TwinOaks

It's best to use either a synthetic, like nylon, polyethylene, or acetal (delrin)...OR ...a hardwood that's been sealed. Most folks will use wood as it's commonly available

Yes, yes they should! I recommend looking up some of the posts by "Katsass", in regards to hand sewing (and his thoughts on the hole size). Having the stitch holes that tight means that there's almost no room for oil, dirt, wax, water.....aka 'gunk' ...to get into the stitch holes and degrade the thread. Combine the small holes with the right size thread, and there will be no visible stitch holes when the leather closes up around the thread.

Fantastic job on the repro!

Thank you for the clarification! I've been out of the game for a bit, and styles are ever evolving.

You might also check out "Deft", which is a spray lacquer used in some woodwork. I got mine at Lowe's, and it's available in matte, semi, and gloss. It seals the leather as well as any of the spray lacquers sold for the leather industries....meaning that I spray it onto a piece of shearling and rub it into the leather instead of spraying directly onto the leather (which can result in unwanted build-up).

Thank you for the pattern, and very nice video tutorial!! "tboyce", one of our members, also produced a pattern for a long wallet, though his doesn't incorporate the zippered pouch. I suppose his pattern would be more of "long card wallet", where this one is more of a "trucker" style.

MnG also has a detergent in it (it IS a floor cleaner), and I wonder about that in the leather...but I haven't seen any of the pieces I did come back, so I can not say one way or the other. The other thing to consider is that Resolene claims to have a UV blocker in it, which may be important if the product goes outside.

I believe the idea of "not connecting the lines" is to avoid having small pieces (the cut corners) completely free of the surrounding grain. To do so might allow that little tab to lift on an inside corner, or get 'dog eared' on an outside corner. When I make holsters, I avoid sharp corners on overlays for the same reason. Even when it's sewn on, that little piece of corner is unsupported and gets wonky. If, instead, the overlay has radiused corners, you don't have anything outside of the stitching's reinforcement.

You can check Bruce's website for a list of what he currently has available. www.brucejohnsonleather.com

Where your pattern lines cross, or meet at a corner, are your cut lines meeting or stopping short? If you're connecting the lines, try stopping just shy of the lines connecting. When you tool it, the leather will still lay down just fine.

lathe time @ a local machine shop, perhaps?

Really nice execution!

You might try to get in touch with a local book store that offers "Hot stamping" for personalization of Bibles, albums, etc. The Hot Stamping presses apply a foil for each letter...which sounds like what you want done.

As far as I can see, it uses the same feed mechanism as a BOSS -- a jumpfoot needle feed. I had some issues with my Boss a long while back and discovered that I was running the presser foot tension WAY to high. It only needs to be tight enough to prevent the leather from lifting when the take up arm/lever is locking the stitch, any more isn't really doing anything but mashing leather. You might also check to see if the foot is sitting level on the leather. If it's rocked forward or back on the presser foot shaft, the smaller contact area could result in more and uneven pressure...i.e. there's a perpendicular indentation crossing your stitch line = the heel of the presser foot is making contact more than the flat bottom of the foot.

Welcome to the best site on the entire WWW! We look forward to seeing some of your projects, and if you need us, we'll be glad to help you along the way.

I had an almost identical experience with my arbor press as posted by Silverwingit. My arbor press is sitting under the workbench, holding down a section of floor. Besides, there's just something medicinal about smacking things with a mallet/hammer :)

If it's JUST the black dye that's misbehaving, then I think it may be the dye itself. Which type is it, specifically?

Thank you!

Those look great! I did the same thing with some SS bolts I got from Lowe's, except I butchered the steep beveller (badly). I'm in sorta the same place with the ones I made - I want to make some lined & checkered tools...I'm just trying to decide which LPI checkering file I need to get. Anyone have a suggestion? 50LPI, 75LPI?

Welcome to Leatherworker.net, best site on the entire WWW! Looking forward to seeing some of your work, let us know if we can help you in your new addiction hobby.

regarding vinegaroon- you don't have to use Nails. Any ferrous metal should work. That can be nails, scrap pieces, steel wool, screws, chain, etc. If the mix smells strongly of vinegar, add more metal. If there's no smell of vinegar and the mix barely works, add more vinegar. From your description, it sounds as though the acetic acid was completely 'used up'. Once your brew has steeped for about 2 weeks, it should yield an almost instant reaction----UNLESS---the leather has a coating on it already.

First off, Welcome to Leatherworker.net, largest single compendium of leather working knowledge on the planet!! Since you mentioned tooling the leather, I will presume that you're using veg tan. If not, please advise us what type of leather you're using. Next, are you cleaning the leather before trying to dye it? Depending on the leather source, it's possible that there is some sort of coating on the leather that is simply blocking the dye from penetrating the fibers. There may also be an issue with the application of the colorants. After applying the dye, then buffing, you should be applying a sealer over the dye...before the antique. The solvent in the antique may just be lifting the dyes off of the leather.

Welcome to Leatherworker.net! While floral design is one of the "traditional" forms seen on leather work, it is far from being the only style. There really is no set train of thought for what is "proper". A prime example would be some of Peter Main's work- there may be a floral element, but it is only a part of a much more encompassing style. There are more than a few folks that are doing pin up art, tribal, art deco, geometric, figures, combinations of a little of everything, and skulls. We mustn't forget the skulls! Find the subject you want to do, then simply do it on leather.

I don't see how gluing the holes would hurt, but it's going to be a laborious task....after which there's no guarantee that they won't re-open. There's even the possibility that the glue (spots) would make the holes all that much MORE visible...depending on how it dries, and how that matches the finish of the leather. I think the only sure way to make them less visible is to put a large enough panel over the back to completely hide them. You could make it decorative, leave it plain, make it a pocket that holds a level 3A armor panel.....

The only downside to using Mop-n-glo that I know of is that it does contain a detergent. Some might argue that the detergent will, over time, degrade or otherwise negatively affect the leather. I haven't seen that happen yet, but after using MnG for a year or two, I went back to Resolene. It has a UV blocker in it, and since I was playing with some acrylics at the time, I wanted to avoid the detergent AND try to protect the vividness of the acrylic colors (Angelus).