billybopp

Shippers do indeed do some amazing things to equipment. I used to fix mainframe computers for a living, when those were still a thing. We had a customer with a failed disk drive, when those were the size of a dishwasher. The individual drives were about 60 pounds or so, but came boxed and well padded in the box. The replacement was shipped with lots of "handle with care", "Fragile", and other such labeling on it. The first replacement failed immediately when we installed it, so a second was shipped, this time with shockwatch and tip labels. This time around, somebody was near the front door when it was delivered ... to find the FedEx driver flipping the box end over end along the sidewalk all the way from his truck to the door. So much for handle with care! Bill

I've already subscribed to your youtube. Love it! Watching the video in this post, you mentioned having a hard time watching what you were doing on the camera's tiny monitor. Many video cameras will allow you to connect a monitor to them while recording, if you use the TV output. A cheap-o flat screen TV, or if the output is the right type, a computer monitor could work great for you! Just make sure to either not connect the sound or turn it all the way down so that you don't get sound feedback! Bill

Yes. Yes. and Yes. The Eco Flo Pro dyes are relatively thick, so will need to be diluted to airbrush well. Water should work fine to dilute the eco-flow, AND the resolene. Thin to about the consistency of whole milk, or thereabouts. Be sure to clean your airbrush often and carefully. With some acrylics (like resolene) you have to clean even during use if you're covering larger areas. With dyes, you'll want to clean between colors. And you'll need to do a very thorough cleaning after every time you use the airbrush VERY soon after use. I'm not familiar with your airbrush, but there should have been directions included on how to disassemble and clean it. I keep a jar of water with a bit of vinegar and a drop or so of dish detergent for quick cleaning such as between colors, and another with plain water to rinse any residue from vinegar and soap. After use, I use the same formula right after spraying, before disassembling the airbrush ... then I follow that with a couple of rounds in an ultrasonic cleaner. The ultrasonic might be overkill, but I had it around, and figured "why not!" Bill

Once again, a fine video! Thank you! Bill

... Maybe "String of Pearls" or "Pennsylvania 6-5000" will get stuck instead. Oh ... And if a "Little Brown Jug" is the culprit .... Wellll!!.....

Well done. Great design .. Hand sewn? DANG!!

Hi Brian, Welcome aboard! Sorry to hear about your stroke, but never forget - Where there's a will, there's a way. You will find that there are a lot of us on here dealing with disabilities of one form or another. From arthritis to being wheelchair bound and most everything in between. There are a number of threads on the site where people show off their workarounds! I have some damage to both hands due to rheumatoid arthritis, although thankfully it's not TOO severe. As mentioned above, you can put your tooling leather in a sealed plastic bag when you're ready for a break, and come back to it a little while later. You may also want to consider getting a spray bottle to "refresh" your casing when you go back to it. Also, if it will extend to days, you may want to refrigerate your sealed up leather between sessions to slow down possible mold growth. I've also heard of folks putting additives into the water they case with to do the same. To mention a couple, you may find it easier to grip your tools with large, soft grips on them. Some have used heat shrink tubing, rubber pencil grips and a few other things to help with that. Another good example is using a modified mechanical arbor press for tooling so that you don't have to grip the tool at all! I've used my arbor press for 3D stamps and it works great, but have yet to modify it to use with handled stamps .. but it seems easy enough to do .. have somebody drill the ram down its length and then a smaller threaded hole from the side for a set-screw. I've give some thought to getting a deep-throat arbor just for that purpose, and rigging a return spring. Check out this thread. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=65483&hl=%2Btallbald+%2Barbor#entry427187 If you find you can't do your stitching with an awl, the aformentioned drill press idea could work well, as could a modified arbor press. You may also want to consider using stitching chisels which can go all the way through the leather in a whack instead. They are a VERY close second to a pricking iron and awl for making a pretty stitch line. Additionally, one of the nice things about sewing is that you can do a bit and walk away to rest your hands for as long as necessary ... No problem! I'm always amazed at the ingenuity of the things I find on this site, so please be sure to show off the workarounds that you find! Bill In any case,

I made sock garters of leather for a friend not long ago. In order to get the clips, I bought cheap garters for about $5 and cut them off. I used a Tandy hatband and buckle set for the main calf-strap. For this set, he wanted to use the elastic between strap and clips, so I attached the elastic that was cut off the donors and simply sewed them in to a piece of leather that goes around the main strap. My friend loves them. Easy peasy! Bill

You might also take a look at mail bags / postal carrier bags. They are just about the right size, and there are some patterns and such about on here. Bill

I probably wasn't clear about what I was saying, the glue should go from the very edge to about 1/4" in, give or take. That's far enough in from the edge to allow for a little trimming and sanding with enough margin for error that your stitches will still hit the glued area. Also, make sure your glue layer is really thin, otherwise it can make your edge burnishing look .. well .. not right. Bill

What you'll want to do is glue the pieces together a short distance in from the edge (maybe 1/4"), trim the edges totally even. I usually stitch next, then burnish the edges using more or less Bob Park's method. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=18101 Bill

When dying multiple colors, you just need to be sure that your brush is not too heavily loaded with dye when doing the edges. You can use a brush that's a bit more heavily loaded near the center part, where it will not be a problem if the dye spreads a bit. There's a youtube video from Tandyleatherfactory that goes into this technique, if you're inclined to look for it. Bill

I don't know what I'd use if I were putting together a workshop now, but I know exactly what I WISH I had kept! I had a 8foot long by about 3 foot wide, 6" deep stainless steel sink that was inherited from my great uncle's photo processing shop. It had a drain and water spigot, both of which would be awesome for any spills and cleanup. It'd just be the cat's a$$ for dying leather. But I let it go a few years ago, since I don't have the space for it where I live now. That might have been a mistake! For now, I use a glass top table with cardboard and paper for most jobs. What little soaks through cleans off of the glass easily. When I dip dye, I cut open a large plastic garbage bag and lay it out on the back porch and work on that, with paper to lay out pieces to dry. The paper and cardboard that I use is mostly recycled from packing material from stuff that I have shipped to me! Bill

There is a youtube video by Ian Atkinson that has a good side-by-side comparison of many finishes and their water resistance capability. You may want to give it a look. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyTg_hfpNUM Hope that helps Bill

You might try DyeGone II. It does an incredible job on hands, and I've used it with some success in "lightening to nearly gone" a small dye 'oops' on veg tan. Bill

Hmmm. Those are cool! Haven't seen them before!

I was able to download the third with no sign in, etc. The first try was corrupted, but second went well. Bill

I use Fiebings spirit dyes, oil dyes, and eco-flo pro dyes. Eco flo colors seem to be a little more vibrant than fiebings, which is useful in some situations. Fiebings dark colors (browns & blacks mostly) work much better for the way that I use them, and mostly all that I use for large area coverage. I've never used Angelus, or other dyes ... but I'm sure they have their advantages in some applications too. Bill

Ray: They make dedicated foot operated setters, but from what I've seen they are pretty pricey. Pricey is probably the way to go if you intend on full-blown production line work, but for lower volume I'd give some thought to a Goldstar or something similar and adapt it to foot operated with a homemade pedal and strap of some sort to operate it. Just a thought Bill

If an overstitch wheel does it for you, this one from Tandy is really not bad. http://www.tandyleather.com/en/product/craftool-overstitch-wheel-system Bill

Oxalic acid is overkill for just cleaning before dying. It's useful if there are stains on the leather, however. Alcohol works fine for ordinary cleaning (what I use), as does Fiebings dye prep .. which appears to be mostly alcohol and has a smell of amonia as well. Unless fingerprints are pretty greasy, even alcohol isn't always needed .. but as a preventative, I give it a quick wipedown anyway. Bill

Well, I hate to say it. But I see a big problem here. Its simply too nice to fill with clubs and throw in the trunk ( or is boot down your way )!! Bill

Very nice. It would look perfectly at home on a woodland elf in Middle Earth! Bill

I began leatherworking with the rawhide mallets that I was given along with my initial tools. It worked alright, but I kept wondering what the fuss was about mauls, and decided to try one when I found the same type of metal maul from China on ebay for cheap. I tried it, and I like it. But, like CrazedLemming, I found that after awhile the poly loosened up and started to rattle. It served its purpose, which was to try out a maul and learn about using it. When I get a substitute for the Chinese maul, I may try putting some epoxy in the gaps to tighten it up so that I can keep it around. I've been eyeing up a Barry King maul for awhile now, and thinking that a tapered head might suit the way I hold my arm when tooling. I was also eyeing up a big whacker maul from Barry King too, but I'm now thinking that a 30oz Shop Fox might be just the thing for less $$. Hmmmm. Much to ponder! Bill

The background/main color is probably dyed. The lettering and designs are painted. Dyes generally do not give the bright colors seen here, and white dye is essentially useless stuff. I've done similar work, and use small, good quality paintbrushes. Fine point sharpies can work for outlining if you can find the right color. Take your time, and concentrate. It's not easy, but not necessarily as hard as you might think. Oh. Decaf coffee / soda is highly recommended. Bill