David

Thanks Freak, Yeah, the lace almost makes it look finished doesn't it? Thanks again for the nice words. and to Pete, sorry I missed the question about the packing tape...they are strips of tape 3" wide. Dave well I fiddled with a skull, but it is just too small an area to do a realistic skull which is what I prefer to do.back to the drawing board. Any suggestions? Dave

After another evening of work I think the seat top is finished on this one....On to the seat back tonight.....A skull I think. I've found the quote....it seems that it was by Alexander the Great describing how he handled his cavalry. It is a loose translation of "Fortis fortuna adiuvat". I didn't know I had such high class biker clientele. Hope you like these

Wow, That is beautiful Sheridan tooling....and that is for practice? That would be difficult at 5 times the size. Wonderful stuff. I love it Dave Theobald

Nicely done seat and bag....I like them a lot. Dave Theobald

Oh man does that bring back memories.....I did that with my first checkbook.....it ended up about 2 inches long!....ha ha I have to laugh now but at the time....it wasn't funny at all. Dave

I never liked applying rubber cement directly to the leather as glue solvent can soak all the way through to the front of the leather. Applying the packing tape to the back holds the leather in place, prevents movement and shrinking and releases from the tooling board MUCH easier this way. Everyone has their own method of doing this....this is something that was given as a tip on that OTHER leather site.....it was the ONLY good piece of info I got there. Dave

Hey Marlon, thanks for the kind words. The lace that I used to assemble the seat...the wide stuff is 1/4" kangaroo. I buy it pre made from Jim Downey of Skull Valley, email me for his phone number. The narrow decorative lace that you see on some of my seats is 1/8" calf skin from Tandy. I love the kangaroo lace, it is almost indestructable. Dave

never had to do that before....I just browse, select, upload and then post or reply. curious

Good call Marlon, I forgot about that, I routinely resize with Picasa from Google Dave

It is nice to be able to DO something a bit different, Roger, doing production work keeps you busy, and keeps your skills sharp, but it certainly isn't creative. Dave

Hey Ken, They haven't requested a color yet.....If they don't say anything, It WILL NOT be black. I'll post more pics as it progresses. Dave

Kid, click browse, find your photo and then click UPLOAD. that should do it. Dave

Wolvenstien, It is packing tape, much better than putting rubber cement right on the leather. Dave

I measure the perimeter of the leather, then divide that by 100 (the number of holes) I set a pair of dividers to that dimention and step off the centers of the holes. Pretty simple really . Dave

This is the latest custom order that I started on tonight. I didn't inquire the meaning behind the seat, I'll have to ask about it when I deliver the seat. Feel free to critique or make suggestions. Needless to say the tooling is not complete. Dave

Oh boy,I get to post my dog pics....This is Lilly our red tick coon hound.....the smartest dog we ever had....Here is one more....Lilly at her best.....she loves kids....all of our grandkids learned to walk by pulling themselves up using her ears.....she never moved or complained in any way. Dave

I love mine, I have two, wouldn't use anything else. The larger barrel is perfect for me. Dave

Great work everyone Dave

Not sure about Hidecrafter, but the steepest I've found are Barry King's Dave Theobald

Cool John, I'll check it out Dave

Hey John, That was a nice write up on the SPS shop in Scottsdale, you can see one of my seats on the red bike that Christian is kneeling next to...but that was an article on the company not their "seat guy" ....the seat on p 34 in not on a SPS bike....and isn't part of that article. I've had my fair share of pics in The Horse and Cycle Source, they don't bend over backward to give me credit though.....gotta admit that. Dave

The stuff Tandy sells is tracing mylar...should be available at any full supply art store. It is very pricey....heck I just use paper. My artwork is on a computer so I just print it out and go with the paper copy. Dave