billybopp

What did you use to get the color for this belt? Bill

Looks really nice! Bill

I've used gold and silver for figure and letter stamps with good results. It's somewhat protected by the stamp being recessed, and a good couple of coats of Resolene seems to protect it well. Bill

Dyes can really wick through leather, so the best thing to do is use a smallish brush for border areas, then do NOT put the brush too close to that border until much of the dye is off the brush. Only then go near the border area to minimize the amount of dye that will be wicked where you don't want it. Hope that helps Bill

http://www.fiebing.com/tips/color-charts-dyes-stains-antiques-2/ Fiebings has a color chart for their colors to at least get you pointed in the right direction. Note that those colors are only a rough guide, however. If you use most dyes undiluted, your result will almost certainly be darker than the chart. I dilute these dyes about 50/50 with dye reducer or denatured alcohol. Also, the color of the leather to begin with will have an effect, as will neatsfoot oil and other materials. It's always best to try the color on a piece of scrap that is similar to your work piece. Hope that helps Bill

Truly beautiful work!

Those are awlesome. The deer antler handle really does look like it's comfy to use. Well done. Bill

Can't help you too much here, Raven, but I did notice a product and tech support phone number on the link you provided. It's odd that any product has problems across its own product line. I would have expected the Tandy gold to give you more trouble. I'd give 'em a call!! Bill

I've had the same problem on occasion. Since I don't have a sander, that's not the problem in my case. It seems that a small amount of dye ends up on the burnishing tools, which can then transfer off onto a lighter colored piece (I'm sure it happens from light to dark as well, but just isn't noticeable). I have since started cleaning my burnishers with a little alcohol on a paper towel or rage and some vigorous rubbing before switching to a different colored piece. The lighter the color, the more work needed to clean up the burnisher. Needless to say, white is a real bitch and takes a LOT of cleaning. I am considering getting several hand burnishers and color coding them for use on similar colors to avoid some of the cleaning chore. Hope that helps Bill

Some suppliers are happy to send out small samples so that you can have a look at them, sometimes free and other times for a small fee. If you want to buy a large enough sample to try something with, Springfield Leather is willing to sell in smaller quantities for some of their leathers. http://springfieldleather.com/ There may be other vendors willing to do this as well. Hope that helps. Bill

Looks pretty darn good to me!

Looks like you got a pretty nice machine there! We'll be waiting to see what you do with it! Bill

Here's a video on making a very simple change purse by Ian Atkinson. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjKAejwUJPg&list=UULkCG-505-1t0rYlgBTSnpQ He has a pattern available for sale, or you can back-engineer it form watching the video. There are other patterns to be found if you look about for free, as well. Hope that helps Bill

Good starter tools need not be terribly expensive for simple projects! And there's a good chance that you have many of them already. A good utility knife with sharp blades, Stanley brand for example, are useful for any number of things around the house in addition to leather. Home improvement stores, and department stores are possible sources. A self healing cutting mat, or poly cutting board are helpful, not too expensive and also available at many places. A metal straight edge with a cork or rubber non-slip back also has many uses. Home improvement stores or department stores, perhaps. A rotary hole punch is a little more specialized, but very useful and not terribly expensive. Multiple tip drive hole punches are another option. http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/home/department/tools/punches/3240-00.aspx A proper diamond sewing awl is highly recommended and not too expensive at ~ $20 US. The Japanese ones arrive in a usable state of sharpness, not all do. http://www.goodsjapan.jp/category/awls/catId=4252437 http://www.fineleatherworking.com/leather-tools/blanchard-leather-sewing-awl Tiger thread, which is a super thread to use, is available in short lengths from a number of places. https://www.etsy.com/listing/120961806/tiger-thread-for-leatherwork-20m?ref=shop_home_active_2 Needles (if you don't find what you need in your collection): https://www.etsy.com/listing/174952548/john-james-002-saddlers-harness-needles?ref=shop_home_active_7&ulsfg=true You can probably get by without a beveler, but they are useful. It's also harder to find a good one that's inexpensive. New ones arrive dull as dishwater and take some work to make usable. Vintage ones tend to be better, and expensive. You'll have to be creative without one. Some use sandpaper to bevel, but it's a little time consuming. An overstitch wheel is very useful, but you might get by without if you have a very good eye for spacing, or use a ruler and careful marking. http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/search/site-search-results.aspx?sectionpath=3&processor=content&p_keyword=overstitch A stitching groover or creaser is helpful, but you can probably figure out some other creative way to do the same job as a creaser. I've actually used a butter knife and straight edge to crease when the other half borrowed my proper tool and I couldn't find the damn thing. (take my tools, I take your silverware! Mwahahaha) http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/home/department/tools/stitching-lacing-tools/88081-00.aspx An edge burnisher of some sort is helpful for making a nice looking edge, and not expensive. http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/search/searchresults/8121-00.aspx Rivets and a rivet setter sometimes come as a kit. http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/home/department/hardware/rivets/3635-00.aspx Chicago screws are an alternative to rivets for a belt. http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/home/department/hardware/1290-051.aspx Some leather, some dyes, some finish .. Maybe some saddle soap and beeswax for edge burnishing ... I don't think I've missed anything important. It looks like a lot, but it isn't, really. You may already have many of the tools. Others are useful for things other than leather work. Many of the items above can be found for less money on ebay and elsewhere if you're willing to do the searching. Chinese tools seem to be a mixed bag .. Some OK, some not, and no way to really tell which is which until you get them. Tandy tools are mostly OK for a starter. They have a store in the UK, so might avoid some shipping expenses for you. There are also a number of other UK vendors .. there is a thread on here listing UK and European vendors, but I can't find it at the moment. Hope that helps! Bill

Most of what I've found so far comes from youtube videos, and some from the spousal unit. The books / folio we're seeing may in fact be a paper covering over leather or something else, with leather used for the spine / inlay. Or it may actually be a leather panel on the books. What I've found so far seems to say use water based dyes. Remember that's not a pan of water .. It looks more like jello that hasn't been in the fridge long enough to set. The gel being more dense than the dye will allow it to float, yet not spread too thinly as oil based dye might. From what I've gathered so far, you can dye directly onto leather, but it takes a bit more care than paper, and needs to sit atop the dyes for a much longer time. There doesn't appear to be much wasted dye, but I do not know how long the "gel" will last, or if it can be stored. I don't know about starting with a pre-stained piece, but would think that if it doesn't impede the marbling dye absorption it should work. It's worth an experiment! As far as I can tell, multiple dips aren't necessary, and have no idea what would happen if you do. ( not that I know what will happen if you don't yet, either!) The video that looks closest to what we're seeing in the examples is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwAotLTL-Ws Very similar pattern, although on paper with different colors. It's pretty fascinating to see what artists come up with using this technique. This one looks to be tulips. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqedBekgLdo This one has some cool patterns... on a HUGE scale: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ak-Gcikux7E In any case, trying this is on my to do list for some time soon. Hope that helps Bill

Strangely enough, the same sort of thing came up on here just recently. Check out: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=57852&hl= It's a variant of paper marbling using leather rather than paper. The short version is water with carrageennan (also known as Irish Moss despite the fact that it's seaweed) or methyl cellulose mixed into it makes a very wet jelly like ... er ... um stuff. Dyes or paints are then dripped onto the surface where they spread out, and sometimes pretty designs dragged through the paint. The paper, fabric, or leather is then carefully laid on top and allowed to float there for a time before being carefully lifted off of the .. er .. stuff. That's the short version, anyway. I'd tell you more, but I'm just finding out about it myself! Hope that helps Bill

You're most welcome. I can see why the knives are selling well! There are a number of videos about making messenger bags on youtube if you want to check them out. Nigel Armitage has a particularly nice one at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEwbvfsZfBw Bill

Either type of gusset will work, however you may find that the "U" gusset shown in the left diagram presents a few problems if you're new to sewing. Because of the different radius between the inside of the gusset and outside, there will be either a shorter stitch length on the inside curve versus the outside. If you don't care about that, no biggie. If you do, its a bit tricky to deal with. The leather will also bunch up on the inside of the curves, which can be tricky to deal with. All in all, despite a little more stitching, the "square" gusset in the right diagram is probably easier overall. No problems with stitch length in this style. Getting the leather around the corner is also likely to be a little tricky, but not so much as the "U" gusset. I've made both types, and prefer the square gusset, but that's just my preference. Hope that helps Bill

Try tracing film for tracing and then transferring images. Tandy sells it in both rolls and 8.5x11sheets. It's considerably more durable than tracing paper. Wet the leather, let it dry just until natural color, and it will be ready for to be traced and worked. Bill

A 10cm square stamp is pretty big. You'll probably find that 1/2 ton won't readily do the job. I've got stamps smaller than that which are difficult to do with my 1/2 ton. Most prefer a piece of steel under the leather, but I like a piece of 1/2 inch plywood. The slight amount of give of the plywood seems to make some stamps work better. For my bigger stamps, I back them with a piece of steel to spread out the pressure. It helps, but I find that I still have to press in several locations to get a good impression. Unfortunately, it's hard to say just how much press you need. I think that 2 tons is about the biggest mechanical press that I've seen, and I think I'd start there. Most that I've seen bigger than 2 tons or so are hydraulic and slower in use. That speed may or may not be a problem depending on what you want to do (and how patient you are). Hope that helps Bill

I have absolutely no complaints whatsoever with my goodsjapan awls. They came sharp, and with a little work are REALLY sharp with a nice polish and seem to stay that way. I have recently used one of them to go through 3 layers of 10oz veg tan with surprisingly little effort. Bill

Some things just do not translate well from UK English to American English. My closest childhood friend's grandmother was from England, and moved to the US after retiring to live with the family. She liked to help out with the cleaning, cooking and grocery shopping as much as she could (she introduced me to Yorkshire Pudding .. YUMMMM). So, one day she went to the supermarket to buy groceries. This grocery store had scratch off tickets for discounts, freebies, etc. She had never seen such before in England, and asked the cashier about it, and was told to use a coin or something to rub off the paint from the ticket to see her prize. She promptly turned to the 16 year old bag boy and asked him "Do you have a rubber?" Needless to say, the boy turned the most amazing shade or red, and she was totally confused. England and America are indeed two nations divided by a common language. Bill

I have several Black River templates and tools, and love them. Joyce is great to work with. She has, however been swamped with orders lately and fell a little behind. Hopefully she'll be caught up again soon and help us all out!! Bill

Monica! Your mandolin/violin design is anything but rough or rustic! It's a really great idea and beautiful design. Very slight changes would take it to a very high level indeed. Joe may be talking about the loop on the front of the bag that the strap goes through to hold down the flap. Think something like a beltloop that is sewn from inside the loop. There are some videos on youtube to give you an idea of how to sew one in place, although I can't find one at the moment. You could also rivet or chicago screw it in place if it's a full loop. The back pocket stitching does not look bad as is, but you could also make it full-width and incorporate the sides in with the gusset seam, although that would slightly thicken that edge. The bottom of the pocket could still be stitched across the bottom, where it would be a less noticeable. With a bit of skiving of gusset, back and pocket leather it may not thicken the seam too much. It could be worth a try! Another interesting idea that just came to me ... To add a touch of whimsy, you might be able to find a tuning nut to use in place of the sam brown stud. i'm not sure if they are available anywhere, and you'd have to adjust the size of the hole in the strap, but it might be cool! It's a great design as is, however! Hope that helps! Bill PS My niece plays violin .. Would you be offended if I were to make something for her?

Blue Duck, check out this recent thread ... http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=56437&hl=vector#entry362026