TwinOaks

Boiling water will shrink leather in a hurry as well. How do I know? Well, see, I have this friend............

Now I've lost the start menu and the bar across the bottom of the screen. And I don't have any permission to run the anti virus/malware software, and apparently no longer have a 'windows installer Any idea of what to do next?

killed it in TM, uninstalled it via CP, reinstalled new, clean version downloaded to flash drive on a diff. computer, same thing. Did the same to Spybot, and I can't run the programs because I "don't have permission"......WTH? I AM the system admin.......at least I thought I was!

Hi, Currently I'm having a problem on my laptop (no not this one) where I can't open browsers- IE8 or FF. Task manager shows that they are working/open, but there is no window open with them in it. Example: From the desktop, I double click FF icon, get the hourglass, then nothing. Re-selecting it brings up "....is already running...." FF won't do anything, and IE8 opens a window and just thinks. I ran CC cleaner in the standard clean up mode and I think it nuked everything, including most of my AVG and Spybot because trying to open them gets me a "path not found" error message. So do I need to just reinstall the programs and overwrite everything with clean versions, or am I at the more drastic 'wipe and reload'?

I use the Tandy modeling tools- some old ones, and a couple of the newer ones. The newer ones are more comfortable to grip, and don't seem to suffer QC as badly as the stamps. I've taken some advice offered by Peter Main (to someone else) and decided that if a tool doesn't do exactly what I want....MODIFY IT! That's made a huge difference in the way the tools perform. Some things get introduced to a sander/grinder, others only get a light filing to sharpen an edge. And most importantly.....it's not the tool, it's the artist. Get some 'middle of the road' modeling tools and start practicing with them.

There is a pattern for one right here on Leatherworker! It shows how to lay out everything and where to stitch. Here's a link to it http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=16404&hl=biker++wallet. There's also a few others you might like. Do a search for [ "biker wallet" ] (include everything in the brackets) in the pattern and templates forum.

Welcome to Leatherworker.net!! The slight darkening around the carvings is caused by the compression of properly cased leather. Cased means 'moistened'--not wet--.<br />There's quite a few posts on how to case leather, and I'll leave the precise method up to you, but I generally spray the leather with water with a little bit of Dawn dish detergent to act as a surfactant. The leather should absorb the water, then dry to the point that it <i>looks</i> dry, but is still cool to the touch. You can test a corner or scrap piece with a stamping or beveling tool. If the impresison isn't dark, then either the moisture content is not right, or you may not have vegtan leather. Other leathers, like chrome-tanned, oil-tanned,garment leather...anything other than vegtan isn't suitable for getting the burnished effect.

Art, I've still got the Compaq desktop computer I got back in '92. I was "Da Man" at school, because I had a 172MB HDD and a 56K modem!!! ahh, I miss windows 3.1............................

At the rate of data compression advancements, no matter what you get will be obselete in a month. When I first got this laptop, I picked up a MASSIVE 1 G flash drive for right at $80. 3 years later, you can't even find 1G flash drives. Seagate has been working pretty good for me for an external drive, but last year's price would buy twice as much this year. Since prices are so fantastic for the drive size, consider buying enough to do everything. A 1TB drive is unbelievably huge (and prices are falling). It would allow you to back up files......well, forever. You could also clone your HDD (several times) to it, OS and all. That pretty much gives you a device that you can use as an archive, back-up, and replacement computer.....just plug it into a machine that's set to boot from USB and you'd be working from your[/] computer. Or you could use it to re-clone your HDD to a new HDD if you need to upgrade or repair the current computer.

I remember what you are talking about Regis. There was also a "back to top" icon at the bottom left side of the post 'blocks'. The 'back to top' has been relocated to the bottom left of the page. All you need to do is scroll down a little past the bottom of the last post and click on it.

The 'creaking' can caused by the holster rubbing against itself where there's more than one layer, or when the leather is really dry. You can use the above methods to put a band-aid on the problem, or you can just eliminate the problem by bonding the layers before stitching. A good contact cement, that is still a little flexible when cured, works well. Barge is one of my favorites, but I'm seeing good results with the Dap 'Weldwood' contact cement as well. I consider conditioning the leather (with one or more of umpteen methods) part of the finishing process, so adding more oil will probably result in "too much" oil.

Hi and welcome to Leatherworker.net! For darkening the areas around the letters (where you shaded) you can use an antique stain, or highlighter. First you have to put a resist on the leather, then apply the stain or highlighter. When it's dry, you wipe the area with a damp cloth/sponge and it will remove the stain/highlighter from everywhere that isn't shaded.

If you prefer to not wash the steel wool, you can just burn it. Toss in a few old nails, give it a little time. You can also prep the leather with a light washing of black tea- it adds additional tannins with which the ferric acetate reacts.

With my entire line (all two of them!!!) of pocket holsters, I've made them closed bottom. I make them in the "clamshell" style, with the fold at the muzzle. They were for 2 shot derringers, and the owners were experienced enough with concealed carry that nothing but the pistol went in that pocket. They're molded tightly enough to keep most debris out.

And don't forget to leave the lid a little loose for off gassing. If you tighten it, you could get enough pressure built to rupture the jar/bottle.

Have you considered a wire stiffener in the edge?

Hmmm, editing a post seems to be a little troublesome still....... continuing.... ...................................You just need to know what kind of leather 'scrap' you're asking for. As for what kinds of leather with which to do ____________________, this forum is actually one of the better places to look. On the main page, and in several of the forums, there are topics that address the questions you've asked. The "Getting Started" subforum, under "The Business" section has a lot of the answers. Also, the members here compose the largest collective knowledge base about leather you're likely to ever see. Post pictures, ask questions, take advice to heart. If you don't want to have something associated with your name, you can send it to the moderators and request an anonymous posting. I've done it, as have several others. I'll admit that sometimes it is quite a shot to the ego to hear what others say, but when I asked for a "brutally honest critique", I meant it. I want my work to be the very best, and the only way to get there is to have folks I know do better work than me offer their criticism. You know what? My work is improving because of it. You've stated that you know your work isn't great, so there's really nowhere but up for you to go. Post some work, include comments and questions about what you're trying to do, and get ready for some 'post-grad' level instruction that will improve your work faster than any 10 books ever will.

Hilly, you covered most of the types of leather very well. However, I feel I must point out that you missed the most common type of leather that any of us ever see....... SCRAP LEATHER!!! This is only partially in jest, KTK. Scraps are a great source to get smaller pieces, especially when starting out, or trying new things. One of the seat makers here offered up his scrap bin for the price of shipping, and I jumped on the offer. I've STILL got a few pieces of it left! It was a good collection of mis-cut seats, trimmings, etc., and perfect for me to get started on wallets and the like. You can check with Tandy to see what they have (speak to the manager); you might get a good deal.

Pics will definitely help show us what went wrong. For small things, I usually use fine point sharpies (or other permanent markers, found at Hobby Lobby). I think the problem (with out seeing the item) may have come from two areas: The type of paint used, and the finish applied over it. Acrylics don't soak into the leather well so multiple very thin coats (like a wash) should be used to 'build up' the color. A single thick coat will more than likely just sit on the surface of the leather, and will crack and flake when flexed. Oil paints may penetrate a little better, but take forever to dry. For a finish coat/ sealer, you'll probably want to spray it on--in several very light coats. Acrylics will absorb the water and get 'runny' if too much top coat is applied, and rubbing them will make them smear. Check out some of the posts by Katie G and her use of acrylics, she's done more exploration in the area of painting than I've done. Wildrose may also have some good pointers for you, she also does a good bit of work with acrylics.

Aaron, Glad to hear that you've found a solution! From things I've read here, there were some initial problems with how IE loaded the forum; it caused a perpetual loop. There seems to be some type of file corruption that occurred with '8'that's caused all the glitchyness. There's a bunch of articles on howto remove '8' online, if you need instructions. I had to remove SP3, IE8, reload SP3, overwrite a new 'clean' IE8, and do some clean up on the remnants of IE7.....now IE seems to be working well.

I'm not having any problems loading these pages in either IE8 or FF 3.5.2. Have you cleared out all the cookies, temp internet files, history, et al. from your machine? I don't know that it will help this specific issue, but letting your cache get clogged up is an easily avoidable thing, and it always seems to help me when my machine gets a little bogged down. I wonder if there might be some issues between the 'new' cookies, and some old ones still on your machine. I mean, I KNOW the doughnuts around here get stale, so maybe the cookies do too.

I'm able to click it once and have it display all the new posts. (FF 3.5.2)

Are you asking for .45 long colt (revolver round) or .45 ACP (semiauto/auto round)? Just tell me what and how many you need.....I've got access to an indoor pistol range, and the manager is a friend. Brass is NOT a problem, unless you start needing quantities above 500....then the owner starts getting curious. You can PM me for more info if you like.

Nice looking holster. Ya done good! For attaching pics, we have a thread about it but with the new software, I don't know if the same instructions apply. I'll have it figured out by tomorrow and I'll check back in then. Somebody (the wonderful folks who've upgraded the site for us) may have a little sooner input.

Besides Lowe's/HomeDepot, you can also try wood working stores- Woodcraft (local store, nat'l chain) does have it.