billybopp

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

The craftaid for these is a huge help ... But its still a bit of a challenge to keep the stamp exactly aligned. Well done!

The Tokonole looks more glass-like, while saddlesoap-beeswax is still shiny it's not quite as much. If I want to dye the edge with tokonole, the dye needs to go on first and can get pretty dark, but it works. And sometimes the choice comes down to what is close at hand and my mood at the time! Bill

Lookin' good! Those geometrics are really tough to keep aligned exactly but it looks like you've done it! It's a LOT of work! Bill

When I bought, clear was all that they had. It seems to do a good job, although I do sometimes use water/glycerine/beeswax still at times. The Seiwa seems to seal the edge so that it doesn't readily accept dyes - but it does do a nice job. Worth a try for sure! Bill

A clicker with a straight cutting edge, such as L'Indispensible isn't too terribly hard to sharpen with a flat stone or sandpaper and strop. The curved kind is a different story, and easiest to sharpen using a ceramic rod sharpener and a strop made of a piece of dowel rod with some leather glued on and of course some sort of polish compound. Bill

Ian shows the Seiwa finish in this video, about 18 or 19 minutes in. I'm pretty sure it's what is now called Tokonole. I've used it and like it! Bill

I only have old knives, and they are not perfectly round nor totally symmetrical .. whether they started that way or not! I've seen some old ones for sale that are practically triangular. I suppose that has something to do with the skill of those that have sharpened them over the years. It ain't easy to sharpen that much curve! Bill

Addicts. Thanks to you folks, I can't even watch a movie, documentary or video with sewing machines in it without backing up and maybe even pausing to see what machines are being used. I don't even have an industrial machine, just a domestic. I'm not sure, but I think I'm getting addicted too! But seriously, thanks for all the info. When I take the plunge and do get a leather sewing machine I'll be able to make a much more informed selection! And I know just where to turn when things inevitably go wrong. Bill

Yeah. It kinda sucks. But there are reasons to use a real estate agent. Most of us are not willing to invest the time and energy into researching all of the ins and outs of buying real estate, and just pay to have that done by somebody that knows the system. There's a lot that can go wrong with a real estate purchase that can cost you your home. For example, when the owner bought the house back in the '50s, they didn't do proper title research. The house was built in the 1920s on land that the builder didn't own. Now, even 100 years later, the descendants of one of the old land owners find that the land was never properly bought. They can hire another group of parasites called lawyers to come in and take your house and land! Or maybe somebody along the line sold the oil rights and one day you wake up to find an oil rig being built in your back yard. Your best case scenario is to hire another parasite lawyer to fight these situations - at your expense. You may or may not win, but either way it will cost you. And, of course, yet another group of parasites, the bankers probably won't loan you money to buy a house unless a real estate agent is involved. If you lose your house in any one of the scenarios where you could, you're not likely to pay them so no loan for you. In most cases too, the real estate agent is bonded to cover some of the problems that can arise and responsibility goes back to them. But even that varies from place to place. Don't get me wrong - The system stinks, but that's how it is. Bill

As Mattsbagger said, the round profile of a scratch awl may not give the angled stitch that so many of us like. Additionally, they are tapered along most of their length, so like the Osborne awl, you'll need to pay attention to how deeply you push it through - and it may need some sharpening. You might try some bits of scrap leather from the project that you are working on, glued up like the edge of the project and experiment to see what works best with that and the thread that you are using. Once you find the depth / hole size that works best a mark on the blade or a bit of tape can help you get the same depth consistently. It awl just takes practice! Since I don't sew daily or even weekly at times, I usually do a small scrap piece as mentioned above as practice before I start sewing on most of my projects - Just to shake off my rusty technique. Note that Tandy leather kits all come with round holes - and much too big ones for most thread - but they work. Also, keep in mind that the holes to be in a nice straight line and the same distance from the edge all the way around. There are specialized tools around for this, but you can get by with a straight edge and your scratch awl, or a drawing / machinist compass if it's not too flimsy. You just need to get a straight even line to work along. I'm not familiar with E6000, but it might work. If it's really thick and goopy, it may be difficult to work with - glue needs to go on somewhat thin. If the leather is pretty smooth, you may need to roughen it up a bit with a little sandpaper or a fingernail file. If you have it already, try it out - you might try applying it with one of those junk credit cards that seem to come in your mail with annoying regularity. If you don't already have glue, you might look for Weldwood original contact cement in the red can / jar at a local home improvement store. Many of us swear by it. It's a meant for wood working, but works great for leather - it's pretty stinky stuff tho, so use it in a ventilated area. Bill

That looks really great!! I couldn't help but notice some wrinkles in your leather, tho. Could Popeye have been left out in the sun for a few decades too long? Maybe some nourishment for the leather would work. I think I'd try some spinach. Seriously tho, looks awesome. Bill

Where the arbor press really comes into its own is for larger stamps such as 3-d stamps and letters where you need a good amount of pressure. Hammering on these stamps takes a pretty heavy his using a hammer/mallet/maul and they can bounce leading to multiple imprints. Not a problem with an arbor press! - and with some moving around and multiple presses, they can do well with BIG plate stamps. If the ram is drilled, they can be good for handled tools where you need repetitive impressions along an item - with some other additions such as a platform and guide fence. For setting rivets & snaps and such the arbor might work but a dedicated machine will work better. If I had known about the Goldstar at the time, that's probably what I would have bought, but I got the old Tandy version - and it works great, but the dies are terribly expensive. Thankfully they were on sale from time to time and I bought them that way. Bill

"however have you heard the saying those that do, do, and those that cant teach". That's only a partial quote .. "Those that can, do. Those that can't teach. Those that can't teach coach gym class."