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close gimp put it into: Drive:\Program Files\GIMP-2.0\share\gimp\2.0\scripts and restart gimp a py is the same as an scm

You can improve your technique by writing up a lesson plan for the rest of us....lol

Nope..You have built in stuff on a MAC, that's probably better...I Take that back...it's more open source than I thought!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!MAC Gimp:http://www.gimp.org/macintosh/

I'm a firm believer in open source software, so I use things besides windows. I flip between Linux, and MSWinders. I stay away from the proprietary pay to play stuff. Instead of Photoshop, I use Gimp. It's free, and it works for me. Gimp for Windows: http://www.gimp.org/windows/ Today I downloaded a "plugin" for my gimp, called "blackink". blackink plugin: http://registry.gimp.org/plugin?id=10239 It takes a photograph, or picture and turns it into a line drawing. Think about it! Line drawings from Pix! Instant Templates! Just turn a photo into a line drawing, put your tracing film over it, and you can carve ANYTHING into your leather. I took my pickguard, and "blackinked" it, just to see. The pictures are down below. I just did this quick, without modifying any of the settings, and such. I'm sure with a little practice, you can really make the line drawings pop even better for tracing. What do you think? I think it's a way cool tool. CORRECTION: Thanks to Wolvenstein, once again, I've proven myself to be a numbskull. I installed several plugins ,and just jumped right into the ink one, only to find out, i wasn't using the one I told y'all. I was using the one installed by this plugin: http://registry.gimp.org/plugin?id=10042 That's the one that worked so well. I'll update this when i figger out that "blackink" plugin.

Another Beauty! That brocade adds some great richness. Ilike all the pockets.

I'm seeing double... Commission from the music store.... Two twins getting Martin D28s for Christmas, so...Papa wanted new straps for them too. They saw what I had in the store, and liked the simple strap with Basketweave, and "tobacco sunburst" colors. The color matches their D28s nicely. Nothing super special here, but if you want to explore basketweaving, try making two straps in one day....lol. 49" from peghole to peghole. 2" wide. Tan Antique first. I took walnut oil dye, rubbed it dry on newspaper, then burnished the edges for the two tone. 35 year old Tandy Basketweave stamp, and "camo edge. TanKote top. Edge dyed with walnut, and neatsfoot, beeswax burnished in. Neatsfooted the back (with a tan dye in the oil. Like I said nothing special, but kept me busy today, and I'll leave the twin jokes to youse guys....

http://www.autrynationalcenter.org/ortega/home.php

Looks good! I think you'll appreciate the dark color after the first cans of beer foam over it....lol

Don't forget to mention this forum (leatherworker.net) ...it probably won't do anything for us at first, but they might start associating the orders with this place, and then, who knows...

Every time you clean the bench, you lose tools for weeks. The Dog will always chew your favorite pattern. No matter what angle you twist yourself into, the light is never right. After two hours of precision work...then you make your mistake. Real basketweaving is easier than getting that &%$#@ basket weave stamp right.

Not sure about the shipping, the store is in my County. Just call and ask. Like everywhere else, I'm sure if you order in the AM, and pay for overnight, you'll probably get it.

I like it. For a proto, not too shabby. Certainly better than I picture my first holster. Ever since I started using oil dyes, mixed with neatsfoot, all my troubles have ended trying to get the color I want. 3 parts neatsfoot, 1 part dye, always gets me close to what I want, and no streaking. Just add dye to oil to darken

Anytime you see the boss in an apron, and his hands covered with leather dye, with leather scraps up to his ankles, while he's making belts inside a cramped metal building, more than likely, he's still small. And the fact that he takes time out to talk to you, give a price at the desk, and answer the phone, all while he's trying to get back to making the three things he has going, says he's trying hard.

Yep, and the site is: http://www.zackwhite.com/

I had to make an emergency run to Zack White's in Ramseur, NC. While I was there, I took pix to show, for anyone who orders from there, and hasn't seen the place. There's pix of the out front retail, the leather racks, and the backroom workshop. They make a lot of belts, belt blanks, and holsters there. Nice people. Significant price reductions on hardware and dyes with a tax number. I had a talk with him today about the demise of the tanneries, and other stuff. It seems most have opened in Mexico. China is buying up all the deerskin, leaving nothing hardly for anybody. Next years crop is already sold to them too. Unfortunately, as they buy more, the specs only have to come up to chinese standards. He's trying to make different deals with tanneries, and such, to get the specs up to his level for all the different hides. There's some skins from Argentina that look pretty damn good. He did say he's a little weak in the better tools, other than craftool and such. They want him to carry such a huge inventory, it's not in the cards to fix that situation yet. He even tried to have some made, but to keep the price and inventory in line, that too would require having a hundred of each tool. So stay tuned for a change at some point. He's trying to grow. If you give him a little support, it will help us all, as he tries to compete. There are only a few suppliers left in the country, I'ld like to see the littler guy grow....and no, I don't get nothing out of this ....just like the people and the service. There's a lot of pix, but their total size is small.

Let's not split hairs here....lol That is just wonderful, and the little walk through really shows the patience and skill necessary to do this work. Great job, thanx.

Looks damn good from North Carolina...lol I used to live on the North Shore in Ma. There were quite a few Tandy stores in the area. You should be able to find figure carving classes from someone left over from them days. I was the asst mgr in the Boston store for awhile, and although the stores may be gone, the people are plentiful. Here's the local to Boston Store: Tandy Leather #160 BOSTON Toll Free: 866-771-0003 Manager: Tony Hernandez 83 Parkhurst Rd, Unit 9 Chelmsford, MA 01824 boston@tandyleather.com View Map 978-275-0596 fax: 978-275-0929

Patdf, IMHO, I think you are doing a great job! For just a few pieces under your belt, that's pretty swell. For such a large expanse of backgrounding, that's pretty clean looking. With a view straight down, it's hard to pickup the actual depth of the beveling, but it doesn't matter, a little more depth will come with each practice. Remember, casing is most important, it makes the difference between mushed, and clear.

Thanx, abn! I don't really care all that much about the money, but I try and put all the aspects of a piece out there in a topic. How I dyed, stitched, what I charged. That's what the forum is for. Some of us know less than others, and viceyversey. If we don't talk about it all, then nobody learns what's good, what's fair, what should I shoot for. Am I good enough to charge x$? Man, who are those customers that pay THAT much for stuff?.

Well, it's been about two months since I started up leatherwork again, after decades away. I don't think I've gotten my skills back, by any means, but I am improving. The tooling is a bit better. It's deeper, even though this is only 6/7oz. The hand stitching is okay, but the old eyes are fighting me. For hand stitching, I use a pointed awl. I don't like the stitching chisels, or the look of the slanted diamond awl. The pointed awl pierces easier, I can control the hole size, and the harness needles slip thru easier. I dip the awl and needles into saddle soap as I go along....just my preference. I can see a million mistakes in this piece. The swivel cuts are horrible, the pear shading is haphazard at best, and the circles of the spirals are just not round enough, other than that, it's wonderful...lol. So pile on, and let me know what you think I should work on. This was a commission. He wanted to pay $50. I actually spent a good 6-7 hours on it. I could have spent more. But at my $15 an hour goal, the price would be too much. Many people could probably spend a lot less time, and do better, but there it is. So, I'll probably try and charge $60. Most of the good toolers charge about $3 an inch, which would translate out to about $120 for this, if it were tooled better. The pattern was Craftaid 3611. It's a really old template, I probably bought it in 1975, but I use it for 2" straps/belts, cause it's a fairly quick tool, not too complicated, big leafs,ferns, and flowers. I used 3 parts neatsfoot oil, and 1 part Feibings Tan for the dye job. She didn't want any two tones, or antiquing, so it looks a little bland to me. Leather balm over it. Usually I pride myself on the edges...super burnished, and waxed, but I ran out of steam on this one. I forgot to edge slick the sewn piece first, so I tried to slick it after it was on. I messed up, so I incorporated the slick marks into a "design feature"....lol The adjustment strap, I used to do in the '70s, but I don't really like it. I can't for the life of me, figure a buckless billet that works, with an easy adjustment. The only way for an easy, and quick adjustment is with a buckle, and nobody with expensive guitars wants a buckle near the finish on their baby. I've tried rifle sling buttons, snaps, seperately sized billets...one thing I haven't done is lace or wrap the buckles. Maybe I'll try that next. I look forward to any of your ideas on that problem.... I'm taking a schizo stance on this one. One minute I think it's horrible, the next, "Geez, that looks good". Either way, I'll get over it. The important thing really, is whether the new owner likes it. Anywho, here are some pix. Add some good critiques, so everyone can learn something. I'm going out for a bit, that'll give this time to marinate.

That's fantastic! Great job of sculpting. Creative use of the tools to make the hair and beard. I miss Jimi....

I like it. Should work right fine, and the braidwork makes it look like someone cared.

Thanx RawhideLeather. Clear and concise. Good tip/trick for keeping the beeswax nearby. If there isn't a sewing "sticky", this should be one.

Professional is the word, I believe...

Clean Carving work. Beautiful braiding. Well done. Everytime I think about braiding, I look at all the holes to fill in, and go back to making a belt...lol