Hilly

Make your own. There's a "how to" in one of the Stohlman books "The Art of Making Leather Cases II" Hilly

Dang it, Marlon! There's very few things that make me feel squeamish, but nail injuries is top of my list! I wince just reading your post. I got stepped on by a horse when I was a teenager, and it tore my big toe nail up all the way around. It was only stuck down in the middle. Walked a mile home with a shoe full of blood. Got hauled to the ER where they jabbed about 12 needles into my toe to attempt to freeze it (didn't work). They then sliced away the remainder of the nail where it was still attached, and proceeded to cauterize the meat. Took a big fat nurse laying across my knees to keep me from kicking the doctor in the face as he worked. Dad suddenly became aware of just how many cuss words his little girl knew, and I was grounded for a full month afterwards. I guess there's a reason I never liked horses.... Hilly

Hi Char. Yes, I think that maybe the Toro 3000 is probably a bit overkill for lightweight projects? I have a Consew 206RB5 that can sew light weight leathers up to about 2 layers of 6-7oz without groaning. It does upholstery weight leather beautifully! I like it a lot for the price. It's supposed to handle leathers up to 1/2" thick, but I don't think it would do it without blowing up. I don't worry about different thread sizes - just run what I got on hand no worries. Just gotta make sure and change to a leather needle, and change the needle out once in a while to a sharp one. Good luck in your search for machines! Hilly

Have any of you ever cemented a lining in something to have the cement let loose 6 months later? This recently happened to me when I opened a Chan Geer style notebook I made about 6 months ago. I'm sure I had a good enough coat of cement on both the liner and my project, and I waited the recommended amount of time before sticking the liner down. The only thing I can think of is when I installed the liner, I did not apply it to the notebook while it was laying flat. The cover was bent very slightly, as per directions. I'm just stumped as to why this would happen, and am wondering if all contact cements are not created equal?

Hi Hidepounder! Your work is very nice - can't find any falt with it. In fact it's quite inspiring! I would like to say that although I'm generally not a fan of dyed backgrounds, I really think it makes your work takes on a 3D appearance. I also like your background work. What tool did you use around the initials? I'm curious how long it took you to make this?

Not trying to hijack your post, Bruce, but.... Only thing about Ohio Travel Bag is that they don't sell to anyone without a business. They DO have a retail web based business called HardwareElf.com. Here's a link for anyone interested: http://www.hardware-elf.com/

[soapbox] I don't think asking for a pattern is a bad thing. I've done it myself, and the person I asked was gracious enough to share. I did make the promise to only use it for my own personal use, and not to sell. A promise I will keep. I also learned a few things along the way in constructing this project, and although I won't share his pattern, I will share what I have learned from it if I can help someone in the future. [/soapbox]

Hidepouder, your drawing skills are fantastic! I look at the finger carving you do, which is really just "drawing" with your swivel knife, and I am amazed! I only wish I could be as artistically challenged as you.

Go here: http://www.get-up-and-go.com/upholstery-forum/index.php Join, and then go to the "General Discussion" forum and fire away with any upholstery related question you can think of. These folks are super helpful and can answer any questions you may have on upholstering a car interior or upholstering anything else, for that matter. They can tell you what kind of leather you will need, and how much, what tools and equipment you will need, materials, etc. It's a lot like Leatherworker.net, except it's all about upholstery. Good luck, and post some pictures here when you're done! We all love pictures! Hilly

In answer to the original question in this thread: No, I don't intend on doing much if any shopping this Christmas. The in-laws have decided to not buy gifts this year, but the entire clan always gets together for a huge feed and a most wonderful day of celebration of the holidays. My side of the relation is very small, and I can make everyone something they will like and use this year. To tell the truth, my side of the family has had past Christmas' where the only gifts allowed have been something hand made. Whether it's just a batch of someone's favorite cookies, to home decor items, to wearables, to practical stuff, it doesn't matter. What matters is that you put something of yourself into your work. We're all so sick and tired of the commercialism of Christmas that we've decided not to participate in that aspect of it any more. We've even gone so far as to use brown paper for gift wrap and hand made gift tags. I also feel that Christmas doesn't just have to be in December. My husband and I often give each other little gifts all year long "just because". Does this mean we're just getting Scroogey in our old age? Okay, let me get off my soap box now. Hilly

In laymans' terms, please?

Wow! Thanks for the walk through time, hidepounder! Very intersting stuff. Hilly

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I really love the belts, especially the one with the oak leaves and acorns! The boots don't do much for me, though I do like the crock/gator skin. Different strokes, I s'poze. Don't get me wrong though - the caliber of his work is off the scale. I could only hope to be half as good some day.

Beautiful Job, Crystal! It looked perfect to me! An inspiration for sure, thanks for sharing! How long did it take you to do all that carving and tooling? Hilly

Hi Ed! I really like your bible cover, and how neat to get it in the Hides to Art letter! Yes, I would like your pattern. A bible cover is on my list of "some day" projects. Hilly

Hi Jack. I'd store it in clean glass mason jars or baby food jars with tight lids. I'd also probably put a plastic baggie between the jar and the lid if you're worried about any reaction with the metal cover. I never worry about evaporation when it's sealed inside a container. Also probably wouldn't hurt to store it at room temp somewhere it won't get knocked over. Just my opinion. Hilly

You did a beautiful job, Clay! Your wife is a lucky woman, and Tina is very kind to draw you a pattern! I always hated the round holes Tandy has in a lot of their kits. Wish they'd just leave it to the customer to choose his or her own method of sewing/lacing. I did buy a clutch purse kit from them, but I only wanted it to see how the interior was constructed. I thought South Dakota is closed. Don't tell me North Dakota is closed, too! Do me a favor and just keep all that snow out there! I consider it a 4 letter word here in Wisconsin.

Thanks for the explanation, Bruce. Now can you tell me what the strings are used for? Just to lash stuff to the saddle? Gosh, feel like a 3 year old with all these questions... Hilly

Could you please post a photo or a link so I can see what it looks like "in action"? I have a friend that owns a couple horses, and I might not be the most observant person, but when I watched her saddle it, I saw her tighten the leather cinch strap, and it looked like she made a loop around the cinch just under that metal ring, and then brought the end through that ring and down again through the loop she just made (reminded me a little of how you tie a tie). Maybe it's a different type of saddle? She rides for pleasure and also used to take her horse to shows. Also, the saddles around here don't have those bumps either side of the horn. Are those meant to keep you from sliding forward in the saddle? They look like they'd hurt to have them digging into your thighs? Sorry for all the questions, I find saddles pretty interesting, and would like to attempt to make one some day.

Tandy lists "regular" and "club" prices on their website.

OMG Barra, that's hilarious! Thanks for the laugh!

I don't know anything about horses or saddles, but I do appreciate beautiful carving and tooling, and yours is beautiful! Now can I ask a ignorant question about saddles? I'm curious about the part of the saddle that the front string is going through. The piece with the slot in it. What is it, and what is it's function?

We're not feeling at all sadistic this morning, are we?

When I first got my industrial sewing machine, I took the guard off because it was hard to see around when sewing. I was just flying on an upholstery project when my finger got too close to the needle and I sewed right through the tip of my finger. I'm just glad that I don't have tiny little dainty fingers, or it could've gone right through the nail and bone. Still haven't put that guard back on, but I'm more careful of where I have my fingers when I sew.