wildrose

I find a spray shene works well, like what Tandy sells. Myself, when I'm going to paint with an acrylic, it will be my final step - that is, I do all the dyeing and finishing first, then add the acrylic. But that is mostly for keepsake boxes. If I'm going to put it on something that will see the outdoors, like my briefcase, I either don't put color on it, or I spray it.

Are you talking about this: http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/search/searchresults/32418-00.aspx?feature=Product_1&kw=imprinting If so, where are you at, because I have one, with several attachments, that I've been trying to sell. It's been reconditioned and looks like new.

That's really cool! A lot of work sure went into that.

Thanks :-) Found some good ones.

I have a men's wallet to make and the customer wants a Basset on it. I've done a search for images via ask.com and am not coming up with something I consider basic enough. Anyone got something to share?

My friend Yolanda has been a huge help to me on the topic. Her site is http://custom-leatherworks.com/

Spiffy! Glad the idea's working out for you. I used Aussie Wax on mine and it's just fine. I didn't seal the interior either.

Okay, so kick me 'cuz I'm gonna reply/discuss: I always take a deposit to cover the cost of materials, before I proceed. Example, from just this past weekend: Customer approaches me and wants me to make a wallet for her husband's birthday in January. She picks out a Tandy kit from the catalog I keep handy. She wants me to carve a Basset hound on it. I set a price with her. I tell her, then, that I take the cost of materials up front. She gives me a check to cover the kit's price. I call Tandy today and find it's been sold out, and more are expected but not immediately (guess they'd had a huge sale!). Here, no prob because b'day isn't 'til January. I'm going to update the customer and see how she'd like to proceed. Honestly, this is the FIRST time I've not been able to get the product immediately. If it were urgent, I'd have called a few other locations to see if they had it. But I can wait. However, back to the deposit part. I do this because it covers what it will cost me to buy the kit. If I had a large enough bank account, I'd likely have fronted the money in a case like this, since I could likely sell the piece to someone else (it's not personalized - if it were, I'd be taking the full amount up front). Anyhow, that's my .02.

As some have mentioned, part of how you feel about your age is in who you're hanging around with. While I'm 42, I have a 5 yr old son, and many of my mom friends are much younger than me. Also, the coffee shop where I work is primarily staffed by college kids. In fact, my boss just turned 21. She works harder than many people my age - she not only manages the shop, but has another job AND goes to college. So to me, it's just a number and not how I think of myself. I mainly posted this poll 'cuz I was curious about the leatherworkers herein. I remember when I went to my first IFoLG show in Denver, it seemed to me there were mostly people older than me there, and often people have commented to me worriedly about leather potentially being a dying art form. I'm encouraged by the amount of people here of a variety of age levels!

I kinda goofed in setting up the "question", but some people figured out what I really meant was to vote in the poll part; and if they wanted they could post a reply. I noticed in the poll replies there are some over 65...

I would've preferred using something like 6/7, but my brother in law (who got the spade set) wanted heavier. I personally don't feel it was necessary for them to be that stiff.

Timd, I totally know what you mean, and I'm going to be 42 in Dec.

Tandy's got a good pattern pack. I made these with it. My first few attempts.

When I belonged to the IILG, and he did too, I was working on a 3 ring binder cover that had a labyrinth on it (this was for a team at my church at the time). I used his method to transfer the pattern on as it was very complex and would've taken forever to trace. It was not as efficient as I'd hoped, but in the end did work enough for me to make use of. Gist of it is, I sympathize with you. I think he's a brilliant artisan, but not everyone can make use of the same techniques for whatever reason.

Barra's comment about 46 seeming closer to 50 than 45 seemed got me wondering...so here ya go...please be honest.

Ian, you are one lucky dude! Shows the power of polite words or outright silence when you'd rather be saying something else!

I actually have a stone, just not sure what to do with it. The blade is a curved utility knife blade, with the handle, it's from Tandy. Seems like it should be more complicated than just pulling the blade across the stone?

That is absolutely gorgeous!

I'm facing the annoying prospect of using a dull knife to cut slits in straps for mystery braid bracelets. I do NOT have a set up to sharpen the stupid thing, and I don't know anyone locally to get it done. So it takes about 3-4 passes each time to get a slit cut all the way through the 4/5 oz leather I'm using. Drives me nuts. Plus, anyone notice that blades are rarely even sold sharp anymore? What's up with that!!!!??? Well, that got me thinking: what is the most annoying thing you have to deal with in your workspace? Lack of lighting? No ventilation? Don't have the tools you want? Not enough space? Let's hear it!

All done. Customer wanted it plain, so plain it is. I might add some rivets to tighten up the fit if he wants. He said he'd like the leather to look "worn/scruffy", so I gave my 5 year old a mallet and told him to hit it as much as he wanted...

Don't know if I'm too late to "chip in" with my .02, but I almost always buy 4/5. The only time I buy thinner is if I can get a good deal and want to make some more leather roses. I haven't bought heavier for quite some time, but I do have some scraps that are thicker, even some shoe sole weight.

That sucks! long distance hugs!

I'll try posting it and see what happens.

I got locked up the first two times I clicked on it to view it; so I tried right clicking and saving the file, then opening it. That worked for me.

Thank you thank you thank you!!!!! I was going to ask you for it, but you beat me to it!