TwinOaks

Hi George, Signature confirmation will not double your shipping costs. It double's the customer's shipping cost. After reading UKRay's problems, I think it's a good idea to have some kind of confirmation, and signature conf. eliminates the excuse "well, I never got it, I don't care what the delivery service says". You may not need to do it if you have a 'good' customer base. However, when dealing with Paypal, it's probably best to have your bases covered.

Nice thing about an awl hole is that it CAN be closed. IMO, you need to wet the hole and allow the leather to swell back into place. Flexing it should help the fibers 'get back in position'. A thin glue can be used to seal the hole closed (careful about not getting glue on the surface) once it's dry. If you can, stamp/stitch over it because the puncture in the grain side will be visible as a small line. Just my take on things, someone else may have a better solution.

Who ever told you you had to use someone else's pattern? The wallet turned out so well, I think you should just make one on the fly.

You might try resolene if you want an acrylic finish. Just out of curiosity, what color are you trying to dye it?

Most certainly! There's a small group here that incorporate skull designs into a lot of their work, some of it steampunk, some biker, some .....other. And it isn't all carved either- just search for "skulls", and include the quotes.

Very nicely done, it'll be a hit with the skull crowd.

Yeah, I discovered that it's easier to peel the gloves off than it is to un-dye hands too.

In my case, it certainly wouldn't hurt having the Great Spirit helping me out when I'm dyeing something...

Bob Douglas 307-737-2222 The reason to use diamond shaped awl is to lay the thread in a specific way. Drilling holes removes leather, and if you don't have tiny drill bits, you'll end up with holes visible on the completed project. Also, drilled holes won't close up around the stitches as well.

Your computer is your friend. It only does what you tell it to do, and in this case, the search function is doing only what you tell it to do. Click 'search' click 'more search options' click 'advanced usage help' This will bring up a small window that explains how to use the boolean operators, such as quote tags, asterisks, and plus signs. A little practice, and you'll have it serving up exactly what you're looking for. Ya just gotta know how to ask nicely:) ...and Rayban, would dyeing spirits with spirit dye cause spirits to die? Oh, I have so much fun with spiel Czech.

I've got two that I use. One's a Paasche VL, the other is the Harbor Freight $5.99 el cheapo. That little cheap AB has got to be one of the best purchases I've made. It's single action, external mix, isn't all that adjustable (because it tends to lose it's setting), and CHEAP. But it sprays finishes just fine, doesn't clog, is easy to clean, and it's CHEAP. If you're looking to learn ABs, get a cheap one first so you can experiment on a little money. Then when you've learned how to do most of what you want to do, upgrade. If you want an AB to spray finishes -only- , then there's no need for one that will spray a .5mm line. You want broad coverage.

When stitching a round object like Gary's doing, it's important to remember that you're sewing on a radius. Simple geometry says the stitches on the outer piece have to be spaced further apart than the inside. It might help to take a protractor and lightly scribe the degrees on the leather. If that isn't available, you could mark the outer spacing and hold a string at the center of the radius to line up the inside hole. That should help keep the stitching spaced evenly (but not the same front and back) on both sides of the curve.

Look under the header in the top left corner, and there's a link to the Main Page. On that page are some tutorials with very detailed photos that may show some of what your looking for.

To sharpen a swivel knife, you'll need a jig of some sort to hold the blade at a consistent angle. Then it's just a matter of drawing the blade across the stone. Narrow angles cut deep, wider angles cut...well, wider. Keep this in mind for the thickness of leather you'll be carving. I'm sure you can make something as a jig, or Tandy (and I'm sure others) sell one. Before you start whetting away your steel, have you thought of stropping it? It's the final step in the sharpening process, so you'll be doing it anyway. It's done to polish the blade. A bit of reading here, and you'll see folks saying "stop and strop", often, or as soon as the leather drags on the blade. You may just need to strop the blade well instead of stoning off any steel (unless you need to reprofile the angle of the edge).

...and from the depths of the Tome of Useless Knowledge..... French Fries. I learned this when I worked as a mechanic. The oil/grease will lift off just about anything.

Back to the OP.... Short answer: If you're making ONE to improve your skills, AND it's for you (personal use), then there shouldn't be a problem. Long answer: Do a search for [ "copyright infringement"]. copy and paste everything in the bracket in the search window. That should help you find the multipage thread on the topic.

just being grumpy I suppose, but I have to add............ If they want a % of 'future sales' and custom orders, they should be obliged to pay you a % for orders you miss (for whatever reason).

Nice find! I didn't think anywhere like that existed anymore either. Definitely worth checking out, Thanks!

Covering with glass is just a way to prevent the leather from fully drying out. Water vapor doesn't pass through glass, y' know? While it's 'under glass', only the edges are susceptible to drying. Once the glass is removed, the leather begins drying as it normally would. A quick search for "casing leather" should yield useful info.

Howdy, I'm looking to upgrade to video chat (I'm on the road too much), and am exploring options. My laptop doesn't have a built-in mic, so I need an accessory. I know there are headsets available, but I don't like to be tethered to the laptop. So, my question is: Since I have bluetooth on the laptop already, can I just get a BT earpiece, pair it up with the computer, and use it as a wireless headset? I don't have any other devices with BT, so I don't need to get too fancy. Are there any compatability issues I need to be aware of? TIA,

Could you perhaps clarify the list a bit? "Singer sewing machine, singer sewing machine " is a bit ambiguous. I don't think it's necessary to list every single component, but it would definitely help if a model number was included.

There's a youtube video of a guy making shoes floating around here somewhere that shows what I think you're talking about. He uses a curved awl and needles to do it. It also shows him cutting into the sole at an angle for the stitching. When it's all stitched up, the cut is glued and smoothed over, leaving a barely visible seam that hides the stitches. I've seen pics of that done on a saddle, and on a sheath, to very nice effect. Here's the link to the video: The part I think you're interested in starts about 4:35 minutes in.

mmmmmmmmmmm eye candy! Very nice work, there.

I'm planning on (finally) getting my maker's mark and have stumbled onto something that may be a problem. My little website (twinoaksleather) was open and available, and AFAIK, no problem in obtaining. However, a search listed several other leather related websites that do have "Twin Oaks" as part of the name. Worse, they had it first. I'm not ready to become an actual business right now, and still do things on an amateur/hobbiest scale. Does my use of the name constitute an infringement? I use it because of two nearly identical oaks in my yard, and just thought the name was appropriate for my locale. Until I did the search, I didn't even know anyone else used it. Secondly, if this could even possibly become an issue, is it a better idea to have my maker's mark with only my name (and 'maker') on it? I'd love to hear from our business minded members on this. All thoughts and comments are appreciated.

I'd like to add this very important note: I'm pretty new to this hobby. I started a little over 2 years ago. Almost all the info I posted above is from this site (the torx bit thingy I found on my own), and my posting it is only because so many other members have added to the knowledge base here. I'm just helping to pass it on down the line.