billybopp

I think the trick with these is that the jaws need to be parallel. If you look at the tool town vise grips, the jaws meet only at the very tips, and any material would have to be pretty thick to make them truly parallel. Those would likely mark the leather. The harbor freight ones are harder to tell, since they are pictured in the open position. The then again, at $7 and $15, I'm sure a body could make 'em work even if they aren't exactly right! Bill

http://www.ebay.com/itm/131349224033?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2648&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

The Tandy press and dies are currently on sale ... Might be worth a look.

Just curious ... What 3 books??

Books! I have a couple that are 200 years old. Several around 100 years old. A first edition Gone With The Wind, and lots of others. One of these days I'll branch out with leatherworking and restore the cover on a beautiful 1880 Bible that I have. I also seem to be collecting 1/72 plastic model kits that I rarely have time to actually work on (mostly 1940s-1950s airplanes and rockets). Bill

... I believe this is at least more or less the same as the outrageously expensive fileteuse's from France ... http://www.campbell-randall.com/shop/index.php?route=product/product&path=74_110&product_id=14436 Still expensive, but not quite the pucker power expensive of the French devices. I've also seen similar pliers .. still a little pricey, but less somewhere, but can't remember where. Bill

That is most likely done with an airbrush. That's what I did with the guitar strap below. It's possible to blend colors by hand / sponge but not so easy to do. Bill

Dang that's nice! And I particularly like how you worked a bit o' Celtic in alongside floral. You don't often see them together. Well done! Bill

I think I like the triangle purge better than I do the triangle purse ... Thanks Tom.

LOL. Gotta say ... Chief is right. Band-aids and neosporin at hand is a good thing. Knives, awls, and even "blunt" sewing needles will make blood stains a "feature" of your product all too often. I have recently started making use of kevlar kitchen gloves when doing bigger cuts. They haven't saved me yet, but I'm sure they will eventually. Bill

Once again this looks great! I love it when people post process pictures and videos. There are SO many ways to do a give thing that it is interesting to see how each person handles a particular item. Is that an open-cell padding that you used to give the "quilting" a little 3-D effect? The only thing that I see that you may want to give some thought to is the attachment for the D-ring straps. The stitch line runs right across the strap, which very much weakens the attachment. It can act as a perforation across the leather at that point and tear easily. If, instead, you use a curved line for the stitches, or perhaps a V shape, or even two straight lines along the edge, the stress is then spread in such a way that it will be far stronger. You just have to get a little creative in making it both strong and pretty. Thanks ! Bill

Welcome aboard! I find that a utility knife, a backed metal ruler, and a cutting mat are about the best all around tools for cutting leather. Like JLS, I like my X-acto knife as well, but I prefer the #10 blade since it is a little beefier. The standard #11 blade flexes too much for me .. but that might just be the way that I use it. Rotary cutters work better than fixed blades on very thin leathers .. Under 2 or 3 ounces for example. I like the 60mm rotary better than the 45mm for the most part. I discovered to my surprise that a pair of big a$$ shears works better then I ever imagined on leather. Leather seems to cut far more easily when it is dry rather than when wet or even damp. There is far less drag and bunching of leather that way. The real key is sharp, sharp, and sharper blades. Even utility blades right from the package can be improved a little bit by stropping them. There are tons of videos on youtube that you may find helpful. Look up Ian Atkinson, Nigel Armitage, Chief32794, and tandyleatherfactory for some good video instruction. Just bear in mind that Tandy is often trying to sell you something... Principals they show are sound, tho. Nigel and Chief are members here, and I have reason to think Ian is too, although if so he's as elusive as bigfoot. For books you can find some good stuff on Amazon, or tandy's leathercraftlibrary.com Most of the books that they have in-store or used to have in-store are available there in digital format. Leathercraft Tools, Hand Sewing, and ABCs of Leatherwork are a few good starters. Hope that helps Bill

Looks really nice all 'round. Good thoughtful design, and well executed. I'm really intrigued by the curved basketweave. I don't think I've ever seen that done before! Bill

48oz? Yup. That's a BFH for sure! It sounds like it's just the ticket, tho. As for getting older ... keep on keeping on. The alternative ain't such a good thing. Glad to hear that BK's tools are still top notch. I've been eying up a tapered round maul at something like 16-20oz for tooling, but haven't quite decided yet. Bill

The Flower duet from Lakme is one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written. Bar none.

Your unguided practice pieces are better than many experienced folk could do. I really love the embossed rose! I'm guessing that is your "signature" look? Keep up the good work, and thank you for sharing information on welting and turning edges. If I had any criticism at all, it would be the multiple straps on the red bag. They look beautiful, but I can see somebody trying to put it over their shoulder and getting an arm caught up between the strap strands. Just a thought! Bill

Sting's "The Last Ship" is in the CD player at the moment. At any given time, however, you might find Bach, Mozart, Saint Saens, Count Basie, Reel Big Fish, Steely Dan, Donald Fagan, Patsy Cline, Rush, Ozzy Osborne, Keane, Fun, MCR .... In other words ... I like most everything, and can work to most of it. Quite often, the TV is on in the background too. Bill

I don't know about the pricking irons, but I would recommend a straight or very slightly tapered awl. The "wing awls" or "Saddler's awls" will leave a smallish hole on the back side of the hole and a large one at the front .. and the difference is more pronounced the thicker the leather. Take a look at the following picture. It shows a wing awl, three sizes Seiwa straight awls, and a Tandy (pretty sure Osborne) fine tapered awl side by side. Other than that, What fits your hand best!? Hope that helps Bill

If kerosene (paraffin) and white gas (coleman fuel) aren't good options for you, think about using propane. I don't know what's available over there, but there are camp lanterns here that are designed to run from small propane bottles, and they work great. The only problem is that those little bottles are relatively expensive. So, what I do when I'm on a long car-camp is to take a gas grill type propane tank, and adapter/distributor for lanterns, stoves and other stuff! It works great, and is considerably less expensive than the disposable bottles. The key is the post, something like the following: http://www.amazon.com/Stansport-Outlet-Propane-Distribution-Post/dp/B001DC5HAW/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1415635422&sr=8-13&keywords=propane+lantern and add-on hoses: http://www.amazon.com/Camco-59043-Propane-Extension-Hose/dp/B00192QBPQ/ref=pd_bxgy_sg_img_y You just have to figure out some sort of stand for the hose-equipped lanterns. In my case, I feed stove / grill / heater so that's not a problem. It shouldn't be hard, tho. You might also consider a reflector for your lantern to make better use of the light, as the situation demands. It's not helpful lighting the wall behind the lantern, nor the ceiling above. Hope that helps Bill

I don't make holsters. Don't know much about them. BUT ... you might want to experiment with an alternative padding material. Neoprene is fine for most folks, but there's a good number of people that are allergic to it! Something to think about: Bill

The difference between a $100 bag and a $500 bag is mostly about design, workmanship and materials. The difference between a $500 bag and a $3000 bag is almost entirely about marketing. Bill

Looks great. I really like the butcher paper roll and rack .. That's a great idea to, hopefully, preserve your tabletop. Bill

I stared off with a deadblow hammer, just because it was what I had around. I still find it useful for some tasks, such as alphabet stamps and setting rivets that can't be set with my press. Anything where I don't want a bounce. I was then given a couple of rawhide mallets, which work well for most things, and a big improvement for tooling. I have since bought a maul from China on ebay for less than $20, in order to try one, and have to say I like it. But mauls are not so useful for a few things! I'll probably eventually buy a better maul, but I have what I need for now. I also putzed around some with a wooden maul. Not recommended. It splintered a bit hitting smaller tool handles. The maul I'm currently using: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Durable-Leather-Stamping-Tool-Set-Craft-Tool-Kit-For-Leather-Cutting-Tool-Hammer-/311159085127?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item487286d847 Rawhide mallets are also pretty inexpensive: http://www.ebay.com/itm/rawhide-head-mallet-leather-hammer-Medium-/181560262197?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a45d5be35 If I had to choose only one of the striking tools I've used, I'd go with a rawhide mallet. Hope that helps Bill

The copper rivets used on that bag are widely available from Tandy, Springfieldleather, and many others. You can also find a ton of information in the leatherworker.net forums, and videos about setting copper rivets on youtube. Hope that helps Bill

Really nice bag! I've never seen one quite like it, and I've never seen a gusset done that way before, with one side turned inward and the other outward! Well done! Bill