billybopp

Welcome. Yeah. Many of us looked at a leather item and thought... Damn. That's expensive! I could save money and make it for far less. And many hundreds of dollars later would have done far better financially to have just bought the item to begin with. But it also would have been far far less fun to buy it. Welcome to the addiction. Bill

You'll find a link to Lisa's shop in the banner ads at the top of the page here. Should be able too get to the YouTube vids from there as well, indirectly. Good info in many videos even if you're not making footwear, and great info if you are, although piecemeal. Also, for those that don't follow her regularly, she recently lost her daughter, Paige. Very sad event...and as you'll see in the videos Paige was a fine, bright young lady. She will be missed by all. Bill

Hand sewing or machine? Bill

You'll get really good at watch straps that way. Be careful.

After 4 years, I doubt there will be pictures now.

I would probably avoid turpentine, it's pretty harsh. I've also been told to avoid lanolin, although not sure why. Tallow and cod liver oil are very old items to use, I gather but haven't tried. I've used eucalyptus in small amounts, it's supposed to be a preservative and just plain smells nice. I'd guess tea tree oil is about the same. I've experimented a little with carnauba, and so far I've found that it is pretty hard and doesn't melt in like beeswax does. I want to try a little carnauba mixed in with beeswax/neetsfoot to harden it up a little bit. What I've mostly used to date is beeswax/neetsfoot with a few drops of eucalyptus. Bill

Awesome! Love those double benefit finds ... Like corks from wine bottles that you can use to hold awl blades and needles or as backers for saddle stitching. Wonder what other finds might be lurking out there?

Yellow is a color that can often work better if you use white first. Bill

Lol. Tan kote. Durn spell check.

Paint first with tan more.

Rub the daylights out of it. Most if not all of that will buff off. Bill

50/50 is a good starting point, and makes something roughly like shoe shine can polish. A bit more NFO will make it more like a cream. More wax will make it a bit harder. A little eucalyptus oil adds a really nice aroma and acts as a preservative too. Experiment a bit to see what works for you. Cupcake papers make a nice container for medium to hard blends. Just rub the puck right on the leather, or use a rag. Softer blends will need a rag or something to apply. Bill

Try Weaver leather supply. You may see their banner ad at the top of the page here, they are a LWN sponsor. Bill

That background is called a "bar grounder". They take a little practice to get right but the results, as you can see here, are well worth the effort. Great work! I always look forward to seeing what you come up with, Gray! Bill

I put down a cut open trashbag all round my work area before dying, and that is a tremendous help. It is worth noting, however, that after a spill the plastic must be gathered very carefully from all sides before picking it up for disposal. It is also worth noting that rubbing alcohol will do a fairly good job at removing dye from a finished wooden floor, and that a product called Dye Gone II is very effective at turning hands from a lovely saddle tan back to their original color. Also noteworthy, aforesaid DYE Gone II will only partially remove dye from blue jeans. Bill

If its really dull, work the outside on a stone or what have you, working turning as you go, then strop. Then use a bit of polish or some sort of grit on a toothpick to remove any burr on the inside and polish. Bill

I'll take one or two of everything on that page at those prices. Bill

Most colored leathers are chrome tanned or combination, but veg tanned can be colored too. I recently bought some really beautiful veg tanned bridle in burgundy from Wicket and Craig.

Leather is a bit acidic, and probably not a good choice for archival storage unless lined. Grey dye is pretty useless stuff...more paint than dye. No finish is needed if you use something like bridle leather. Check http://wickett-craig.com .. They make some really great leather. Bill

Some rum bottles are corked. Just saying...

Being a singer, I'm betting it was black with lots of gold bling, fancy feet, did a lot o' bobbin', and did sole.

At that price, it was a LONG time ago! Bill

I can see something like that with hand cranks for less money selling well. Bill

Also true lumpendoodle! Oh .. And I forgot another hateful word in these ads ... Patina, meaning rusted nearly through. Bill

There is an awful lot of crap that shows up on eBay as leather tools that isn't. Antique dealers buy crap, and when they can't identify it, it gets labelled and put for up for sale as the most expensive option they can think of, usually with the words antique, vintage, rare, collectible, and my most hated "L@@K" in the description. Leather workers are willing to pay top dollar for good old tools, so we get targeted by these scheisters.