pete

Oh well.... so much for comeraderie and the pleaure of just hanging out with others of similiar interest. I was willing to drive from arkansas but apparently there are many who wouldn't drive across town unless they could go home with a $.15 blue ribbon or a Bob Beard tool. NOt bitter at all- just surprised at the response.

One more thought- Wildrose is looking for donated tools. I'm sure that there are others out there with similar needs and projects going on. we could post those needs before the meeting and help out. I'm a musician by trade (fiddle, electric jazz mandolin, bluegrass acoustic, and keyboards). I know that Jeff Mosby is a player and it wouldn't surpride me to find a dozen or more who also play. We could have a 30 min. get together to set a list and play for the event.

how about NO contest. What about a gathering of sorts. I'de love to meet the folks that I've met online with this forum. No contest or prizes or anything. How's about we just meet, fellowship and swap techniques, tools, experiences, etc. I think that the thought of a contest changes the mind seet of many people- egos are deflated or raised, fear of showing your work to others to be "judged" verbally or mentally, low self-esteemed artists and blowhards, etc. why don't we rent a hotel and just have a nice weekend pea-aire'

British Tan- I use it a lot. And if you REALLY want to make it eay and get it on evenly mix a few drops into a large tablespoon full of Bick's #8 leather conditioner. Mix it well and spread it on and rub it in like you would any leather balm. You WILL see this as a product in the next year. Kevin @ Springfiled leather is developing it now.

Picture_4.pdf Messing around with some 2/3 oz leather last night. I drew a flower then i decided to invert carve another on the other side. Skived the edges (carefully!) and glued them together. It came out thinner than 1 oz. and looked really neat. Punch a hole and voila' Lots of work but fun pete Picture_3.pdf Picture_2.pdf Picture_4.pdf Picture_3.pdf Picture_2.pdf

I saw your post and carving. Not bad for your first attempts!!! If you cut deeper and with more precision then the beveling would be deeper and more pronounced. That in itself would improve the looks. I don't figure carve but I can see from the elk tht you are really good already! Pay more attention to the depth. A sheridan style(steep angled) beveler will help a lot It will make the pear shading stand out more too. I have found that the finish tecnique has helped the final look of my work too. I have some work displayed on the sheridan forum under JUSTIS CASES post. E-mail or call if you like pete 870-492-2146 psa2@suddenlink.net cheers!

after using the rawhide mallet I purchased 30+ years ago I thought that my carving was worth an upgrade so I purchased an Al Stohlman leather handled poly head 1 lb beauty. I hate it. The tools seem to slip off if not hit dead center which in turn forces me to hold the mallet differently than I have for so long. As a result I developed tennis elbow after completing the 2 portfolios that Jack Justis showed on his Pool Case page. I've gone back to the rawhide mallet and can do both light and heavy tooling and backgrounding just fine. I also bought the AS leather swivel and couldn;t use it either. So I bought the tiny Magnum (I think) swivel and the diameter lets me do the sheridan tight corners much easier. Try them out and you decide. By the way- Kevin had no problem with me returning the swivel for a full refund at Springfield Leather in Missouri. They are great people to do business with and Bo Riddel is now on staff if you want to check out one of the finest boot makers in the country.

Jeff- First off, thanks for the stamp. It takes a little getting use to to determine that proper wettness to make a good impression but it is clean and just waht I ordered! I saw on your web page the guitars. How does one measure to cover an edge to allow for the lacing. Do you lace it after and fit it over the guitar or do you glue(ugh!) the leather to the body and lace with a curved needle, etc???? pete

I didn't have any pattern. I just knew that I wanted to make a stirrup looking purse so I cut a piece of 7/8 to 4"x22" and rounded the ends. The flowers are out of Chan Geer's sheridan. I'm self taught to this craft so I just wing it as I go. I guess that I should prepare more but...... Fiebing's USMC black and Fiebings med brown antique paste. Black calf for the outside and black deerskin fr the lining. Glued it all together and laced it. Chan geer was kind enought to talk on the phone to tell me exactly how he finishes everything nor. Bee natural oil- let dry bee natural RTC Antique paste- rub off with rags/tee shirt- then sheepskin to get the paste out of the cracks to your degree of happiness One last GOOD rub(lots of pressure) to buff the finish. Buff hard and you will get a finish like it was burnished. RTC again Hope that this helps. By the way- my photo portfolios were wung, winged, made up as I went along too. they are all 12x24 pete

that would be swellthank you pete

I don't know how to download a picture to this site

Is there enough interest to add a "sheridan" section to the board? I know tht I wold love to be able to go directly to it rather than navigating all over to catch a keyword?

Is there enough interest to add a "sheridan" section to the board? I know tht I wold love to be able to go directly to it rather than navigating all over to catch a keyword?

did you use a resist(rtc, neatlac, etc)? If not then the stain will just "stain" the leather all over and evenly as you found out. You need to put down a resist to allow for contrast. Sometimes I do what you did to get an even color through-out the piece but it really doesn't show off ANY detail.

Hidecrafter has a pack of vellum that works ok but the Tandy film is better in my opinion. Get it by the yard as it is cheaper. It lasts longer and doesn;t get soggy like the Hidecrafter if you use it many times. I went to an art store and got "rag" vellum for architects. It was about $1.50 a sheet but it is 24w x 36l and works really well.pete

Can anyone give me some idea as to how I measure and cut the piece to cover a box or guitar.I want to cover it completely and double lace the edges but I don't know how to lay out the pattern to allow the extra width plus the 1/8" line- and do I assemble it first and "stretch "it around the edge or lace it in place. etc? Do I need to skive , etc please feel free to e-mail me but I'm sure that there are others tackling this same problem. thanks all pete

I had an idea for a flower center. I went to the local gun shop and asked for some spent casings of a 45 caliber, 22 and 30-06 . The are brass and perfectly round so I took them home and now have 3 perfect centers for my flowers. A slight tap and all that is left is to is ring them with my seeder tool and I'm set.