billybopp

One o' these days I've gotta come by Keysew when you're actually open. I usually pass by on my way to Standard Tap from the blue line - I love good beer even more than leather.

Welcome from West Philly.

Matt cutters are awesome. I have a so-so Logan five footer that makes nice long straight cuts every time. Love it. My "boss" used to be a pro framer, and we needed to frame some artwork, so bought the cutter and framing materials for about what it would have cost to have somebody do the framing for us. Leather cutting turned out to be an added bonus. Win-win! Love it! Bill

If you ever give up glassworking, they'll make awesome steampunk goggles! Well done. Bill

Just tap the punch lightly - just enough to make an impression - not enough to cut through.

Just stretch over the top of the paint cup as you pour the paint through.

Which brings to mind some additional research topics: Which whiskey is best, really .. And just how much can you bring back duty free? - And how much are "Lourdes Water" labels?

I love the idea of using bolts to pre-assemble and test the design... Why didn't I ever think of that??

I use old pantyhose or similar to filter stuff that's going into my airbrush. That seems to be fine enough to prevent any clogging issues. Bill

Good advice from TomG - also play around with spraying water until you get it working - its much cheaper and eliminates some variables - once you've got a good mist of water then try other things. You mentioned resolene - be sure to thin and filter it since it can develop blobs over time that will clog. A small air leak shouldn't cause problems, but you don't want to leave that situation permanently as it will bleed down your air tanks and make the compressor run more than necessary - not dangerous or anything but pretty annoying with the noise that most compressors make. If your airbrushes are double-action, make sure that the needle is moving out of the nozzle freely when you pull the trigger backward. If something the needle doesn't pull back and open up, it won't move fluid. They can stick if they've been driven too hard into the nozzle - and the nozzle can be damaged. Also check that the needle point hasn't been damaged - they are very thin and can be easily bent. The fluid passages can get clogged - Try backflowing them - with the paint cup detached or empty put a finger over the nozzle and push the trigger down and back and then see if you can feel air coming out where the fluid would normally go in. If not, it's probably clogged. Hope that helps. Bill

Looking really good so far!! Can't wait to see the rest.

You'll find a good tutorial on using rein rounders on Bruce Johnson's tutorial page. He also usually has some for sale. Bill

I've used the Tandy wood disk slicker with a mandrel bit in my dremel, and it works .. I've also used the nylon one using a bolt and nut as a shaft in a drill. They both work, but I like the pro edge burnisher in the dremel best. I've been very tempted lately by one of these burnishers - the flat bottom with radiused corners just seems to make sense to me. If I had a drill press and tools to do it, I might just try to make one myself. Bill

that's just fun! And I gather from the time change between the pictures that the watch even works! Cool! Bill

Driving IN Philadelphia sucks! (which is why I did away with my car). Bill

Here's the link to JLSLeather's holster pattern thread on this site. LOTS of good info there - I have yet to try a holster, but then I have little need since I only have a little plinker .22 that lives in it's original 1950s box with the manual and stuff and hasn't been fired in years. It's a funny thing how quickly the cops are likely to show up if you fire a gun in the city, so it's not likely to be carried anytime soon. I may still try to make one - just for the challenge, tho, but I'll probably have to come up with my own design. You'll probably want to spend some time looking around the Holster, rifle slings and knife sheaths forum on here. It's one of the most active forums with a huge amount of info, including a couple of recent threads about holster tension screws. Bill

Can't wait to see it in living color! Bill

Yeah - terminology for tools, techniques, designs and hardware can be challenging. But, a good place to start is Tandy's leathercraftlibrary and their e-books. Most of those are electronic versions of books they used to, and in some cases still sell. Al Stohlman's leathercraft tools book is pretty good for tools, their use and care. It's not TOTALLY complete, but a good start. There have been a LOT of more obscure special use tools over the last couple hundred years, so you can't expect to find all of 'em in one place. As for names - yeah... they vary a little but there's more in common than not at least. Stohlman's How to color leather and coloring leather are good, if dated - good sound advice tho. Coloring with Eco Flo is also available, although many don't much care for the eco flo dyes. And at the price of free - eco flo dying and finishing guide is certainly priced right! Fiebings also has a guide to their dyes that's pretty decent.For technique, Stohlman's hand sewing leather book is again a good start, but it mostly represents one way of sewing leather - and many prefer other techniques - but again it's a good jumping off point. For another take on sewing, one of the better resources is Nigel Armitage's youtube channel where he shows you a somewhat different style. Also on the leathercraft library are three volumes on case making by Stohlman which while the projects are mostly very dated do a good job of demonstrating sound techniques. The above will get you a long way toward where you want to go - but from there on what you study and read will depend somewhat on what you want to make and do! Hardware is a little harder to find resourced for - since there is such a HUGE variety around. There is some stuff listed in the above resources and books tho. Bill

Really great work. That's a LOT of detail! I bet it took a lot of time to do. Bill

If you decide to go the head casting route, check out Smooth-On .. there's some expense and a bit of learning involved, but it's a fun process to learn and do.

I don't so much mind insurance. I do mind getting raped. Where I live, renters insurance has recently become mandatory - and the price of it just increased by over fifty percent, when in theory with more people insured it should have become cheaper.

I'm not sure what twee frippery is, but I assume it's bad? If you want to avoid the possible negative slant of crooked K and such, but still want the western feel in a name, how about "Rockin' K" ... with a traditional brand style K with a curved line under it ... Bill

The length is the same, barrel diameter differs. Both had a height adjustable yoke. Bill

Thanks Tugadude! That's what I was referring to as a VB style pricking wheel. I've also seen other devices called pricking wheels that are more like a very pointy overstitch wheel - which wouldn't be of much use for me. I'd love one day to try the VB pricking wheel that has an edge guide - that looks very useful, if pricey. I find the angled marks of a pricking iron used with a broad-tipped awl to be best for me. If you hold the awl just a bit loosely when entering the slit it will settle in and give the perfect angle every time - although you still need to be closeish with the angle and that's where a flat sided awl haft as Madmax mentioned helps. It still requires attention to get the awl straight in the horizontal and vertical plane (pitch and yaw in flying terms) - but help with the "roll" angle from the angled slits is one less thing to worry about. Bill

I haven't tried pricking wheels, only overstitch wheels to mark spacing. Mostly because I have only found pricking wheels in pretty high SPI. Whether pricking wheel or overtitch they don't give you any guidance on angle - which is where I seem to need the most help. What I'd really like to try is the VB type pricking wheel which leaves a pricking iron like mark, but they're pretty darn expensive. Bill