SCOUTER

Well, after much consideration I bought a TIPPMAN BOSS, I have a bit of a space consideration and for the projects I do I thought it would be a good first step. As you can guess I was pretty hot to get a project made so after a few minutes of messing with tension adjustments I popped out a small sheath for a knife I made. (Handle is made from Corian) I tried to do interlocking initials with my New Hermes engraving machine (draging a diamond tip across the leather). As you can see the first attempt was too small. The second attempt was larger and filled in with a gel pen. Finished with Sedgwick and sons paste (smells like animal fat)

Alex, WOW! Everything is awesome but those wristbands are AMAZING! :jump: Thanks for sharing! WOW!

STPENNER, Welcome... What a TEASE! We were all running our cursor over the pics to see those nice carvings and . Thanks for stopping by..

Tazz, Great job on the wallet! He did some really nice carving! A little antique finish and some hi-lighter and you could have carried it!!! Good luck with your PineWood derby! I have to tell you that they are FUN! If you ever get a chance to attend a "regional" event GO! Just for the fun of it! You will see kids having a blast and you will also see some over zealous parents who spent many hours on the car and look way too serious! Good Stuff!

Hey Tazz, I feel your pain! Sometimes your first introduction to a hobby can make or break you. I have been trying to introduce all hobbies to the Boy Scouts for years and I have learned from experience that the two gloden rules are KISS (Keep it simple &$&^#) and the first project must end in sucess! Your "Kit" was just one of a thousand of thrown together packages that can really screw someone up! With the Scouts, they usually do a KEY FOB and a Bracelet to start. Then the comb case and wallet follow. If it comes out good they will be back for more. A funny story- PINEWOOD DERBY- A simple contest held by Cub Scouts. The idea is to carve a "car" out of a block of pine and attach plastic wheels. Car is then entered in a soap-box style gravity race. Awards are given to fastest car and best looking. Well, my friend supervised his son while he built and painted the car from start to finish. He let his son do all the work, paint and all. Needless to say the car looked like something an 8 year old did. Well after the last coat of red paint the car had more fingerprints and brush marks then you could imagine. The boy was not very happy. The night before the big race the father resanded and repainted the car with his Binks spraygun and Candy Apple Red paint. The car looked awesome! When the scout woke up the father said "You see it just had to dry!". The good news is that the scout likes to model now, The bad news is that the PINEWOOD derby has become a contest where half the scouts make their car and half the parents make their son's car. You did it the right way by working with your son... Years from now that will be a cherished memory of your time together!

Kevin, Very few wallets can fetch the money to cover the time it took to make them. However I am sure you don't have that problem! Beautiful work!!! Also if it is a secret I will stop asking but "What kind of sewing machine do you use?"

Roo, Awsome work, Great Dye job! For some reason your model's beard freaks me out! I would love to see one of your quivers. Thanks for posting!

Buffalo, Your stuff is amazing! The color of your leather looks warm and classic! All your pieces look top notch! Fantastic stitching! What type of machine do you use! Thanks much!

Pepin, We knifemakers LOVE a great sheath! Congrats! Beautiful work! Thanks for posting!

Clay, OUTSTANDING! Great concept! Thanks for "doing the legwork" on this. You are 100% right... We don't get any better doing things we are already good at! Looking forward to starting this one. Thanks again! P.S. Flowers are harder then they look!

Tae, The best way to get rid of the urine smell is to rub poop on it. If that don't work try this http://www.nextag.com/Chenille-Kraft-Wood-...645/prices-html Good Luck!

Thanks much! Swede, Brent- It's not that I don't want to like them but when you see a bird that you raised from a chick snatched out of the air by a Hawk or Falcon you get a little Jaded! Regis- I use PYROGRAPHY tools to "burn" the leather. It is very easy and a LOT of fun. It's basically just a glorified soldering iron with heat control and different tips. II use the system you see here but there are many different systems. http://www.carvertools.com/ I have this belief that Leatherworkers are artists that like using natural materials. I bet that most leatherworkers would also enjoy Pyrography, Woodcarving, Decoy making, engraving... It's this strong urge to create something from nothing. All part of the strange DNA that runs thru our blood.

This is a work in progress, I'm NOT a big fan of birds of prey. (I raise Pigeons) They are both deadly and beautiful. There is NO dye or paint on this just a little heat :flame: For REALISM --It's all in the "EYES"

Wolvie, The grips look cool and comfie! The atom wax treatment looked great, I agree that hand sweat and wear and tear will give them a great "broken in baseball glove look" just make sure they are treated first. Rub some oil, sno-seal or wax into those puppies and hold on tight! Take care!

Hello Kaos, Welcome! I would like to give you my two cents on the swivel knife. If when you first pick one up and it feels un-natural you are 100% normal! They say that the swivel knife was invented for saddle makers because they could not really turn their work. Here are some tips that might help you. 1- The knife should be SHARP and polished. (Sharpen on a stone and polish (strop) on cardboard with some compound on it) Strop everytime you pick up the knife. 2- A drop of oil where the finger bowl meets the shaft will give a better "feel". 3- For smaller cuts smaller blades... 4- Make sure Leather is cased properly, the "cut" should open right up! 5- Circles are among the hardest of cuts. Unless you are making saddles, don't be afraid to TURN your work to suit you! 6- Remember Practice doesn't make Perfect... Perfect Practice makes Perfect! Good Luck!

I just came back from giving a leatherworking demo to a group of scouts and the big hit of the evening was the CRAFTOOL LACE MAKER! http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/product...?number=3784-00 I took a piece of scrap leather (like baseball glove leather) and put a 1 inch hole in the middle, inserted tool as per instructions and pulled! Within seconds I had a 4 foot piece of perfect straight lace! The Scouts LOVED it! So do I! =)

Steve, As you know I am a big fan of your work! Stitching on this one is aawesome! The High Resolution photos show you have nothing to hide! Thanks for sharing!

Kevin, Very nice work! What sewing machine do you use??? Thanks!

WOW!!!!!!! Fantastic job! GREAT color choice! From top to bottom just a joy to behold! Thanks for posting!

Hello Karl, Beautiful job and great carving! I never made a saddle so Maybe you can fill us in on How long it took to make? How long was the "class"? Is this for fun or Profit? Any saddles in the future for you? Thanks for posting!

Hey Eric, Looks like you got a great batch of tools! I have tried a more then a few retailers and in my book nothing beats Tandy. For many years Tandy had been a great company to deal with and they know how to run a business. If you are lucky enough to live near one, pay them a visit and don't be afraid to talk to the owner or manager and get to know him/her. Every top leatherworker has at one time or another dealt with Tandy. Good Luck!

Welcome Syd, The Swede is right on, You need veg tanned leather for best results with tooling or stamping. For practice you can buy a veg tanned "belly" quite cheap and have lots of fun! As you get better you will want to move up to a better cut of leather. If you never had any experience with Leatherwork instructional videos are a wonderful way to learn! Smartflix even rents some! Good luck!

Conrgrats Clay! Love the lacing! Speaking of raffles any idea what the next subject will be for the next Leatherworker.net carving contest? We haven't had one all year!

Richard, Sorry for the delayed response... The big set has the center punch, however it takes some tweaking to get the punch perfectly in the center of the die. The punch works with all the dies in the big set. There is no center punch with the smaller set. It must be made in China, but for the beginner or someone who only punches once and a while it is worth the money.

It's funny but when I see the entire project painted, no matter how nice it looks, I always ask myself "Why Leather?" There are so many other materials that are better suited for paint. I really like the way Mike and Clay add small amounts of dye to really make the item "pop". The most paint I have done to date was an eye calling for a one hair brush. Thanks for all the imput!