BillB

Wolf, Nicely done. I have posted my work on the Specialty Leatherwork Board > Other Specialties > Art > NA Totems and Totem Poles in Leather thread.

I went to www.harborfreight.com and found the sewing machine in question. It almost looks like an Artisan 618-1 D2 but not quite right. The problem is that without a close up it is hard to tell what the construction looks like. The table and spool sets look similar across most of the manufactures. I did notice that there was no foot pedal for raising the sewing foot. The item number is 92966-7VGA. It is listed as a Chicago Electric Power Tool if that helps.

Well since every one else has added their 2 cents, I thought I would add one additional bit of information. I know that I have properly "cased" my leather when: 1. The tooled side has returned to its natural color (already mentioned in the thread) 2. It is cool the the cheek of my face (already mentioned in the thread) 3. When I bevel, the top edge is natural colored, but the bottom is dark due to the moisture in the leather. This is when I get my best impressions with the tool. 4. I get a reverse image on the backside of the leather. I have tired most of the methods for getting the leather moist, dunking, spraying, sponging, ... They all work and they all don't work. Although I agree with Johanna, I always thought it was determined by the phase of the moon.

Have you consider: 1. Using 2 oz leather or even some of the thin lining leather 2. Putting the dried leaf on the bottom plate first 3. Then laying the cased leather on top, flesh side towards the leaf 4. Then laying a high density foam piece on top of the leather 5. Then add the top pressure plate. The foam should allow the leather to shape around the leaf and leave the raised impression.

Wolf, Welcome to the forum. I look forward to your dream catchers since I do some Native American art. Great bunch of folks here.

Roo, I know what you mean. I have an old Tandy Lace Aid wheel. It is two card board disc with a wedge missing from the smaller. They are are held together at their centers so that one rotates on top of the other, no comments please. The bottom disc has various lacing styles and associated set of numbers representing the amount or lace required. The upper disc has the number of inches to be laced. It is useful. My How to Lace book also had "rules of thumb" for estimating the amount of lace required for a length of edge to be laced. It would appear that you used Single Loop/ Single Cordovan lace style, and according to the rule of thumb, the amount of lace required would be 5 1/2 times the distance to be laced. I always add another 6 to 12 inches just to make sure. Of course on larger jobs like a Bi-Fold Folio, I have to do the lacing in sections simply because of the amount of lace to pull through each hole. The quiver looks good.

SheridanMan Nicely down bag. Necessity is the Mother of invention. If you ever get pictures of the knife you made, it would be great to see them. I have a custom made knife I use for cutting leather. It is fabricated out of the spring steel used in automotive leaf springs. I will get some pictures of it and post them. BillB

Okie-44 Welcome to the Forum. As previously stated, this is a very friendly and opinionated group, which is good. With lots of opinions you get the option to try many different techniques until you find the ones that works for you. All of us would love to see pictures of your work. BillB

AnnieO Welcome to the Forum. I would love to see your first carving. We all had to start some where. They make for a good ice breaker here. You will find that we are all working to promote this art form and help others and ourselves as we do so. I hope I never stop learning since it will mean I am living on Mud Road.

Welcome to the Forum. Great craftmanship.

Nice seat, makes me want to redo the seat on my Road Glide.

Rusty, The first one you picked out is a Thunderbird Dancer. The Native Americans believed that at one time Humans and Animals good exchange shapes and is why the totem appears to have hands and feet. It is called two dimensional art and would have been painted following some basic rules. The Black areas are called primary lines and would have been Black. The white areas are called voids or negative space and would either be white or natural since most paintings were done on wood. The grey areas are secondary or tertiary shapes. Red is the most common color for these shapes but blues, greens and a few other colors can be found. The second picture you picked is a Thunderbird done by an unknown Kwagiutl Tribal Artisan. The Thunderbird is the mythical animal that Ruled the Sky even over the Eagle. It was believed that a Thunderbird could pickup a whale in its talons and eat it. In this art form Birds of Prey such as the Thunderbird and Eagle have down turned beaks while Hawks have recurve beaks. The noted difference between the Thunderbird and the Eagle Totem is the Ear structure. Thunderbirds have the curled horn like ear while eagles have a flat topped ear. Do to file size I was only able to upload one picture. You will note that I have made changes from the original to try and effectively use the leather and the tools we use.

Rusty, When I started all I had was Tandy Kits and Patterns. I carved mostly in the Sheridan style. Today I do Native American Totems following the North West Art Style. You can find some of my work in the Specialty Leatherwork Board, Other Specialties, Art. The Thread is NA Totems and Totem Poles in Leather. I am still working all all the techniques that will follow the Art Style that has been documented from the Master Carvers. I have also used some pictures of beading patterns used by the Upper Great Lakes Indians (Ojibwa, Winnebago, etc) work very well on leather and provide a running flower pattern. You may also want to look at Creating Nature Designs on Leather by Tandy The copy I have is dated 1973 so I am not sure if it is in print anymore. You may also want to look at some of F.O. Baird's books such at Leather Art. It is very informative on technique. I am also using books containing pictures of Wild flowers to develop my own templates. I would encourage you to explore all possible styles until you find the one you like or want to use as a base to forge a new style. You will find lots of different styles on Leatherworker.net. Since I can only speak for myself, I put examples of my work on this site so others can use them to learn and explore their techniques with. If you would like the original template I used, I am more than happy to provide it. That is one way we pass on our knowledge. Remember to have fun.

Welcome to the Forum. As previously stated in another's response, you will find a lot of support folks on this forum as well as a lot of information.

Serena, Welcome to the Forum. I have been through Virginia, Minn a number of times. My parents worked at a Camp in IFalls, Minn from 1950-2001. Nicely done pouch.

Welcome to the Forum. Looking forward to seeing some of your work.

El Vaquero Muerto, Welcome to the forum. Very impressive work. Very Technical.

Rusty, Welcome to the forum. Nicely done on the case. I look forward to see your first carving project. We all had our "First Project", unfortunately, when I did mine (circa 1970) this forum was not around and I really could have used the advice, constructive criticism and support that the members here provide.

Nicely Done

As I continually searching for new material on Northwest Coast Native American Art to expand my understand of that Art Form, I came across the following books by Jim Gilbert and Karin Clark and published by Raven Publishing in Union Bay, B.C. Canada their web site is: http://www.ravenpublishing.com The books are: Learning BY Doing, Northwest Coast Native Indian Art ISBN-0-9692979-1-2 Learning By Design, Pacific Northwest Coast Native Indian Art Volume 1 and Volume 2 ISBN 0-9692979-3-9 and ISBN 0-9692979-4-7 These books are design to assist a teacher/Artist teaching an apprentice on this Art. It takes on through the history of the Art Form, the four different styles, the basic design, ... It has helped me to understand the relationships of the various components of the art as well as the styles, the different rules in each style and the coloring of each style.

As an engineer, I have always practiced the art of assembling the object to be construct from the "pattern" or design first. If it doesn't assemble properly, then the the "pattern" or "design" needs to be changed. I have never considered a "pattern" that does not pre-assemble a true pattern. I do this before I cut out any parts. I, personally, have never had a problem with a Tandy Pattern. That being said, I have had problems with the parts provided in the Tandy Kits because the person cutting out the parts and punching the holes in the parts did not take time to make sure the holes lined up when assembled. That does not mean the "pattern" lacks quality. That is why I will buy a Tandy Kit that I like, assemble it to understand the basics on how it goes together, as well as where the mistakes are made. I can then modify the "pattern" if that was the root of the problem, or more than likely, be more careful in the pre-assembly stages, cutting and punching holes, so that it assembles properly. I prefer to do my own designs and patterns that way the only person I can blame is myself. Good luck in your search of "Quality Patterns".

That is a very broad question. There: Al Stohlman's "The Art of Making Leahter Cases Vol 1,2,3"; Making Leather Purses and Totes Book; Handbag Pattern Pack; You can also do what I do: Option 1. Find a Tandy Kit that I like. Make it a s a model and using the pattern to cut my own from raw materials. I use Tandy since I know they include the pattern for the components and not just sample tooling patterns. Option 2: Find a purse that I like, disassemble it. Use the pieces to make my own pattern. Add some improvements/changes. Option 3: Having done Options 1 & 2 above, design my own pattern. Since you were not specific in the type of purse pattern you were looking for it is hard to answer directly. Are you just looking for tooling patterns or for the patterns from which to cut the leather? Are you looking a clutch purse, shoulder style, tote, Native American, early settler, Civil War style ... I was also not sure what you mean by "good quality purse pattern" since the quality is in the materials used and how it is assembled not the pattern I hope this helps get you started.

Tom, I look forward to seeing your finished John Wayne style holster.

ROO, Nicely done. Definitely a new level of artistic expression.

When I look at the pattern I think more about what they would have available to them here in the new world at that time, and especially to have transported it across the ocean in a sailing ship. So rather than thinking about what it is used on, I would think about where would such a pattern appear on anything from that time period. My first thoughts would be some sort of wooden gear system and that being the teeth on the and of an axel that would then fit into a barrel gear. Some of the old clock I have worked on have a similar drive system. I also think about what folks might have had and would use. Today, I look old and worn out tools and see if I can reshape them into a new tool with a modified pattern. So is this a cleaver artisan that took a broken tool/gear and made it into a pattern tool for use in his shop. Wast not, want not. I also think about what would be naturally available here at that time and wood and reeds were common. I have a Native American Reed Flute and if I notched the open end, it would make a nice circular pattern.