rdb

Got to love Willie....cool vid. The Western Channel is on whenever I'm by myself. The wife even gets into it once in awhile. Maverick, The Rifleman, Gene and Roy, Wild Bill Eliot, and of course there's always the best like Randolph Scott. I wish they'd bring back the Cisco Kid, Paladin, Wagon Train, Branded, Sugarfoot, and Rin Tin Tin...then I'd never have to grow up..."Where's my Fanner Fifty?

That's a fine website. Plenty of room for growth, and lots to look at. The rope cans are terriffic! It should help your business, no doubt.

Nice looking bag. A lot of people will want that one.

Acetone & Toluene works. Just a little dab'll do ya'. Either, or together will thin it out to be workable, but it's never quite as good as fresh. For the price of the cement, buying additives probably dosn't make great sense...emergencies excluded. I'ld just go buy another tub of cement.

Punch the 3/8hole, then use the pippin to make the slit I'm amazed that Ray found a large one, I've not seen one that big...1/4 and 3/16 is all I can come across. The problems I've found in making the peg holes on a strap is the varying sizes of pegs. 99%, the 3/8 will work. Some guitars have a wide top peg, but the hub is 3/8. I've found that the length of the slit, whether 3/4". 1", or longer is the key to a tight or loose fit.

Thanx Brad and Shorts. Brad, the back of the case pictures are there... I think the belt loop coming from the bottom is unique. Whether it works or lasts, my friends will keep me informed, we'll see.

Had to make some belt looped mag cases for my friends. Right off the bat, I have no patterns for such things, so I had to figger some. This design is opposite from all the ones I've seen, naturally, I couldn't copy someone else...sheeesh, I do things the hard way This isn't showoff stuff, by any means, but just to show the things people ask me to make, and I how I cope without all the stuff I need, like patterns, and sewing equipment, without spending too much time on little things. The pix will show my worked out patterns, and assembly. I needed to make 2 single 45s, one single 40, and a double 40. I didn't handstitch, should have but didn't. I don't have a holster plate, and foot yet, money is tight, so I jammed it in the 3000, and did the best I could. The left foot knocked some stitches away from the line, and the stitching looks like my old neighborhood cobbler in the 50s, but like him, it ain't pretty, but the stitching is tight, backstitched heavy, and not going anywhere. The mags are tight, and since this is horsebutt, they should stay that way for a long time. I still need to find a source for retention screws with two phillip head ends, not those spiked ones...too big, and ugly. I still have to vinegaroon them black, my friends, and customers love the look. You can join in with your own pix of things you aren't used to making, and how you handle it. Thanx for lookin'

He's going to like... I know I like the style, it's different. I don't remember oldtimers being so prolific, in my younger times. Something is affecting us, nowadays, to cause this family distress. I hope the time left for you two is gentle.

Welcome Shoer, You'll feel just like home here... Can't wait to see some of the things you made. I'm betting you haven't just messed round for 30 yrs.

Russell, I can't see Jim! In case you are having a problem uploading your pix, this Topic should help you... http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?s...amp;hl=pictures

Great job Lots of things on this one. The scrollwork on the inside is the cool.

This is the second strap for a customer. He plays C&W, but he wanted Celtic type knotwork...Go figger. Black to match his electric, with Tan. Stitched with my 3000, white 277 linahal, Adjusts from 46-54, between the slots, the end punched holes, and the billet. Horse garment leather backing.Somewhere around 6-7-8 hrs to complete. I could have done a lot more, like binding the edge, etc. But I tried to keep it in the low $125 range. Thanks for looking.

Welcome to the Forum escherblacksmith! You've come to the right place for sharing information and friendship. Sort of an Open Source Leatherwork community. There's some Tartan wearers here, so you wont be lonely. Duct tape doesn't tool up so well, so I think that might be slim to none in the technique department...but I might be wrong...lol

Good job for your first floral. It's a lot tougher to do than it looks, isn't it? There's a lot to learn about doing floral carving, and lots of techniques to practice before anyone becomes proficient at it. Swivel knife work, Beveling, backgrounding,etc. Keep reading all the topics here, and pick up the books, they really are invaluable. As you complete the projects, try putting them up in the critique section, and there should be lots of advice to help make the job easier. The Sheridan style of carving is different than this type of floral carving. As you explore, you'll see the differences.

This is a fun topic, so I have to jump in one more time. I don't know for sure, but it may be the most commented on Topic Evah! JohnD..You are absolutely correct...Man do I miss Bill and Bob's Roast beef!!! I have a poor substitute for it down here in NC. I buy very thin rare roast beef ( Boar's Head, of course), and I bought some James River Sauce from Smithfield (That's what B&B uses, although I think they water theirs down a bit) A little cheese, sauce, mayo later, and VOYLAA!. A little slice of home. Johanna, stop making fun of my accent!! LOL. I have to repeat everything I say twice down here (or hehah as the case may be), even after 12 years. But these people don't pronounce anything the way it's spelled. Kerr Lake is pronounced "cur", but they say "carrr lake...go figure. Even in England people have a hard time understanding the spoken word from region to region, so the King's English is getting to be a relic of the past too. I came across this site, which is fascinating. Many words can be found out, so youse guys from America, may find this helpful in deciphering just what the hell UKRAY is talking sometimes...lol. http://www.translatebritish.com/dictionary.php

What do they know in England about Buckskins...sheesh...All they had were those men in green tights Seriously, I'ld be proud to wear it Luke. Nice job. The fringe cut looks like I think it should.

Thanx for the list! These are all things I would think of to make the natural dyes, but there's a lot of information I would like to know. For instance are these soaked and mixed with water, or some other medium. It would be nice to have these in a list order of tones, maybe starting with the darkest, moving to lightest. Things like that can be done, like you say, with teh Goog Machine, so of course I will take your advice. I haven't done all my research yet, but there should be books out there on "how to" make these dyes, and possibly their effect on leather. This would be a good Topic to try and gather that type of information. Not all knowledge can be found in a book. But I'll bet the people here probably have enough to fill one.

For all you experimenters out there, this didn't work out to well. After a few days of drying the color faded to a greyish tone. Hickory and vinegar no make a the go. I'll have to try getting the walnut shells at the pet store? If anyone has links to homemade dyes especially the browns let me know. I thought Chuck B once left some links, but i haven;t found them again yet.

I looked all over the Google, and elsewhere, cause, it interests me too. But the few real historical references only repeat and cut and copy what others have said. To get any real history on this is going to require some deep historical research. Phone calls and emails to western historians may be required. The general story out there is that the Mexican silversmiths made a small dressy buckle, the rangers had to dress sharp to impress their authority on people, the rangers needed wide gun belts, so they combined the tack approach to the gunbelt, and the smaller silver buckle...good luck on finding any other story. Common history is always a good story, but fact is often illusive.

That was the best story I've seen in a long time. That man rides tall in the saddle in my book! Thanx for finding that, barra

What rawhide said..... With two possible other techniques, one very simple in my opinion. Just oil it evenly, and hang it out in the sun for a day. If you want it darker, do it again. You can also tint your neatsfoot with some light color oil dye, say buckskin or saddle tan. Depending on how strong you tint, the color is usually very evenly distributed. Experiment a little with it.

jeffzilla, in one of my topics, left this comment about ranger belts: The history of the Ranger belt began as a cinching technique in horse tack. It allowed for tightening a strap without pinching a horse's hair in the buckle. Mexican Vaqueros were the skilled ranch workers of the early cattle days. They also attained great skills in leatherwork and silversmithing from the Spanish tradition in order to make the trappings of their trade. Sometime in the 1840's, the new Colt Walker 6 shooter was tried out by the legendary group of frontier lawmen, the Texas Rangers. These new guns needed holsters which required wide belts. By adapting the technique from horse tack, a smaller belt buckle sufficed.

That's just awesome work.! Unbelievable amount of planning and execution nicely done. I'm moving this into the "ShowOff" Section for awhile, just to give this a little better showing to everyone. Ill leave a redirect in the "Critique section for a few days so nobody will have to go looking for it.

I like your idea barra. Those marks will be critical to lining the whole thing up. If you don't want to take the old leather apart, The old "Duck Tape" wrap can sometimes work too. wrap the seat tight in saran wrap. Then start duck taping the seat. Start from the bottom inside with clean cuts, that way the bottom where you staple/rivet will be even when you flatten everything out. Do several layers, and it will be strong. Along with marking as barra suggests, you should have a good pattern.

Out of Salem. Old School Mass. I lived in Worc for 5 yrs. The NY influence on language was stronger there. They called it Soda too. That was my first exposure to the "outside " world. My mother's side came from Wales about 1630 ("The Planters"..look it up) My namesakes came from Bantry Bay in Ireland somewhere around 1857. So whatever traditions came about on the North Shore of Boston...I got 'em...LOL