Hilly

I've been here more than 6 months now, and I've never heard of an "adult section"? While I'm not into "kink", I would find it interesting to window shop

Tom, get outta my head. You took the keys right out of my keyboard!

I've tried a little "leather burning" with a pyro pen, and I didn't notice any bad smell. Maybe it's just certain individuals that are sensitive to the odor?

[soapbox] I'd use one too, but I don't want to pay to replace the blades all the time. I think in the long run, it's more cost effective to use a head knife and buy a good quality oil stone. [/soapbox]

You will not regret getting a servo motor! I used to absolutely dread sewing with my industrial machine for the same reasons you stated. The thing was either full stop, or full speed! No, the duct tape does not stand up, you just stick a hunk on the bed of your machine to use as a visual aid. If you want a 1/2" seam allowance you place the tape 1/2" away from where the needle goes through the bed of the machine, etc. After a short time, you'll be able to just eyeball the proper distance from the needle to the edge of your work. My suggestion to you is to practice, practice and more practice using scrap or heavy fabrics, such as heavy canvas or go buy some really cheap, heavy upholstery fabric, or ugly vinyl off the clearance table at your local fabric store. Practice sewing straight seams. Then when you get the feel for that, practice curves going both directions. Practice sewing with one hand, while holding down the manual reverse button with the other (back stitching). Also, if you get a servo motor, practice starting and stopping the machine exactly where you want it, with the needle in the down position, through your fabric/leather. That way, if you lift the foot, the fabric won't accidentally come out from under the needle, and your seams will remain neater looking. Learn to use the knee lift, but do NOT rest your leg against it while sewing. You'll learn much quicker than you think you can, but you will need to work at it a bit. Most of all quit holding your breath! RELAX and enjoy your learning experience. Laugh at your mistakes. Learn from them. Take your time, when you feel anxious, stop, get up, and go get a glass of water, or just take a break. Take time to think about it, and then go back and sew a little more. Before you know it, you'll sew like a pro! Okay, I'll shut up now and let you go ogle the servo motors

Looks like a leash to walk 2 dogs at a time?

I agree about the servo motor! I hated the clutch motor from day one! I love my machine now. And when I first started, I just stuck a long piece of duct tape on the bed of the machine as a guide, and ran my sewing edge along that tape. It's "adjustable" to whatever width you wanna sew, too! Another trick I learned was to use 2 bobbins - one on top instead of the big spool, and one in the machine. That way, when the top thread is running low, you know the bobbin is running low, too, and you can keep from running out of thread in the middle of a seam.

Well, what the hell! Don't feel bad, I just got a braiding book, and I have a 5 strand cirular braid that turned out oval. Wanna trade?

Thanks! You're right, I never noticed it till you pointed it out. Do you know of a source for large acid free sheets of heavy black paper or lightweight cardstock? I think it would be nice to make an album with black pages, include a box or 3 of those adhesive corners for photos, and a metalic gel pen to enter captions... Sort of a cross between a photo album and scrapbook, if you will. My brother is super good at photography, and will be able to attend the wedding. He said that he'd take photos starting at the rehersal and rehersal dinner to the "getting ready" at the church, at the ceremony and reception. He could have the photos printed at one of those 24hr Walmarts or a 1 hour photo places, and put the loose photos in the box with the album I want to make. The bride and groom would have it wrapped up at the gift opening the day after the wedding. They could then choose the photos they wanted to put in the album, and write their own captions... We thought it would make a neat wedding gift from "Uncle Jon and Auntie Hilly".

Wow, that's a interesting skill to have. You did a wonderful job restoring that old book. Thanks for sharing. I was just reading a book binding tutorial that someone here posted a link to: http://www.leatherbooks.info/pages/BindingProcess1.htm I am interested in making a photo album with acid free pages (for my nieces wedding), only I didn't understand what the "spacers" are in step 7. Guess I'll have to do more studying.

Put the camera on a tripod, and shoot outside in open shade, no flash.

Don't forget to also make her a pretty camera strap so she can wear the camera 'round her neck when it's not in it's case.

Oh man, those are some drop dead beautiful cases! I especially like the one on the right. What colors are those?

Can I just run a search for YahooMessenger.exe and delete any files I find with that name without my computer hating me in the morning?

Glad to hear you came through unharmed. Grandma and Grandpa lost their house to a tornado years ago. Grandma was in the cellar getting some peaches when a tornado just dropped onto their house. Grandpa dove under the kitchen table because there was no warning at all. When it was over, the only things left was the stairwell and the kitchen table. Everything else they owned hand been sucked up in the funnel, and was found miles away. Grandma was fine, and Grandpa just had a few cuts from flying glass, but was otherwise okay. I think the man upstairs was watching out for them.

I can't find it in the add/remove programs list, and there's no uninstall option in the program list. I've run msconfig and unchecked the load at startup option, and it still wants to open every time I boot the computer up. I HATE it, and want to uninstall it, but HOW????

You can get that book from Tandy.

Another gorgeous piece of work by a very talented artisan. Thanks for sharing.

I like the tall, quiet ones....

Wow! 8 stitch per inch lacing. Bet that took you a couple minutes to finish.

Really nice, Marlon. I love your lacing.

2 1/2 weeks????? WEEKS??? Wow, you took to it like a fish to water. Great job! And you do a great job with the tools you have. Keep it up, and keep posting photos of your work. Maybe I'll give my burner another chance to make me look like a five year old .......

Neat scorpion! I always enjoy a good scorpion or mantid pic. I have an el cheapo wood burner, but my stuff looks like a 5 year old did it. Glad I didn't invest in an expensive one. How long have you been doing pyrography? A while, judging by your work.

Great looking purse, Tom! You sure have a good eye for detail. The new owner should be very pleased with it! You must have a strong arm to control that maker's stamp. I've found that when I whack my maker's stamp with a mallet, I get that bounce everyone talks about. If I whack it with a 1 pound rubber mallet, I get a very clear impression with no bounce. Must be the mallet bounces instead of the stamp? Hilly

Ooooh, MAN! I think I need to work a little overtime.... Sticker shock, ya know? Still, I'd rather have round edges than flat ones .