TomSwede

Seeing you wearing those two together would really set it off. Love the croc flaps (gator?) especially that clips flap. Nice shape to it. Sewing stink??....Nah it's gotta be that groover;-) Very nice set! Tom

Here is a copy of my reply to Tim so all can see. I think I talked about this with the cig. box aswell. Hi Tim! You're right. Just like when tracing with transferfilm the design to carve, I traced the name with film and I like the leather thoroughly cased and not too wet. It is much easier to use transfer film first and then in the end, after all tooling/stamping just go over it with the stylus once again, carefully, and give it a little more depth. The antiquing does the job so be careful when wiping it off because it is not very deep in the leather really. I aslo did this on the complex letters of the cig.box posted some 2 weeks ago and there I used heavier antiquing to bring out details from the black backgrounding. Check it out if you haven't seen, on the board or my blog. Experiment with it, you get the hang of it in no time if you have treced with film before. Tom

Hey Bree! Armed and dangerous! Have fun with your new friend! Tom

Hi and welcome! You sure have found the right place to find answers so read read read and study troughout the threads. I think there might be lots of good material for you that got lost in a server crash in Jan -08. All you se now is from after that crash and there are people working with recovering that lost material. There are no dumb questions so just ask if theres anything you need. I'm sure you're on good way allready with more than 10 years experience. Tom

Thanks you so much Troy!! Loved the pics in show your self! Tom

You might be doubleright here. Like i stated earlier my mind is prone to drift off when i monotonous work. This is good when doing long tideous basketweaves for example but bad when doing a long groove. My blade is longer than the guide as you can see in the pics but wait up a second here. What do we see when we look at this enlaged image. I can't see it clearly with my own eyes but looking at this image it looks like the edges of that cutting has been used to showel gravel with!! I'm gunna bring out my macro gear and try to get a good shoot at that edge. Tom Edit: Not a good clean macroshot but the edge do not look that crisp to me. I have a sparblade but got a fuzzy shot of it but appears to be similar, perhaps a tad better.

Thank you Caroline! We're groovin on!! Tom

Thanks Crystal! The buckles look great, just should have had them in one size smaller. Hard to find buckles here and even when I do it costs to sit on too much stock. Tom

Hm that is a nice idea! Do you mean they can be entered to next show aswell alltough they was in the previous one? I know contribs. has to be made within the last year to qualify. Now I feel like starting with something hmm need more money to get materials. Edit: I just realised we're getting very off topic here so I PM this last post to you and we can go from there. Tom

Thanks Tina! I like the colour very much too, a little bit more red wouldn't have hurt for my personal pref but I do have the customer to consider;-) Tom

I'm so happy for you Tina! Yeah better move up to help us lesser beings ha ha. Nah seriously I'm VERY satisfied with the third place and got my ego boost of the day. I'm actually a bit worried how I'm gonna get time to get stuff together for next one. I don't wanna cut time from my fav forum either. Since I deal with shipping costs it'd be most economic to send many contributions for every show until I get up a bit...or convinced I'd better save my money for good;-) Ribbons and advancing in comps is good for marketing so definetly wanna move up to advanced some day but it's a long way and stuff can happen. Loosing an arm at work and all stuff you can't expect. It's all in the compass and I don't maneuver that one, I just follow it. I thought it was just 3 wins to move up..oh crap;-) Shipping rates just went up;-) It's good thing they mov you up automatically, it's a bit tricky with the coloured ribbons and keeping track wich colour is what for me. I tend to mix stuff like that up. Thanks to Johanna aswell! You've done a great job with putting up images and all..and fast too. I hope I get the chance to someday meet you and shake hand..but first I need to study the russians at the baltic sea history;-) Tom

Had I know the good response on fore hand I'd save the post until I had the time to take the closeups. The forum looked dead earlier today so I threw up the overall pics anyways. Well here are some closeups, surely you can see some inconsistencys here and there. There is a few marks before the rivets at the wider part and these are those grip marks from the manufacturing process that I hided in the tri-weave and also a few bad lines from my attempts at scribing a guideline. It'd be nice if I had a smaller buckle at the narrow part. I did plan to go with a wider strap there but turns out it wouldn't fit to the rifle that way. Flame on! Tom

Absolutely great Cecil! It must have been a petience trying thing to make the filligree and (I assume) polish the small inside edges. Bonus points for patience! Tom

Thank you Timbo! I used Tandys mahogany antique stain topped of with a splash (mixed together) Fiebings pro oil red to make it look richer, mahogany is strange, sometimes it comes utd like a dull grey and sometimes like I have now. I used it all the time years back for bracers and always got good results with it. Strange, I wonder if there can be any inconsitencys in the leather reacting with the colour? So topped it with red cause my test piece pointed towards dull grey. Buckled at it's longest position it is 39,76" (1010mm) Don't know what that is in feet but I think you're more on top of that than me;-) That is what he wants and I had just the material to throw in 3-4 inches at both ends Ah Schno, thanks alot! You make me very proud, my ego was high allready so now I don't know where to put it anymore;-) My viking helmet sits two inches above my head now;-) I seriously recommend everyone here to check out Schno's archers bracer. That one got me in a envy. My workbench is really great and big. I hate to sit over a smaller stone because I have to raise my arms higher wich is punushment to my neck. Over here in Sweden marble table tops is not a very "in thing" today so the fleamarkets often have them for sale VEEEERY cheap. I got mine for free after my friends father died and the fleamarket didn't want the other one he had!! If I had only known this before I promised him a rodtube in return;-) I'd love to see you at one of our public whisky tests with about one hundred people gathered over no drinking problems. Our Bushmills special was a great hit. Darryl! Is that my sore thumb from grooving;-? The center tri-weave was the easiest part I think. it is not 100% percent straight but just enough to look very good. That sling sure was hard to figure out. I've seen another solution that is not on the fly but it looks very good so I'm thinking of using something similar. I looked at it long enough to understand the basics of it but still have to figure out a good way to do it so hopefully that will put my own characteristics to it if I do it. Tom

Thanks DC and Art! Really just stuff I pick up here (and scavenging the net)and ya'll helped me out with this one and grooving probs. The grooves would be crap if you hadn't, so big thanks to all Good members here. This was not sheened so I used a Fiebings product specially blended for my supplier (with Swedish printing too) and from what I can tell from Fiebings homepage it is something like Aussie leather conditioner but my supplier has extra beeswax added. Other than that they can just give me acrylics (they love supersheen) and a Danish product wich is something like the one I got now. One good hour of buffing has given very little, I'm gonna try some but it does look good any way. Gonna try a water drop on it too. I do have a balm with carnuba cream (also Danish, ROC company) but very hard to get it on. It streaks veary easily and like to clean of antiques very well. Here you go Brad, look at Darryls post waaay down in the thread: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?s...amp;#entry63986 Tom

Ha ha yeah those that I do really hug the arm so maybe embracers, lol. I never know what to call, switching between armbands, bracers, cuffs. I just learnt what cowbouy cuffs are. Never noticed them before. They are really nice. So lay out a piece of white paper and draw a baseline that is 20 millimeters ( about 1/5 under one inch. I have so much trouble with inches;-) shorter than the circumference of your wrist. The circumference should be measured at the narrowest point towards your hand and over that protruding bone (the joint). Draw a 90degree line up from the center to the desired height of your bracer (5" or so for this one portrayed here). Now from the baseline draw up the sides but tilt them outward a bit and make them from 2/4 to 2/3 in the length of the height to the front top. The tilt is to accommodate the arm getting thicker. So now that you got those lines all you need is to close the sides to the center line and your setup with a rooftop bracer like this one. Save that paper and experiment with the tilted sides to see what you like and more importantly, what your friends like;-) When you have a shape you like you can make out different armsizes on it and draw on alternative tops in different colours and you have a pettern htat will be very helpful to you. I used my pattern for about 7-8 years now and love it. Just lay it on top of the leather and use a needle to mak out the connecting dots to the leather and then just cut after those with a utility knife and ruler. Piece of cake. Thanks for the appreciation and good luck!! Tom

Thanks alot Tina! Oh yeah it was really cool to see your Dionysos right next to mine. I'm really glad to hear you like my braiding. That was my first braiding ever except for a teststrip of 4". I used the teststrip to make sure that I got is as tight as I possibly could. I wore out two needles with that flask ha ha that was fun. I did no splicing because I hadn't got a clue how to do it. I saw your excellent necklace won (first?) price so big congrats to that an how did the Dionysos go?. It's hard to tell if the red ribbon to the side is for your mug or not. I think your mug is way nicer than the flask, the flask is not flawless wich I suspect your mug is. I allready know what a great bunch o' people leatherworkers are, the hope of humanity!!! Tom

Thanks Tina! It looks like this one http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/product...?number=8069-00 Looks like same tool same function just easier to adjust the blade as far as I can see. Darryl (Sodapop) has one that looks really great though. The blade sits under the main handle piece and the guider out to the side wich puts the pressure right down to the blade. I have this instictive feeling about this tool that I never gunna like it so definetly looking to get it sorted some other way if it is possible. There was a lot of good tips that helped me with the second run really. I assume it would be like with the swivelknife, very hard to go for a second run so I'd still sit with the grooves of the first run if it wasn't for that. Sometimes you're just stuck with things and need a little push forward. By the way, here is the finished sling and It cam out nicely int the end so thanks all who have helped with great tips and ideas! http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?s...amp;#entry63953 Tom

Ah, you devil you! I soooo envy that!! Love Bushmills!! We're taking sight on Orkney islands next time on tour though, Highland Park and great viking heritage on that island!! Tom

Thanks you all! Luke, I got the second run down alot better with the tips I got but the grooving step took far to long time and with scrutiny the grooves are not perfect. The might hold up a stitching line so so. Cutting time down would be a good thing, I wanna hang around with you guys too.. After seeing the other grooving tool I feel hope! Tom

So this is the riflesling wich I used the groover and agonized over. There was a thread on riflescabbards and borders so I used it but a little bit simplified. I was going to use tri-weave to fill up the insid area but after the center row I thought it looked finished so just added customers name with stylus instead. I also got the pattern from snooping around the net. I don't like the look with the rivets like that but He wants it ASAP and I have three more to for him so gonna look into it for next one. Got an idea wich is also something I saw on the net and liked. The buckles are on the inside and I realise it can cause an itch but hunting season is such that He will have a thick jacket so I don't think it'll be a prob. Also set the buckles a bit loose so they can swivel and follow the motion of the body. They are actually too big but once again, he wants is asap. Any critiques welcome Tom

Hey Art, you gotta be kiddin me. That's no tank, just a mine that float ashore at Bruichladdich distillery. Now this pic shows the tank we emptied Tom

That was a good idea. I'm thinking it may keep the tool more steady against the table top. I just saw another one available that I've never heard of before but was very expensive but the bladecutter was where the polished tip is and where the Craftool one has the wireblade/cutter that one had a guide so kinda reversed to the Craftool one and the cutter is situated like with a pencil. Should be easier to maneuver around tight corners with that one. If I was in US I get it instantly. Gonna look at grinding it down like yours and polish. Thanks alot Chuck!

Wow Davy! If this isn't very advanced I don't know what is. Rubicks cube is a piece of cake compared to this (and I never finished the cube). Tom

Ah!!! Slainte mhath (sorry I'm out of Bushmills) Good health! Yeah congrats Tina and all others who have won!! I was laughing to myself earlier when I saw that Tinas Dionysos mug was next to my flask. Two Swedes at the comp, drinking items (whisky-wine), one Scottish themed and the other Greece themed, sitting next to each other. It's a small world and I'm glad to sit next such a wonderful artist and comrade, such as you all are!! I wanna express my personal gratitude to John K Karnes aka indypbear who not only encouraged me to enter but also has helped me alot to sort out the details and getting the contribution entered. I'm sorry I couldn't send anything else just for the fun of it but things has been really wild (well I work too long on every project) with orders lately. My social life is only here and on myspace for the passed month and a half. Tom