bikermutt07

Has the outlaw been released yet?

Cool, I like the guys at Maverick.

They look great. What is that purple leather you got there?

If you look in the for sale section here NStarleather always has some beautiful stuff he is sharing for great prices. I know a quality side is a big investment for hobby level stuff, but think of how much freedom you will have. An entire side all to yourself, to make whatever you want. It's a good feeling.

I need to try piping and zippers. They both seem very difficult in my mind. Great job.

I saw that purse today. You are braver than me. I have no desire to take on that much stitching by hand.

Scarborough Fair isn't too far from you. I grew up down that way.

That is some really masterful work. I especially like all the detail incorporated into the bottom of the slides. Looks like the firearms just grew right out of the holsters. Bravo

Wow, you have made more stuff then I have in three years. Welcome aboard.

Great job.

That is awesome.

An 8' pine 1x12 will work for making big cuts. I just made some on my floor with a 6' straight edge. I think it was about a 30.00 investment. Use this set up after you get your nice top on, then you won't be tempted to cut straps on it.

Ha! Yeah, I stumbled around for two years before someone suggested that to me. Lots of one off projects abandoned after a crucial mistake and not wanting to start all over. It is frustrating.

4-5 oz is about the minimum for stamping. I suggest buying the best tooling leather you can get your hands on. Wickett and Craig or Hermann Oak. The leather quality makes a big difference in the finished product. But before you do this I have a suggestion. Pick a small item such as a key fob or bracelet. Make a batch of twenty at one time. You will get better time spent honing skills in batch work. You will get better hobby experience with a lot less leather. You could get an entire month of hobby time experience from a single shoulder or a belly. If you botch a few, and you will, no great loss. Just save those as testers for the next steps in the process. With one off projects you only get a small amount of time with each step. Something that takes two days to finish will only Grant you 20 minutes of cutting experience, 20 minutes of staining, 15 minutes of hardware, and so on and so on. Doing batch work will convert each step into hours of experience. This will really help you get a feel for the whole process and really up your experience level fast. Good luck and welcome aboard.

Boy does he have some. You should see his stitching Clydesdale. Sanch, those look great just like your other stuff.

Well done, Y. Maybe you shouldn't worry so much about antiquing anything. It will get there on it's own with natural wear and tear. And I think your talents are plenty good to be selling to people, if you want. And you could always turn not antiquing into part of the sales pitch. Just food for thought.

It is looking fabulous.

All great looking stuff, Bonk.

Yeah, the spots would just kind blend into that finish, huh?

We are odd and different, but far from useless. We can do anything right handed better than they can do it left handed.

I'm no expert. And this would be an experiment. I would try to get more to bleed through to give it an overall mottled effect. But, that is just me. Throw this advice away as soon as it turns bad. Good luck .

Maybe you should look at some fillegree (spelling) punches for a tear drop shape. And any tool, not from a custom maker, should be needing sharpening before use. I think custom makers sharpen their stuff for the customer just to make sure the customer is pleased and feels like they got what they paid for.

I did a 14x16x4 for my wife's 40th two years ago. I haven't even thought about tackling another one since. And I had three people wanting to buy one after they saw hers. Nope, no thank you.

Ovals are most people use, I think. Tandy used to have them in the interchangeable sets. Then, for some reason, discontinued them right before I decided to buy a set. You can get them individually, but I'm not sure what size you would need.

Have you tried warming it up with a blow dryer and then buffing? Sometimes a little heat can help.