billybopp

Looks great! There are a lot of things that can be done with this sort of technique. If you want to experiment with rakes, they're very easy to make ... get some foam-core board cut a piece about the width of your pan, or whatever width you want by 3-4 inches or so and stick some toothpicks into the edge at regular intervals. I've done this with marbling on paper and it works great. Just haven't yet got around to playing with it on leather ... Yet. Bill

Dies are the way to go, for sure. It sounds like you're making a relatively small item, so a mallet die might do the trick and avoid the expense of even a cheap modded hydraulic press clicker. If you do decide to go with a clicker, there are a couple of threads on here about modifying a cheapo Harbor Freight press for use as a clicker. For dies, I don't have any experience personally, but one of the site sponsors is Texas Custom Dies ... Look for their banner ad at the top of the page here. Bill

Thanks Mark! My first thought was "I'd cut myself with that" .. and then it occurred to me that the blade looks like a standard hobby knife blade, and I'm sure you could use a shorter one with no problems. Bill

I've got several knives, but like Sofaspud, use one of them the majority of the time. Two or three of them were given to me when I first started leatherwork, and they work fine but are not very comfortable to use. Comfort is important, so I bought a Tandy pro knife. It has a saddle that spins freely and is rounded over so it feels great and is height adjustable. I also found that the fatter knife works best for my arthritic hands. The others (including a couple that came in a cheap bundle with other stuff from eBay) now have fine and coarse hair blades, a round-over blade, a beveler blade, and a couple other misc. blades. So, the short version is: Get one GOOD and comfortable knife with a few good blades. Bill

Hand sewing does indeed take a lot of practice and concentration to get really right. Bikermutt hit the nail on the head, practice on scraps and the same simple projects over and over until you can almost sew almost blindfolded. It's about building muscle memory. I sew some scrap before I start any project just to get in the groove again. I'd advise against trying a mitered box until you are very comfortable with sewing a few pieces together flat. Sewing a corner isn't nearly so easy as Nigel makes it look, and it introduces new angles - it's a different challenge. Bill

Sweet! Yeah, several of your stamps would make great embossing rolls. I can see a marijuana roll selling well, particularly in Colorado! Can't wait to see what you come up with. Bill

Looks great! Your work is always a lot of fun to look at. Bill

That'll probably do what I need! Thanks.

Marbling isn't all that hard, and can be done with leather. It's pretty much about using something to make water gel, such as carrageenan, gum trag, and other ingredients. You then float a dye or paint on top and make patterns with it, then lay paper, leather, or whatever media on top let it absorb the dye/paint and pull it off. Check out this video by goodsjapan marbling leather. Bill

Wicket and Craig.

My Tandy pony has enough tension to use without the bolt for most things.

^ What Bikermutt said ... And if you want a higher level of finish to your strap edges, I'd consider something like these: http://www.weaverleathersupply.com/catalog/item-detail/9036/001/52 http://www.weaverleathersupply.com/catalog/item-detail/29255/001/52 http://www.weaverleathersupply.com/catalog/item-detail/9029/001/52 http://www.weaverleathersupply.com/catalog/item-detail/9022/001/52

A mockup is a good idea. Many here find that vinyl behaves similar to leather, is available, and cheap. Particularly when you have fifty percent coupons from the fabric store, such as Jo an

It knows far far more about you than you could imagine.

... And of course, it's by Lucas. One of my favorite bumper stickers of all time was on an MG .. A picture of a light switch, and read "Electrics by Lucas".. Switch marked OFF . Barely Visible . Dim.

I have both, and find the wooden cutter a little easier to learn to work with. The draw gauge works well too (even at 150 years old like mine). If money were no object, tho, I'd try a plough gauge - folks that have them seem to love them. If I were doing a lot of straps, I'd consider a rotary strap cutting machine too. Bill

Interesting problem! I just tried a little experiment and it worked. I probably wouldn't try to go much more than half the thickness of the leather. 1. Mark out your area and make a vertical cut at the edge to define that area, going to just about final depth. 2. Use a single bevel tool ( I tried a Japanese skiver and woodworking chisels, both work ) and cut in about 1/16 to 1/8 inch from the line with bevel down and remove the little wedge of leather to help define the work area and get down to depth. 3. Still with bevel down do help control depth of cut, work your way across the area removing material to depth. Just work carefully and remember a wider cut will likely make it easier to get a level surface. I managed to get a 2" square this way in about 10 minutes, with more than half that time marking and defining the edges. As always, whatever tool you use needs to be sharp. Like, should I even touch that sharp. You could easily shave with it sharp. Bill

Such occasions exist? It looks great. Love the colors and brass.

Thanks for posting videos ... And be sure to thank your videographer for us as well.

I've never actually been in a Tandy store either, but have dealt with Kelly by phone when she was in Allentown. Maybe one o' these days we can arrange for us SEPA/NJ folks to meet up there. It'd be pretty cool to meet up and shoot the breeze sometime! Bill

For irons that are marked with a number, sometimes that number will tell you the number of stitches per inch and others will tell you teeth per inch. So, for example, one maker's 6 is 6SPI, and another maker's 7(TPI) gives you 6SPI. With the cheapie Chinese ones, they are usually marked in mm, but they are cheap so that might not be totally accurate. To me at least, that's not all that important as long as they are ballpark correct and consistent. I don't really care if the stitches are 6.5SPI or 7SPI. It's much more important that they are evenly spaced, angled, and thickness, and consistent across irons in the line (eg 10 tooth, 6 tooth, 4 tooth and 2 tooth). Bill

If I were in your situation, I'd put the blade aside and replace it with a good steel blade, and keep using the swivel knife. I suspect it's a nice knife, and not nearly so delicate as the ruby blade is. Best of both worlds that way!

They don't make them anymore. They do come up on ebay once in awhile, and are quite expensive ... Like approaching and beyond $100.

Ruby is really hard stuff, and should have a great edge but be careful, it's brittle and chips easily if you drop it or bang it. Bill

Another couple of classic styles when butting two pieces of leather together is a baseball stitch or a cross stitch - with a couple of others in these subjects too, including twisted rope. There are a lot of possibilities with some research, or imagination, or both!