bikermutt07

I just stared using some. 50/50 with water looked pretty good. But it went dark when I oiled it to loosen it back up. If I were going to do it again I would probably start at 4:1 ratio. Just do a test piece.

Ha! More confusion. Thanks, though.

The 3d stamps do I haven't tried the line 20 dies, but I assume they do.

Well Tandy has their new craftool pro hand press on sale for an actually reasonable price this month. I think it's 269.00 right now. I'm not buying one. However, all of their die press sets are on sale until the end of the month (I just got a palmgren press). I have already bought the line 20 set for 89.00 yesterday. These are the size I think I will be using on my economy bracelets. Plus I have a big ole bag full of them someone was kind enough to mail me (gosh I love you guys). So, here's my dilemma. All of the other press dies are just confusing to me. Different rivet sizes, double cap rivets, different size eyelets and different dies for each size, and even some sort of jeweled rivets/conchos and even more size dies..... It's enough to make a man's head spin. So far I think I have decided that I don't really need eyelets or jeweled dodads for my hobby. But what rivets (style and size) are most people using? I've seen some hammered copper rivets that look cool. I have also seen some strategically placed chrome and black rivets on some items. So yes, I guess what I'm making will help the decision..... Bracelets, wallets, collars, belts, sheaths, holsters, and the occasional bag. Oh, and for now I can probably only buy 1 or 2 sets before the sale is over. Help a fella out, thanks.

Cool

Looks good.

It looks like you are going through what we all do. I'm still trying to figure It out myself. I try to keep it simple. Vegtan gets Aussie. If I want it shiney, resolene or super sheen. If it's chrome tanned and predyed, I don't do anything to the finish. I don't know if this is proper, but it's what I have been doing. The new batch of bracelets I'm working on all got a coating of hide rejuventator after dying. It was a messy process. I also forgot to rub off my excess dye before adding the rejuvenator. So, that's been fun to deal with. Hahaha.

I have mine mounted to an old nightstand. It works pretty good.

We're not beating it with a 2 pound sledge. A few light taps makes for a cleaner look. And I never carry on about recessed thread. So nanner nanner nanner.

I have no horse in this race and really don't know the first thing about saddle building. But I have been interested in this thread and thinking about it a lot. So, since this being the internet where I can pretend I know something, I will share my opinion. A working a saddle is heavy and undergoes a lot of stress. If we consider a full hide across the cow it will lay and stretch probably pretty evenly to the cows movement in somewhat of a symmetrical form. When applying this mode of thinking to a saddle (remember I know nothing) it makes sense to use one left and one right side. This way as the saddle is strained (through work and wear and tear) the two sides stretch and settle into their lifelong positions in a symmetrical fashion. If we (well y'all not me) build the saddle out of asymmetrical parts, it would seem that parts of the saddle would maybe stretch more in one area than the other. Eventually leading to an aged saddle that would be uneven and asymmetrical in the course of it's life. This again is just an unknowing internet twit's philosophy regarding a masters craft that he knows nothing about. Take it with a couple of grains of salt.

I have had that happen to items on my wishlist before. I'm sure this is a non issue with a stitching pony, but here's my boring story with the price drops..... The hat I'm wearing in my profile pic costs over 200.00, but one day it dropped to 75 bucks. I jumped on it. As soon as I locked in the sale price at 75, I looked and it had gone back up. The kicker was that I had ordered it a tad too big. There was no option to exchange it on their site. When I got someone on the phone, she said I could return the hat for a credit of 75 dollars. And then make a new purchase, but I could not exchange it for the proper size. So, if I wanted the proper size it was going to cost me the 200 bucks. Now I wear a hat that is slightly too big. Thank goodness I know a guy who can add a little leather to the inside of a hat.

The leather hammers have a slightly convex shape to them. I'm sure any light weight hammer could be shaped a little and work fine. You could probably just tap them down with an edger handle. Or use a rolling pin.

If you have an officer friend..... You could trace their handcuffs and measure for depth. Then just make a mold out of wood.

Those look great.

500.00 on something you can't utilize is still a waste of money.

Hahaha

Wholly cow!! If Only you were in Louisiana......

I saw a tip where a guy singed his daubers with a lighter before use. Maybe that will help.

It will come with time, research, and practice. The inside looks good too. My only critique is this..... While it is cool use of space, I see the pipe cleaners becoming a pain in their current placement. I would move them to a pocket. Ooh, I got an idea. Make two short sleeves across the flap that they could span across.

It looks very solid. It should last him forever. I like your take on the closure. Cool. Any pics of the inside?

I don't think you want to mix any oil with the dyes. They aren't really oil based. Even though Fiebings says "Professional Oil Dye", it's not an oil based product. It is still alcohol based. It works better then the regular, but it is still spirit based. When I first started diluting dyes I didn't have any alcohol close at hand. My impatience led me to trying mineral spirits. I wound up with a small amount of what looked like a mahogany lava lamp.

I'm totally bogarting the popcorn.

Welcome.

(Chewing on the popcorn, just waiting for replies)

Welcome home. I have a good friend in Bethlehem, P.a. But he's into model trains.