TwinOaks

Hi and welcome to Leatherworker.net! Don't worry about being "nutty'........you'll fit in just fine around here. We're looking forward to seeing your work. Normally, Johanna brings coffee when she comes in but I'll drop her a note and remind her to bring some tea. Restrooms are down the hall, break room is to the left. Grab a seat at the work table and stay a while.

You can add 2-5 light coats of neatsfoot oil,and see if it helps..... but I think Luke is right- it's probably too far gone.

Welcome to Leatherworker.net! You'll find this to be one of the friendliest and most helpful sites on the internet. We look forward to helping you learn about things in which you're interested, and you sharing your knowledge with us. P.S. We LOVE pictures here. (hint hint)

That is just gorgeous!!!

Lightly melt the end of the string with a lighter and twist it into the running end while it's hot enough......then curse loudly because it was a little more melted than you thought and you have blob of semi molten plastic stuck to your finger. Apply first aid as needed. Repeat. You'll get the hang of heating the thread, twisting it in, and letting it go quickly.

The type of thread may be playing a role here, also the size of the thread, and the size of the needle. For the hook to grab the thread, it needs to form a small loop as the needle raises. This is also dependent on the scarf of the needle facing the right direction. So, things to check first: Scarf on the needle, compatibility of the thread to the machine, winding the thread on the bobbin the right way. Other than that, the sewing machine gurus will need to make an appearance... Now paging Art, and Wizcrafts....

click the link for the picture

I just ran into this getting some needles for my Boss. It turns out that every point (the 8 different shapes) aren't available for every machine. It may depend on the type of machine you need as to what is available. Then there's the side of practicality and economy....If supplier X sells mostly round point and 'S' leather points (straight), and buys needles in lots of 10,000, then they probably won't invest in a lot of 'LR' needles that only every 20th customer wants, and then only in a 10 pack. It's a lot of material that gets taxed at the end of the year, a lot of money to lay out for a non selling item, and they don't make any money on it. Instead, they stock the most popular items and have a faster ROI, and use that improved cash flow to offset the occasional customer who doesn't buy anything because they can't get everything at one place.

Perhaps you could use the carpenter's vice, but you may find the depth of the jaws to be rather limiting. The wood at the jaws is likely to leave impressions on the leather, so you may want to look into stick on felt pads (think door seals). Also, it's important to not put too much pressure on the leather or you will crush it. If you have access to wood working tools, they aren't too difficult to build. There are some patterns here on this forum of you care to search for them, or you could look at pictures of commercially available ones and use that as an inspiration to design your own.

Welcome back!

Yes, you can cut scrolls with a square blade....lean it back a little so only the corner contacts the leather. For stamping, rest the heel of your hand on the leather, or mount it to a backer board. Yes, it takes a lot of practice. Now that that's done..... Welcome to Leatherworker.net, best site on the entire internet! Suggestions for places to read/learn.....well, you're already here. You might also take a look at YouTube, and do a search for leather topics. Though the person in the video may not be doing exactly what you want to do, the tool techniques are pretty common, i.e. How to use a swivel knife. Spend some time reading, look at some inspirational images, watch a few vids.....you'll have this down in no time. If you run into problems and need help, don't hesitate to ask. Bathrooms are down the hall, break room is over there -------------------------------------------------> grab a stool at the tooling bench and stay a while. Johanna will be by sometime in the morning with fresh coffee.

You will probably also want to get a stitching pony/horse if you aren't going to be getting a machine anytime soon. It holds the piece in position while you sew. Use of the 'sewing awl' is entirely up to you, but from my own experience, it's FAR from being a good stitching tool. It'd be good for repairs and such if you were traveling via backpack or horse. If you want good looking items, learn to saddle stitch and get a good diamond awl (that means it has a diamond shaped cross section, not that it's made of or used for diamonds). Few things look as good as a well done hand stitch - probably the closest machines can do to it is the needle and awl machines. Save the time and effort (and hair) and just learn to hand sew things.....at least until you decide to get a machine. Art, one of the sewing machine gurus said it best: Hand sewing helps you save faster for a machine.

I agree with Biggundoctor, to keep the leather smooth, you should be stretching the leather over the nose, not trying to compress it. In some of my work, I've done a bit of embossing from the flesh side of the leather. The results are much better than only trying to compress everything else around it. Look for ClayB's avatar (check out the figure carving section) and you'll see where he did a bear snout that stands out from the surface. In one of my conversations with him about the technique, he told me that Verlane (I think) 'pushed' a horse's muzzle out to almost 6 inches from the surface. Remember, it's skin....well preserved skin, but skin none the less. As long as you keep it adequately moist, you should be able to easily stretch out a nose. Local economies differ of course, but I can get mannequin heads here for about $25. Check beauty supply stores, hairdresser supplies (wig holders), etc.

Trim pieces on a larger item; inlay/overlay pieces for wallets, etc. Heck, make a nice scenic carving of a mountain range, and inlay the white elk skin for the snow caps.

Took care of the resizing for you Clay. Nice work on the stamps, they turned out really well.

As far as practice patterns go.....they are in every newspaper and magazine that has pictures. To study the style, you need only to look at it. To practice the style, you need to become adept with the swivel knife. That means that the knife and your hand create what your eye sees. The ONLY way to get to that point is practice. Run some black and white copies of pictures, transfer them, and 'draw' them w/ the swivel knife. The purpose is to train your hand, so why not use a multitude of straight and curved lines? Nobody ever said that carvings and finger cuts on leather HAD to be a certain style.

I'd like to suggest Brenda at lasergiftcreations.com. First rate and very fast service. The stamps are made of Delrin (Acetal) rod, and while not metal, they will hold up for a very long time. Plus, you don't need to purchase a handle for it....unless you purchase a stamping plate.

Holly, Welcome to Leatherworker.net, best site on the internet! I'm far from a sewing machine expert, but until they arrive, here's something simple to check- see if the needle is inserted correctly. The scarfed place on the needle should be positioned for the hook to pick up the thread. If it is turned, it may be preventing the pick-up of the thread, and possibly may be the cause of the hook "hitting something". There's also the possibility of a slightly bent needle. Besides that simple issue, I'll leave it up to the sewing machine gurus to help you diagnose.

If you don't mind working w/ kydex, you can get a sheet of .06 from Springfield for CHEAP. It's a square foot, and should provide you with at least 100. I make mine out of kydex and haven't had any problems with them.

I've been eyeballing a SBH in SS, w/ a 10" bbl, .44 mag. I've already shot it, and despite the heavy caliber, the weight of the gun more than compensates for it. I just can't justify getting it.......

If you've got the guns, go ahead and tattoo the leather!!! That'd be a pretty sure way to avoid rub off!!!!! Of course, the skin would need to be a LOT softer than normal......have you considered an airbrush? If you have a Harbor Freight near you, you can pick up pretty much everything you'll need (equipment) for a bit under $100. As far as the expensive knives go....There have been some great leather artisans who turned out mastercraft level work using a sharpened screwdriver- it's the artist, not the tool. Now, with that said......better quality tools perform better than 'cheap' tools. Combine a good artist with a good tool, and you've got magic. There's quite a few to choose from, and almost as many opinions.

At the prices that a used Boss goes for, you might be better off just purchasing one from Tippmann directly. They are on sale right now and only about $200 more than what I bought a used one for.

First things first, Bauer....Welcome to Leatherworker.net! You have found the penultimate source of leather knowledge, so be prepared to spend some time reading. There are quite a few variety of leathers, and your choice will determine your success. Vegetable tanned leather is what is used for pieces with a lot of tooling and/or molding. Leather can be hardened several ways, the most common being heat. Leather is dipped in water, molded to shape, then dried. Heat helps set the collagens (glue) in the natural fibers. The shaping of the leather is done when wet when it's malleable. To color leather, a dye, acrylic paint, or chemical compound is used- most commonly spirit dyes, oil dyes, and water based dyes. Paints can be used on leather, but run the risk of cracking if the item is flexed much. A beautiful finish can be attained by simply lightly oiling the leather and placing it in the sun. Other options may include using Ferric Acetate, aka vinegaroon, and an age-old recipe in which a piece is dipped in a heated mixture of oil and beeswax. The result of the latter is a somewhat darkened, quite a bit harder, and very moisture resistant finish. You may see this type of finish on period knife sheathes at Ren-Faires. After molding and coloring, the leather must be sealed to prevent further absorbtion of moisture. This is done with acrylic waxes, natural waxes, oils, or lacquer finishes. The composition of the finish helps determine the "shinyness" of the item. I'd like to suggest doing a search for posts my member "Daggrim". He does a lot of helmets, and may be able to give you some specific pointers.