BillB

Bill, Welcome to the forum. I think you will find lots of friendly and kindred hearts here. If you have any questions please ask. If you have any photos of your work, please post in any number of different forums. Please share your insights and experiences. We are all trying to expand the knowledge base of leather crafts and arts. Again, welcome to the forum. BillB

Janne, Welcome to the Forum. I think you will find a lot of kindred hearts here. There are a number of forum you might like to check out if you have not already done so: In the "Leatherworker Board" there is "How do I do that" that has several topics explaining things. There is all "Paul Burnett School of Leather Ornamentation" with several PDF files explaining various topics. In "The Business" there is "Getting Started" with a "Basic Leather Carving Tutorial" along with information on tools, supplies and other information. In "Fabrication" there are a number of forums that may assists such as "Leather Tools", "Patterns and Templates", "Braiding", etc. IN "Specialty Leather work" there s a forum just for "Motorcycles and Biker Gear" This is just a sampling of the various forums present in this site. We all went through the leaning process so please ask questions and provide us any of your insights. Again , welcome to the forum BillB

I had considered recovering my FLTRI Zeppelin Seat with Buffalo hides due to it's weight, yet flexible and durable nature. It was jot suitable for tooling, so you have to work with the natural look, feel and grain patterns which in and of themselves were quite interesting. You could even say that you were riding an "iron buffalo" rather than an "iron horse". If you want heavy weight sides, you might want to look at buffalo hides. I never did do the recover since my joints got the best of me and I sold the HD to our son. One thing that I have found as I have looked at a number of production "leather seats" is that they use leather only in the sitting area and use synthetics for the sides and areas that have to flex a lot. I look forward to seeing pictures of the seat. BillB

The Butcher, I have had both a 1991 Tour Glide Ultra (FLTCU) and a 2000 Road Glide (FLTRI) with an add on Ultra package. My wife and I have put over 100,000 miles on the bike riding two up and I have an additional 100,000 solo. My suggestion is that you consider using two weights of leather. A heavy weight for the sitting area that will also be tooled and a lower weight leather for the sides where all the folds are. Are you planning to use the original seat pan? Are you doing a Zeppelin seat (the one with inflate-able air bags? Do you also plan to do any back rests? Since I had the Ultra version, I would have to do the seat, the passenger backrest and the driver backrest. Not sure if you have all of them. Again you could do different weights on each.. You should also consider how much flexing you want to have in the leather. which also goes with the type of foam you are going to use. There is nothing worse than a seat that gets hard after 300 miles when one is trying to get 500 in on a day. Which brings up the point of "is this for show or is this for touring?" Just some things to consider. BillB

Before you get into how you do it you should ask yourself several questions: 1. What type of look am I after? Do I want it to look painted (in most cases the leather grain is gone and you get a smooth enamel like finish)? Do I want it to look like dyed leather with the grain showing and the surface being leather? Do I want a combination of these looks? 2. What is the item going to be used for? For example, if the product is being bent and the pattern will also be bent and flexed, then any surface paint will eventually crack . A dye or stain which soaks into the fibers of the leather will flex with the leather. Will the item see a lot of rough wear and tear such as surface wear (a motorcycle seat)? If so then a dye or stain would be longer lasting than a paint. Does the leather need to breath? If yes, than a dye or stain should be used, if not then a paint can be used. 3. What type of base do I want to use: oil, ether, water, acrylic ..? Not all of them can be mixed and matched even after application and drying. These are some of the question I have asked my self before I begin the coloring process. Remember leather is skin and will need to be cared for over time (cleaned and oiled) if it is to last. BillB

You might consider old metal print type. I have several sets for doing other Fonts and Sizes than what is offered in leather stamps. You might have to do some cleaning due to ink build up on the type face that you don't want to transfer to the leather. I bought my on eBay from a guy that buys and sells full sets to try and preserve them. BillB

Justin, Nice start. It looked like you changed tools in doing the "F" so the mix of the bevel patter and the background tool don't exactly fit together. Sometimes it is better to take the back ground patter all the way up to the figure, in this case the edge of the F. Unless of course that was the visual affect you wanted. It is, after all, up to the artist. As for the finish. If you have the money, I would recommend you buy some of each finish you want to use/try and do some testing on scrape leather. Since I don't know the final use of the pieces you have made and thus the weathering / handling affects they will have to deal with over their useful life, I cannot exactly say which finish I would use. I do know that over the years I have stopped using any of the Sheen type products since it is my experience that they are really just a plastic coating on the leather. That seals the leather and it can no longer breath, after all leather is skin. I prefer finishes that allow the leather to breath and age naturally. These would be oils based finishes and waxes. It does mean that the leather piece requires more care and attention over its life. I have had leather products rot from the inside since they could not breath and did not pick up oils from human hands when handled due to the way they were finished. Again, my advice would be to buy some of each finish you want to try and do some experimenting on scrape leather. BillB

Sorry for not getting back to you sooner on the herringbone stitch. I am familiar with the herringbone weave pattern that my wife uses in her weaving and the herringbone stitch used in embroidering and cross stitch. I also had it on my leather laced motorcycle levers (brake and clutch) on my HD. I have never seen it used to join things. Here is are some web site that shows the basic stitch pattern. www.embroiderersguild.com/stitch/stitches/herringbone.html http://inaminuteago.com/stitchdict/stitch/herringbone.html The definition in weaving is "(textiles) Broken-twill weave giving a zigzag effect produced by alternating the direction of the twill, like the skeleton of a herring." Here is a website that shows the herringbone twill pattern: www.search.com/reference/Twill The chevron pattern is the herringbone. I have added a picture of some motorcycle levers laced creating herringbone pattern with the brown lace in contrast to the black lace. So on your lighter case, I was trying to find the chevron pattern common with the herringbone. BillB

Welcome to the forum. For a first project, the pancake holster looks good. Looking forward to seeing more projects from you. BillB

Cowboy Nicely done. I was a little confused, however, on the pattern. It looks like you used a Hearts pattern for most of the work, but on the spur straps it looks like a spade. Not sure what your intent was. BillB

So, how long have you been doing leather crafts. The work look really nice, though I am not sure that what is called a herring bone stitch is really a herring bone stitch. The herring bone I am familiar with creates a pattern that looks like the "V" of the fish bones. Have you tried using a sewing Awl? BillB.

Danamy, Have you considered glueing the seam between the brim and the top on the inside of the top. I think it would improve its appearance. BillB

I am working on a writing tablet (8"x11.5") Bi-Fold as a gift to a friend. Usually I do carvings in the style of Native American Totems. This time I decided to try something different. I am including the picture I started with, the trace pattern I made and a picture of the finished carving. After it dries, I will start to assemble the rest of the Bi-Fold. Comments and suggestions are always welcome. BillB

Pounder, Welcome to the forum. I am looking forward to seeing your work and hearing how you do things. We are all learning from each other and helping to promote the art of leather crafting. It is more fun when there are others to share in the journey. Again, welcome to the forum. BillB

Peter Main, Thank you for sharing. The classical lines and designs never go out of style. It is nice to see them. BillB

Oscillating tools (air powered or electrical powered) have been around for some time. Some of them good and some of them not so good. When I received my Uncle's leather tools they included a Burgess Vibro Tool. It dates from the 1940s or 1950s and still works. It does make noise, but that is primarily due to its age. With todays electrical components one could be made that would be very quite. I have also seen an engraver using a pneumatic vibrator about 1 inch in size to do fine engraving on gun barrels, etc. His was powered by a small modelers air compressor that would fit in my hand and did not make a lot of noise. Of course its size did not require a lot of air volume either. Some times we forget that tools are developed to help make "work" easier. We don't use rocks for hammers, flint knives for cutting (though the bones knives are rather nice), and we don' fashion our bevels and other "tools" out of wood or soft metals. Some folks have gone as far as using lasers to create the patterns. I use both needle and thread and an electric sewing machine. I really don't know what the term "Hand" crafted means anymore so I tend not to use it. Nor do I want to start another long discussion on that term. Just presenting food for thought. As for me I will continue to design and craft products for my customers, one at a time. BillB Sorry about not having the picture of the Burgess Vibro Tool on my last post. Here it is. Bill B

Kinsey, Welcome to the forum. Glad you found the forum. We were all novices at one time. I am still learning how to improve how I do the craft. You will find lots of folks welling to share with you. We also look forward to you sharing with us your work, the good, the bad and even the "ugly". You will be surprised even lots of experience doesn't stop us from making mistakes and they make fine examples on what not to do. We especially like to see pictures of what you have been working on. So again, welcome to the forum and please join in the discussions. BillB

FHL FERG, Welcome to the forum. Nice Celtic Knot work and thanks for the pictures. We are always wanting to see pictures. We also love to share our experiences, all experiences, the good, the bad and even the ugly. We all want to learn and improve not only our work, but the whole state of the craft. Again, Welcome to the forum.

Welcome to the forum. Sounds like you have the beginning of a successful hobby/business. I am looking forward to seeing some pictures of you work. BillB

Kyle, Welcome to the forum. I noticed you are interested in leather armor and leather purses. There are a number of folks on the forum who make wonderful sets of leather armor. I do leather bi-folds for 8"x11" writing tablets as well as purses. If you haven't already figured it out, you will find a lot of helpful folks on the forum that are willing to share their expertise with you. We are also looking for new ideas and ways to do things. There is always room for improvement in what we do. I lok forward to see your work. BillB

Interesting combination. Looks like you set them up for a cross draw. BillN

Welcome to the forum. I look forward to seeing some of your work and reading about some of your work. By sharing we help to extend the leathercraft and hopefully introduce it to new folks who will carry it on.

BillinOK Although I understand the desire, I am not sure how useful it would be without pictures of the actual design since I tend to look first at the design or art work before I look at who did it or the style. Just my preference. BillB

When my uncle sent me all of his old leather tools. In the box was an item that looked like an over sized electro-engraving tool. It would accept various leather carving tools on the working end. When plugged in and switched on the working end would vibrate much link an engraving tool. It could be adjusted to increase the amount of motion in the tip. It worked very will, but made a lot of noise, probably due to it's age. I went looking for it this morning, but could not find it in all the packing boxes. I think it dates from the 1950's. When I find it I will post the manufacture's information and some pictures. BillB