pete

Not sure- but it's not harmful in any way. pete

Pure! Compound has nasty petroleum products in it. pete

I recall something that I saw Chan Geer do. I have used it and am well pleased. He sticks the ex-acto tip into the pine board vertically, and pulls the leather into the blade where possible. It allows for great precision and let's you make single cuts all the way through- something that I have had trouble with on some pieces. Hope this is if help! pete

WHY would you deglaze the piece at the end?!!! You just drew ALL of the moisture and oil out of the leather.

search the Kevin King posts here pete

Yes. Unless you get a SK-3 blade.

just use a bull's sack (testicle sack) Made a ton of "bolos" with them. pete

www.Midwayusa.com

I have a standard dremel. It has about 5-6 speed settings, but the slowest one is really fast. Is it too fast for finishing with wax? Do you all use a standard dremel for this? pete

That's the way it comes out if you sew away from yourself which is easier than towards yourself when it's in a clamp or horse. My guess. I've always sewn away from my body. pete

You can case the whole thing and keep re-wetting the area to stamp if needed, or you can wet just the area that you need. You shouldn't get water spots if you don't drip it or get one to begin with. Just wring out the sponge well and keep wetting it until it's cased. pete

If you have limited space such as I, my slab is a free (from a countertop co.) 14X24". I used to make a mess dying and antique-ing as my table isn't a lot bigger than the slab. I now go to the dollar store and buy rolls of clear shelf paper. 1 piece covers the slab and I tear it off when it's stained or too dirty to work with. Hope this helps pete

Partially fold the outside( as in closing it) and rubber cement the lining as you go. If you lay it flat the inside is longer than the outside in many cases due to the decreased width when folded. Take your time to line it up=the rubber cement will hold it well enough to sew it. pete

I've never tried a sprayer- but a bottle of neats and chocolate mix is a standard here. I use it on all the cheap leather that I get occasionally that is almost white, turns pink when I case it, and straight neats doesn't seem to darken it a bit.

First off- welcome to the forum. You are miles ahead of me and MANY others here when it comes to art. WOW! Great drawing! The wallet is a very nice job, you will only get better the more you do it. You have the artistic skills already down- just a matter of getting the knife skills down, AND DON'T APOLOGIZE FOR THE AVATAR! What a pleasure to see a beautiful young lady instead of some of the pictures that we post! (ok- mines goofy too cause I'm to homely to put my own mug up here!) Please post more as you go. And don't hesitate to post some of your work that we might like to copy and carve!! Myself- I'm always looking for original work to turn into a wallet, binder, album, etc. pete

It LOOKS like you didn't get a complete coverage with the neat-lac. When it comes to things like basketweaves you must use something like a skeepskin to really get the neat-lac into the cracks.Use a fairly good amount on a scrap, wipe it across the lid and immediately start rubbing it in from all directions- circular, up, down, all over. It can't sit too long as you thought. It must dry. If it stuck in the cracks in some places and not in others then you didn't get enough paste on it to begin with. YOUR situation looks like you may have gotten too much on it in places as it didn't take on most of the cracks. Remember, all that you are trying to do with the resist is to lightly coat the surface leather and allow the paste to invade the crevices. SO>>>>>>> wet, DON"T SOAK, the scrap and scrape it across the lid and quickly and lightly cover the piece, let dry and proceed with the antique. GET HEAVY with the antique paste and REALLY RUB IT IN in all directions. I use a huge glob on my projects so that you can't see the leather while i smear it on! Wipes right off. pete

there's VERY little room for mistakes when you use a dye. It's not really made for what you are doing. Are you using a LIQUID DYE as you would a paste antique? Doesn't work that way. Especially if you are putting it on with a rag. If anything you would need to airbrush it on but you still won't get the results that you see here. Save the dye for backgrounds and totally dye-ing a piece. pete

get a 36" aluminum ruler and a scalpel,box cutter.

You don't want a hair blade. It's for an entirely different purpose.Use a 1//4 angled. Better yet- get a filagree blade. You will use it more than for just letters. pete

A lot of folks mis-measure because they take a note pad, for example, and just measure the top to bottom and multiply by 2. They don't allow for the thickness of the leather and the amount needed to make the fold. Nor do they allow for the thickness of the pad or book itself. Measure your notepad CLOSED with a cloth tape from the back bottom, over the top and down to the front bottom. Also from the backside edge around to the front to the opposite side. This will give you a real measurement of the piece. From here you can cut a piece of leather 1" or so bigger than these dimentions and start your final measurements for design and stitch lines. pete

Fantastic! I have one of your 20oz. mauls. It's the best thing i've ever used. Aren't you using the brown material anymore? I love mine, It's quiet and solid.

Do yourself a favor. BUY a ranger belt kit from Tandy. You will see how it is done, you will be able to trace the pieces for another one, and you'll end up with a nice ranger belt. I fif this years ago when I didn't know how to make one from scratch, and havve made a dozen or so since then.pete

PLEASE post a picture of the groover on a piece of leather the way that you are trying to use it.

I have a new Osborne common edger #1. I've never used it and have no use for it. I would LOVE a bissonette #2 if anyone had one to trade. pete

What's not happening with the gum trag? It's only a few dollars for a small jar that will last you a long time. What is it that you wish to do? I never use it for edges-water and saddle soap work great pete