pete

this is my latest. It's made by Roger Bacorn. Bass pick-up and really warm for the soft jazz stuff.

here's my tele- got a Les Paul special and Gibson(of course)

ps- really nice work. Gives me an idea for my 5 string "tele"mandolin

Are you crazy!?! You aren't a player are you? NOT APPRECIATED BY THE COUNTRY CROWD!!!!??????????? Make as many as you can- they will sell. Talk about the classic country guitar. It has to be a tele.

I've not put Lexol on a piece after tooling. I prefer to oil it only to open the pores but more importantly, to put the oil back into the leather. Casing tends to dry out the fibers. After the oil I dye it if needed. I've never stained a piece and THEN antiqued it. If I want a darker leather to antique, I dye the oil. Why stain AND antique? After the dye job, use neatlac or (what I like ) RTC by Bee Natural. It's an acrylic but dries in about 30 min. THEN put the antique on THICKLY and wipe off with paper towel. Let it sit a few minutes THEN take a wool scrap and lightly buff it circularly to get the gobs out of the impressions. Lastly take a tee shirt or paper towel and buff it all directions firmly. Hope this helps pete ps- If you look up the archives under my name you should see some album covers that I did this way. -p-

Hey Regis, Remember Earth-shoes. The had that amber colored super hard gum rubber sole? Call Kevin at Springfield leather and ask him to send one to you. They are the greatest for taking rubber abd contact cement off of anything from suede to pigskin, shark, you name it. No residue and as Bo(his boot maker there ) says' If it gets dirty- take it outside and rub it on the cement" You can't wear the thing out! Glad the mallet worked out pete

Having worked with wood and metal epoxys for a time I found this helps a great deal with my leatherwork. When I cut a piece for any project, I always cut a little extra piece from the same leather and location. I case it when I case the piece the same way(immersion,quick case,spray bottle, etc.) First off, I know when the piece is ready for tracing, tooling (burnish) and what the piece is going to look like when I oil it. If it needs darkening then I practice on the little piece. Come time to antique it I lacquer and antique it too. So far I have had no surprises when I finish a project. I hope that this is of help to some- especially beginners- I know that a LOT of my projects came out NOTHING like I thought they would when I began this great hobby. regards pea-aire'

I just purchased the craftool splitter (6") from Awl leather works for $159.00. Finally got a handle on it and it works really well. Simple to adjust and the blade was quite sharp.

I just went upstairs and tried the dye again without heating it. Sure enough it stays seperated in beads. It goes on that way too. Dark and splattered. But I tried the golden oak STAIN and although it doesnt really mix with the saddle oil it goes on great, smooth, and no streaking. I mixed a little oil with just a drop or two of the stain, stirred for a moment and poured onto a paper towel. Even though it was speckled on the towel it spread evenly onto the dry leather. pete

I went to Lowe's to get sandpaper to rough up a bench before varnishing(it's going to be winter here soon!) I bought instead one of those sandpaper "sponges". Worked well on the bench but I wondered how it would work on leather to rough it up before gluing. It's GREAT! Does a much better job for large or detailed jobs than the "shoe maker's" tool you see. You can get really small parts done and the fact that it is so rough but shaped like a square sponge is great. hope this is of help to someone. respectfully pete

thanks- appreciate your fast reply. I meant to say that I use the Bee Natural saddle oil(not rtc) any luck with it combining with dye? pete

I have about 1/4 hide left to do projects with and it's a little too light for me. I'de like to darken it at the oil/pre-finish time but want to know the best way to do this. I like RTC saddle oil but have neatsfoot. How can I tint the oil- it doesn't want to mix with Feibings dye too well nor does it with stain. Any tricks to oiling leather a darker shade? Chan Geer told me to CAREFULLY blend oil with a tiny bit of dye in the microwave as it will mix- too long and it boils and separates again. pete

Check with a Tandy store to see if the thinner that wours for Master and Barge works for it too. It should. Do you REALLY like leather weld over master or Barge????

just get a can of solvent and keep the glue from hardening in the first place. I have master cement in a jar with a brush and haven't had any more problems since doing that. If it's old and stuck swish with the thinner. Don't use hot water. pete

how did you color that?!? Is it red leather dyed black or what? You didn't hand color it all did you? Leon(friend of pete)

thanks so much. I called the fella at awl leather works and he did'n explain it nearly as well as you did. I guess that I wan's banned after all! thanks again pete

Appreciate you response ( I can't belive that you are the only one out there who knows how to set up a splitter. Either that or I've been banned from this site for my comments about eco-dyes!) If you can't elaborate then could someone please give more information on setting up the splitter regarding the roller height pete

I just purchased the Craftool high-tech splitter with the 6"blade. So far I am really happy with it but never having used one before I need help before I start another belt. I want to split the tip and buckle ends and don't want to mess up. What is the best way to set up the splitter as far as the roller bar adjustment goes. I have the thickness dialed in but if I don't hold the standing part right it skives it immediately to nothing! Are you supposed to hold the standing part level, down or up when pulling the strap? And should the strap pass over the bar level or at a slant(up/down)? Please- someone out there help. By the way this is a really neat splitter and for $159.00 it fits my needs(I think!) in your debt(s) pea-aire' by the way- I noticed that there are a lot of players out there. I'm a frustrated jazz guitarist so I had a tele and Les Paul 5 string elec. Mandolins made in the 70's. I play swing and jazz mandolin with a killer keyboardist and bass player. I'll post the pictures if anyone is interested on the off topic board. -p-

my guess is that it finds and cuts the center from a strap evenly. If that is what it's for then why not take dividers and scribe a center line?

Here's the deal. I didn't get any responses about swapping for a maul so I'm making another offer. I will sell a new AS mallet(leather/poly) for $30.00 and "I'll PAY THE SHIPPING" if someone would like one. I will accept a personal check as I have a great deal of faith in the members of this guild as being honest and likeminded people. I also don't think that there is anyone out there who would want to stain their reputation to thousands of people over $30.00. Plus- I'm a handshake kind of guy- always will be so I sleep well at night. Any takers please feel free to repond. I am saving for a maul respectfully pete

Larry- would you be kind enough to show pictures of the backs so I can see if the buttons will attach the way I would like them to? pea-aire'

FAN-TASTIC! I love them! What might you cahrge for a pair like that? pea-aire'

Great work! How DID you tool the calf and how did you finish it?!?!?!? pea-aire'

do you ever do it like this?/Users/peteradams/Desktop/P1010009.JPG/Users/peteradams/Desktop/P1010002.JPG

really nice work! Would you take more pictures and show how you attached the conchos on the back. I'll see about taking some of my latest pair too. thanks pea-aire'