bikermutt07

YES!!! Well, that settles it then. I have made my final decision. Now I just need the two grand from somewhere.

I bought two on clearance the other day at Tandy.

I follow you. I am only an aspiring hobbyist. And I'm not really looking to make money at it to speak of. After 2 failed business attempts I have no desire to be in business again. And only after this did I realize that you have to be serving more than one customer at a time. Look at any retail situation, be it food, clothing, hardware, anything really. To be making money, you have to serve more than one at a time. Now custom work is a different beast, but i doubt anyone is "making it" doing one item for one customer at a time.

I have just decided to take my own advice to the next level. I have shared many times with newbies about batch work in the beginning. I am about to start doing this method on my wallets. One could do this in the custom world to a point, I imagine. Make your custom pieces along with your stock ones to the point of having to do the customization. Then continue on with your stock pieces through the finish. Display these online or at a show and take a custom order or three. Then finish your three customs out together. I haven't tried this, but I don't see why it can't be applied. I have done several little one offs in my hobby and they take me forever. But if I do five at once, I don't see it taking much longer than the one item. I know it's a little off topic, but I hope it helps.

Not to detract from the wonderful looking projects, but my wife got us into group grief counseling within six weeks of losing Little Eddie. It was absolutely the best thing for us. It made us closer and stronger. I just felt that needed to be said.

Alexander, I know this is an old thread, but...... I was tooling around on your site today and watched Ryan's video on the 341. He mentioned twice in the video that the 341 may be able to handle 207 thread. Was that ever confirmed??? Thanks

Yes, it's a really simple but strong system. You can make some really long shelves with it too. The longer you make it the more studs to distribute the weight.

(chewing popcorn)

You basically rip a board down the center on a 45 degree bevel. Take one side and screw it to the studs. Take the other piece and build a shelf, rack, whatever. Then just set it on to the piece you have on the wall. It is simpler than it sounds explaining it.

I'm thinking that pile of basketweave panels in the junk bin has something to do with this......haha

Sioux, I have been playing with the French cleat system at work recently. It is a really versatile way to go. And a lot less expensive than slatwall. If you haven't already purchased the slatwall check out some YouTube videos.

Wow! You have a lot of pressy, splitty, punchy things in your shop. And a lot of leather. Good job accumulating and acquiring.

Yeah I found that thread after searching for a collet. Thanks.

That is some beautiful stuff. My condolences for your loss. I only began leather working in 2014 after the loss of my infant son. It got my hands moving again. We belong to the toughest club that no one wants to be a member of. Good luck to you and your family.

The collets. That's probably the term I need to search. Thanks. Thanks, I was looking more for the hardware.

I agree totally. It is a good place to start. But you have to move on.

This year I acquired a shopsmith 510. One of the functions of this wonderful toy is it works as a lathe. So, I was thinking about making my own awl haft. But when I search for pieces and parts of an awl, all I am led to is results for a completed awl. Where do you find these types of things? Thanks

On that note I have had ss snaps that have buggered up my hand setters.

Not all the offerings from Tandy are junk. I really like the crafttool pro edge bevelers. And the pro stamps seem good too, though I don't carve or stamp. About 15 or 20 of those tooling stamps we're on sale last week for 6.50 a piece. That's way down from their normal 30 price tag. You really have to work to find a good deal at Tandy. Catching their quality stuff on deep discounts is difficult, but not impossible. You just have to save and bide your time. That newer crafttool pro press looks like a great quality tool. But, I will never pay their retail price for it. Even in sale it's still 75-100 overpriced in my opinion. Not to mention their die sets are astronomical. Something else I have noticed. They will regularly discontinue items all year long. Only to bring them back in a year or two. I have lots of jeweled rivets I bought for next to nothing on clearance. Now a year later, I am seeing them back on the shelf at retail. And one last gripe. Their pieces and parts don't match. Example: you buy some antique bronze snaps. Then you realize "oh, I need a rivet here". Go back to Tandy. They don't sell antique bronze rivets. I had the same problem with antique copper snaps. They sell antique copper snaps. You can get a bag if 500. Walk across the aisle to the rivets, they only have nickel, bright brass, and bright copper. All rivets mentioned we're tubular rivets. I won't use the double caps for anything other than decorative. In their defense, the staff was apologetic and sympathetic. And they did recognize me by name when I walked in. Even though I hadn't been there for 6 months. And I did leave there with a new crafttool pro edge beveler #3 for only $9.50. That was a good deal.

This is known as cultured marble. It would make a good cutting surface. Solid surface (Corian) would also make a good cutting surface. These are both dense enough to keep your blade on top and probably won't dull them. Folks, if you need granite, quartz, cultured marble, or Corian go to a countertop shop. Scraps build up by the ton at these places. Anything smaller that 23x45 is pretty much useless to them. Find a piece you like and offer them 40 bucks for it (in that size range or smaller). If they don't accept that, they are more than likely a jerk. If you live in a smaller area they may be less likely to work with you. Drive into the big city. There is a lot more competition. These guys will be more willing to wheel and deal on scrap. If they do accept it, consider them in the future for your counter needs or at least refer some people to them. I work for a flooring store that does granite, formica, and Corian. We have scrap running out of our ears. We set stuff out on the road about once a year. I probably have a 100 SQ feet laying in my back yard. My point is, these guys love to turn trash into cash. Go see them.

Nice bag. How does the closure operate?

I don't have a basement. But I wanted to supply y'all with a bright side. No one upstairs wants to intrude on your basement space. When my oldest son moved out (long story) my wife decided she was ready for a sewing room. She already has an art studio. I had to move quickly to get my leather studio up and running before she took over the space. It was very motivational.

Good job.

I just read your post in the outlaw thread. Thanks for sharing.