TwinOaks

I've had a little success using gel superglue

As long as it's over 18, I don't think you need anyone else's permission......

"If you can't hide it make it obvious"- old architect's saying. Without seeing the mistake, it's kinda hard to give good advice. We do need to see it. As far as which way to think about the repair, think of scribing a line and adding a border to cover it.

Along with the foam pads, I'd like to recommend sorbothane. It can be found in shoe insoles commonly, or here's a link that google gives: click me I've used some blocks of sorbothane (I wasn't paying for them though) under mobile Tel-com equipment mounted in a shippable cabinet to protect it from travel vibration/shock.

Here's a really exceptional tutorial on edges: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=18101 As far as a buffing wheel, I don't think it would produce the necessary friction without getting burn spots.....or tons of buffing wheel fluff floating around the shop looking for a semi dry finish to land on.

My wish list (leather related) is a Tippmann Boss, and more orders than I can shake a mallet at....maybe a little inspiration. In lieu of that, I'd settle for the orders and some really good callouses :D Christmas for my family has, for several years now, been about getting together. The kids make out okay, and the rest of us make do. My parents have repeatedly asked that no gifts be given to them, as they have waaay too much stuff accumulated after 40 years together. We typically trade recipes, and stories, cook for each other...the usual family stuff And no, no cologne.

+1 to Marlon's comments. Pick up Al Stohlman's book on handstitching, it explains everything. Also remember that when you stab through the leather, you can see the awl's position before penetrating the grain side. There's nothing that says you can't 'wiggle' the blade of the awl to reposition it. Also practice keeping the awl in exactly the same position. That will help the thread to lay consistently and improve appearance.

Hi Graeme, Welcome to Leathercrafter.net!!! There are several leather artists who work in 3-D, but I think you're the first to mention buildings. We'd love to see some pics of your work. There's a tutorial on uploading pics in the "computer help" forum. It's one of the pinned topics. Please tell us about some of the other work you do as well.

Well, the best place to learn about using a head knife would be an apprenticeship. Second best is.....HERE!!! The technique for using a head knife will vary slightly from user to user, and also the application. For general cutting, I grasp the handle with my ring and pinky fingers, and my thumb. My index and middle finger lie along the blade. This allows you to guide the blade and vary the vertical axis as you need. The knife should glide through the leather, never grabbing at it. If it does, it's time to strop it. Push the blade slowly until you get the hang of it. The point should skate across your cutting board, allowing the curve of the blade to do the cutting. Because of the curve, the blade has more cutting surface than a straight edge. ALWAYS KEEP THE FINGERS OF THE OTHER HAND TO THE SIDE AND PREFERABLY BEHIND THE LINE OF THE CUT. A properly sharpened knife will slice through skin and tendons like they weren't there. Once you get the hang of it, you'll find yourself using the head/round knife almost exclusively.... even for skiving. **I did a quick search for it, but I don't see the old 'guide' for it. The link on the main page doesn't lead anywhere anymore. If someone has that could you post it?**

I'd like to suggest: MORE CARE WHEN DYEING !!!!! Sorry Ray, somebody had to do it. I typically do all my large area dyeing outside with an airbrush. I use the cheap purple nitrile gloves to keep my hands clean. For inside work, since I'm on the dining room table I use waxed paper , or foil overlaid with newsprint. For a full work bench, I think Craft paper/ Butcher's paper on a spool would be fantastic, as it would provide a clean surface every time AND room to sketch out notes or pattern variations. My ONE dye spill is at the kitchen sink (BAAAADDDD KITTTY!!!) and I've since been informed that anymore dyeing of the counter tops may result in dying.

Hi and Welcome to Leatherworker.net! For suppliers, we have some ad banners at the top of the page, and there's quite a few members from Canada here. If you don't see a supplier (also see the supplier list on the main page) near you, I'm pretty sure some of our Canucks will be happy to chime it with some suggestions. Posting pics isn't a problem- Click here to go to the uploading pics tutorial that Denise put together. Thanks for coming in and checking us out.

Wag35, The convection ovens use a small fan to circulate the air inside the oven. It produces a bit more 'even' heating, and helps to eliminate hot spots in the oven. When baking holsters, we like to get to the magic temperature, and have it everywhere in the oven instead of only at one or two places. That keeps from having two good holsters, two that are a little damp/soft, and one that looks like road kill.

Hi and welcome to Leatherworker.net!! Have a look around, and feel free to ask questions. Restrooms are down the hall, stay away from the donuts, and don't worry about your English.

The old anecdote goes something like this: "When asked how he was able to make such beautiful sculptures of horses out of blocks of marble, Michaelangelo replied " Just remove everything that doesn't look like a horse."" With that little inspiration in mind.... , it kinda applies to leather as well. The whole trick to getting the image you want is to push down (stamp, bevel, matte, background, etc..) everything that shouldn't show up. With the exception of decorative cuts, a swivel knife is predominantly used to cut the surface of the leather so you can get a very distinct line. That line is then beveled, et al., to get the desired effect. Sometimes, there is no call for a 'hard line', and the swivel knife should be kept in the rack. A common example of this is the flower petals in floral work. The impressions are visible, the effect achieved, but there's no cutting before tooling. Apply the same technique to faces- there are very few hard lines in facial work. Around the face? Certainly! It helps to 'lift' the face from the background. You can also lightly emboss (push from the back) to help give some depth to the faces. For the pattern posted, work most of it with a modeling spoon/spade. The spoon is easier to keep lines fluid, and the spade really helps to get into small areas. If you don't have them, you can use a beveler like a pencil- just press and drag. All you're doing is compressing leather. Regardless of the technique, you still need to go over every line and soften it by rounding over sharp edges. Incidentally, there is no set rule that says leather MUST be cut with a swivel knife. If you need a very fine line, use a very fine blade. Most swivel knives have an angle on the blade designed to push leather to the sides- for thicker leather on saddles, you'd use a sharp angled blade to cut deeper (presuming deeper tooling). For thin leather like wallets, you'd use a fairly wide angled blade to keep from cutting too deeply, otherwise, you'd cut clean through the leather and donating to the scrap bin. Look on the main page of this site (link at the top of the page), and you'll see a few tutorials on carving.

One of the concerns with pigskin lining is that it's not "slick", and can hamper the draw from a holster. Another consideration is whether the lining leather has been sealed.

The Tandy website has a few free patterns on it, and here on the forum is a brief primer on floral design by Verlane. For the Tandy site, you may want to take a screen shot and print it out along with the line drawing that prints when you print the pattern. The reason is that while the line drawing is good enough for the basic outline, it doesn't accurately show where to shade, bevel, background, etc.

Hell of a coincidence, I just got an order to make a sheath for one of those!!!! I'll get mine done and we'll compare notes.

The only way to keep anyone from stealing your design ideas is to have an extremely limited market, or not sell at all. That would take us back to the bad ol' days when leatherworkers wouldn't share info. Who wants to go back to that???? I understand the import of your thread, and agree with you. So far, the "JB cue case innovations" page on your website sounds like the best idea. Put it up for EVERYONE TO SEE...maybe even copy. As long as you are the one showing everyone what it is, it should become pretty common knowledge that you were the inventor.

Hi and welcome to Leatherworker.net!You've already started off right by including pics in your first post, so it only gets better from here. I saw a little 'rough edge' along the top of the holsters- kinda looks like you used a razor knife to cut a curve.....don't worry about it, we've all done it. The way to give it a more finished look is to take a sanding block or such (I use a Stanley Sure-form) and gently round it. After that, run and edger and dress/finish the edges. Here's a thread on edges: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=18101. As you read through the forums, take a look at the topmost threads- usually there are some that are pinned, and they contain superb info.

Check the ad banners at the top of the page, and/or go to the main page and look at the 'suppliers' section.

Hi and welcome to Leatherworker.net. We're glad you found our little corner of the internet. There's lots of members, both amateurs and professionals, who'll be happy to help with any questions you might have. Ask away, and enjoy one of the friendliest sites on the 'net.And please post pics of your projects- we LOVE pics.

It really depends on what kind of cut you're trying to make. If you're trying to cut out a particular, repeatable pattern...i.e. holster pieces, then a clicker (basically a cookie cutter) is the way to go. If it's just general cutting, well, a head knife or round knife is the answer. Head/round knives (and even rein knives for those familiar with them) have a curved blade which gives a really long cutting edge that makes cutting thick leather easier. The trick is to have whatever blade you use INCREDIBLY SHARP. Razor sharp is just a good start. There's a few threads on sharpening blades, and I'm pretty sure every one of them mention stropping. You should give a blade a quick stropping before cutting, and at any time the leather 'grabs' at the blade. Learn to use a head knife and you'll likely stick with it. Even if you're using a plain ol' razor knife, exacto type blade, or an 'olfa' knife, strop, strop, strop. You'll be amazed at how dull "razor" sharp is.

Hi and welcome to Leatherworker.net. We're glad you found our little corner of the internet. There's lots of members, both amateurs and professionals, who'll be happy to help with any questions you might have. Ask away, and enjoy one of the friendliest sites on the 'net.You and Luke oughta get along just fine....

Hi and welcome to Leatherworker.net. We're glad you found our little corner of the internet. There's lots of members, both amateurs and professionals, who'll be happy to help with any questions you might have. Ask away, and enjoy one of the friendliest sites on the 'net.

Welcome to Leatherworker.net! It's fantastic to have a supplier from the east end of the pond on here. I'm sure you either have, or will soon, hear from some of our UK members. Be sure to drop a message to Johanna so you can get listed in the suppliers list.Other than your link to your website, can you give us an idea of what, as a supplier, you can offer leatherworkers?