billybopp

Looks good! Finally getting comfortable with that new sewing machine??

I'm not an expert on Iwata .. I use Paasche, but a quick look at retail prices shows the compressor alone selling for $250ish, and airbrushes generally sell for over $100 and sometimes over $200. Unfortunately I can't identify them from the pictures, but they both look to be dual action, which is the more versatile type even if a little steeper learning curve. The only possible "gotcha" is that the spray pattern may not be suited to your needs. Some spray a very tight pattern, others a wider pattern, and most can be readily re-fitted with relatively inexpensive parts. Iwata is certainly a well respected brand. It looks like a good deal to me. Bill

Looks really good! I always have a tough time with getting the fabric to lie right when going around rounded corners and it look like you nailed that. Fabric tape is indeed useful stuff. Fold your fabric edge, iron it to get a crisp straight line, lay the tape between the two sides of the fabric and iron again to heat-set it. It will give you a nice straight folded edge to work with. Bill

Leather dyes straight from the bottle are pretty strong stuff. You can get better control of them, and somewhat brighter shades, by diluting them and then building up color in layers. Fiebings dye reducer does a great job, and I've read that you can use denatured alcohol to dilute as well but haven't yet tried it myself. My greens are mostly on leaves, where I use a heavily diluted yellow first (something like 10:1) with diluted green (about 3:1) on top of it and get some pretty nice colors that way atop veg tanned leather. "Painting" with dye is much like working with watercolors in that it's built up in layers and is never opaque, so underlying colors will show through and change the colors with overlying layers. Used the right way, it makes for some very nice stuff! You'll not get the really brilliant colors with dye that you can with acrylic. Dye simply has a different look and seems always to be a bit more muted, but you can do pretty well with it and keep the look of leather. Since dyes penetrate, they are always the choice for anything that might see hard use. Surface scratches are not so much a problem. Acrylics can be easily damaged since they mostly lie on the surface, but give brilliant colors. Bill

Thanks Glendon! I thought I had seen some other interiors, but didn't manage to find them when I went looking for them. Chappyron, you might consider giving Springfield a call and let them know what you are doing. You just might talk them into giving you a price break for a good cause, or for a volume purchase. It's worth a try! Bill

I can't help you with motor info, but thanks for posting the pictures. I received a request just this week for a collar with handle, and have been thinking about how to make it. Your pictures are a big help!! Bill

I know Springfield carries oxalic acid, as does Sheridan if you can't find it locally.

The bag looks good, so do the cuffs!

Try http://springfieldleather.com/326/Wallet-Interiors/

My best advice for dip dyeing is to do it outside if possible, and put down a big ol' sheet of plastic or a tarp to catch any drips or in case of a spill. If you have one, a silicone baking pan (which isn't very good for baking) works well since dye doesn't stick to it. It takes a lot of dye to fill even a relatively small container, so buy it by the quart unless you're going something really small. Have a place to hang the dyed piece over the container to catch the inevitable drip. Oh... And wear rubber gloves!! Messy, maybe. Effective, heck yeah! Bill

Just curious, has anybody ever tried dipping in resolene, or some other finish product ... Just the way you would dip dye? Bill

Awesome! I think you'll like their stuff. I stropped my chisels just a little bit to help them along, but they didn't take much work to get in top shape. The gum trag replacement is great stuff. The one trick I found with it is to not over-burnish. If you burnish enough to dry it out completely, some fuzzies will pop up .. but that takes a LOT of work to get happen unless you're using a power burnisher. Bill

Congratulations on the win! It's well deserved. Bill

The hook part (plastic) is usually stiffer than the loop part (cloth). It seems to me that the patch could benefit from a little extra stiffness, while the vest would probably be better off less stiff / more flexible. Aside from that, I doln't think it really matters as long as you are consistent in whichever way you choose. Bill

Really nice! I've gotta try molding some time.

You might get lucky. I would think that free means by sea, and containerized. If your order happened to go out just in time to catch a ship .. and your container happens to be one of the first unloaded, through customs and to the USPS, you may be in good shape. But who knows!

My "free shipping" order from goodsjapan took nearly two months ( I think it was 6 or 7 weeks) and arrived by USPS. In between I ordered something... paid for the shipping ... And got it in under two weeks. I'm pleased with the punches, awls, and edge slick that I ordered, but will always pay for shipping from them in the future. Bill

JoeSnuffle ... You'd best go back 'n edit that last post to say "Dozens" rather than "Thousands" before your wife gets eyes on it. Else we may NEVER hear from you again! Bill

It's actually easier to pierce the thread with braided. It doesn't unravel when pierced, so you can make the tail relatively short. I also don't bother waxing it down with Tiger thread, as it's pretty waxy off the spool. I do wax the Chinese thread a bit, as it is less waxy off the reel. Has anybody else who has tried both Tiger and Chinese noticed that the Chinese seems to be a little thinner than Tiger? I suspect it might just be that the Tiger thread is "plumped up" with wax, but there is a noticeable difference when viewed side by side 1mm by 1mm. Bill

That looks like a challenging project, but if it works out a good one. Before you start drilling or cutting on screws to remove them, try some of this if you can find it: http://crcindustries.com/auto/?s=05330 It's sold under a few different names and brands which are listed on the CRC website. It's been around for decades in one form or another and just about works miracles. My grandfather used to work on heavy construction equipment that sat out in the weather year round, and was all too often rusted. Spray some on where it will penetrate .. Ideally from both sides of the screw if you can get to it, let it sit for awhile .. even over night .. and then give the screw a try. Tor: We call them "screw extractors" here in the US. They do indeed work well as a last resort. Be careful when using them, however, as they are usually EXTREMELY hard to the point of being brittle and will easily break if you aren't careful with them. Hope that helps Bill

Thanks for giving it a go, Bob. It is appreciated. I think I'm going to stick to acrylic for whites from now on. Bill

That is a really REALLY slick idea, electrathon! I love seeing folks get creative with making tools! Bill

Tom's right. It's Jonah that was swallowed by the whale. Job was the long suffering guy beset by all sorts of problems and disasters. Not unlike leatherworkers. It's a good looking cover, Colt! Bill

Lookin' good Joe. You've about got hand stitching down perfect. Just in time to go to a sewing machine! I'd buy that messenger bag, and the first wallets are looking good too. I like the look of stitching all the way around on the third piece, even if it's not necessary it looks nice, and I would even have taken it on around the outside panel at the bottom ALL the way around! The trucker wallet is a bit rough, but tooling takes practice. And patience. Lots of patience. Go slow and you'll get it. Watch out for your layout lines .. Place them so that you can more easily hide them as you do the tooling. I like the design for this wallet, and have never seen another like it. My only concern would be the tab that the chain attaches to. It's got a line of stitches right across it and could tear relatively easily. I'm not sure, though how you would work around that unless you made outside and inside from a single piece of leather joined by a cutout for the tab. We've also gotta get you a proper rivet setter!! Keep up the good work! Bill

For blades, I'd recommend #11blades for the #1 knife, and a #2 blades for the 3 and 5 knives. If you can find it, a package like this one on Amazon is probably cheaper than the knives individually, and has a nifty case and extra blades as well. http://www.amazon.com/X-ACTO-X5285-Blades-Zippered-Storage/dp/B00JWFIKOC/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1405105228&sr=8-7&keywords=x-acto+5 I suspect that the tutorial has you gluing the parts just to keep the two halves from wandering around while you punch the holes. You could certainly do it without glue if you wanted. I took a quick look at Tandy's website and they do still sell hi-lite, at least here in the US. Antique gel and paste accomplish about the same end as hi-lite, but in a somewhat different way. There is a video on Youtube that shows some ways of applying antique and hi-liter if you wish to view it. The technique is different from your tutorial, but still may be helpful to you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8MV5oXKak4 Additionally, if you'd like a video about resist techniques http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lW7wcLik9LY The Kingsmere tutorial is good, but if a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth 10,000. Note, of course, that the Tandy videos are aimed at selling you Tandy products. The techniques shown are sound, but other maker's products may be better for your purposes. Cheryl is quite right about the figure stamp ... There are a TON of different ones available. It would be less expensive than an alphabet set by about 1/10th or so. I don't know why it didn't occur to me to suggest that! The tools Cheryl mentioned are indeed a must if you intend to do anything more complex than this project, but I'd wait on those until you see if you like this project. If you want a look into your potential future as a leather crafter, here are the basic six and swivel knife. http://www.kingsmerecrafts.com/page30.html Hope that helps Bill