pete

Not a problem. Mark the center of the binder(grain side). Mark the outside fold lines (for a 2" spine, mark on 1" on each side of center line. V-gouge the centerline. take a ruler and draw lines parallel to that about 1/4" apart to the outside all the way to the lines defining the edges. V- gouge those but START at the outside lines and work your way to the center from each side. that way the outside edges will be straight . Take a french edger(most are about 1/4") and skive across. You should end up with a perfectly smooth" channel "where the spine is. Now- I like to glue the center channel first with an oversized piece of liner and work my way to the outside with the leather SLIGHTLY bent over my free hand. I do both sides and finish with a little pizza dough roller to smooth out the wrinkles. .Chan Geer likes to start at one side and fold the binder over his hand and push the liner up to the binder. Either way it works ,it stays closed, and you can easily work put the wrinkles in the center. Just make sure that you put a slight bend in the binder as you are applying the liner. pete

no takers? OK I'll ship anywhere in the US for 160.oo. Thats about what they are new (as this is) but I'll ship. pete

I bought a Tandy High Tech leather splitter (#3790-00 Tandy cat.) almost a year ago. I have split MAYBE 5 pieces of leather on it. Works great but I have been apprenticing under a saddlemaker here who has every piece of equipment you can imagine. It is only taking up room on my small bench at home and I will never use it. I need the desk space!!! I will pay shipping anywhere in the US and if you want one, I will throw in a new Lacing and Stitching pony for free. I am asking $200.00 o/b/o .( Remember that I am paying shipping!) PM me if you are interested. I'll take a check ('cause if you pull a fast one EVERY leatherworker here will know that you a scoundrel, and we don't want that do we!???) pete

Really nice work Ed! Question- do you use sheridan or regular bevelers? They look like regular with great depth but don't have any "hashmarks" along the edges like some sheridan bevelers do. Or do you have some really steep bevelers that are smooth? By the way- I LOVE my new maul. thanks again pete oh- and what type and number bar grounder did you use?

I took a 1 1/2" strip of a plastic milk jug, drew a line down the center, and punched 5 holes right down the line. I punched 5 because I like 2 on each side of the center hole in belts. they are 3/4" apart.

Welcome back to leatherworld! Question- did you use a mulefoot for the scales or did you cut and bevel each one? Really nice work- we want to see more. pete

Elton- Stunning.......as usual! What weight did you use for the belt. Looking at the depth of the center scroll, it LOOKS like you used 15/16oz! Is that the foto or the way you carved it? pete

Clay and Kate, It absorbs really well. It goes on like acrylic paint but it stays there and seems to dry immediately. My concern was that it would just coat the surface too, but I didn't wait more that a few seconds and dabbed it with a paper towel to test that very issue. It penetrated and didn't rub off! I think that the shaking issue was more a "bubbles" issue than a pigment but I could be wrong. Try it out- I finished the belt much quicker as I had just one coat, it was dark and even,and it didn't run so I could use a larger brush. When I brushed an area to where I had a "tip" formed on the bristles I dipped again and did the tiny corners. Let me know what you find. Thanks again for your responses. stay well! pete ps- note that I used chocolate. I didn't try yet with a light color. It WAS noticeably darker than a FRESH "dip" but I wanted a dark rich color anyway. Doc- I apologize for my response. It was rude and I realize that you were trying to help me. pete

uh----does sarcastic ring a bell? I was trying to make the point that I really liked the fact that the dye covered better and was much easier to apply leaving it overnight. I was wondering if anyone else let the dye "cure" before using it. pete

I was dying the background of a belt for my wife last night. I had to go to a function and left about 2 tablespoons of Feibing's chocolate brown dye in a small cup. Came back this morning and dipped my brush into it. I was hesitant to use it as it had taken on the consistency of neats or evoo. I tried it and was I surprised!!! Apparently the alcohol had evaporated a bit or something. I could load up the brush and even START in the tiny corners without the bleeding that usually comes. It went on heavily and completely and speeded up the process a great deal. I was no longer dipping and touching the paper or side of the cup, I was just applying it. Is this common for you that dye a lot? Is it too thin out of the bottle? I'm going to keep doing this from now on. Better coverage(one coat!) no bleed etc. pete

for a tripping collar and a breast collar under heavy use- I wouldn't use it myself unless I sewed it and riveted it. That's the last thing that I want to worry about. pete

I'm just really impressed that you can slap hard, wet, leather with it.

I just made one for a rope can. I wrapped the leather around a cord and sewed(on a Tippman) THROUGH the edge of the cord as close as I could to the edge. I trimmed it and burnished it and the edges are closer than I could have done with a special machine. Came out great with a leather handle that almost looks like a round piece of leather. pete

don't know what they are worth...... but you got a STEAL!!!!!!!!!!! there's a lot more than $300.00 in materials. Are they small? 14" seats or even less?? NICE SCORE!!! I could easily clean them up and sell them for $300.00 each pete

I ran out of tracing paper again. I went to a Dollar store to get some more clear shelf paper( a few yards for a buck) and took it home. I think that I read here that folks used peel and stick on clear shelf paper on their patterns and I was doing the same for a long time. A friend gave me a light table and lo and behold... I just trace the pattern on the paper back and leave the clear sheet on it. VOLIA" I have a waterproof pattern to use over and over and never have to go through the peeling and sticking. I know- I'm slow and lot's of you have figured this out but it cut my tracing and transferring time down to one step!!. pete

Glue the kid to the back piece- no sense in getting glue to squirt out on the front from underneath. I think that 2 8oz plus 2 oz might be a bit thick, but it sounds like a decorative, over the clothes kind of belt. Maybe 8 front, 4 back and the 2 in the middle. POST IT WHEN YOU"RE DONE!!!!!!! pete

Elton, Darcy, and Bruce, you hit the nail on the head. Ed the Bearman steered me to the turnback edgers too. Ah well.......".still a million bucks shy of being a millionaire!" (It's a wonderful life/Jimmy Stewart)

Ed the Bearman" got some information to me that satisfied my earlier request. It had to do with an edge beveler that could do tight spots and corners. I may ax the quest entirely before I invest any more into it. If I proceed then I will go into more detail. Anyone out there that would like a tool that bevels edges in really tight corners and inside curves???? thanks all pete

what I do in some cases is to splice the lace when I can't easily get between the leather to bury the last one. Skive the bottom of the new top piece, and the top (grain) of the old bottom piece. The key is to skive it a few inches! Let the glue dry . By having a 2-3" overlap, you can pull the lace with the overlap at the same time and you won't sacrifice the pulling tension. By the time you have solid lace again you're good. Crazy glue dries immed. but it can be a bit rigid. Barge takes a few moments but stays pliable. pete

I am looking for a tool maker to make what I know to be a new idea on a standard too. EVERYONE uses one who does any leatherwork. Toolmakers ONLY need respond. I have a pending patent and need someone to make at least a working piece that I will have you make in quantity, or I will contact a commercial maker(Tandy, Weaver, etc) I have no problem "going into business" with a private party (you) though. We won't make millions, but I know that we will have many hundreds of orders. Email me ONLY if you are serious and are capable of making tools pete

Kevin at Springfield Leather is the US distributor for Chaylor. He has it all in stock and no minimum.

Do it like Luke said, but wet the flesh side as much as you want- it won't affect the tooling or the antique. pete

I appreciate your "appreciating" my reply! Nice work on you web page. I was referring to MY drawing skills. I make belts from patterns or originals that I have drawn in the past so I never count that into the cost. As far as MY drawing goes- I still spend days with it and yes hours to get to the next flower!!! but I'm getting better!!!!!!