pete

whaaaaaaa??

I want to make a cover for a piece and want to mold a 4-5oz veg dye. I also want to tool part of it and can't figure out how to do both. Do you tool first and lose the definition when you soak it, or mold it first and do your best to tool a real lumpy surface! Never tried it and would love you expertise! pete

Does any ine have any feedback on the Tandy" Leather Weld"? I have a project that needs gluing and don't have time to get Barge's or Master contact cement. Does that stuff WORK?!!!!! Please respond asap!! pete

One of the things that I tried on this project was something that I read about tooling. I believe Mr. Moody wrote that he traces and cuts his patterns but then backgrounds BEFORE he bevels. He said that it looked better to give more relief to the design and make it stand out better than the other way around. Makes the pattern stand out from the background to have the beveling give room between it and the backgrounder. Any one else do this???? I've always beveled and then back-grounded. pete

thanks for the comments! I think that they turned out pretty well myself! Ths conchos are sterling and 14 ct. gold. The knock-offs are nice but these sould be in a museum. Anyone know if Visalia is still around? pete

Here's the straps that I made the other night. Not apologizing or making excuses but I only spent about 3 hours total on both of them. Not my best carving or fabrication but I wanted to see how my old conchos would look. This is the BICK'S experiment that I posted the other day. Bick's and Br. Tan then antique right away. The whole "finishing" process took about 6 minutes. By the way. is there anyone out there who might give me a rough estimate on the conchos? I swapped a popper and mecate for them in the 60's. Just HAD to have them. They are stamped Visalia Saddle CO. San Francisco, CA inside. I[m old enough to remember the company there when I was growing up and starting to show western pleasure and trail contests Any comments would be appreciated pete

OK- I KNOW that you all think that I am a secret sales rep for this stuff but "I gotta tell ya" that I was just upstairs making a new pair of spur straps for myself and discovered something new again. Did you see the post by Mr. Moody( I believe) about how he finishes projects and how he and his father would cover the piece with carnuba overnight so as to keep the antique from getting gummy and making it hard to remove? Then he would apply the antique, buff etc. Well- I was impatient as usual and after tooling and oiling the straps( and letting it sit overnight) I used my Bick's/British tan mix, rubbed it in and immediately( without a blocker of my usual RTC) put the med. brown antique on with my fingers. The antique worked like always filling each cut. A few seconds later I took a paper towel and rubbed it off. It came off like a cream,( yes cream,.. not dream) stayed in the depressions. No scrubbing, streaks, nothing! About 2 days faster than how I had been doing it and a cleaner result. I'll let it dry overnight, buff lightly and then put the RTC on as a final protectant. I really appreciate this forum and the information that I glean from it. I hope that this works for you out there where time is valuable and a perfect finish is important. petejava script:emoticon('',%20'smid_82')

Do I tie a square knot and pull it evenly into the center and start 2-3 holes back as you said? Doesn't the square knot make a bulge when I go through the same hole again? pete

what is the best way to stitch a poject that requires extra thread? If I do a project that uses 2 needles and I only want to work with , say, 6 feet at a time, how do I "splice "the next section????? Do you tie a knot, back stitch, ??? pete

What do you folks say about the proper cinch for a 5/8 th's centerfire rig for everyday riding. I've got a Capriolla(Paul Bear, maker) that needs a new one. How many strands would be proper for everyday ranch work, light roping, brush popping, etc> It came with a cotton 15 strand but it's plumb wore out. Never galled a horse though and rode steep and gnarly stuff in Wyoming and Northern Nevada. pete

the nice thing about it is that you can use it and you get the exact color right away..no waiting to darken,etc. If you don't like the result you can add chocolate or tobacco or dk. brown or whatever. It blends immediately. Kinda like getting a too short haircut though. Once you darken it you can't lighten it again. as long as you mix the darker color with the Bick's it goes on evenly with no streaking. As far as Esantoro goes- Bo mixes so much of the chocolate with the Bick that it has the consistency of water!Don't be afraid of thinning it. He uses a sponge inside what looks to be a nylon stocking and swipes it around the borders of his pieces. Gives a great effect like some of the motorcycle seats that I have been seeing here. Real dark around the border and lighter towards the center. Hope that this helps. By the way- anyone have an answer as to where I can get Chan Geer's lacing video. I too want to make some albums and notebooks with 2 colors like in his notebook video. Can't figure our how to do it, where to start and how to finish off the last loops. pea-aire'

would you be kind enough to show the insides? How are you attaching the conchos and what size buckle and keeper are they? Nice work!!! thanks pete

someone mentioned the Chan Geer dvd with 2-3 color double lacing. Where can I get it? It's not listed in Tandy or Hidecrafter catalogues. pete

by the way, Doug. When I make binders/albums, projects that need or could use a bit of stiffener, I cut the xray film to size and glue to the project. I tool and finish it and simply use dividers to measure around the film the amount that I want for sewing or lacing. That way I have a backing, template and stiffener all in one and never remove it from start to finish.

Use it for backing your work too. I use it instead of packing tape or cardboard when tooling. Plus I use it for stiffener when making album covers, book covers, picture frames etc. pea-aire'

where did you get the conchos? are they real(silver/14kt gold)? and who made them please pete

why not just wrap the cell phone in 2-3 pieces of regular typing paper or the like and insert it before you start stitching? It leaves enough room when you're done to get the phone out easily and still leaves a good shape. pete

Why don't you guys do what I do. Bite the bullet and simply apply the paste with your fingers. It works just as well as a sheepskin piece- you get it into all the crevices, and it washes off if you don't wait to long. No dark spots and oil deposits. Check out Chan Geer's video and many others. They don't use gloves but they sure coat their fingers when they dip the sheepskin in the jar. pete

how exactly did you make it? what is underneath it and how is it shaped, formed, adhered, etc? pea-aire'

I was the one who started the whole "Bick's" deal and I have it on good authority that it doesn't work well with the oil dyes. I LOVE the results that I get from the reg. dye and Bick's but wanted to know about the oil dyes in particular. Would they be best for say a portfolio of Sheridan design with a black background ala; the chan Geer notepad or Caly B's beautiful piece? Maybe Clay could tell us what he used for the background and why! pea-aire'

This may be a re-hash of past posts but when would someone use an oil dye over a water based dye. I've always used the Tandy or Fiebing's dyes but have never used the Pro Oil dye. Does it cover better..is it darker..does it run or bleed...??? Have I been using the wrong thing for my porfolios and belts??/ I'de love some feedback to make my work look better. pea-aire'

I'm up in Mt. Home. If you are ever here visiting Norfork or Bull Shoals let me know. I have been doing this for awhile and would love to share some stuff with you that I learned the hard way and can save you lot's of time and frustration. Nice work by the way. Quite advanced lloking- you're off to a great start. pete

ALAS!! Someone else from Arkansas(or claiming it!) Where are you located?? pete

I'm curious- why didn't you use a lighter weight to begin with? And do you carve and finish and THEN split it? pete

ok folks- here is the finished piece. I wanted the VOGHT buckle set but didn't want to put out $3500.00 so I skimped a bit and spent $19.95 at Tandy for a plated set. Doesn't look to bad from a distance in the dark. serioously- it's a really nice set and well worth it. I look forward to you others that wanted to do this pattern. sincerely pete