pete

after it's dry and you stick them together, you can't pull it apart! pete

Use Barge cement. A little on each piece, let it dry so that you can touch it and it won't stick to your hand, then carefully place them together. If you are worried that you can't do it perfectly the first time, use rubber cement. It can be shifted after tacking, and if you are sewing afterwards it will hold well enough until you do. pete

That's what I thought that I might have to do. Thanks for responding! pete

Looking at a few old Tandy books and the" Lucky 8 " Belt book in particular I have seen references to a tool that I would love to have. It was made by Tandy and it's an edge creaser with a twist. It has a sharpened blade that actually cuts the edge rather than just creasing it. I believe that is it called an edge cutter. The number escapes me but I think that it is an 8407 or something. Does ANYONE have one or know who makes it? I use dividers and swivel on my belt edges but this would be neat to have. pete

If I line something then I glue the whole thing in. When I said to allow for the spine/lining, I meant that you shouldn't just close the book and measure across the spine. You need to allow a bit(maybe 1/16th) extra as it will bind a little if you simply groove the spine area the exact width. The outside needs to fold around the spine and that's where measuring it closed edge to edge comes in. I just like to add a little both tho allow enough to close it and have it lay smooth. What you scoop out with the french edger you will be adding back with the liner as you are basically filling it back up again! Glue the center down well and bone it so it's really bound. Then you can do either side at your leisure rolling and working it towards the edges and getting all the wrinkles out. Chan Geer likes to do one edge/side, and gently lay the rest over his hand with the cover drooping over semi closed and push the lining up into the spine and across to the final side. I've tried it both ways and prefer finding the center of the lining/cover, lining them up, cementing the entire spine and boning it completely first. Then I have no glue anywhere and feel more free to spread it on one side and stretch and work and trim it then the other side. Note- when you do line it you must have the cover at about a 45* angle (partially shut) when lining.If you line it flat you WILL get wrinkles when you fold it shut no matter what you do! Semi fold it shut as you work the liner across and you won't. If there are still tiny ones that you can't get out they will stretch out when you open it fully. I have a 2 sided dough roller that I love. One roller is flat like a 4" or so rolling pin, and the other side has curved ends. I use it as much as I do my boning tools! Let us know how it's going. and again...sorry for before. pete

Ellen, Have you tried dying/painting AFTER you oil the piece? It prevents a LOT of bleeding. pete

Ellen, take some playdough, a ruler, and see how far off they are when you try a straight line-up. I have one that's crooked and marked it with a sharpie. I almost always carve letters but some folks want the small fonts and don't care about the stamped look. I bevel and spoon them anyway to get rid of the halo. pete

I know that peter main likes to draw , cut bevel, one line and scribe the 2nd with dividers. It works. pete

Sorry for the reply- I guess it did seem a little terse having re-read it! To make the book close easier, lay flatter, and keep unnecessary bulge out of the spine, measure the spine width and add a little.. Say that your spine is marked with lines 1/2 inch on each side of the centerline. Start with one outside line and groove it top to bottom. Do it again next to it. Again until you have reached the center line. THEN GO TO THE OUTSIDE OF THE OTHER LINE. DON"T just keep going across. Work the other one to the center also. This way you will have parallel and straight lines as a channel for the spine. Use a french beveler and take out the "rows" so that you gave a smooth swath down the spine of the cover. I just finished 2 bible covers. When you slip the front and back into the new cover, you don't even see the UNLINED spine area- it's covered when its open, and closed its tight against the spine. If you ARE concerned about the spine showing, just add the thickness of the lining material to the spine measurement , glue it,work it in and smooth it down well. Hope this helps- sorry for the earlier post pete

Well of course it will show if the inside is unlined. What are you asking? The reason for the steps is to make the book fold and close easier. If you don't want it to show- then line it!

I can't seem to recall- is there a" formula" for the finished length (shrinkage)- or does it depend on the amount of strands? pete

I just got my order of 3-4oz tooling from Springfield. Always great stuff and barely a bad piece on the whole SIDE! Problem is ( and it's NOT Kevins' fault.....Kevin....I love ya man...) the leather is SOOOOO light it's almost white. Tools well and burnished ok.. but oil didn't make any difference. I know that this isn't chestnut or some colored tanning, but what can I do besides sunlight for a few days that will give me some color!? Has anyone ever dyed a piece before casing and tooling? Id'e love to know as I don't want to sacrifice much nice stuff to experiment if there is another way out there. By the way- I tried my old true neat's/dye, and Bick's/dye mixtures but they made it a pukey orange color. pete

Funny that you should write this today. I JUST finished 2 bible covers. I have never covered a bound book before- just albums etc. Make sure that you measure over the width and length of the cover. Leave plenty to trim afterwards. And if you are making a cover for the book to slip into on each side- make sure that you measure it closed, as the width of the finished project will be wider than just adding the 2 covers and spine widths. I glued the panels on and slipped the book covers into them to make sure, stitched, and then trimmed and edged. As for the design, what did you have in mind? Lots of talent here to help pete ps- if I did it wrong myself- PLEASE chime in someone!!!

place you makers mark on it an make a keychain fob. Give it free with your belt- you will get referrals and repeat business! I have one myself on my car keys- I write my phone umber on the back with a sharpie.

Beautiful work as always! Question- if you don't mind. What kind (color, wt. brand) of leather do you use for this project? I have a whole slew of oils that I need as the leathers all have some differences. The last batch was so "white" that I had to use my old reliable neats+chocolate dye mix after tooling just to give it some color. And is that med. brown paste? Also- did you use a double beader to make the tracks on each side of the beads, or do you cut the lines , bevel, and use a single beader. Thanks for the great work. You are an inspiration! pete

EXCELLENT!!!! I just hope that it "clicks" with me someday! I've been at it for years and still cut and paste! You're a lucky fellow. pete

Haven't tried it- but I DO use woodworking chisels! I found 3 new ones in a tool box, stropped them a few times, and MAN they are the best thing for skiving!!! I have a tandy skiver as well as my trusty head knife- but the chisel beats them all to heck. I can get 16 oz or 4 oz. leather down to a feather edge in 2-3 passes! pete

Mike- I agree totally. Oil your piece and let it sit overnight. It will open the pores and will even out the dye as much as it can. I've never "dipped" a piece but always do this when brush dye-ing. Made a big difference.pete

Hi aspanol! Welcome to the forum. I really hope that you don't take this wrong, but it think that it would be a great investment on your part to buy a book or two on basic leatherwork an construction. Tandy and others have wonderful books that will give you great information to get you "up to speed" on basic tools and their uses, how to sharpen them and easy projects that allow you to put the tools and information to use while practicing. Again, don't take this wrong- I simply thought that based on your questions that you could use some basic fundamentals to speed up your learning curve. We've ALL been there- stay with it- Were behind you! And make sure that your post ALL of your work- we're here to help one another. Merry Christmas! pete

Has ANYONE tried my method of treating the edge with just Feibing's antique(paste)? I sand, edge, and apply the paste, then rub with just a canvas. The paste soaks in, lubricates as I rub, and dries in seconds to a really nice finish. I quit using dye (NEVER liked edge-coat) ANYONE??? pete

Did you cut it deeply? Depending on the depth I would cut and bevel the piece completely, then add some "decorative" cuts in the piece(s) that run parallel to it. Hard to explain, but the piece of "lace" that is just to the left of the cut ( it weaves under) and all the others could be textured with a knife or stylus to give it a wood grained look. It wold take the eye away from that single cut. pete

I just got my order of a knife today. I realized that I had made a mistake in ordering the wrong barrel size. I called Paul who said not to worry. He would immediately send out a bigger one so that I could get on with my orders and to send the smaller one back when I got it. Great blade, great company, great product. pete

what do you need? lot's of patterns all over here and the net. Check out Tandy for starters. pete

they make a real expensive tool for that, but you can use a piece of bike innertube or a big erasure- something rubber to hold the back as you screw it in. Use lock- tite too. pete

water and iso. alcohol 50/50mix. Pour it on and STUFF your boots/shoes with newspaper as tight as you can. They will stretch and not hurt the leather. pete