BillB

I think you should consider treating it as two separate items: 1) the phrase "Live long and prosper" and; the hand sign used by the character Mr. Spock, which by the way was a Vulcan saying and used by other Vulcans beside Spock. In either case, if you sell it as a "Star Trek" item, then in my opinion and I am not a lawyer, you are inviting trouble. BillB

One of the mistakes I have made is to lay the ruler out on the project and place one edge at the one inch mark and then read the ruler at the other edge and forget to add the inch I left off. The same can occur when making the leather. I tend not to use the end of the ruler since I do not get as accurate a make as when I start at the 1 inch position. The other thing that can create a problem is not leaving enough room for expansion of the pocket to take in the full thickness of the memo pad. If the pad is 1l/4 inch thick, then you have to account for that on the edges and on the bottom. If you check I think you will find that the pad is not going the full depth of the pocket you made. BillB

RichKat Leather, Nice Bible Case. I think you posted this in the wrong section. If you want to just show it off, then you should post it in the "Show Off" section. If you would like folks to critique your work, then you should consider posting it in the "Critique My Work" section. BillB

Have you looked at "Belts Galore" by Al Stohlman or "Leather Secrets" by F.O. Baird. The first one is all about belts and has several designs that follow the Sheridan style. The second covers far more than just belts, but does have a section on belts and belt designs. The other book you might want to look for is "Design Artistry" by F.O. Baird. This takes you through the process of building a design/pattern. Although he does not call it Sheridan Style, I think you will find that the basics of symmetry are the same and the floral patterns are very similar. You may have to look around. My books date from the 1970's or earlier. BillB

John, I think the holster looks pretty good, but then I also like plain, simple and functional. I would suggest that you move this post to "Critique My Work" which is a sub-forum here on the Leather Board section or in the Specialty Leather section there is the "Gun Holsters, Rifle Slings, and Knife Shealths" forum. You will probably getter a better response there than on the "New Member" forum. BillB

Greg, I am curious, are you trying to bolster your sales or help advance the Art of Leather Crafts? BillB

Davide, Welcome to the Forum. All of us had our first project on one time or another, and some of us have had several restarts. Please, walk around and sample all the conversations and Leather Craft types that are represented on this forum. You might find that the Leather Craft form you are doing right now is not the one that interests you the most once you have seen all the various one available. Also, don't be shy about joining in on a conversations. Sometimes, we are too close to the trees to see the forest and someone that is new may have a different and better view of the issue/problem being discussed. I look forward to seeing some of you work, so take pictures and post them. Most importantly have fun, if you are not having fun. If you have not found the free coffee and donuts, they are down the main hall and at the corner. BillB

Gail, Welcome to the Forum. Sounds like you have been involved in leather for some time now. I think you will find that there are a lot of friendly and knowledgeable folks around here. I hope you will walk around and see all the different aspects of leather crafting and join in on some of the conversations. We are all here to advance leather crafting to the next level and to help beginners become old timers, other wise this form of crafts will die out. So, please join in on the conversation and share some pictures of your work. If you have not found the free coffee and donuts, they are down the main hall and at the corner. BillB

I have an old Virbra-Tool which would allow one to do tooling with one hand. It is basically an oscillating vibrator that holds a tool and the vibrations do the same as tapping the tool with a mallet. I have seen pictures on this site of pneumatic systems, all back yard mechanic made. I also so one that was about the size of a thumb and was used by a silver engraver. The other thing you might try is leather burning. This is similar to wood burning and would look like a black tattoo. Tandy sells a leather burning kit. You might also look at wood burning kits since it is all the same principal. Bill

So what did you end up doing about the scratches and the dog?

This might work. 1. Unzip the seat cushion where they inserted the foam and see if there is any extra leather at the seam and cut a small piece off. May find some under neath inside the frame as well. 2. Scratch it with a tool. 3. Use Fiebing's Dark Brown Oil dye and thinner and make several solutions of dye (25% dye, 50% dye, 75% dye) and test it on the leather scrape you made. 4. Using the one that works on the test piece, use it on the cushion. 5. Finish with a good wax and buff the surface to match. 6. Buy a heavy wool blanket to throw over the sofa at night so the dog scratches on the wool, not the leather. Alternative solution, flip the cushion over and use the other side. If it is a high quality sofa, the cushions should be the same on either side. BillB

Rich, Welcome to the Forum and Hello from Western Minnesota (Fergus Falls area). As you have already found out, there are lots of good conversations happening on this site. You also probably guessed that we are a pretty friendly bunch and welling to share our knowledge and experiences as well as learning new tricks. Please join in and post some pictures of your work. BillB

There are at least three bags concerning black powder usage: The Carry Bag that Like showed; the Shot bag and the Powder Bag or in some cases a powder horn. Which of the three are you making? BillB

AquaHullWelcome to the Forum from Western Minnesota. All of us had to start some where. You should find that this is a good group of folks, all interested in Leather Craft. Look around, ask questions (we are very friendly) and join in on the conversations you want to. The coffee and donuts are down the hall and in the corner and of course they are free. BillB

After reading your post again, I did find the reference to the form you are using. My question is then, are you wanting to stretch the leather or just form the leather? Im either case, I would have let the leather soak for a couple of hours. If there were still bubbles coming off the rough side, then it was still taking water in and letting air out. With the thickness of the leather, I don't think you got the inner core wet. BillB

I would not try to stretch 12-14 oz leather to begin with, just too thick to give very much. Since you did not state why you want to stretch the leather it is hard to recommend the type of leather to use. Leather, which is the skin of an animal, will have properties that are associated with the animal from which it came. If I were going to be making a drum and wanted to stretch the skin across the drum frame, I would be looking at either thin calf skin, or deer skin. I would also be looking for leather that is not finished. It sounds like the piece you have has a finish applied to it. Since I would soak the leather in water in order to loosen the fibers of the leather prior to stretching, the finish is going to prevent some layers of the leather from soaking up the water, thus making it hard to stretch. Just my opinion. BillB

Joseph, Welcome to the Forum. Glad to have you on board. I think you will find a pretty friendly group of folks here, all happy to help out and pass on what we know as well as learning new tricks. Look around, listen in on the conversations, talk to the folks that have similar interests and have some fun. The coffee and donuts are down the hall in the corner and they are free. BillB

It looks really good. Be careful, folks will want you to go into business making them. BillB

When using 1/8" lace I have never had a problem with using full length lace when doing an item. I am currently doing a notebook and I am pulling about 20 yards of lace through. Since I did my own 1/8" slits, I can make sure they are well made. I also pull the lace through the slit at a slow rate to keep the heating down. I wait to pull the top loops tight until I have pulled @90% of the lace through. I also beeswaxed my lace before starting, I will agree that the 3/32" has been a problem especially with circle punched kits. I have seen a degradation in the quality of the lace material over the years. It is your choice as to which way you do it. As long as the splice is done correctly, no one should see it. I also consider how much stress is on the lace and where there is a stress point, I will make sure I have enough lace to get past it before having to do a splice. One thing to look at when you get to the end and want to tie it all together is the lacing at the very beginning, On a Double Loop, the first loop is not a complete double loop so you will have to take it out, you may want to look at going several loops into the begging lace to where you have good consistency on the loops and the slant of the lace going into and out of the leather. I like to end up with lacing where you can not find the beginning or the end. Good Luck and send us pictures of the completed piece. BillB

rodeomic, You may want to check out the discussion in the "Fabrication" section in the subsections: "Sewing Leather" and "Leather Sewing Machines". BillB

Omar Colocci, Thank you for posting on the Member Gallery and welcome to the Forum. I think you have already found out that we are a bunch of very friendly folks here, all interested in advancing the art of Leathercraft. I am glad you were able to link up with Luis Palo. I hope you will join in on the conversations as you see fit to do so. If you have any questions, please ask, we do have a lot of opinions and lots of friendly help. If you haven't found the coffee and donuts, they are down the hall in the corner and they are fee. Again, welcome to the Forum BillB

Clair, Thanks for the link. Interesting information. BillB

Howie, Welcome to the Forum. Many of us have been down a similar path. You will find a lot of friendly folks that are interested in Leather Crafts. Look around, listen in on the conversations, join in on the ones you want to and most of all have fun. The coffee and donuts are free and are located down the hall in the corner. Do you know what type of leather craft you are interested in doing? There are lots to choose from. When you have some pictures, please post them so we can see what you are doing. If you are not familiar with the site, the Critique My Work and Show Off forums are good places to show us what you have been doing. There are also forums for all sorts of different types of leather crafts in "Tooling, Stamping and Carving Leather" and in "Specialty Leather". Again welcome to the Forum BillB

sgt Doggy, Welcome to the forum. As Kate said, we are glad you stopped in. Please stay a while and share with us. The coffee and donuts are free and are down the hall in the corner. You will find a lot of friendly folks around here willing to share and learn. Your work speaks for itself. Look around, listen in on the conversations, find the ones that interest you and join in. Again, Welcome to the Forum BillB

Baker, Welcome to the Forum. Glad you joined us. I think you will find a lot of folks willing to help you, not only with your learning experience on leather, but also your class. We may not be able to attend, but we can help with suggestions and any advice that we can offer. Don't be afraid to ask. If you haven't found the coffee and donuts, they are down the hall in the corner and are free. Do you have a local Tandy store/ Have you talked to them? Tandy does have a number of Class Project kits. And Please send pictures and share our pictures with the class. Yes even the mistakes can be used as a teaching lesson. BillB