pete

here's what I came up with. It's my first attempt at pattern drawing and I LIKE IT. NO prize winner but...... Now I remember why I hate to make belts. Too *&^$&^ to carve what with all the turning and awkward angles. pete

I can't remember where it was exactly but I JUST saw a nice one on (maybe) the tandy leather page under downloadable patterns or the Hidecrafters past issue files. I think that was it pete

I don't have a scanner so I hope that this helps pete

I don't have a scanner so I hope that this helps pete

Thanks Dan! If you take the right hand strip first and put the left hand strip under it they go together to make a continuous pattern. I like making long patterns for belts so that I don't have to keep using the same short piece over and over. Plus you can make the pattern a lt longer so that it doesn't repeat so often. Thanks again- it's my first attempt at patterns since writing to Dave Ganedek and seeking his expertise. I'de LOVE to see what you could do with this even if it is a practice piece. I plan to make the belt and show it here too. pete

I came up with this pattern and think that I am going to make a belt or new mandolin strap for myself. If any one would lke to carve it I I'de love to see what you all come up with. While I have your attention- how about a pattern section for submissions to try. I used to look froward to Tandy's flyers and doddle pages when I was young. we could have our own here and maybe combine it with the other posts regarding a carving contest online.

You've got enough there to do a saddle! All I do is take one of those Robitussin measuring caps(3-4 tsp) and put my finger over a soda straw and dip it into the dye. I get what might be 2-3 drops out of an eye dropper. Thats all I need for a wallet or checkbook cover. EXPERIMENT PEOPLE!. Mix a little as you go until you get the color that you want. With Br. Tan it is too orange for some people or some leather. I use it on Herman oak after oiling it and it looks like a classic Chester Hape foto. On cheap leather it looks terrible so I make it stronger and slop it on and rub it in well or use mahog or chocolate. By the way , I asked Bo if you could mix it directly with antique paste- he replied" Why not! Give it a try- I'm going to!"

Had an idea for a mirror. Took a piece of scrap and a $.99 Walmart mirror and framed it. Another thing that you don't see in the stores too often like the picture frame someone posted yesterday.

I sure do. If you look at the earlier post you'll see that I use Bick#4 mixed with Feibing's dye . I makes it go on without spots or streaks and it is great for some of the funky leather that I get occasionally that still looks pale or whitish even after I oil it. I buff it and put the antique directly on after without any lacquer or resist. Makes the antique paste go on evenly too and the conditioner(#4) makes it easier to rub off

really nice work! How did you finish it and how did you make the hash marks? When I try I don't get a clean line where they cross. Do you do all the rows in one directon and then make cuts in-between to cross them?

David, You know that I greatly appreciate the time that you have spent with me already but might you have time to do, say a 4-5 panel set of drawings to show a simple layout from start to finish? I KNOW that there are dozens if not hundreds of folks here that would love to see the progression of a 2-3 flower pattern using what you have shwn to me previously and most recently in Clay's example. Sincerely pete

OK_ I can already hear all of you thinking that I own 85% of the Bickmore company but........... I can't believe how neat this stuff is. I just finished a rainy afternoon practice piece( they ALL become coasters for my wife) and for fun I antiqued the piece and then ran the #2 edger around it. As always it left a rim of natural leather that I would normally dye or leave natural and rub with saddle soap and burnish. Since I used the Bick and British tan I squirted a bit onto some sheepskin and ran it around the piece. No problem with color as the whole piece was done with it. While it was still wet I grabbed my piece of canvas and within SECONDS I had a burnished edge that I have rarely gotten with soap and loked like I spent 20 minutes wearing out my arm with bee's wax. Plus the Bicks conditioned the edge at the same time. OK- let the mail begin.... pete

I thought that it was too orange at first but I added a little more and found that if you rub it in unti it is all absorbed it gets darker. If you want a classic color try feibing's "chocolate" It looks better than brown or dark brown- not as muddy pete

according to the fella who showed it to me it is permanent as would be straight dye. Bo Riddel the bootmaker in Springfield has used it for years and won't dye with anything else. And yes- it applies better than ANYTHING that I have tried. It's like putting on an even cream of colored conditioner. What am I saying....IT IS! pete ps- when making boots he rubs in Bick's to the lining and hits it a few seconds with a hair dryer on low. Just enough to warm it up. He says that his customers rave that it fees like the boots are broken in already.

I would love 2 of them 50" long and 1-1/2". How heavy do you make dess/casual belts anyway? Back in college I made a trophy belt for myself 8/9 and it lasted for over 25 years of daily wear. What do you charge and how can I get ahold of you? Thanks pete

Can someone please help me. I need to make a few belts for friends and haven't done so in years. I used to get nice blanks from Tandy(YEARS ago) but the last two that I ordered were terrible(to my likeing.) The leather was 8-9 oz and was consistent but the quality was poor to say the least. I had my doubts but when I cased it and came back the next day they were like mushy, sponges. The grain opened up and wouldn't hold water and the backs soaked it up too. I tried to trace and carve a few inches but ended up throwing it away for scraps. Where can I get quality blanks that will carve well like Seigels or W/C. leather. I REALLY don't want to buy a side and cut my own just for 2 belts. Does anyone make quality "head to tail" strips? Maybe some of you saddlemakers or belt makers would like to sell me 2. I need 2 1-1/2 x 50" blanks. thanks pete ps- what do folks get for tooled/dyed belts these days? Do you charge by the foot/inch? I'm making a Sheridan design with 1/8 borders, no stitching just edged, antiqued, no taper. pea-aire"

Clay- what kind of leather did you use on the pieces(especially the notebook cover) and did you oil and antique? If so did you use sheridan brown or mahogany?? I have tried all kinds of leather except Seigals and non of them seem to get that rich classic color when I oil them. As a result I use my Bick+Br. tan and then antique. pea-aire'

HE IS RISEN! MAY GOD'S LOVE AND JESUS' SACRIFICE CONTINUE TO BE A BLESSING TO ALL OF US. If we have access to a computer and funds to buy leather for fun or profit, then that means that we are truely blessed and are better off than MOSt of the world's population. pete

when I dye an entire piece I ALWAYS mix it with Bick#4. The beauty of it is that it puts the dye on evenly with no streaking even if you squirt it all over or squirt a blob in the center! Just put it on and rub it in.You won't believe the finish that you get in seconds. It feels as though you have burnished the entire piece but it is soft and supple and QUITE waterproof. DON'T USE NEATLAC OR LACQUER UNDER IT. You don't need to. I use British Tan for the color. I ike it better than lt brown because the brown's tend to leave a piece looking a little "muddy" The B.T. gives it a warm rich glow like we are use to seeing in old, fine, saddles. Again- try it out on scrap. You will find "your" signature color. pete

I like Feibing's because I know what I'm getting each time. I like British Tan because I can make it weak or strong but still get the reddish/russet color that I want for a base leather. If I want an old, classic color I use chocolate but not too much. I NEVER use neats compound-NEVER I use pure neat's and put on 2-3 ight coats and let them dry a few hours.

Honestly- I don't know if anything works like Bick. All I know is that I can dye a piece from the corner with a glob and drag the dye across , plop it in the middle or use a squeeze bottle pre made with the color I like and just squirt it and rub it in and it dyes evenly. You can even wipe it across instead of in a circular motion and it doesn't streak. I know that I sound like a commercial for Bick's#4 and Springfield leather but I don't want my dye/coloring/antique job to mess up all the tooling time that I put into it. pete

Here is what you do my friend. Get a bottle of BICK #4 (leather conditioner) and a bottle of Feibing's british tan dye(not oil dye) and put a few drops of the dye into a few tablespoons of the conditioner. Play with the amounts. I take a soda straw for all of my measuring and dip it in about 1/2" each time. Stir it around. practice on a piece of oiled scrap until you have the color you like. THEN!!!! put it on a sponge, sheep scrap, whatever you want. YOU CAN EVEN POUR THE STUFF RIGHT ONTO THE CENTER OF THE LEATHER AND IT WON'T SPOT WHERE YOU PUT IT!!!!!! Rub it in- the leather will darken the more you use but the color will be even. Pour water on the thing and come back the next day. It won't spot!!!!!! My friend Bo Riddel (bootmaker to the Nashville stars) works now at Springfiled leather and does everything but brush his teeth with Bick #4 according to him. This is something that he showed me last time and I threw out my neatlac and RTC. I don't use ANY lacquer anymore. Bick's seals the leather like neatlac does and you can antique over it. It conditions AND let's it breath unlike lacquer. Now I tool, bick+dye then antique. Makes the antique go on even and the finish that you get from the bick is incredible! Try it pete

thanks Blake. I really appreciate it. ps. about 2" for the fold and snaps/chicago screws? pete

It's been a billion years since I made belts. A friend wants a tooled 1 3/8" belt with a trophy buckle, no tip and no keeper (no taper) but doesn't want it so long that the tip hangs or looks bad. He is 39" from the bend to the most used hole. How long should I make the standing part? thanks pete

I s there a "standard" that one uses to determine the correct edger to use based on the wt. of leather? I use a #1,2 and sometimes 3 for belts, wallets, purses, notebooks. etc. but I don't know if I'm taking off too much or not enough. I get a nice finished, burnished edge but how should one REALLY determine the tool to use? Do you just want to "knock off" the edge or dig in a little with pressure? Any saddlemakers out there with some help? pete