billybopp

Welcome home Walter! Thank you, and all the others for posting pictures and contributing to this thread. It's totally fascinating. I love seeing these old tools that were crafted with such wonderful artistry. I have to confess, that I occasionally take a look at Bruce Johnson's web site to see what he has on offer, and usually find myself drooling just a little bit. Love it! I especially want to thank you for the picture, in the original post, of the thread cage. It brought back some great memories. My great grandfather was a farmer and had a few of these in his house and his barn. I remember the one in the barn had twine in it that he used all the time. Your picture even brought back memories of the earthy smells in the barn, and of the smell and taste of fresh fried chicken with string beans and corn on the cob that he and I had just picked hours before. He was a kind soul, and wasn't even angry when my little sister half emptied the cage of twine onto the floor. He just laughed because she found it fascinating. I live in a big city now, so I suppose it's true that "you can take the boy out of the country, but can't completely take the country out of the boy". Thanks for the memory! Bill

Not bad! Lacing takes a bit of practice to get it right. Keeping even tension on the laces is pretty important. I can't tell what you are using, but good lace gives a better result and makes the job easier. Calf and kangaroo are often recommended lace materials. One of the leatherworker.net members has done a good video on mexican round braid lacing that is pretty good stuff, and makes a very attractive edge. Take a look at it if you have the time! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikoKfgm2SMw Hope that helps Bill

A question and an idea: Q: To those that use beeswax, do you soften it somehow before using it to burnish, or just rub it along the edge. Some of the beeswax that I have is pretty hard stuff. It works OK on thread, but precious little seems to transfer to the edge when I try to use it for burnishing. Should I perhaps heat it a little, or would it be better to melt some with oil so that sets up a little softer? Idea: I've been contemplating using a longish, thinish piece of wood with a U groove routed into it and a piece of canvas glued there. Something like a shaped sanding block. It seems that might help avoid the "dips" in the edge that sometimes occur with a round burnisher. I might even go so far as to channel all four sides to use with different dye colors to help avoid, for lack of a better phrase, "cross-contamination of color". It could also be possible to make different channel sizes and shapes if one had different size router bits, or whatever tools used. It might work as well with some sandpaper glued in for the initial sanding and shaping. Thoughts?? Bill

No doubt, if you do any appreciable number of rivets or snaps one o' these gadgets is money well spent. I figure mine may have paid for itself in messed up rivets and snaps .. Even more in terms of the time saved!! Bill

Thanks Jim I know it can be quite a challenge putting the things that you do on a project or any procedure into words, but it's also extremely helpful. Well done! Bill

Good questions all! 1. Chrome tanned leathers are most always pre-colored(drum dyed), but may be a bit too floppy for what you want to do. Veg tan tooling leather would work just fine, but you'll most likely want to dye it which is a bit of extra work, and CAN be difficult to get right on bigger pieces of leather, particularly if you have a little experience. That said, you can also get exactly the color that you want that way. If you want natural leather finish, this is the way to go. Veg tan can also be drum dyed, along with other treatments. I'm thinking of making a bag, and will probably use English Bridle leather in about the 6oz range. There are a ton of options! Take a look here for some options with a pretty good explanation of what they are: http://www.wickett-craig.com/ . Also, be sure to look at the colors that they have available. Most seem to have good luck buying from them, but there are also other places to buy more or less the same leathers. Other may also have different colors. 2. As stated above, 6oz seems about right for such a bag to me. But, if you line it you may want to go a little thinner. How thin depends on the lining! If you live near a vendor such as Tandy, go in and take a look and feel of their leathers. Even if you don't buy from them, it will give you some ideas. 3. For a heavier use bag, I'm not sure I'd line it, and leave it natural color if it's un-dyed veg-tan, or a lighter drum dyed leather. Lining is good too, and the options are about endless. I think I'd go for pig in, as you like, a lighter color. The only potential problem is that lining pig tends to be pretty thin. It's also pretty strong, tho ... So .. sort of of two minds about that. Natural veg tan is also an option in say 3/4oz. Oiled and finished with whatever works for you prefer .. From carnauba cream to tan kote to resolene to oil and wax. Again, endless options. Deer/elk/moose is probably not a good choice for a bag or bag lining. It's terribly "spongy" and a bit stretchy. However, if you wanted to line a shoulder strap with it, you can't find anything more comfy! 4. Double should would work OK for what you want, but might be hard to get the piece sizes that you want, depending on the size of the bag that you are making! Back would be the better choice for size, and may be slightly stronger stuff. The only part of the beast to avoid is the belly, which can be too stretchy. Check out the messenger bag making video by Nigel Armitage on Youtube. It's excellent. He will also sell you the pattern, which can be modified to suit your needs with relative ease. Or, if you're good at back-engineering things, check out the video and make your own similar pattern. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEwbvfsZfBw I'm currently working on one of the above-mentioned bags. I'll be using 6/7oz veg tan ... Because it's what I have on-hand! Mine won't be lined, and I'll finish it with a sort of sunburst dye job. I can't quite decide on what finish to put atop that. I want it to be reasonably water resistant, but not quite as shiny as resolene. As an added challenge, I thinking of modifying it a little and using no metal hardware. Just leather, and associated dyes, etc. and thread. Should be fun! Hope that helps Bill

That's really awesome. I REALLY love the creativity that folks on here show us in making and modifying tools. Now I wonder if IKEA sells some sort of bench that could turn your invention into a full-blown horse!? Bill

That's a really cool idea! Well done. Bill

Grandma is gonna be happy! It looks great, and I would never have thought to use a mystery braid for a strap. I like it! The only thing I think I would have changed would be to edge paint the braid edges, probably before braiding. That said, it's a small thing. I also would probably have used a D or triangle rather than a square for the strap to chain attachment to keep it from sliding around. The stitching distance from the edge varies a little bit where the bottom attaches to the sides, but I can certainly understand why that happens. You can't really use an edge guide the way that those pieces have to be sewn. I can't maintain a straight line to save my life without an edge guide. It's still pretty darn good, tho! Hope that helps Bill

Gotcha Bruce. Thanks! I have seen something like that on ebay on occasion, but never quite knew what I was seeing. Bill

Beautiful work. Congratulations, you deserve your wins! Bill

According to my own personal art teacher, cem is right. It's called water marbling or sometimes ebru, and is often found on old book cover paper. The technique is known to exist back as far as the eighth century. It's done on paper by mixing a form of seaweed to make a gel and then placing a water based dye on the surface and manipulating it in various ways. It is currently in popular use in painting fingernails. I'm going to try this with leather and water-based dyes sometime soon!! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_marbling People of a certain age will appreciate the following video for the memories this sort of film brings back in addition to the content: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vyga8VMWXKg Hope that helps. Bill

I modified my strap cutter this way yesterday, and LOVE IT. I cut a piece of cardboard bag liner about 1/4" wide and glue it in. Today, I was able to cut a good number of 4" wide straps from 3/4oz leather with far less effort than ever before. In the past, I've had problems with the cutter wandering off-course. No more! Thanks for the suggestion! It really helped. Bill

I have to agree with all of the above, and add my thanks for the many folks on here that give advice and opinions. It is invaluable, and one of the best learning sources imaginable. Even though opinions sometimes differ, there is always something to be learned from them. The sense of humor that often comes with these posts is quite appreciated too. It reminds us that life is short, and nobody gets out of it alive so we should enjoy it as much as we can. It's probably not said often enough, but ... THANK YOU TO YOU ALL. Bill

I'm not quite sure what you're talking about ... maybe others don't as well? A picture of something like it might help. Bill

Very nice indeed! Bill

He left the S off for savings??

Thanks Claire! That's awesome. I had never heard of this show, but now I'm going to have to give it a go. It's a bit like a wartime Fawlty Towers. Somebody posted a day or two ago that they had watched one of Nigel Armitage's videos at work, with no speakers, using the youtube closed caption option. It turns out that it's just hysterical to watch since the software is not geared to a British accent. Give that a look if you have a chance. And yes, I watched Allo Allo with CC turned on. It's funny without CC, but with all the accents in this show, it's even better! ... "Economists requiring three kilos of pot, tokyo's of sugar, 10 litres of pedophilia, and 20 meters of gasoline". Bill

One of my favorite memories has been, on about three or four occasions, sitting in a room full of people who had never seen it ... Watching Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Every single time about half of the crowd were just in stitches, and the other half just bewildered. Also .. LOVE those 50's Alec Guinness movies. Ladykillers, The Man in the White Suit, Kind Hearts and Coronets, and Lavender Hill Gang (which was on TCM this morning), come to mind. Most everybody remembers him as a fine dramatic actor, but early in his career he was best know for comedy. Bill

I have bought a few of these tools from China with OK results ( don't remember which vendors). They have held up for a year or more of use with no signs of wear. They needed a little polish when I got them, but nothing too severe. One set of stitching/strap punches from China were made with the wrong slant, which causes some problems sewing. I'll replace them before too long, but for that reason if you need multiple sizes stick to one maker, or look very carefully before buying. Also, the size of the "tines" may well very a little between makers. If you want more middle-of-the road tools from the get-go, look at goodsjapan.com . I have a set of Seiwa punches that I like. Just be sure to pay for expedited shipping if you want them anytime soon. Their free shipping can take a month or two. Hope that helps. Bill

If you do not like Super Sheen, you may not like Resolene. Both of them are pretty glossy. You might try Eco-Flo Satin Sheen, which is more matte with just a little shine. Be sure to shake it well before use if you use it. It brushes on nicely, or can be sponged or sprayed. If you want something between those two options, you can mix a little Satin Sheen with Super Sheen in a container, but you'll have to experiment to see what mix gets the result you want. I'd start with 3 parts Super to 1 part Satin and go from there. You might also try Eco Flo Professional Finish Clear Matte. It dries to a very flat finish. The Eco-Flo Pro stuff has a sort of squeeze bottle tip and has to be decanted into something for use. The clear matte comes out very thick: almost like Elmers glue. It's best applied with a slightly damp sponge and not with a brush. Again, you may be able to mix these two to get just the amount of shine that you want. Fiebings Tan-Kote and Bag-Kote are also less shiny options. I think I remember seeing that they are not-so-waterproof, tho. Hope that helps! Bill

Chief is right, belt making is almost the same thing, and you can find tons of different videos about it on Youtube. Not so many on dog collars, but they do exist. Bruce Cheaney did a four or five part video on making a custom tooled leather lined dog collar about a year ago, starting with this one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8aOP7dZg3U&list=UUrtFQMR9Kta2jpqsuVT9Aew Many of the Tandy videos are on Youtube. They are mostly geared to selling you their products, but the info and techniques they show are good and sound. https://www.youtube.com/user/TandyLeatherFactory/videos I recently purchased this braiding book, and it's pretty good so far. Braiding, however, is pretty hard to illustrate with drawings and pictures. This book does a respectable job of it. http://www.amazon.com/Leather-Braiding-reprint-Bruce-Grant/dp/087033039X/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_z I suspect that braiding is better learned by video. Again, youtube is your friend. Search leather braiding, and whip making for starters. ( Oh ... And don't let chief fool you. He is a master at edge braiding ... not quite what you are looking for but damned nice ... with youtube video to support that.) There are some truly excellent braiders on here that will likely have better advice than mine, and will likely be able to help with any questions once you get started as well. Hope that helps Bill

Looks good! I like the colorful canvas inlay, it makes for a great look. Lucky employees. Bill