billybopp

You MIGHT have a little luck if you "super case" this leather. If you are doing as papaw suggested, I call that "surface casing" .. and it works perfectly fine for most leathers, whether carving or stamping. Occasionally, however, when I want my cuts to be deeper than normal, or work with difficult leather I soak the leather pretty thoroughly, or "super case" as I call it. Roll up the belt blank, and put it in a container of water for a few minutes until the leather is saturated. Hang the leather up to partially dry. When it has dried, but is still perhaps a little wetter than normal make your cuts. After the cuts are made, let it dry further to more "normal" cased state to make any stamped impressions. It might work for you. It might not. But I think it may be worth a try. Hope that works! Bill

There is a good dog collar video on Youtube, in several parts, by Bruce Cheaney .. and just about any video on belt making will be 90% or so applicable to collars as well. Look for Youtube videos by Ian Atkinson and Nigel Armitage for those, and there are a bunch of others as well if you search. There are also books on belts to be found, with http://www.leathercraftlibrary.com/default.aspx? being one source. Hope that helps Bill

While not exactly collectible, I've always been fond of airplanes and aerospace, particularly from the 1930's to the 1960's. It was a period of amazing change at an amazing pace. I find myself particularly fascinated by radial engines, so I've been collecting some books on the subject, including a number of old operation, maintenance and overhaul manuals mostly dating from the 1930's and 1940's. I think the gems in the collection are a Wright Cyclone maintenance and overhaul manual that when opened SMELL of an aviation shop. There's nothing like the smell of old grease, oil and avgas ... LOL I've also managed to come across some other relatively rare (declassified) manuals, including a B-36 flight manual and some Atlas missile books! Bill

As some have mentioned, a wine bottle cork is a really great backer for leather when using an awl, and especially useful when you can't quite get your fingers placed right to safely use them. An added bonus is that drinking the wine to get the corks is quite enjoyable. A further added benefit is that you usually have a few bottles of wine around so that you can get replacement corks when you need them. A still further added benefit is that you have bottles of wine around to dull the pain when you get forgetful, don't use the cork and pierce a finger anyway. And if you don't have antibiotic cream around? ... Yup. More wine!! It's a great system, really. Bill

I don't pad my guitar straps, but I do line with flesh-side-out deer, which is VERY soft and comfy. Flesh side out also provides a little bit of extra friction to limit how much the strap slips. Bill

ttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopp_kit .... Lots of "didn't know THAT" in this wiki entry. Bill

Good lookin' pieces. The stitching looks really good. You did use a pricking iron from both sides on those, didn't you? Bill

It's really hard to say exactly, but there are a few clues ... I'm guessing it's about 1/2" wide, so too wide to be readily available as manufactured lace, and probably cut by the maker from a larger leather piece. The lighter edges look to be natural, and not dyed nor chrome-tanned blue. Those would probably indicate that it is veg-tanned leather that is surface dyed by some method. It also looks relatively thin, so I'd guess 2/3 or 3/4 ounce vegetable tanned leather with a medium to dark brown dye ... probably sprayed on, but possibly hand-dyed. The width and edges look reasonably smooth and consistent, so it's a good guess that it was cut with a strap cutter. Hope that helps Bill

I suspect that you glued the liner on with both pieces lying flat ... That's probably why it is bunching up a bit when curved over. Try gluing up over something roundish, about the same diameter as the final position. I think that will help. I do like the magnet idea, but with that leather and the distressed look I really like the stud that you are using. Helps to give the whole piece the appearance of being 100 years old. Bill

Tandy's silver pen is on sale for $2.59US. Not sure what that would be, CDN, nor what shipping might cost. Bill

I love the Whovian stamp .. And I recognize the bird, but can't place it. "Starship Troopers", maybe? Bill

It'll be fun watching who and how many steal that one!

Thanks for both versions of this template! The printer size is very helpful, since I don't have to go find a place to print 'em, and also don't have to pay 'em to do so!! Bill

It's kinda ingenious what stuff folks will incorporate into their leather designs, eh? Bill

Arbor presses are great, I have one and love it. Sounds like a C clamp would work pretty nicely too. There are times when neither of those would do the trick, tho ... Like when you need to stamp far from an edge. The best way I've found for that is one of the heavy duty stamp handles for those stamps that will take them ... In combination with a dead blow hammer, which helps to prevent bouncing and double-images. Hope that helps Bill

Tandy's is on sale for about half price .... Which is still pretty pricey, and it will only do strap goods. But if that's what you want.... It might do. Bill

That is a really cool idea. All look good, but I really like the one with the red thread "lacing" ... It reminds me of a baseball, and totally fits with the idea! Bill

Just a thought ... the OP might want to let us know what size the largest piece of scrip currency is in Russia. We might find it with a google search ... Or maybe not. It's not the same everyplace. (nor for that matter has it always been the same size in the US.) Bill

Looks really nice! This is something I've been experimenting with myself, recently. My carving doesn't look that nice, though. I'm also working on figuring out what looks good for a frame, and one of the better looking options is a frame of driftwood. It just sort of goes with the leather. I'm also about to begin some experiments with a store-bought wood frame that I will cover with garment leather. The pH of the leather would probably quickly damage the picture, not to mention what dyes and such might do. So, I've tried gluing some tracing film to the back of the leather so that it can be used directly on top of the picture with no glass between ... Just the way a framer would use a mat. As a matter of fact, I've also experimented with using a mat cutter with the leather and it seems to work pretty nicely! Just some ideas... Bill

I have two of the squares you have pictured. One is 12", the other 24". I frequently use them in conjunction with my marble slap and / self-healing mat. They aren't mounted, but they work great. I also have a larger carpenter's square that I use when cutting big pieces of leather. ... And an assortment of rubber or cork backed metal rulers from 6" to 60". I also have a General tools ultra-rule square that I really love for marking things with the scratch awl, but they appear to be no longer made. Bill

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