it away! It turned out so well that I intend on making another for myself. You could make something like this as large or as thick as you need to, which could also show the quality of your work in person. Hope this helped you get some ideas. Have a great day.

Hello, Mike. The stock I plan on covering is part of a AR15 (military) style gun. It has a carbon fiber tube, covering a fluted, free floating barrel. It is extremely light weight, but a nice cover could add some protection, for I feel this carbon material could possibly be prone to damage. The forearm stock is a tubular shape, so my cover needs to be tubular in shape as well (Please follow the link in my original post to take a look at this rifle). What I want to do is to wrap it in leather, and lace the butted ends together. I do not want to cement this cover to the stock! It needs to be removable to retain the value of the rifle. I did do one for another DPMS owner, but he wanted his to attach with billet and buckles, which I did. I wish I would have taken a few photos of this, as it turned out pretty well. Turned out he was so happy with the job I did that he nearly snatched the rifle out of my hands the second I put the covers on! Now I want to do my own rifle, but I want something different from his. I'll figure it all out eventually, but some input from others that have done this type of lacing would be helpful.

I'm making a forearm stock cover for my new rifle (DPMS LR308L) and I want to make it like a tube where the two sides butt up to each other. I want to lace it with little "x"s like I've seen on stuff like cup cozys and such. Do I need to allow a little extra leather so there's room for the lace behind it, or don't I need to worry about that? I want this to fit exactly, so that it remains snug, and does not move. Also, what do you do with the ends of the laces to keep them tight, and out of sight? I will also be making a buttstock cover a bit later on, so same questions apply...

You didn't steal my thread As far as a camo tool, I don't know... Hey, how did you find so much info on him? I can't even access his website.

Now that I look more closely, I'm thinking you are correct. The flower on the left has 10 seeds, while the one on the right has 12. Bobocat must have a very good pair of eyes, a better magnifier, and a ton of patience! In other words, I couldn't do that to save my soul!

I've always admired Bobocat's work, and was hoping someone would know how this was done... Are the centers of these flowers done with a stamp? If so, what is the name of the stamp, and who makes them? http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=21227&view=&hl=Bobocat&fromsearch=1

Just a guess, but it looks like Eco Flo "Sky Blue"?

Nice!

There are several products that can seal the leather, and make it pretty much waterproof. Montana pitch blend comes to mind. Your decorative braiding looks really nice, but I would worry about food particles/liquids becoming lodged in the braiding.

Love the belts. I especially like your fancy knife work!

I'd suspect it's the leather you're using. Tandy is fine for most leathers, but I stopped buying veg tan from them, and am much happier. Maybe you can try some deglazer, and redye? IIRC, deglazer is nothing more than denatured alcohol that you can get at your local hardware store. Otherwise, black is always nice, and goes with everything?

Very nice work, Deno. I really like your "stone" effect. Your wife is a lucky woman.

Seems when I finally get my computer working the way I like it, something else goes wrong! For some reason, I can't open links sent to me through emails. I click on a link, the browser begins to open, and then nothing happens! Then I can not close the browser without using the 3 finger salute. Task manager says the program is running, though you couldn't prove it by me. I can open my browser to my home page, then I can "Copy Shortcut", then paste in the URL space. The web page opens great. This is getting so annoying I would like to beat the computer over the head with a 5lb. slege hammer! I run AVG internet security, if that makes a difference, and it's all up to date. I use Outlook Express as my Email program. Any ideas as to how to stop this nonsense?

A creaser is pushed along the edge of the leather, and leaves a little decorative "crease" right along the edge. The long side hangs over the edge of the leather, while the short end leaves the crease. Some people heat their iron in a flame and feel this makes a better looking crease.

Great work, Storm! I'm curious if you have a plan for all of these caricatures you've been doing?

You're lucky you got snow for Christmas. Here in central Wisconsin, we got freezing rain and sleet on Christmas Eve.

You never realise how old you are till you try and do fine detail work on a piece of leather! In addition to a large window for natural light, strong incandescent overhead lighting, and gooseneck lamps on my table, my best friend in the shop is a tall, bright gooseneck lamp that shines over my shoulder from behind to help eliminate shadows cast by my hands.

http://www.hitchingpostsupply.com/product.asp?specific=jmoqdphoo Merry Christmas!

Here's a little trick I learned when doing upholstery... I can't count how many times I was zipping along a seam, when I notice that all I'm doing is poking holes, poking holes, poking holes, and not sewing anything cuz the bobbin ran out! That always seemed to be while working with the most expensive fabric, too! I started putting a mostly full bobbin on the thread stand, instead of a big #1 spool of thread, and a totally full bobbin underneath. That way you can see when you're getting low before it's too late. You may spend more time winding bobbins, but it sure beats ruining your day.