TwinOaks

Some are actually cut from the leather that way (think T on the side), others are snapped on, stiched, bolted, laced and/or glued in place.

Well, there goes the neighborhood. Looks like big brother has found another way to push us towards socialism. At least the adult-oriented leather will be safe for a little while....maybe.

Howdy, rhall! Yep, you've joined up just in time to get in on this round of Pay It Forward. Rayban pretty much explained it, but I'd like to add that there's no monetary value requirement. Of course, no one expects (I hope) to be receiving a saddle or anything like that. This whole idea was to get new folks exposed to the many different types of leatherwork. For example, Wildrose sent me a leather covered box with a Celtic design she made. She researched some of my posts and found some things I'm interested in then tailored the box cover to me. I sent my recipient a creaser/folder/slicker I made out of some nice wood and included a sheath for it. He was new to the craft, and I figured it was something he could use. Others have received customized wallets, leather hats, some belts/belt buckles,etc. Heres' links to the other PIFs, if you want to see how the last ones worked out: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?s...c=1842&st=0 http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=2293 Feel free to post any questions, we'll get them answered as quickly and accurately as possible.

Pretend the rouge stick is an eraser and there's something bad written about your mom on the leather, i.e. rub it quickly and very hard. Friction more or less 'melts' the rouge and the leather will pick it up.

Not familiar with the DVD, but my suggestion is check to see where you're tracing. Are you allowing for the thickness of the leather?

Provided they are light enough, a lot of dents can be pushed out from the back side. You'll need a rounded object so you don't puncture the leather. Scratches, where the surface of the grain is abraided, are much harder- a lot of them are beyond my ability to remove. Little lines, say from laying your hand down on something that presses down on the leather, can sometimes be 'flexed' out, similar to dents. If a dent is large/deep enough to cause burnishing, that color will remain even if you manage to raise the leather back up. At that point, the only way I know to get it out is to re-case the leather, and wait. You might get lucky and it'll swell out (the burnishing)- as someone else was worried about all the nice dark burnishing lines disappearing when he bagged the project overnight. YMMV

I'm glad so many people are interested in doing this again. The only thing I see missing is more of our newer members- particularly those new to leathercraft. C'mon folks, sign up and get in on the fun! This is NOT a swap meet for just experienced members, this is an opportunity to expand your horizons. Get on the list and show us what you got! I promise, it doesn't hurt (unless you push the awl through the wrong hide) and it's a great way to learn. Looking forward to seeing more of our new members in the next few weeks, Mike

Drill bits remove leather, awls push it aside. Drilled holes won't close up like stabbed holes will. I tried it too. Fingers don't close up as well either. I'm PMing Peter on this.....Marlon, you forgot something when discussing the different awl sizes- Modify! File the blade down to the size you need! I bought a second Osborne, stacked up the leather washers, and hit the diamond sharpener (flat) to reduce the size of the exposed blade. The net result is that if I remove all the washers, I have a stepped awl. Still, a little whittlin' and it's punching holes similar to the small end of the Bob Douglas awl holes (as seen in your pic). I won't even try to discuss the steel used, but I think Bob Douglas uses better materials- otherwise, everyone would just buy the cheap ones and file them down.

Have you considered swapping a few lamps out for 3500 kelvin, such as 'sp35' for GE, or '835' in Sylvania. With the really white or blue/white lights, you can get some washout on colors. Either that or maybe some "full spectrum" lamps right over the work bench. Just my opinion, of course.

PeterK, Ounces or (oz) in leather refers to 64ths of leather. 8oz leather is (nominally) 8/64ths thick=4/32=2/16=1/8, so in this case you are correct. However, if you hit the odd numbers like 6-7 oz, or 4-5 oz, then reducing it to 'common' fractions gets a little complicated- hence the practice of calling it 'oz' in reference to the 'weight' of the leather.

No experience with sporrans, etc. but I REALLY like your avatar!!!

Hi and 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. Tool and die maker.....oh you're gonna have so much fun making your own stuff.

100th !?!? Good lord, man, where do you find the time??????????! Very nice finger cuts, my friend. Nice pattern for the belt, too- Any silver conchos headed for this one?

My first holster (current use Iwb 'cause I'm too busy/lazy to remake MINE) I stitched it up on the curve....N E V E R again. After I made it I reasearched the right way to do it. +1 on good stitch grooves on the interior.

You are going to include a work light aren't you?

If you don't want to use rivets to attach the snap base, the only other option I can think of would be a t-nut and a pan head screw through the snap base. Chigaco screw would be nice, but I don't know if you'd be able to do it through the snap...maybe check hardware sources for small ones? ( I remember seeing 'threaded posts' at Lowe's)

Allow enough leather to make the wrap sew it flat, then bend it.

For broad coverage like dying a whole piece of leather, I've had pretty good results with "El Cheapo". It's a Harbor Freight siphon feed external mix airbrush. I originally bought it for using with finishes, because the external mix is easier to disassemble for cleaning ( not that the paasche VL is difficult or anything). A nice thing about siphon feeds is that you can use either the siphon bottle or a small cup that attaches at the same point. Another nice point is that for a quick cleaning between colors and finishes is that you can just attach a hose to the siphon mouth and drop it into your bottle of cleaner, then spray until clear. I'm not knocking the gravity feeds at all, as I don't have any experience with them- all I've ever used is siphon feed. I do see a definite advantage in the gravity feed when doing detail work though. Gravity feeds do not have any problems with holding the siphon bottle at just the right angle for the hose to pick up everything. Also, permanently attached cups on top of the AB will never get just a little loose, allowing a project-ruining drip at an inopportune time. Kate, for swabbing out the cup, have you ever considered a shotgun cleaning swab? It won't get in the little areas, but they're great for wiping the majority of the cup- then just wash it out. This occured to me b/c I use one for cleaning out the cup for my paasche.

Hi Jordan, 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. Oh, and Happy New Year!

Stoopid "click and drag to copy and paste" function. Thanks for catching that, it's been corrected. Once everyone is signed up, I'll go back through the thread and make dang sure everyone is included in the final list.

Marlon, you're cut off, you've had too much. I can tell because you're counting your drinks the wrong way!

Do all your stitch layout as you normally would, including awling the holes. That way, when you dye it, the holes will have the same color as the rest of the belt. Let dry, stitch it up, then seal it (presuming you're using a clear-ish sealer like Resolene), that way the thread gets sealed but not colored. I'll presume that you'll also want to smooth out the flesh side, so also do that before sealing. You know all this, you've done it before, and gone through the process enough times to be comfortable with it. "You can do eeet!" A word of caution: take breaks! Don't work so long on it that you get tired or inattentive and make a mistake. Take a five minute break and WRITE DOWN YOUR STEPS. Then just follow the instructions! Seriously, don't let tiredness mess up your project. Stand up and stretch, walk around, go do a Kata. Do anything that gets you moving and loosened up, because the concentration efforts will turn into physical tension.

Another tip- either place the compressor in another room, or build a quiet box for it. Scrap carpet and carpet pad on the inside do a good job of hushing up the noise.

The manager of TLF in Montgomery, Al said that the Tandy had a good stock (~2 years) but that it was being phased out in favor of the treehugger version. Whether other sources like Springfield, Hidecrafter, Spiegel, etc. will be doing the same wasn't discussed.

You crawled before you walked. You walked before you ran. You fell down lots of times. Don't learn the tricks of the trade. Learn the trade. There, that's all the philosophical advice I can give you. The only way to learn to carve in the traditional Sheridan style is to carve in the traditional Sheridan style. If your teacher won't let you do it on a saddle, get scraps and pound them until you hear the mallet strikes in your sleep. Regarding commonly available tools vs. custom: Practice with something with which you can compare your work to others- BruceJohnson's basket weave would be a good place to start. By having a common stamp, you'll be able to see where to improve your own work.