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These are sort of "dry rubs". It starts with the main color, then a darker color is rubbed along the edges. Some of mine are three to four colors, starting with a light wash, then a darker rub, then even darker at the edges. In this one I dry rub a light mahogany, then a full mahogany, with chocolate brown on the edge. A light dry rub of oxblood is applied to the center. You need to experiment to get what YOU want. Thinning down full strength dyes, applying wetter or dryer, harder rub ons, etc. etc. PS: This can sort of be done with an airbrush, but it always looks airbrushed.

Tips from Uncle Dave Most useful wax: Melt Paraffin, beeswax, and neatsfoot oil. Let cool. Very soft wax. Spread on edges to burnish easily, hardly any effort. Spread on top of leather finish for nice feel, and water resistance. Take a chunk and slap it on your sewing machine somewhere the thread passes. Nicely waxed thread. Best working table top: ABS plastic. It's the same stuff your cutting boards are made of. You can get it any size up to 4x8 sheets. Mailed to you. Try places like US. Plastics online. Comes in as little as a sq ft, all the way up to full 4x8 sheets. I think mine are like 1/8" thick. If it gets too many cut marks and stains, you can actually sand it down with an orbital sander. Keep table top cleaner: I buy brown paper rolls at Lowe's Hardware (20 inches or so wide). On my cutoff saw I chop them down to 10 inches. Nailed on the side of my bench is a paper towel roll. Place the cut brown paper in the roll, voyla! Roll out the length you need, tuck the ends under the abs plastic, and you keep leather clean, have a place to draw, daub dye onto...etc, etc Best glue dispensers: Simple, I just punch a hole in the top of a pickle jar lid. My artist paintbrushes stick through.I use different width/thickness brushes for different tasks. Fill the jar with ordinary contact cement, barge, white glue...your preference. Lid screws on and keeps the glue fresher longer. Dye Mix jars and a place for 'em: At your local garden center, they sell 3- 4" pots of plants. Those usually come in a plastic container that holds a dozen or so pots. Get some! When I make mixes of dyes, I use the pickle jars (we eat a lot of pickles it seems!). They fit perfectly in those planter containers. Leather storage: I buy the round cardboard concrete forms at Lowe's. Cut them in half, and then stack 'em. Buy different sizes for different size rolls. Keeps everything organized, and visible. Dye Thinner: I use Feibing's Pro dyes a lot. Instead of a $28 qt. bottle of their dye thinner, I use a $10 gal can of denatured alcohol from the hardware store.Works fine for me. Top finish: A good alternative to Resolene, atom wax, tan kote, etc is a simple Kiwi neutral finish found at every grocery store in a plastic dauber bottle. Easy application, and lasts a long time.Rub it on...done. Anyways, you get the idea. Let's hear some of yours. UPDATE: I found Part 1 of these tips dated 2010!

My only comment would be.."Wrong"...a bit snippy, I know! But, two separate Sections, two separate purposes. I'm the mod that puts all the topics into a category after they have been up for awhile. Lots of people don't put their Topic under the right Label, or give it the right Tag. I'm the one that sorts that out. I'm like the Librarian and the Dewey Decimal system. Not always right, mind you, but I try. Look for a wallet pic, you'll find it under , "Purses, Wallets, etc" because of me. Want to see that pic of a saddle you saw last week...Look under "Saddles and Tack" . Want to see what people are making, and are sort of proud of, enough to post it to the world...see "Show off". Want to learn from everyone on the board .."How do I do That" . Want to see how to improve your work..post in "Critique my Work". Couldn't be any easier to explain. Hey, I'm more of an Anarchist, so you do whatever the heck you want to...I'm just sayin'! Besides, I haven't been posting in a long time, and thought I would re-introduce myself...lol. Say hey to the CY

And, "That's a fact, Jack!"

I figger if someone posts in Show Off, they're looking for a small pat on the back. For crying out loud, give it to them, or move on. They are genuinely proud of the effort, and fully aware there are some worse, and some better out there. We should want to support each other, not tear each other down. If they wanted critiques, they would have said so, or posted in "Critique my work". So many people in this business think they are just the cat's meow, and know everything. They have to tell everyone else what they did wrong. Hey, I got eyes! I can see the things YOU made. And you have the hutzpah to try and instruct ...sheesh. Look, the leather business comes and goes. There can be decades between it's popularity, and disdain. Thirty years from now, the guys you are criticizing could still be around, and you...long gone. Lighten up, Francis! I'm feelin' cranky today, sooo, just a small rant, and didn't want to hijack someone's thread, with this observation. Don't be like me.... Be kind to each other.

That was done with a machine that sews what is called a "chain stitch". IMHO it really isn't a very strong stitch. I make a lot of those handles, along with the handles I make specifically for Carr Amps, and I would advise using the saddle stitch you are learning. I would also try and pick up some new leather to make a whole new handle. Usually, if the stitching is falling apart, the leather isn't far behind. Good luck with your project.

Before you spend hundreds on leather, it would be better to buy belt blanks from Zack White, Springfield Leather, Tandy, etc. "How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice,practice,practice"... I'm not sure why you want the lace stock, but for belts, suspenders, shields, cases, straps, you will probably need vegetable tanned hides, at various thicknesses...a big investment. Big plans require small steps at first.

Just go back to that page and click on his/her gallery pix. There's several "possible" bags. I forgot which one started this topic, but they are still cool.

My cynical self would normally agree with this, and have experienced just what you are talking about... but after looking at their Facebook page, the style and names comport. If this person is really looking for a mfg, they might try and interact with these comments, and give out a little more information. Most of us are not tooled up for mass producing but, I'm sure there maybe a few of us who are. With too much cynicism, an opportunity might be lost for someone.

Welcome! Chatham County, here. Don't forget that everyone here loves Pix!.

Sometimes, we have to remind our friends that they are the treasure, not the stuff they do.

Welcome VanRhodes. Glad to have you here. It sounds like you could contribute a great deal to the knowledge base of LW. There's plenty of nerdy sewing machines talks here, so get into one of your rigs and jump in.

With all the switching between threads and leathers that I do, I have become quite proficient at adjusting my 3000's timing. I have never really had to adjust anything else on the machine. Not the check spring, not the needlebar, nothing. It always comes down to the timing. Now that could be just me, so pay attention to others advice, but in your manual, there should be a pretty good description, along with photos and measurements explaining the timing.

or...you could just use the LW's PM messaging system.

Could I get a picture of them by themselves, not installed? How much for small quantities...say, a dozen or two?