badLoveLeather

The last part of this post was a sheer stroke of genius! I've had my Tippman Boss for over a year now and been through many, many repair adventures. To be detailed later. Flat grinding a 230 round point needle to get a spear effect is GENIUS! Just tried it and it worked like a charm. I sew through anywhere from 3 to five layers (up to 5/8" thick leather) of Herman Oak Veg Tan and I've loved the 230 needle 346 Thread combo but that damn bobbin side bow out was killing me. I took a 230 needle and used a drum sander for a drill with 240 grit paper and flat ground both sides. It was super quick and super easy. Did some testing and was really pleased with the results!!!!! AWESOME!!!!

i do a lot of wet molding. Leather Valet Trays. When I make my trays I wet mold the leather. The 100 plus days here works in my favor more often than not. Recently I was working on a batch of trays and ran into some mold. Keep in mind I've been wet molding trays in the method I've been doing for over two years and no mold. Was this something to do with the skins? This particular cut and batch from Tandy I've never used before. And of the three skins I purchased only one had mold issues. Any thoughts?

Well, whatever you come up with you should put a lot of thought into making the shape something totally unique that you create your self......

Hello Leather Workers, I'm currently working on secret project #442 and I'm working with 8/9 oz veg tan. I'd like td put a small eyelet to attach a keyring (did I say too much?) I'm thinking a 5MM diameter works BUT I'm needing a throat depth to accomodate the 8/9 oz leather. So maybe a throat depth of 3/16? I just spoke to my supplier of snaps and grommets and he told me I may need a foot kicker press to set the pieces he has. Not in the budget. Neither is going into LA to have this done for me. I'm 100 miles away from LA. I'm looking for a finished metal eyelet / grommet that is small. Any advice or help I'd be grateful

Hello Leather Workers, I'm currently working on secret project #442 and I'm working with 8/9 oz veg tan. I'd like td put a small eyelet to attach a keyring (did I say too much?) I'm thinking a 5MM diameter works BUT I'm needing a throat depth to accomodate the 8/9 oz leather. So maybe a throat depth of 3/16? I just spoke to my supplier of snaps and grommets and he told me I may need a foot kicker press to set the pieces he has. Not in the budget. Neither is going into LA to have this done for me. I'm 100 miles away from LA. I'm looking for a finished metal eyelet / grommet that is small. Any advice or help I'd be grateful

Thanks Bruce. Sent you a PM

The Strap cutter I have has gotten on my last nerve. I'm ready to upgrade to a Draw Gauge. CS Osbourne or Craftool? Any Advice would be appreciated. Travis Poole Bad Love Leather

Overnight

Hi David. Are you looking to feed a family with your leather income? It can be difficult. I make high end wallets and its been my experience that: There a many that make better and charge WAY more There are many that make not so good and charge acordingly There also are a few I've seen that make wallets that are just as good as mine or better and they don;t charge nearly enough for some reason. Its been my experience that you need to be comfortable with a price point and what your market will bear. I looked up Barret Alley and they make great stuff. You can't really be sure how much volume they sell. Besides if your interested in selling wallets in that kind of volume you may want to consider putting in a few grand and several hundred hours of marketing leg work to let people know how great your product is. I myself think I make great leather goods but not as many people knwo about me as I'd like. If they did I wouldn't be writing this, I'd be shackled to my bench making stuff. make great leather goods. sell them. use the money to have a good time and make yer life and those around you better

Same problem. used some Ecoflow Pro Black with something I wet molded an it gave me milky streaks. Even did a second coat and then applied some leather cream to "Buff Out" per the directions on the bottle. Any input here for us would be appreciated. thanks Travis Poole Bad Love Leather

Hey Guys! Thanks for the advice. Bob - Don't know Roger but Ojai is small and you never know when you'll run into someone! Travis

Hi Guys, I just created a new product. Its a Leather Valet Tray thats a shape and process I created myself. I approached a retailer that has purchased some of my work in the past and he's interested in purchasing some of these but he wants to put his logo smack in the middle where my logo is now. Basically I've only created one and it has my logo very big in the middle. While I want to sell a bunch of these I got that wierd gut "spidey sense" feeling when he suggested it. I feel like it would be a grab of my work. Any input would be totally appreciated.

Thanks!

Hi, When edging belts, do you use a #3 edger first then a #5? I have two old edgers and wanted to see if my technique is correct? Travis Poole Bad Love Leather

Funny, this info is over 4 years old and its priceless to me. I'm not gonna waste the money on that weaver machine now!

So is that Weaver Edger $600? I can't get them to give me the time of day.

Thanks for the input guys. Gonna try the freezer tip now. - Travis

Oh and BTW your responses made me laugh guys. Thanks! That endeavor in other times may have caused me to toss it. I gave away the other clean new glue pot a few years ago. Amazing what necessity pushes us to do. Right?

Fiebings won't ship to ya in CA? I'm in Ojai. I buy my Fiebings and Barge in LA. Its a half days trip for me round trip to go on a Dye and Glue mission

Took me about 30 to 40 minutes, No Beer. Monster Energy drink. I used my Barry King Hammer and a screwdriver. Got more Barge and thiner today in LA

Recently I moved my studio. AGAIN. Too many moves over the past few years. Now Im in a garage with no AC and its been hot here in Ojai. So the heat the hasn't been kind to my glue pot and I ran out of thinner. So I dumped the half rubber barge out and decided it was gonna be a good time to clean my glue pot. The photos below illustrate my pain. Glue Can 0 Leatherworker 1 Can't wait for the heat to go

Anyone?

Hi, I've been making wrist cuffs out of Latigo and I wear what I make usually all day every day to see if what I'm making will take a beating. After several weeks my cuffs have begun to smell. Smell like bare feet in leather shoes. I tried to clean with Saddle Soap. That worked for a short period of time but now they're smelling again. Any advice? Thanks. Travis Poole Bad Love Leather

Did you get this handled? Do you still need?