pete

Call Springfield Leather in MO. They have what you want(the old Hidecrafter checkered steep style) for $5.00 apiece. They always have them on the counter in a tool holder with other tools. Most of the time they are $1.99-$3.00 apiece. Call and ask. I have them(the PB series.) and they are all that I use. I ordered a Bob Beard steep beveler and paid a lot for it. I don't like it It doesn't have the sharp edge that the Hidecrafters do and tends to run out of the cut .

What did you do on the "inner"lacing? Is that 2 strands twisted together and a simple running stitch? Or staggered holes and 2 separate strands??? Really nice effect!!! pete

Springfield Leather has it- always will I was there Saturday and the shelves were full with more in the back. I know because I wanted walnut and she took me back to find it. pete

how wide are the top 2 belts? Are those the Chan Geer belt patterns? pete

Beautiful work! What did you background the 2 inverted names with? And wnat did you finish with? pete

Kevin of Springfield Leather in Springfield, MO just contacted me and said that he would love to host Peter. Please respond to me or directly to Kevin if you are interested. If there is enough interest then I will arrange it and pass on the cost information, You are not signing up- just responding to get a possible head count. .thanks SPRINGFIELD LEATHER 1.800.668.8518

The first 3 MAJOR projects that I attempted was a 3 ring. All I did was measure out a rectangle 12x24. I took a $1.00 plastic 3 ring from a dollar store and pulled out the rivets. The 3 rings was plenty sturdy enough and looked fine for the albums. Mark your center line on the flesh side and make lines on each side for a total width of 2". I mark the lines about 1/16 apart. Then groove a line deeply down the center. Next, groove the 2 outer lines and THEN the remaining lines. You now have 4-6 grooves and the outer ones are parallel. Lastly, take a french groover and simply "chisel" out the 2" gap until it is a 2" channel approx. 1/2 the thickness of the leather. This is a good width for a 3 ring when closed and no interior marks. ps- I replace the old rivets with chicago posts. They fit perfectly. pete

If anyone is interested - I just got an email from peter. He is in Houston, tx and is sending a modeling tool for &38.00 +$6.00 shipping. Not that I thought THAT would interest any of you! What might is that I asked if he could come to Springfield Leather in Missouri for a clinic and he said that he would love to any time. Give me a shout if you would be interested here or email. I will tell Kevin and try to arrange it. Personally- I would love to have the chance to pick his brain for the afternoon. Luke- come to Mt. Home and we could carpool. pete

I've begun spending a LOT more time with the modeling tool after I finish the project. The work seems to be noticeably improving. I'm now using an off the shelf TLF tool and want to know if ANYBODY has the Peter Main tool and if it is worth the money. He says that he spends as much time modeling as he does stamping! Any response would be great- and if favorable- where did you get yours and how much? thanks. What a great forum pete

Luke- I didn't do this piece. A prisoner did. It is at Springfield Leather on the wall. pete

I forgot to mention that you can hold the case horizontally and see all the way under the leaves!!!!!!

For 2 years now I have visited and marveled at the pistol case that a convict made for Kevin at Springfield Leather in Missouri. I finally remembered to take a camera with me today and took some pictures. The incredible thing about this piece is that the leather is 7/8 oz and unlike Peter Main and others- the leaves are NOT glued to the top. The reason that I say this is that you can STICK YOU LITTLE FINGER UNDER THE UNDERCUTS! I have no idea how he did this as I didn't think that you could stretch leather this high. I'm sick that my camera ran out of battery as the next few pictures that I was going to take wold have shown my hand on it to show exactly how deep the undercuts are. He must have had a lot of time on his hands..... 15-20 I think. This depth of tooling rivals anything that I have seen from Al Stohlman, Peter Main, etc. This man is a master

When I need to do curves or round edges I just hold the canvas in my palm and rub the project against it.Great for corners too pete

Bick's #4 pete

If you want to stain it you don't want to put a finish on it first. That will inhibit the stain. If you want to darken or enrich the color I always mix Bick's #4(or neatsfoot oil if you have it) with a dye like walnut, british tan,or my favorite, chocolate. I prefer Bick's because it mixes beautifully and completely- no chance of splotches when you apply it. Don't need a whole lot of dye- I use about a tablespoon for every 2 full plastic measuring cups that you get on medicine bottles like Robitussin, Nyquil, etc. You can always make another pass if it's not dark enough. By the way- Bick's will totally soften and treat the leather like Lexol or neatsfoot but will not darken it at all. Let it dry and than apply an acrylic if you want to antique it. To get the BEST finish- apply the antique( Bick's makes it come off REALLY easily),rub with paper towel, go over itt with a sheep scrap, to remove the extra "gunk" in the deep spots/cuts, and then rub the heck out of it with a tee shirt or paper towel to really bring out a shine and luster. For me, the last part has been the difference between a nice finish and a finish like you see in the Sheridan books on carving. The leather is shiny and glows like a perfectly shined pair of expensive shoes. stay the course! pete

I sometimes had trouble centering my maker mark on some projects. What I did was to make a template out of cardboard and mark the centerlines. Now I know that it is "plumb" and where I want it. I place it on the piece and put the mark inside the hole.

I second Bruce's opinion. I ALWAYS tool, light oil, dye, oil again, RTC or some other blocker, antique, and finish with neutral shoe polish. I have found that I get a MUCH better dye job if the leather has been oiled FIRST. The dye doesn't seem to want to bleed run, or "spiderweb" especially in those reeeeaaaalllly tiny spots. By the way- after tooling and drying, THIS is when I give it a restoring oiling WITH a dye mixed in if I want to change the color of the leather. Mostly Bick's#4 and chocolate dye,british tan, med brown, etc. hope this is of help pete

Try deglazing it and simply saddle soaping it. For a shinier finish I would use neutral shoe polish. I finish almost all of my things that way. p ete

Luke- Have you ever tried Montana Pitch-Blend? Great stuff- rubs in well and totally waterproofs. pete

I'm not familiar with that one. I am a member of the Springfield buying club- same as the as the Tandy membership but cheaper and more discounts- and ANYTHING that I order from there is discounted including Hidecrafter supplies. Great store and Kevin really understands this business and customer realtions. For your interest- Springfield Leather is the largest mail order in the country for leather stuff. Probably helps that he is almost the exclusive supplier to all of the prisons in the US!

check out the Magnum knives from Hidecrafters. I really like it and ANYTHING that I order I get from Springfield leather in MO. I simply tell them that the item was in the hidecrafter catalog(not the Tandy) and they send it- discount and all. I don't know if this is standard or just Springfield Leather's way of doing business but all of the Hidecrafter items are available there. If not the get them and treat them as stock items- sale/discount prices and all. Regarding blades- consider them like violinists do- I paid 4x for my bow than I did for my fiddle. It's the bow that makes the difference. I just purchased my first Henley- LOVE it. So sharp that I went clean through the 4oz leather doing finish cuts on my first project!!! pete

Tom- If you don't use one or aren't familiar- get a piece of elk,deer,calf, anything real soft and pliable, and go to your sports shop and get a big ole' bag of bb's like for a bb gun. Shot CAN be expensive from a gun store and all you want is the weigh. Make a bag and use it to hold those small projects in place. My bags are about the size of my 2 clenched fists as an example. They are great for holding your templates down too instead of taping them to the leather or marble. I also made a smaller "bean bag" and leave it on my table. It's about the size of a nice pancake. That is where I put my tools as I am using them and want to switch(between bevelers, shaders, etc) The bean bag keeps them from rolling off the table and I don't have to reach over and put them in the rack each time. pete

Nice tool but I'm not sure that I get it. What's the matter with a screwdriver in one hand and a piece of rubber innertube in the other( and maybe some lock-tite for the threads if I get paranoid)?

I went to a dollar store the other day and was looking to buy more 3M packing tape for a project. They didn't have any but I did see some Scotch "tear-by-hand" so I bought a roll. Great stuff! NO adhesive left behind,NO dispenser to mess with, sticks as well as 3M's, easy to apply and re-apply, and simple to tear by hand so I can run a strip over the edges, roll it, and just tear it off before working. Less expensive too!!! Is this a great country or what? pete

I would do one of two things. First I would cut a piece of posterboard EXACTLY the shape of the insert, tool your patterrn, flip it over, cover with the posterboard and simply mark the leather and cut it out. You would have a perfect fit. I thought about your question last night and figured that it would look really nice also to cut it and don't worry about a 1/32 or 1/16 gap on the rim. Take a nice piece of quarter round wood or a 4 plait 2 color braided leather "rope" and glue it around the table. Either would look really nice. pete