SCOUTER

"It was created to introduce beginners to the basics of leather carving." Jim, Everytime I look at your work I am totally inspired, for two months my desktop background has been your knife sheath but now I think it's time for an update! (this carving) I can just look at your carvings and pick up a hundred tips... Every swivel knife cut is finished off and tapered, your backgrounding fades ever so gently, just amazing! Hopefully One day Jim, I will be able to take one of your classes... You will know it's me I will be wearing a party hat and the big grin! :w00t: Thanks again!

I lay down a beautiful stitch when going straight. (I know, big deal) The problem is when I get to a corner or have to make a turn. The top of the piece look great (for me)but when I turn the piece over it looks like the tension let up for a few stiches. I was thinking that it could be because as I turn the piece I am drawing slack from the top and when I begin to stich again it takes a few stitches to tighten up. I'm going super slow and not jerking the handle... Thanks for any help! Ok Here is the top Ok Please don't laugh... The bottom...

David, Very nice indeed! Very nice webpage also! Love your "basketweave" stamp! Thanks for posting! This is the knot that my scouts love- simple but looks hard.

Luke, Looks Great! Is that whole piece leather? I love the nicknames of the guys! I knew a one eyed guy named "spazz" Nice Job!

Jordan, Always love seeing people's shops. My whole basement is my "shop" as a tool junkie I tripping over 5 lathes, 4 Drill presses, 3 table saws, and just about every tool in the Craftsman catalog. After some time I realized I use the same 3 tools all the time! For my Leatherwork I like to work in comfort. Don't laugh but my kitchen table is where I do most of my leatherwork. That 60 year old kitchen table is very comfortable and heck I live alone! This is where I keep my Tippmann Boss, yep my Living Room! (now that's living!) Wolvie-Holy Cow I'm envious! Sweet collection! "They say that a CLEAN shop is the sign of a sick mind" :D

Well, the good news is I did the design... Having no idea what the heck I was carving! I did not put any extra carving into the leaves because I want to try to dye/paint this piece. Next time we carve some floral can we have something East of the Mississippi? Thanks William, I will look. Bruce- You are always spot on with all your posts and advice... You really did a beautiful job on this pattern...

Casemaking is a part of leatherworking that I have always admired. Years ago I was looking for a simple design that would look professional and still be quick. What I came up with was attaching leather to wood sides. It is simple and has many artistic possibilities. First start with a piece of leather and two side pieces of wood. The leather will wrap aroung the wood "sides" so if you want a cover flap make the leather a few inches longer. Try to keep the thickness of the wood sides about 3/8" to 1/2" thick. Now, After tooling your design and any other outside treatments, apply white leather glue to the leather and wood sides, wrap leather tightly around sides and use small finish nails to secure, let dry. Here is the backside of the case, I used 3/4" copper finish nails pre-drilled the holes about 1/2" deep to avoid splitting wood. Another tip is to grind off the points of the nails, reason being that a pointed nail will split thin wood, where as a blunt tip will push thru material. Tip- If you have a belt sander leave a little overhang when attaching leather to wood sides, then sand leather and wood down together to make a nice flush side, then finish sides with varnish! (I did not do that here) I wanted to make this case with a flap and snap but the leather I was using was too thin and when I cut an initial box in the flap it was too deep and I had to cut off flap. Sorry- You can make any shape, style case you want with this method. Also- the wood sides adds strength and protection. If you are feeling adventurous try carving a design into the "side panels". *Please note that this case is not a good example of the technique described above but rather a simple mock-up of something that can be a very enjoyable project. Good Luck!

rharris, Looks nice, could use a bigger pic... I like your wiskers!

Indy, I should be so lucky to be able to try ANYTHING... I would have to travel a couple of hours just to get to a distributor that has a store front. I envy you guys who have a leatherworkers supply. I have to do everything mail order. BTW- I would love to get all 4 sizes but Osborne edgers run $35 a piece!

Alex Great topic! I guess we are all trying to find our nitch to separate us from the rest. My style is trying to blend traditional leatherwork with pyrography. I was always impressed with traditional carvings and pyrography colors the leather without dyes or paint. making a permanent, functional piece of art that should look better with age. "It's not what it looks like now, it's what will it look like in 10 years?"

This pattern lends itself to much more diversity... Funny thing with me is I never understood the whole western floral carving origins. So many times I look at a nice carving but wonder "What the hell is that swirl thing?" I get the flowers (sometimes) always get the roses, leaves yes- but what are those things next to the stem? Is this a West coast thing? Do I have to visit a desert? Can someone post a real pic of what I am looking at.

The Osborne 127 edger comes in 4 sizes... I was going to order the number 1 size just to clean up the edges on my sheaths. Does anyone have thoughts on what size they prefer? Thanks! http://www.csosborne.com/NO127.HTM

The question isn't if today's military compare with yesterday's ... I know for a fact that today's military outstanding due to the fact that it's 100% volunteer! The REAL question is that "If we had to fight WWII today, (With a DRAFT), how would we do?" (Would anybody show up?) Also in my opinion- We are getting "softer" with every generation...

Kevin, Everytime I look at your stuff I just scratch my head and wonder how you do it? Your stitching is to die for! So many twists and turns and still everything comes out so even... Beautiful! Thanks for the inspiration

Kevin- That was another reason I gave it a try... It's like a Harley- (hard to loose money on it) Duke- I asked Bob (Tippmann) about that similar machine. He said that they had to stop selling it due to patent infringement.

Marlon, Thanks very much for all your helpful posts, I had no idea who Peter Main was so I went to his website and was blown away! You are so lucky to be able to take a class given by him! I'm envious! Thanks again!

Horsehair- I like the color you did! I knew you had to work with miniatures! (Jeweler) Your wiskers came out great but it's funny how alot of us are fearful of those "few simple cuts that can kill your carving." I notice that Beezachopper who has great texture on the whole nose, did not put wiskers on either! Also Horsehair- Your tongue color is perfect! Clay, one thing I noticed is that the eyes on the pattern is a little too timid, if I was doing this on my own I would have added some skin flap over the eyelid like Tina did.

It's funny, When I was ordering from Tippmann I had no idea I was talking to Bob Tippmann, (nephew) he was very nice and also a EAGLE Scout. =) As for the price. They were having a "holiday Special" that included a bunch of accessories free. I have found that the price varied somewhat from store to store but at this time direct was cheapest for me. Grunt- As for leaving marks on the back, their is a foot tension knob right on top of the machine that will add or release tension with ease. No marks here! Ask for the DVD! It shows everything including troubleshooting the boss!

Gunfighter, I often wonder if we had to fight WWII all over again with today's population. How would we do? God bless those vets who fought the fight and those guys who are serving now. Me- 9 years USMC... Semper Fi-

I happen to come across this sheath in some woodworking store... $13.99 http://www.woodcraft.com/InhancedImage.aspx?FamilyID=20036 Nice forming job, clean, nice little sheath. Now with materials + Labor = I can't make it for that price! You got to love mass production!

Timbo, SWEET! Nice Stiching, Tooling and NICE SNAP! Thanks for posting! Jordan- Also nice! I guess you case the leather and place the square-holed wood piece over the form and sandwich the leather? Wet-forming is

Brent, First congrats on your son being a "star" at 13! As for the Tippmann, I have only had it a week or so and have been having alot of fun with it! The trick is the setup of the thread tension... I guess Leather sewing machines are expensive because of the small market they cater to, I mean I could buy a top of the line Radial Arm saw for the price of a 25# sewing machine!. If you can call Tippmann and ask them for a DVD of their machines. The DVD is great! Really will help anyone make up their mind. BTW Tipmann makes a beautiful Leather embosser! After a while I will write my review on the machine and post it, as for now it's too early but so far so good. The ordering process was great, the people at Tippmann are 100%...

Well, here is my attempt at the pattern... I am a little short on Leather so I found this piece with a lot of tools I bought on E-Bay. I have never worked with such thin leather (less then 1/8) so I rubber cemented it to a piece of plexiglass and began carving. (The leather was so thin that the thinner from the rubber cement came up thru the leather and wet my graphite paper) I started at 4am and it took me 3 hours. (I'm a night owl) The color and hair all done with pyrography. (heat) My only dilemma, WISKERS... I want to add wiskers but one mistake and, well you know. I have to ponder this...

HorseHairbraider! I can't believe the detail you got into that little piece of leather! Is that a real penny? When you go miniature it ADDS a whole bunch of problems to contend with! Like Clay said with a really small carving regular knife cuts look HUGE, but you have a really good handle on it. I guess you use an OPTIVIEW and alot of LIGHT! I like the really small stuff because of the challenge. Thanks for Posting!

Freak, Awesome! That's like a Viennese hour for Leatherworkers! A little of everything! All good!