TwinOaks

That might look okay, but I'm having a hard time envisioning it. I'm thinking it would look like a small ridge of armor. Actually, not a bad idea! Remember, it isn't "not making mistakes", it's "how well you hide it". And quoth the architects: "If you can't hide it, make it a feature!" Something else you could try (scrap piece first!!!) is to bevel both sides of the same line of the shoulder. That would have the effect of rounding the shoulder off a bit. Just flatten the bevel out a little more on the outside of the shoulder.

Say hello to my lil fren.....the modeling tool. I did the lower eyelids and the top of the upper eyelids with a spoon modeling tool, and very light embossing. I figured the best way to represent 3-d was....well, be 3-d. Around the actual eye, it's cut, then widened with the itsy bitsy ball stylus- like the ball is the width of the cuts you see in the pic. The brow, bridge of the nose, and nose are all pushed out very slightly. Our eyes notice depth very well (binocular vision) and shading can only go so far. The shading is done with a t-shirt, I think. Maybe it was a sock on this one....I don't remember. It's basically light surface burnishing, nothing more. Don't have a modeling tool? You can do the same thing by using a smooth beveler like a pencil. Get some scrap, case it, and try dragging, tapping, pushing, poking, slashing,.....well, you get the idea. There is no rule that says a stamp can only be placed on leather and smacked in one way.

From the start of your post, I could see exactly where you were going with this......... I kinda fall between the two extremes. I have an idea of what I want it to look like, and sometimes my projects actually turn out that way. Usually, I start a project with a notion, and allow ........creativity to flourish, yeah, that's it. Quite simply, I am happy to let an idea evolve as I go. A perfect example is a small ladies wallet I'm working on. I was browsing this site and my wife said " I like that, can you make one?" Well, NO, I'm not stealing someone's idea. Develop my own, sure. So I did, and made some changes along the way because 1. I decided (with help) that the original design wasn't what she wanted, and 2. Because that decision was made after some pieces were cut, that it'd be easier to modify than start over. Then again, often times I'll start a project and get sidetracked on another one. My wife's purse is sitting in a box, pieces cut, partially carved, waiting for assembly and finishing. And it has been there for about 3 months . I was experiencing a little creativity block with it. Today's a good day though, because I found my inspiration to get around/over the block......She pulled out a catalog and started pointing at $200 purses! All cured! So, rest easy, you're not the only one that doesn't envision everything before you get started. And the next time she criticizes you for it, just remind her that us folks that "think outside the box" are responsible for lots of innovations! Example: Somebody got tired of sore thumbs and decided it be better to have a machine that could stitch things together. Now look where we are!

Welcome to Leatherworker.net!

While it isn't whipmaking, per se, here's a pictoral tute on a 4 strand round braid. Myriam does this over a core, so I suppose it's pretty close to a plaiting a handle with 4 strands. http://myriam.dakotabraiding.com/Tutorials/Leash/Leash.html

Looks very nice, but I see one area that might be an issue- Those sharp corners on the triangular piece may end up lifting/curling, if they get brushed/rubbed by something like a cover garment.

My suggestion was for light embossing, not full embossing- that could take weeks. By light embossing, all you need to do is press the leather from the back just enough to make it raise above the "level" of the rest of the piece. We're not talking about making the helm stand out from the page, like ClayB's buffalo did. Only pushing it out enough to give some definition to the 'front' of the piece. For example, (once cased, traced, and carved) you want the front of the frogmouth helm to stand out as the front, without having to rely heavily on tooling and coloring- press the corner of something (got any modeling tools?)into the back of the leather and push/rub. You'll be able to see where it is on the front b/c the leather will be lightly stretching. Just rub the tool on the backside, following the line at the front of the helm. You can, of course, apply this method to the whole thing, and this should give you a nice 3-d effect on the helm.

Also in MSOffice- if you have Publisher, it has some templates to make your homepage.

One of my preferred methods for adding shading to a piece is with an old t-shirt. Cover a finger and rub-a-way. This gives a nice surface burnish, but be careful, remoistening once it's done it might remove it. Tracing- I almost always convert to black and white for tracing/transfer. Tooling- for the visor I suggest one of your matting tools, then dye the interior...maybe use a fine brush to get near the edges. You could also go the route of embossing. Just lightly push the leather out at the front of the helm. That will help it pick up natural shadows from whatever light sources you have. Will you be adding color to this, or just leave it natural?

The thing that's made me wondering is your 2nd statement: I don't have a load of cash, and really want to try and do it myself. You kinda need to know that unless you already have a sqddle shop, you'll be well into a boat load of cash making this sddle. Probably close to twice what you'd pay for a decent cordura rig. Doing it yourself, and wanting a leather saddle....that I can understand.

Well, there is something to be said for the old way of doing things. Word of mouth advertising and CASH....preferably in small unmarked bills. To the OP: So far, Shorts' advice has been the best. We're all in different areas, and the local laws differ slightly. No offense to anyone, but this is LEGAL territory, so a lawyer's advice is needed here. You'll need to talk to the local government in YOUR area to find out what is right for you. If you have a local chamber of commerce (COC) they can be an invaluable asset. Here's a link to the IRS site with info to determine if you need an F.E.I.N.: http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/articl...d=97872,00.html Another thing to check on in lieu of being a business entity is "Doing Business As", or DBA. Incorportating as Lobo suggested is costly, but it does offer protections- corporations are legal entities, and this can save your bacon...and house...if somebody sues the corporation for anything like a holster failure that results in injury (reference the thread here about a knife holster failing and somebody dying because of it). So in a nutshell, Lobo's advice, while far more expensive, does cover all the bases. If you were making wallets, purses, and key fobs, you might not need it. In closing, keep in mind that I'm just an amatuer/hobby leatherworker, and NOT a lawyer, and my little bit of advice is only my opinions on the subject. Check with the proper people, and good luck.

for less than $500 more, you can get a NEW machine that includes most accessories and current customer support, and is set up for sewing leather. Check the suppliers and the Ads up top.

If you are referring to the raised section, that's called embossing. The leather is cased, then a tool (usually rounded) is used to push and stretch the leather to the desired shape from the back (flesh) side of the leather. Once it dries, it'll usually hold it's shape, but further reinforcement of the embossing can be accomplished by filling the cavities from the embossing with a mixture of leather dust and glue. ClayB shows how to do this in a tutorial on the main page, called "Buffalo Feathers". You can get to the main page by clicking the link in blue letters at the top left of the page, just under the Leatherworker.net logo. The coloring of the bracelet looks like a very careful application of some copper paint/dye/highlighter. Stay tuned for more input on that aspect of it.....someone with more experience in that area is sure to chime in.

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 might try cutting the pupil first......gads that sounds icky......that way the leather of the pupil can lightly compress without the grain pulling everything else with it. You don't mention the scale of the piece you posted, so it's kinda hard to say. The smaller the scale, the more you'll have to rely on 'one dot carving'. One possibility is that you've got the moisture content of the leather wrong-at the eyes-. Too wet and it squishes, too dry and you have to push too hard. Properly cased, even the lightest tough with something hard will leave an indentation ( ask around and see how many folks have had mysterious 'half moon' dents caused by fingernails). The rest looks pretty good, but I do suggest a little more time on eyelids. The eyeball itself is just a round thingy. The eyelids express the emotion. Here's a detail of a carving I did, where I used a swivel knife for the pupils, then used a very fine stylus to widen the cut. The tool I used is actually supposed to be an embossing tool for brass- I picked it up at Hobby Lobby on clearance for $.50. Notice that I used the suggestion of pupils, without trying to get too detailed.

+1 to getting more machine than you think you'll need. I definitely recommend a cylinder arm style machine, as they're more versatile. There's a ton of info here on the different types of machines, so to help narrow it down I'll make these suggestions: Artisan Toro 3000, and 4000 click here....Dave Cobra Class 3 and 4 click here....Steve Neels Saddlery/Cowboy click here....Ryan Springfield Leather Co. click here.....sorry Kevin, the link to the sewing machines was hanging up.... There's a wide variety of machines that will sew leather like you want, including (but not limited to) Adler, Consew, Ferdco, Highlead, Juki, Tacsew, Typical....the list goes on. The general consensus is that the majority of the machines are made in China, with slight differences between them. The above links will take you to sewing machine distributors who know how to set up a sewing machine specifically for leather- speed reducer, speed limited DC motors, etc. Also, the distributors above offer "tech support" and they really know their stuff, and their support for the machines is one of the best reasons to purchase through them. They're listed alphabetically, not by any particular preference. Appologies if I left anyone out, this is off the cuff. Art, one of our moderators here, is a veritable sewing machine expert, so pay attention to his posts.

Hi Bill, I've seen/read several different ideas on the subject, and we had a discussion about it here not long ago. Pretty much, it's whatever you decide to use. Do keep in mind that most of the metal reinforcements typically hold the mouth of the holster open in a generic "U" shape, and not specifically formed. I haven't used stainless spring strips (what I was thinking would work well) but I have used Kydex. I bought a sq. ft. of it from a knife supplier and had it shipped for about $15. The nice thing about kydex is that if you mis-mold it.....just reheat and it straightens back out. Considering that you're looking at using max 3/4" x 6", a sq. ft. goes a long way. Another nice thing about it is no need to file the edges down.

Honestly, I don't know. I don't use stains, nor neatsfoot oil. I'd suggest doing some reading in "dyes, finishes, etc...", but I see you've already done some of that. I'll check w/ the search function and see what I can dig up. Incidentally, will this laptop bag be tooled or just plain leather?

Hi Lindsay, There's several options, and it all boils down to what you like. That's why there's so many different opinion. One of the most traditional finishes is just a good oiling. After that, come options like Leather Balm, Tan Kote, Bag Kote, and Neat-lac....and derivatives. Some finishes will shine more than others, but most will depend on the amount of buffing and elbow grease. The last 'class' of finishes are acrylics. They tend to completely seal the leather's pores, and some folks frown on them because they impart a "plastic" feel to the leather.....well, it IS acrylic....These include Resolene, Supersheen, and Satin sheen. Good luck in your project.

I guess perhaps the only thing that would top Johanna's dad's method would be to have some 'elevator music' on the Ipod and ready to go.....

One of the little tricks to using the search function is quotation marks. There's a little primer about 'wildcards' in the advanced search box and it's worth reading too. If you search for [ holster edges ] you end up with a 24 page list...limited to the 1st 1000. If you search for [ "holster edges" ] you get 4 topics. similarly, [ edging holsters ] gets 6 pages [ "edging holsters" ] gets 2 topics It all has to do with how you tell the computer to search for things. Un-"quote tagged" words looks for both words. "Quote tagged" searches means look for word 1 followed by word 2......in a very basic sense. I know there's more to it, but I can't discuss computer code as well as some of our members, so I defer to them. I somehow missed this earlier, so I'll take the opportunity now to say "Welcome to Leatherworker.net"

Other than the "do not call" regstry, there's really not much to do...other than tell the person "don't call". Look up the d.n.c.r. and the penalties involved, do the same for 'communications harassment'. I had repeated calls from the "You're car warranty is about to expire....". After several times of telling them to remove me from their call list, I got hold of a person, asked them to turn on the recorder and threatened legal action under communications harassment statutes. Nary a peep since. If they still won't leave you alone, pick up an inexpensive recorder and phone attachment, record the call and send it to the D.A. Legitimate companies want your business. Scams want your money. Since they've already got the one number, I suggest getting a second number as a private line, and placing in the DNCR, instead of trying to convert one to the other. Good luck

It looks like a neat solution in search of a problem. No offense, but given the continuing rate of advances in technology, this seems to be a step backwards. When the system includes a roll away screen (reference US Display Consortium) then it'll be more interesting.

You'll probably want advice on material from your side of the pond- I'm in the deep south in USA. As for offering DIY kits, I'd stay away from it unless you intend to become a supplier. Focus your efforts on the products you make, not here's a kit, now get busy. You'd sell yourself rather short if you offered product X, for one price and the kit to make one for 1/2 of that. If your intent is to become a leather supplier, then by all means do so, these are just my idea on things.

Great news Josh! I'm glad to hear that you're able to combine your two trades.