TwinOaks

This month's challenge is livin' in the heart of summer... and with the temps we're already having on the coast, I'm looking for any excuse I can to stay indoors!!!! Compose a piece with a minimum of 3 elements plus the background depicting a summer scene. Coloring is optional. I'd like you to focus on the layout and placement of the elements in the overall piece. I'd also like for you to work on perspective and placing the elements at different ranges in the piece, instead of everything on one plane.......in short, you'll be making a picture. For our art students, it can be classified as a landscape. Due to the probable complexity of this piece, don't try to cram it on scraps....use at least a 6" wide piece so you can space the elements out. Example: I live on the coast, so I could do a beach scene (background) with a sailboat (element 1) just before the horizon, a piece of driftwood (element 2) in the surf, and a beach umbrella in the sand (element 3). Now, this is a pretty big jump from the single element pieces, and is building from the Tiki challenge where you combined two elements. I'm not asking for photo-realism.....yet Your tool selection is up to you - no limits, and you may feel free to use photos or images as the basis for your piece. It IS a pretty large step, so use all the tools at your disposal...but please don't use the tools as a crutch.. Pay particular attention to the way the depth of tooling and cuts in the leather can portray (or betray) an element's position. Sharper lines and deeper cuts indicate nearness, while less clearly defined edges indicate distance. It's the same with the size of the elements, larger typically means closer, smaller typically indicates distance. Ready.....set.......GO!

It was so much nicer in my head.....but then, when I was planning it, I didn't know I had to disassemble a wall to get at the leaking plumbing. That there is a 45 minute dragon.....I had to work it in between the two sheath orders I picked up today. Time to head off to bed, and I'll be planning something devious for June.

Well, it said "Fire Breathing Dragon(s)" in the topic description.....here ya go: Since we were limited to just 5 tools....the eye sockets are still empty for the purposes of following the rules. They'll have some nice little copper balls epoxied in there. Swivel knife, mule foot, snap blade razor, deer foot modeling tool, lacing nipper/punch. Just to be a stickler to the rules I ran the lacing with out a needle........well, mostly because I can't find my lacing needles, but still..

Very nice job on the rig!! and not to shabby on the gun either.

Or if you prefer a diagram, Kingsmerecrafts.com has LOTS of diagrams for different lacings.

Here it is: This is a scan of the actual leather, converted to gray scale. Using Ifranview, you'll need to select "fit to page", and it should print out actual size. I didn't include the belt slot, but it's pretty easy to figure out. Print out, line up the edges and tape it together for the complete pattern. NOTE: This is a ROUGH PATTERN.....tweak as needed. I also recommend cutting the leather at least 1/4 inch outside the pattern so you'll have room for compensating differences in leather thickness, etc., etc. Length of the thumb strap is pretty close. This pattern is for a 'rough-out' holster so if you want grain side out, don't forget to reverse the pattern on the leather.

Just about anything from cell phone cases to sheaths to holsters to messenger bags......let your imagination run wild.

You can get sued for anything, by anybody, for just about any reason. Just don't label it as "seat belt re-positioning strap" and you I think you should be 'okay'.....after all, you could have designed it to be used to hold back curtains. Not your fault if it's "mis-used".

That appears to be a line of holes on each side, with the string alternating it's bite on the braid with a pass through the holes.

The "leaves a bump" part has me concerned. That is 100% user error.....the presser foot tension is wrong. That makes me wonder if the go pedal or the CHAIN THAT GOES TO THE MOTOR is installed/adjusted correctly. OP, have you considered that the machine you looked at wasn't correctly set up? Did your friend call Steve for help? You're making an awful lot of accusations and assumptions about the quality of the machine based on ONE example, and you don't even know if it was set up correctly.

There's a trick to it. Setting your snap should sound like this: tap...tap...taptaptaptaptaptaptaptap. It should not be in a single blow. Use light strikes to get the mouth of the tube to start bending over. You may even have to hold the setter at a bit of an angle and "walk" it around the mouth to get the initial bell. Please take a look at the tubes and see if the mouth is slightly curled inward (All the Tandy snaps I had seemed that way). If it is, it's where something like a tubing cutter (but on mass production scale) was used to trim it to length. The mouth of the snap should be straight walled, with ZERO inward curve. If it does have a curve, you'll need to use something to straighten it out. I use an old pair of scissors that are tapered enough to get into the tube and flare it out when I twist them. If you try to set the snap with the tube mouth curved in, it'll transfer all the force further down the tube and you get what you have - folding over.

thank goodness for a 3 day weekend!!!

So, um....what are you saying?

I have a pattern you can use, but I'm currently out of town and in a hotel. If you can wait until tomorrow night, I'll get it scanned for you. The pattern is right handed, slightly canted, and includes a thumb strap.

Yes, there are several brands of oil that have some light pigments in them. And it is not uncommon to simply oil a piece of leather and let it darken naturally. One of the most beautiful patinas leather can get is when it's been "sun tanned"....I've never been able to replicate it with stains or dyes. Simply oil the leather (lightly) and place it outside in strong sunlight. The UV rays from the sun will darken the leather quite well. You can also just let the leather pick up whatever oils it will from being handled. The downside to letting the leather darken on its own is that it is not protected from drying out. If you decide to use the 'au natural' method, give it a few days or weeks to get the right color, then condition the leather and seal with a good finish

A nice compilation, but I'll advise viewers of it that it is a compiled list of information from posts, but it is not complete. There are some things that must be learned through experience....for example, under burnishing, saliva (spit) is listed as having little more to offer than water, except for bacteria. Not True. There's also enzymes in saliva which play a role in activating the glycerides in the leather. Activating the glycerides (the cellular 'glue') is critical for getting a good burnish. Gum Tragacanth does a very good job of emulating the effects of saliva, but without the dry mouth. I'm not saying this is not worth reading, but the compilation needs to account for the context of the info and experience of the person posting the info (in the original text) for the reader to evaluate. A person that is trying to burnish the edge of garment leather may very well post that method X and product Z don't work.....but that would be an inaccurate report because the method and product were incorrectly used. These .PDFs are a good primer, and I'm looking forward to seeing the next versions.

More questions....very likely. Sore thumbs and fingers......definitely.

Agreed and done!

I suspect it has as much to do with production methods as anything else. Casting is simpler/easier when it's a less complex form. Likewise, as companies experienced more demand, they looked at ways to increase production. Even with the advent of CAD/CAM, simpler=faster=more production=more money. As sewing machine design progressed to include the rotary hook and bobbin, there was little call for the cam driven needle and awl designs like the Champions. I agree completely that there is a beauty in the old styles - Seeing the 3 cam wheels that are machined on 3 faces each on my old Champion lends an appreciation to the skill of the metal workers who made things like that in the old days. Now......push the button on the automated mill, wait for the machine to finish, and do it to the next part. hmmm.....maybe it can be summed up with "Pride in Craftsmanship".

If you ever run into an issue of a picture being too large, you can "click and drag" the image to the "New Tab" button. This will open the picture in it's own tab and will resize it to fit in the window.

I think the most durable mold you could make would be to get a local carpenter to make them out of wood. It would really be as simple as planing a block to the right thickness and using a shaper or router to round the edges to the radius you prefer. Once made, seal the wood and it's a mold. Better yet, most of the molds could probably be made from scrap which would reduce the costs.