pete

After reading your note again- I think that you must be making "Peter Main" quality high end belts, so you very well could have 30 hours in them! I apologize if I offended you and I would love to see the work that you are doing as I am always trying to improve me workmanship respectfully, pete

Please, I don't mean to offend you but, are you really slow at carving and finishing? What kind of belts take 40 hours!? I tool sheridan style belts and have them out in 3 days. To answer your question, a suggestion MIGHT be to charge by the inch. I know many makers who charge 2-3 dollars an inch, some a dollar an inch. Again- no offense to you and your projects. pete

Denise, Might you or Rod know anything abut the Still Brothers out of Portland, Oregon and their saddle that I posted here? pete

Yes it's a steel tree, and they called it a freak tree because of the width of the swells. pete

Here's a really neat rig I picked up this week. I contacted the Oklahoma Univ and got some info on it. It was made in Portland, Oregon by the Still bros. in around 1890. It was called a "freak tree" and only a few were made. They branded the gullet "STEEL TREE" and that's all that it has on it as they supposedly invented the steel tree. Any comments or offers? It is completely covered in shellac or lacquer. What is the best way to remove it? pete

you can also skive the flesh side a bit and barge a "patch" flesh to flesh. That should do it and cover up the nick of you butt it up really well pete

Does anyone have a 3/8 straight (not hollowground) blade they want to get rid of. I''m trying some things with a Tandy border tool and I don't have a blade for it. Kevin at Springfield doesn't know where I can get one and I tried an old hollow ground blade with metal putty and then filed it but it didn't work. I can't believe they don't have them anymore. I don't care what shape it's in- I can sharpen it if it's dull. pete

Really Neat! How did you do the "scallops" around the cushion? Was it a veiner that you used as a filagree punh? pete(I can hardly wait for my new maul) adams

Had an order for 2 more album covers for a Texas white tail ranch. He really wanted the dates on the spine. I finished the tooling - admired my work , and proceeded to oil it with Neat's. Took a look at it and realized that I hadn't traced OR tooled the date! Fortunately(I think) that this really poor piece of Tandy leather(which I cased all night and STILL dried out after 10 minutes!!!@#$(*&^#) soaked up the oil but not so much that I couldn't bare down on the stylus and even harder on the swivel. Got it done though! I guess you CAN tool oiled leather!! Also- for you that haven't lined many projects- I had the Chan Geer dvd that showed him lining 1/2 of a day -planner (after glueing the entire thing) bending it slightly, and pushing the thin liner against the 2nd half, opening it up and smoothing out the wrinkles. I have always done it that way until this one. I glued the spine only along with the lining, centered them and tacked them together. Then I did the left half and then the right, stretching the lining as I went. No center wrinkles to fight.Just a thought pete

Would you mind showing a foto or two of your blade IN the tool? I have had that thing for 5 years and have never used it as NONE of my blades fit. They are too thick or too narrow! pete

thanks so much for the reply! Just as I thought . pete

I cut the blank,tool,edge, punch holes and then finish. Is this the most common way or should I be edging first. ALSO- I saw a post where the maker sews the lining and finishes the edges BEFORE tooling. Is this common practice also? I would think that it might be harder to tool it with a backing. pete

INteresting! Do most of you guys finish the belt before tooling? I always cut the blank, scribed the border, tool, and then punched,line, sew and finish. Have I been doing it backwards!!!!???????

Great job! How DO you get that nice effect? pete

thanks for your reply! I don't use craftaids per se but I wee where you are going with it. Nice changes that you made!!! I really need someone to respond to the immediate meed of starting and "connecting". I started a 1 1/2" belt last night and drew the tip flower and stem and the stared at it till I went to bed.. pete

Ok. Here are some of my lame drawings. I just got off of the phone with Paul Zelasack from Leatherwranglers. He spent a lot of time telling me about Billy Wootres and his style. I bought the pdf Doodles #2 and it should help some. He went on and on about Bruce Johnson and how he admired his style and tremendous growth in design and I agree. So Bruce, if you read this, I could really use your help. Tell me where I am going wrong- please feel free to copy and mark up where I am lacking- I really need feedback from EVERYONE so critique on!!! thanks to all on this great forum. petehttp://leatherworker.net/forum/uploads/monthly_05_2010/post-520-127274288402_thumb.jpghttp://leatherworker.net/forum/uploads/monthly_05_2010/post-520-127274294009_thumb.jpghttp://leatherworker.net/forum/uploads/monthly_05_2010/post-520-127274296831_thumb.jpghttp://leatherworker.net/forum/uploads/monthly_05_2010/post-520-127274300302_thumb.jpg Ok. Here are some of my lame drawings. I just got off of the phone with Paul Zelasack from Leatherwranglers. He spent a lot of time telling me about Billy Wootres and his style. I bought the pdf Doodles #2 and it should help some. He went on and on about Bruce Johnson and how he admired his style and tremendous growth in design and I agree. So Bruce, if you read this, I could really use your help. Tell me where I am going wrong- please feel free to copy and mark up where I am lacking- I really need feedback from EVERYONE so critique on!!! thanks to all on this great forum. petehttp://leatherworker.net/forum/uploads/monthly_05_2010/post-520-127274288402_thumb.jpghttp://leatherworker.net/forum/uploads/monthly_05_2010/post-520-127274294009_thumb.jpghttp://leatherworker.net/forum/uploads/monthly_05_2010/post-520-127274296831_thumb.jpghttp://leatherworker.net/forum/uploads/monthly_05_2010/post-520-127274300302_thumb.jpg

thanks so much for the information- I will look for the Wootres book and hope that some others chime in too. I may post a belt design that I just finished and wait for the "spit to hit the spam" when folk critique it honestly! pete

I KNOW that this subject has been addressed many times before, but would one of you "artists" please explain how you go about layout? Say that you are doing a belt. There's a real beauty that I believe our "Oakdale, Ca" connection did. Do you lay out the flower positions evenly spaced, then connect them with the basic flow, then fine tune with the specific vines, stickers, etc? And if so- do you work from the "front" flower and connect it to the one before or start at the buckle and "grow' the stems toward the tip? I ask because I get really stuck. I draw the flower then get so intense that 2 hours later I have drawn 3" of dense jungle and haven't even gotten half way to the next flower! I got Pete Gorell's book and really liked it. Made sense. Only thing is, you have to be able to draw to use it! I can get the circles and the flow line...and then I sit there. I have studied and have the flower and belt books by Chan Geer and have made almost all of his belts. They turned out great- just like his pictures.( I would hope so, I've been doing this for many years!) But when it comes to tooling my own designs they really stink. Too busy, to many holes to fill, and when I do they look as though I stuck in leaves, branches, and vines just to fill the gaps! Any help would be appreciated. Matter of fact, I wrote something similar to this a year or so ago and David Ganadek said that he would post a 4-5 frame tutorial on the simple evolution of a pattern. Would one of you please consider it now for, I'm sure, 100's of us out here who can tool it but can't create it? thanks so much. respectfully, pete adams(pete)

Stamp the weave but lighten up the impressions when you get near the edges. Then use your camo or border tool to make a nice edge. It will cover up any marks left by the bw tool. keep it up and keep showing your progress- We're all rooting for you! pete

I know that you didn't ask for comments but---- had you tooled it twice as deep and , dyed and antiqued it, it would REALLY pop. pete

Not a bad job! Too wet is definitely a problem and a common one when stamping anything let alone basket weave. That looks very much like the Tandy tri-weave stamp. UGH!!! they are the worst for consistency. Their standard b.w. stamps are suspect at best unless you test a whole lot of them at the store. Get a Beard, Barr, or some other custom stamp if you want to continue. Also, I would go slower and make sure that the camo is at least vertical if not tipped a little forward when you do the border. All in all, great job. I remember my first few forays when stamping that pattern!! pete

Good idea but sounds like a lot of "prep" heating and all. I have always used (never taught so I didn't know the difference!) a pair of pliers with a 4/5 oz piece of leather glued to the jaws to make them smooth like cantle pliers. Give them a squeeze until you feel it "give" and you're done. Doesn't even leave a bulge in the cap if the post is too long. NEVER had one crimp crookedly or poke through the cap or come off. pete

my vote is DEFINITELY an eyelet punch. If it's not then it is the perfect tool for it. pete

Thanks so muck Keith! I'll send pictures of my first! Of course- comments are welcomed pete

I just finished my first saddle. I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THE NEXT but can't decide how to best tool the fenders in particular. If doing the whole length, should I case the entire fender, trace and do a section at a time while keeping the rest covered, or--- case, say , the top 12" and completely tool it, then move down to the next section. I MIGHT not be able to trace and cut the entire piece in one day even though I'm pretty fast. Please chime in and tell what you fellas do when doing a large piece.