BillB

BunkHouseLeather, Welcome to the forum. Since you have already been wandering around, I don't have to tell you where the donuts are located. You have probably already found out that we are an eclectic group from all over the world. We all have one common interest and that is leather. Make your self at home and join in on the conversations. BillB.

Tom, I forgot to mention that after I have tooled the leather and cleaned it with a deglazer, I will spread a paper towel or clean cloth over the areas of the piece I am not staining, especially when I am doing detailed work with a small brush since I tend to rest the side of my hand on the work itself. This helps to keep the leather clean and free of my body oils. BillB.

Johanna, Well said.

Tom, Have you used a deglazer cleaner before dyeing? Fiebing's is made from ethyl acetate. I use it to remove any oil based contaminants before I use any type of dye. I have oily hands that can leave a residual that then affects how the leather takes the dye, e.g. splotching. I have found it also helps to keep the texture of smooth leather smooth. Since I have been using it, the consistency of the dye on large areas has improved greatly. BillB.

I guess it would depend on what type of relief affect you want to have. Beveling the sides and beveling where one thread of the knot goes under another adds to the 3-d effect without backgrounding. Depending on the backgrounder chosen and the amount, the background may over shadow the knot work. Without having seen the knot pattern you plan to use, it is hard to say. I prefer to have a balance between the pattern and any backgrounding I use with the total background area less than than the area of the main pattern, in this case the knot work. On thing that has help me decide is to scan the pattern into my computer. Use a paint program to colorize the various ares, e.g. white for the knot and black for the background. This give me some idea as to the balance in the design. If I am then going to stain the piece with colors, I can use them to see what the final piece might look like. BillB.

Rolf, Glad you joined the Forum. I have not found a better leather craft forum on the web. You will find that that are lots of folks willing to offer their opinions and we don't always agree. There are lots of things to learn from this forum and things to try out until you find the ones that work for you and your style of leather work and the types of leather available to you. I look forward to hearing about some of your experiences. Again, Welcome to the Forum. I like the look and feel of your workshop. Reminds me of an 1800's Office/Shop. BillB.

Aaron, Glad you were able to post the two pictures. Very nice work. The USDA looks good. Letter is always hard to do. On the Gorilla, did you use the swivel knife at all? I could not tell even after dragging the picture to my desktop so I could zoom it to see the details. BillB.

Aaron, Welcome to the forum. It's fine to post in this thread without any pictures if you don't mind a little ribbing until we get to see some, either in this section or under Show Off! or Critique My Work. 8-). This is a good group of folks from around the world. Always something to learn and lots of things to share. Again, Welcome. BillB

Darryl, Welcome to the forum. You can't find a better group of folks to help you out in your leathercraft. We also like to share what we do so we all can learn. From what I could tell from the photos, you have a solid beginning. BillB.

All, I have found reading this thread rather fascinating. I finally went back to the very top of Leatherwork.Net to look at how each forum is described since that is what I had expected. For Example: Show Off! - What have you been up to lately? Show it here! If you want a critique, just ask! Our members willingly share their knowledge and experience. Critique my Work! - If you past a pic here, you want people to tell you what you did right, what you could have done better, and what you need improvement on. All constructive replies welcome, and no hurt feelings. If I post in Show Off and don't ask for a critique, then I am not expecting any and would probably take it the wrong way if offered, on the other hand if I wanted a critique, I will either ask for it in this forum or post it under Critique my Work! So if I post in Critique my Work, I expect constructive criticism, both barrels. 8-) I think the definitions for the forums are very good and if followed will help manage the what gets said where and what gets posted where. Since this is also a family board I expect that the phrasing should be G rated maybe PG. The fact that we are doing this on-line in a public forum brings me back to the management skills I have been taught. There are times and ways to say things in public and there are times when it needs to be said behind closed doors. This is easier done face-to-face and one can read body language, on the net I don't know how to do that unless Johanna can provide animated Avatars for all of us. 8-) I don't think starting a separate forum would be any better since over time it will evolve as well, we just need to accept and follow the guidance that the forum definitions already provide. Just my two cents worth. Bill B.

I have taken to using a deglaze prior to dyeing. This helps remove any body oils that have transfered from my hands while tooling the leather. Yes, I get sweaty palms 8-). I have also gone to total submersion when I am dying the full piece one base color. This entails having a large pan that I fill with dye then soak the piece just like I would do for casing with water. Depending on the size and amount of tooling and the dye used, this can contribute to irregular shaping/warping of the leather, so I will always cut the pre-tooled piece slightly larger then my pattern. Once it is tooled and dyed, I will trim it down to the final size. This type of saturation dying helps solves problems with color differences showing up in either the punch holes if I am lacing or the needle holes if the piece is sewn.

They look very good. Have you thought about make ones that look like mistletoe and selling them for the winter season?

Welcome to the Forum. We have a board where you can post the pictures of those old tools - Leather History. I have tools from my Grandfather and my Uncle. I look forward to seeing some of the old tools you have collected. I am also looking forward to seeing some of your work. BillB

Bruce, I store my leather two different ways for now. I have my sides of leather rolled and in boxes with the weight of the leather marked on the sides and then these are in a closet. This helps with reducing the darkening that will eventually occur. The other way is hanging the leather over an old Quilt Hanger that we have. Since the Quilt Hanger also has a shelf over it, I get some additional storage if the cats will leave it alone. When we move to Minnesota in two years and set up a more permanent Craft shop for my wife an I am thinking of building a storage closet that has rods across it so I can drape the sides over them and also be able to close the doors to keep the light down and the cats off. I will probably tier the rods with the highest up being the farthest back. Since I don't use many different weights of leather, I should only need 4 or 5 rods. BillB

Aw you let out the secret. Should have called it fore sight or intuition. Bill B.

BradB, I think it looks pretty good and very functional. I like the way the color matches the handle. Bill B

Bree, What helped me decide was looking at the complete package which included the stand/table. Since I do both flat work so I needed a flat bed. I also do bags, and that requires a cylinder. I also needed in a setup that I could use with a comfortable chair due to an problem with my legs. It also had to be on a rolling carriage since the room I use is shared with my wife's weaving looms. It also had to be a stable platform that would not shake, rattle or roll either itself or the house. Since I live in Virginia and my survey showed that all the dealers and importers were out west, I figured on paying shipping and having to do maintenance my self with aid over the phone. So, although the Sewing Head and its design and performance were primary concern there were lots of other decision point on my decision tree as well. I have not told you what machine I bought and I won't. I think it is much more important that you understand my logic tree so you understand how I arrived at my decision. This will allow you to build your own logic tree and come to your own decision. Am I happy with my decision. Yes. The day it arrived, I had it assembled and up and running. Did I have some issues, only with some of the supplies that were shipped, but that was quickly resolved over the phone. As Sharpshooter has mentioned, Dealer Support and their attitude is important and should be in your decision tree. I wish you luck in finding the machine that fits your requirements. BillB

torrbuidhe, Welcome the Forum. Nice bunch of folks here, always glad to provide an opinion on most anything but mostly leathercraft. What type of leather work have you done in the past if any? If not what type of leather projects are you looking at doing? Would love to see your work. BillB

TCLeathercraft, First of all you need to know I am not a lawyer. My experience is based on issues we had with the Harley Davidson's Owner Group Chapter that I belonged to and we started asking about things like Taxes, Liabilities, etc. The first thing I learned is that if you are operating like a business, then you need to begin acting like a business. If you are putting funds into your personal bank account, then the IRS can treat that as personal income not as business income. You need a separate accounting system. If you are not incorporated, then someone suing you can come after all your personal assets (banks account, home, car, etc). By incorporating, you can get some level of protection. You will need a lawyer familiar with Corporate Law in your state. We incorporated the HOG Chapter so that the Officers had some level of protection. We also set up a separate bank account so that the officers did not have to use their personal accounts. The hard part was setting up the paper work and the process. Once one chapter in the State made it through all the others were able to do so using that template and did not have a problem. HD Inc now helps its HOG Chapters to Incorporate. There should be someone in your area that helps out small businesses. BillB.

Wintermte, Welcome to the forum. There is lots of information on this site. Tandy is a good place to start. They offer a number of books on staining. I even think they offer Peter Main's book. You will also find information on stains in the Tooling,Stamping & Carving Leather Board. If you click on Leatherworker.net it will take you to the full set of boards. The web site is setup with several Forums, each Forum has a number of Topics. Some Topics have additional Topics inside, but I left that for you to explore. I have put next to those branches or threads that should help you out. Main Trunk: Letherworker.net Forum: Leatherworker Board Topics Show Off! Member Gallery How Do I Do That? Critique My Work! Leatherwork Conversation Leather History Forum: The Business Topics Resources Suppliers Marketing and Advertising Help Wanted Forum: Fabrication Topics Patterns and Templates Leather Tools Hardware & Accessories Sewing Leather Braiding Leather Sewing Machines Exotics, Reptiles, Fur and Others Forum: Tooling, Stamping & Carving Topics Floral & Sheridan Carving Figure Carving Stamping Dyes and Finishes Forum: Specialty Leatherwork Topics Saddles and Tack Gun Holsters, Rifle Slings & Knife Sheathes Motorcycles and Biker Gear Purses, Wallets, Belts and Miscellaneous Pocket Items Historic Reenactment Youth Groups Other Specialties Forum: Leather is tanned animal skins, and is a byproduct of the meat industry Topics Announcements and Administrivia Special Events, Contest and Classes Feedback and Suggestions All About Us & Off Topic Computer Help Leather Photography Board Ambassadors Froum: Marketplace Topics Marketplace BillB

Leatheroo, ArtS and Johnny, Thanks, I was not sure how they would look when I did my wife's purse as a test case. Her purse is the last two pictures. Finding patterns that would work on the Flap and Front Underside took some time. The other problem has been finding the right clasp to work with the patterns. All in all, I was pretty happy with the way they turned out and so were the recipients. BillB

I thought I would share with you some of my projects where I have used Native American Bead Patterns as the basis for the tooling design. Most of the patterns come from North Woods or Woodland Indians since their patterns represented the Flora in their areas. I have also included the black and white pattern that I start from. Enjoy.

I thought I would bring this thread up to date with other Totem work I have been doing, especially the finished Rabbit Totem.

I have also restored an old pocket billiards table. My table dated from the 1890-1910s, three piece 1 inch slate bed on oak frame with cannon ball feet. The table was disassembled when I got it from a friend. All though all the pockets were there, the leather was not worth saving, and nor were the mounts. Unfortunately, that mounting system was no longer used or produced so I had to convert the mounts. Something to consider.

Art, Thanks. I hope all of this helps Dwight. Having done laced projects for decades, I finally made the jump into sewing this last fall. After reading the other thread on sewing machines, I don't want to start it all over again. It was like asking a biker which motorcycle is best, yes I ride. My suggestion to Dwight is to make a list of the things he wants to use the machine for, e.g. types of projects (flat, curved, bag), the types and weight of leather to sew through (the total thickness), the types of threads desired, the type of stitch and the thread weights. Also need to consider the table and sitting position (I prefer to sit do to some leg problems). Add to that dealer location and service availability. If you can go see one, then do so. And most important, don't be in a hurry. That is the process I used. The machine I choose met most, not all my decision points. It work for me and I am happy, what else matters.