Drac

um.. ya sure that's the first time you've done a sheath? lloks more like you've been doin' 'em for awhile! noyce.

heh, reminds me of covers for the old e.c. comics.

all of these were made using scrap leather. figured a good way to use it up and get some more practice tooling while trying to figure out the truncated cone thingie. the border on the red heart on the righthand side was an accident. started doing the edge with a sharpie and I guess the super sheen wasn't quite dry yet so it pulled the color into it. think it looks okay though. the ovals are 4" by 2" and the hearts are 4" by 3 1/2". now let's see what you guys come with it!

well, the one site didn't help after all. couldn't figure out where they got one value. did find this one though! http://jwilson.coe.uga.edu/EMT725/CarlCone...utionPaula.html at the bottom of the page is a link to a spreadsheet that figures it out once you put in certain values which you'll have already if you're gonna do one of these. looks like it'll work. I should know in the day day or two. w00t!

bill only problem with that is I'm not doing gauntlets. just used 'em as a reference to be more clear about what info I needed. it's for a special project. and nope! not gonna say what until it's done. you can't make me. nosiree bob! my lips are sealed!

ferret! dude! I think that just might be what I needed. we'll all find out before too long. thanks! whinewine that's what I tend to do when I have the time and materials for it. I'm better at thinking that way than semi-abstract 3d type stuff. hedge not good at multi-tasking? I have enough probs single-tasking! *L*

hedge hmmm... methinks I probably wasn't clear enough on the bit that I need. if you lay a properly done gauntlet flat for example, the top and bottom are curved. I need to know how to figure the size of those curves.

tom now that's snazzy!

whinewine that's pretty much what I wanna do. I'm a computard though so the programs won't work for me and as for genius friends, that's what this forum's for, right? *L* I'd use the "wrap around something" method but don't have anything that coresponds to the correct size. never had a prob with that method so far as long as whatever was wrapped was the correct size/shape. hedge yeah, that's the idea, but I need to know how to figure out the circumference size for the circles so that everything is level once cut. therein lies the rub.

fishguy that's kinda the idea of this. unused dice can sit in the top or, if there's too many for that, they can sit in the tower section and the top can be used as the rolling cup. then of course the top snaps onto the tower for carrying securely.

'elp me 'elp me! how do you figure the curvature for the top and bottom of a tapered tube so that when the ends of a flat piece are put together to make the tapered tube they look straight?!?! ack! brain... hurts! the top has to be 24" around and the bottom 17 1/2".

scouter thanks! I came up with me way of doing the handles because I didn't want to try to take the time to practice doing it the traditional way until I got it right. *L* plus this way is actually so much quicker than the traditional way, way easier and ya don't have to worry about hand cramps! with the turkshead, that's a different story! it took me a long time to figure those out. as simple as they are, they gave me migraines several times. I don't pick things up quickly at all. when I first started doing the turksheads, it would take me an hour to an hour and a half to do one and they wouldn't always come out correctly. now I've figured out a couple of tricks (like the part where ya make sure the front "V" lines up with the back middle strand after the thrid time around) and can do one in 20-25 minutes.

djole getting inspiration from everybody is one reason why this site is so great. glad you're flattered! with the spikes the idea literally just popped into me head and I wanted to put me own twist on the idea. roo thanks! I measured out and drew a grid on the tracing film then freehanded the stones as I was putting them on with the stylus. good thing ya can't mess up drawing a rock! *L* nope, not a craps player, or any other type of game anymore. nobody to play with (or even hang out with) so all I do is work.

thanks for all the great compliments everybody! let's me know me work is worthwhile and (hopefully) sellable! and yep, the design says "mine". maybe I shoulda warped it a bit more to make it more difficult to read. *L* beeza unfortunately I can't take credit for the beaded straps. got 'em at hobby lobby on clearance. shoulda grabbed more though! *L* beav nope. it's garment cow. I tend to use that quite a bit for various pieces. spider dunno nuffin 'bout no seagulls.

paul glad I could give ya the incentive to give this a shot! I use various weights ranging from 1-2 oz to 3-4 oz. ya really don't want to go thicker than that and I tend to stick with the lighter weights mostly. I've used glazed kidskin, latigo, suede, garment, lacing and a few others. it kinda depends on where you're gonna get the leather from as to what the place will call it. basically if it's thin and you like the way it looks, use it. I've gotten scraps to use and whole hides just because I liked the color. as long as a piece will yield the amount you need for what ever braid you decide on, I say grab it. and make sure ya post pics when it's completed!

great design and work! you definitely have talent and a future as a leatherworker!

last piece for a bit until I get a special project finished that I've been slackin' on for way too long. and it'll be something for me! yay! at least until somebody ponies up the right amount. *L* anyway, here's the latest bag. lemme know what ya think, good, bad, indifferent. I do wish I'd added another color to the tiki so it stood out more. something to remember for the next one. so who can figure out the significance of the design on the side opposite the face?

tracy I doubt it would, even being hgh impact plastic. the ones from the 70's were all metal (including the bearing races) and sturdy enough to set a slab on and do tooling. but for being just 10 bucks, might be worth a shot anyway.

pssst! spider! um... dude, ya forgot to cut eyeholes. I dig it! that long nose is kinda freaky in a mildly disturbing way. pinochio death-mask? *L*

I remember back in the 70's there were these things you stood on and basically did "the twist" to excersize. they were metal top and bottom with a bearing system inside. might be able to find one of those a lot cheaper and it would definitely hold up.

thanks for all the great comments so far everybody! peter decided not to slick any of the edges (although I may go back and slick the very bottom still. haven't decided) because I wanted it to end up having a nice "old castle" look as it got used. and it would've been real difficult to do those parapets! ack! with the back, *shrug*, dunno what happened there. I probably pulled the cord wrong. I measured and poked everything correctly... or at least thought I did. don't think the tunnel stitch would work well with 5-6 oz. it would probably pull through fairly quickly. tim I can't really take too much credit for this. I got the idea from someone else who did one and posted it up here. the idea for the snaps is really the only original thing from me about this and that just popped into me head one day. just look around and keep your eyes and mind open for ideas.

forgot to say what I used and here's the rest of the piccys. 2 1/2" electrical pipe cut to 3/4" width for the snap support, line 24 snaps attached the tower with large rivets and small caps, 1 1/4" rivet spikes to attach the other half of the snaps, 5-6 oz veg. tanned leather. straight sewing done with me tippman boss, handstitched down the back (ugh!). cased using lexol first then once it was soaked in, water in a spray bottle and wiped with a sponge to even it out and tooled immediately with almost no soak in time for the water using tracing film on top.

okay, got everything right this time with no boo-boos. yay! all comments and critiques welcome!

spider I cased the leather like I would before carving, but instead of letting it dry/soak in a bit, I put the tracing film on it and pressed hard with the stylus to make the lines and color/burnish the darker areas. no cuts on it at all. tony it's a dice cup/dice carrier for gamers... or beer smuggler! *L* beeza yeah it does! wasn't happy about that at all. I hate wasting leather for any reason.

spider it's a little darker than the pics show, but not much. I didn't seal it either. thought it'd look kinda neat as time went by of it being used so it would end up looking more and more like an old castle. if there's something ya think should be done with it, just say it. always looking for ways to improve. tom hmmm... a zipper... nah. think that would take more time that how I stitched this one. almost took a pic of the back but decided nobody would want to see it. will have to take a backside pic (of the cup. not me. don't get your hopes up *L*). unless ya have those gigantic pants that the kids were wearing for awhile, this thing ain't fittin' in a pocket. would've liked to use a machine to do the stitching, but my tippman won't do anything like this. electrathon dye it gray and burnish the edges... I like the idea of the gray. might burnish the bottom of the bottom piece coz we all know gamers tend to spill things. *L* not sure about burnishing the rest. kinda like the way it looks not burnished and I was trying to keep the top of the bottom piece even and smooth with the snap support ring. also was trying not to break up the transition of the top piece to the bottom. I used the same block designs and shapes at the lower section of the top piece and the top of the bottom piece. good ideas though and thanks!