pete

Not literate- does this work for MacInosh OsX 10.4.10?

always mark the "fold line" on a wallet, billfold, or anything else that is "almost square" \10 times out of 10 you will tool the pattern in the wrong direction........ ok,ok I'm the only one to have done this more than once

Thanks Bruce- I sure do appreciate your responses on this forum. One last question- when doing, say, the back of an album and I want the logo in the center, do you start your basketweave along a diagonal in the center(crossing the logo) or would you start a little from the top left( or right) ? If I don't have a logo or figure on the piece I start in the middle working out to the top and bottom. thanks again pete

Is there a trick to doing a piece with basket stamping and smacking your logo(stamp) in the middle? I can't seem to get the basket weave close to the logo like I see on a lot of pieces. Do you put the logo on first? do you scribe the basket line across the center and lightly tap the basket weave, then the logo OR Do you guys invest in a second stamp and cut it in half for half impressions! I've seen some of you saddlemakers fotos close up and I swear the full or partial basketweave stamp butts up to your logos. ????

did you apply a blocker of any kind first? If you don't some of the subtleist of things will let it penetrate. pete

Bruce- I use pigskin occasionally too for lining but really don't like it for things that need to bend- wallets, checkbooks, etc.The stuff just doesn't stretch at all and getting some creases out is next to impossible with some small folds. Is there a certain type that you use for these? Mission pig, etc pete

That's really a cool idea!! Never thought of that! you can get the effect that you want by beveling the top and bottom deeper and really evenly(depth), do the cross over the way that you did with the modeler indenting the branch under the leaf, and beveling the leaf"over the branch" lighter than the top and bottom. This way the leaf looks thinner across tha branch the way it naturally would. You might want to draw the leaf so that the main vein is a slight wave form. Start at the tip and curve the leaf to the right to go over the branch then to the left slightly finishing the bottom of the leaf to the right. Kind of as "S" shape.Are you familiar with Escher's artwork with the pocket watches draped over tree branches? Hope that this helps.. KEEP ME POSTED ON YOUR PROGRESS!!!!! PETE

Timbo- that looks really nice! Reminds me of the pacific ocean driftwood tht I grew up with in No. California. Put a piece of cotton or foam rubber in the hole for the swivel knife so as to protect the blade. pete

Great work! what is sthe outer and what is the lining?(type and wieght) pete

I'm not a fan at all of geometric stamping when it comes to leather. But I have to admit that you did a great job I love the look! pete

Randy- Did I understand your post correctly? i.e. that you strop with the rouge on the FLESH side rather than the grain side and if so why? Always looking to improve pete

I just re-visited my book "the leatherworking handbook" mentioned the other day in a post as a good reference book. I was checking out the part about stopping and the author said to put the rouge on the FLESH side when making a strop. I've seen that before but.... DOES ANYONE OUT THERE USE THE FLESH SIDE WHEN STROPPING???

Thank you Randy, Just what I figured as I did some key fobs awhile back and did just that. I'm headed to Springfiled this weekend to get some 1-1/2 oz calf. pea-aire'

Man I love this stuff! I went to Springfield leather last week and needed more Bee Natural saddle oil. I always oil the piece after tooling as most of you do, let it absorbe, and then dye and finish. Kevin didn't have any and didn't expect to order more(why I don't know) but said to use Bick's instead. (He sells it by the gallon, I use it by the quart) I bought another bottle as I was almost out ,again,came home and just finished a project. I tooled it and as it was almost totally dry by this time, I spread on a thin film of Bick's with a sheepskin scrap and not wanting to wait, I immediately started dying the background OX Blood RED (It was a checkbook cover so there was a LOT of small places) HOLY COW! I could almost glob the dye on and it didn't spread > It stayed exactly where I put it and soaked in! NO running or "bleeding. I could fill the tinyest of spaced with an #00 brush. I hope this is of help to you who do a lot of dying especially detail work. I do mostly belts, purses, wallets, etc but all sheridan style so I am always careful when doing the background work. After oiling I would constantly change brush sizes so as not to bleed the dye onto the tooling. This has really sped up my work and I'm getting a better finish. pea-aire'

I want to make a checkbook with a calf or deerskin lining. How do I edge and burnish the piece without messing up the lining? I can't run an edger across it as it will fray the lining and if I edge the veg. then it looks funny to see only the outside edge edged. Should I edged and burnish the veg and then glue the lining in. By the way, this is the first piece that I am going to sew. I have laced all other pieces so there was never a problem covering the edges. Any help would be appreciated. pea-aire'

I've seen your work- it's great and seem to work for you. Why are you applying a blocker after the oil and before the dye job? Why not oil, then dye and THEN apply the blocker before the antique??? pete

Thank you Brucce- By the way-- regarding edgers, what is the rule there??? I have a TLF and Osborn(round base) #'s 2,3 &4. I don't seem to see any difference with my belts and albums! I use 4/5 to 9/10 leather and they all seem to burnish the same. Will the #2 work on anything up to 10 ozz. before I will see a difference?

I love the first picture! Did you line it and if so what weight leather? Did you trim it and then edge and burnish, or edge, burnish, glue and then trim? pete

I MAY take the plunge and get a stitching machine. If I do- what is the standard border width? Should I plan on purses, belts wallets, etc for a 1/4" border?????? After the standard 1/8th border and edging- is there enough room to stitch(the bead) or should I stitch in the border groove itself? ANY response would be most appreciated pea-aire'

Got to thinking about your situation. I have always punched holes too and cut the slits from each side twoards the center. Most of the time my holes are not evenly centered so when I cut the slits it becomes even more obvious. Then I got a brainstorm and it worked really well. Take your dividers and set them the width of the hole that you are punching (#2, #3, etc.) Find the center of the strap and straddle the line in the center of the leather with your dividers and scribe the length that you want. Now you can see if it is centered before you punch and cut, and you already have: 1-guide lines for the holes and 2- guides for the cuts to be made.

I've done alright for years with cutting belt borders by hand (swivel knofe and a finger for a gauge) I looked at a Tandy belt book (lucky 8 I believe) and it showed a "border cutter" Looks like a beader but it cuts the border. Has anyone ever seen or used one, and do they come in different widths(1/8, ect) Most importantly- DO THEY WORK? or are they more trouble than they are worth (skipping over the edge, etc) pete

HI and welcom. Really nice work- GREAT hand sewing!! I'm in Mt Home just down the road. Hope that we caqn meet sometime- MAYBE at Springfiled leather!!! I go there 2-3 times a month. I take my son Nick to Springfield skate park for the afternoon(he's REALLY good) and spend the day swapping lies with Kevin. I'm interested in what you said about horse butts. Are they really that good for tooling or just belt making? I have a few to make for Christmas( for relatives- so it's not a chore!) but want to be able to do extensive tooling. Let me know what you have found. Thanks ps- I'm with you on the "projects of interest" I played with national bands for many years(fiddle, mandolin, keyboards) and since moving to Arkansas can't find anyone to jam with. I don't jump at ANY chance though. I'll play a wedding or dance only if it's fun and I really like the guys I play with. I miss it to a degree but it beats the heck out of gigging for 4+ hours and wanting to be home watching Iron Chef with my 4 year old. pea-aire'

I saw a post recently where a saddle maker (Randy Cornelius?) said that he always mixes pro- dye to his oil. I too ( Tandy pro) dye the oil but the last batch or so has had a sludge in the bottom of the dye bottle. When I mix it with the oil it doesn't break down- it stays a sludge. Have any of you seen this happen? did I get I an old bottle, did they change the recipe, should shake it more to mix it?

Been carving for years and have heard many times to make sure to use WHITE saddle soap for edging/burnishing. I've always used a big glycerine bar. Is there a difference between glycerine, yellow and white saddle soap???????????? If there is I would really like to know. There's got to be thousands of years combined experience here which makes things like this neat. We don't have to buy more stuff and experiment!

beautius maximus! what I could do with a sewing machine if only I could jutify one. All I seem to do is small projects or lacing requests for friends and family. bravo! again pete