billybopp

Are you talking about these? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Snap-On-Tool-Snap-Pressing-Machine-Kit-Various-Moulds-Dies-Sets-Snap-Fasteners-/181454214405?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item2a3f839505

Red! Looks like you got a pretty nice gift there! I don't make holsters, but I understand that some folks use their arbor press in forming the leather for form-fitted holsters somehow. There are tons of things that you can do with the press including setting rivets and snaps, punching holes, and stamping. There's a video on Youtube showing how one guy modified his arbor press for setting snaps and rivets. ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVyV3ZTVpqY He is just using the standard hand setting tools in his arbor press, which works OK. You could also use the dies that Tandy and others sell by modifying the ram and base to take those if you do enough of them to justify the expense of the dies. Another guy sells a modified press on ebay to use for stamping, it should give you some ideas for that sort of use ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBb-SsRwS7U My setup is similar to this, replacing the circular part of the base with something flat. In my case, 3/8" plywood, but many prefer a chunk of flat steel. My ram hasn't been drilled, but it would be if I had a drill press! This guy's idea of building up a flat table either side of the press is a good one. It lets you keep the piece you're working on flat as you work which is helpful. Chiefjason's idea for adapting a drill chuck would probably work well with your 2 ton, as it probably has a longer throw than my 1/2 ton. I'm really happy that my stamps don't bounce and make ghost images anymore! If you want to use it to punch holes, blackriverlaser now has a nice hole punching die set that you could easily adapt. Or you could just find a way to chuck up your punch tubes and put something soft under the leather being punched. There are a few ideas ... I'm sure there are many more! Bill

If you think that's bad Kevin. Your computer is now infected with a virus will cause your computer to hack some secured networks sending the info back to China. You can expect the FBI to knock at your door any day now.

I really like the gel Mahogany, saddle tan and tan. It always smears a little bit with the first coat of sealer, but usually that's not too bad. Some months ago, I made some arm bands using Mahogany and Saddle Tan with 2-3 coats of resolene to seal. They seemed to be fine until I wore them out a few weeks ago as the weather got hot and sweaty. The dye bled profusely with sweating and left me with some lovely colored stripes on my arms. While I was able to get the dye mostly off when I got home, it was not a good day! I'll find something else to use for that sort of thing from now on. Bill

I like the color you get from the Mahogany, Saddle Tan and Tan antique gels. But I made some arm bands using Mahogany and Saddle Tan. They seemed fine until I wore them on a hot and sweaty day. I now have nice marks on my arms where the dye bled profusely, through about three layers of Resolene. So it's certainly a no-go for that sort of thing from now on for me. Bill

Same thing for me. Even after sealing with several layers and several products. I'm done with Tandy gel antique. Bill

What Tom said! Most cell phones and services will allow you to text or email a picture to yourself, which you can then download onto your PC to upload here. Some will even offer to reduce the file size which is usually a good idea. Most cell phones will also let you copy pictures onto your computer via a USB cable. Still others use a removable memory card (NOT the SIM card) for which you can get a USB adapter. Hope that helps! Bill

You are right. US currency goes down to $1, so that is very likely why. And yes, it does make for a slimmer wallet, which is kind of important if you keep it in a back pants pocket. We do sometimes see women carry wallets with a coin pocket, since they are more likely to keep their wallet in a handbag ... Where it isn't uncomfortable. Bill

Good question! Here in the US, most of us ... Men especially ... do not keep coins in wallets, but rather loose in pockets or a separate coin purse. I understand that it is far more common to keep change in a wallet in the rest of the world. If you want a pattern for a wallet with a change pocket, Ian Atkinson offers one on his Etsy store. https://www.etsy.com/listing/186830794/build-along-leather-pattern-2-coin-and?ref=shop_home_active_2 He also has a video of construction of one of these wallets on youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNXfMC0SqP4 I hope that helps. Bill

This isn't entirely on topic, but I'd like to get some multi-colored thread for an upcoming project. I have not yet ventured into the world of leather sewing machines, so it will be hand sewn. I've looked around a bit but have not yet seen anything that looks usable for me. It probably does not help that I'm totally mystified by thread sizes unless it's in mm. I usually use .8mm or 1mm poly thread. Does anybody have suggestions? Bill

Gray and white dye appear to be of the same type .. They both come in glass and smell like a$$. However, the gray goes on fairly nicely with a brush using just one or two coats. I just bought some white for an upcoming project, and after trying it on a test piece ... It's a pain in the neck. White dye takes many many coats to get any kind of coverage with a brush or dauber. Each successive coat seems to mess with the previous one, but maybe I was rushing things and not allowing enough time to dry. If I end up using it for my project, it will be sprayed on. I may just go with a thinned acrylic paint. Bill

Just a note .. If you're going to buy from goodsjapan, either directly or through e-bay, go for the expedited shipping rather than free shipping unless you are very VERY patient. I've waited nearly two months for delivery when using free shipping. Expedited is something like $4 or $5 per item and deliver is more like two weeks. I'd also suggest pokin' around on the http://www.goodsjapan.jp/ website. I've ordered the pricking irons you're looking at from them plus awls and a really effective burnishing cream. Irons and awls from them needed less work than any others I've used so far to make them usable. Bill

Looks good!

Y'all keep this up and they're gonna have to move this to the adult forum.

If your motor is designed for dual voltage, it will do no real harm to wire for and run on the lower voltage, however you will get less power from it. How much less depends on the internal design of the motor. Bill

Interesting question! At least this listing shows you the tool faces, which is very helpful. A little rust on a handle is no big deal. Rust on the tool face makes it pretty much unusable. Some of the tools are potentially pretty valuable, but I'm no expert on that and only buy to use. If I needed 4 or 5 of the usable tools, I'd bit 60ish. Otherwise, I'd pass. I've had generally good luck buying on ebay, with just one or two disappointments. The savings on the good buys more than offsets the cost of the disappointments for me. Bill

If you think about it, it probably makes sense that twist could be a factor for some people and not for others. It's a pretty easy thing to, even without knowing it, twist the needle and thread in your hand as you are pulling or even when re-positioning the needle. Since people do not necessarily stitch the same way, some might be more prone to twist clockwise and others counterclockwise which would cause the thread to tighten or loosen depending on which type. Others could twist one way with one hand and the other way with the other hand which would negate the thread twist. Bill

I used to use a kitchen cutting board, and it worked fine. This one was pretty soft and occasionally when punching small holes, little bits of leather would pull out of the punch and stick in it. Not a big problem, really. ... Until one day the spousal unit came across it ( we were dating at the time ) ... and threw it away while I was out .. Saying "It had WORMS growing in it .. You're disgusting". I now use a black Tandy poundo board. Bill

Very nice indeed! I LOVE the idea of using the pen as clasp. That's something I've never seen before. Bill

Very nice! What did you use on the back-side of leather to protect the picture from the leather?

Bob .. I did the test on leather because somebody asked for it. I thought it an interesting question, so I gave it a whirl. The test / practice was done on the leather and it served no other useful purpose, so no loss but a little time for trying! Bill

I finally got some other stuff out of the way and got to try a little experiment on removing dyes from leather. I made a grid on a test / practice piece of veg tan with a row of Fiebings USMC ( spirit ) splatters, a row of Eco-flo pro black ( water-based ), a row of Fiebings pro black ( spirit/Oil ), and a row for cova color black paint ( acrylic paint ). I experimented with a citrus ( ZEP, which is Lowes' store brand), Dye Gone II, and Fiebings dye prep. Since the citrus and dye gone both have grit, I made two columns for those .. One rubbed one not. I didn't let any of the dyes sit for long, as hopefully would happen if one were actually working and made a splatter. All of the cleaners discolored the leather to some extent. All of the cleaners did a respectable job of removing the paint with just a little left embedded in the grain. Rubbing with the gritty Dye Gone and Zep didn't scratch the leather much at all, to my surprise. All were useless on Fiebings Pro. Dye Gone did the best on Eco Flo and Fiebings USMC. Both were noticeably diminished but not removed. Dye Gone also discolored the leather the most. Dye Prep diminished Eco Flo and Fiebings USMC somewhat, and discolored the leather noticeably, but not as much as Dye Gone. Zep Orange didn't work terribly well on anything other than paint, but it also did not discolor the leather very much. I also managed to get a bit on my hands. I know from past experience that Artist soap will remove dye, but you have to scrub for several minutes. It works much better on paints. Zep works a little better, but you still need to scrub. Dye Gone works in seconds with just slight scrubbing. Hope that helps!! Bill

Does anybody have experience with using a kevlar glove in leatherwork? They've made inroads into kitchens in the last couple of years, and supposedly they work well to prevent slicing cuts. They are probably useless for pokey sharp things, but might work well for slicey sharp thing. Bill

Wow. This piece is great, and I'm really glad I looked through your gallery too. Your work is amazingly creative, and belongs in an art museum. Bill

It occurs to me that if you don't have the tools, skills, or friends to get wooden mold, then foam might be a good alternative. The foam shown in the video may well be expensive, but there may be other foams that are usable too! They make stuff called Modeling Board, and carv-foam that might be usable and not outrageously expensive. They are relatively easily cut with knives, etc. and some can be worked with power tools as well. I may experiment with this stuff at some point! Another interesting thing that came to mind while thinking about this is using a rigid urethane foam to form a mold of a pre-existing piece. Put a piece of thin plastic into the bag, or whatever that you want to duplicate, mix and pour the expanding foam into it. Let it set and then pull it out! Some of these foams are relatively dense and can be tooled after they have cured. In any case, it just might work if I can find a suitable piece that I'm willing to sacrifice in case it doesn't work!! Bill