YinTx

yes they do. I once found a golf ball, so I took a scrap piece of metal pipe, hammered the end flat like a club, and beat the tar out of that golf ball all over the pecan orchard. I think a few pecans suffered as well. I keep waiting for one of his coasters to evoke that memory, lol. YinTx

Yeah, I would but these are kinda mangled. indeed, I'm easily entertained lol. And @DaveP's still has the spring intact! YinTx

Nice looking saddlebag there. A lot of thought went into that. I hope it serves you well for many years! YinTx

Now you're talkin my language. I don't like most of the border stamps out there, and always looking for something different. Just seems there is nothin different. Problem is I haven't hit a creative side of me yet to design one. And I don't have the tools and skills to make one, I don't think. And when I see something I think I might like, seller wants a clean hunner dolla bill for it. And it seems I'm too tight with my $, and keep making the eagle scream when I stretch the one I got. My sincere condolences on your loss, as well. YinTx

man, score! I'm trying to find replacements for the tubes, those are over $35 alone! YinTx

Most of my stamps land at different angles. To figure it out, I stamp a sample piece, cut along the line and along the diagonal like in the photo. This gives me the angle for that specific stamp. I just use the sample piece to lay out the first line of my first row of stamps, and then run with it. More than one way to skin this cat, but it's how I do it. YinTx

The lines are pretty good. The entire pattern needs to be rotated ever so slightly counter clockwise. That is freakin nitpicky, by the way, and only on occasion do I nail it right. Some of the stamps are getting deeper impressions than others - could be the leather, could be casing, could be the force of the hammer being slightly different. Also, freakin nitpicky. Camo stamps along the bottom are a bit out of whack, considering how nicely the basket is done. Some are slightly twisted, some high some low, some overlapping some gapped to far apart. That's a pretty brutal assessment of a nicely done bit of stamping that the general public wouldn't see a thing wrong in it. For a second piece of basket weave, you should feel pretty good about it. I did dozens before I felt I would let anyone look at one. YinTx

I'm impressed you were able to line up the stitches on the dividers with the tooling decoration on the outside so well. I've struggled with that effort myself! YinTx

Absolutely cool! I love the LV bag shoulder straps! YinTx

So yes and no, but long story short, experimenting is how you get the effects you want, which you have already inadvertently begun. Applying darker dyes in the areas you want dark, with a dry sponge over already dyed (say light brown) leather is one way to get this effect without the rub-off of antiques. Also, you could apply TanKote unevenly and allow to dry thoroughly as a resist to antique, which will prevent the antique from staining the leather under the TanKote, and result in similar looks. Use TanKote again after a few minutes of dry time, with a soft rag and work off the antique more in some areas less in others. Let dry and seal with TanKote again or Resolene. Many ways of going about this. Some just use dye with an airbrush. That is quite a lot of tooling and your basket/scale stamping looks spot on. Nice work! YinTx

A ball and a stick, that is all we used to need to entertain ourselves for hours on end. Nicely done! YinTx

I think one of the biggest issues is where you said: I am picturing a lot of antique gel sitting on top of leather for a long time, and drying out. Then you add a solvent to this (ie resolene, leather balm), and yep, it starts to come off! Not the best way. You should apply it, maybe let it set for a few minutes, then wipe off as much as you can with clean rags/towels/sheepswool, whatever. Let it dry some more, then wipe on TanKote or some other finisher that will further remove more antique gel. Wipe off a lot of that also. Let dry completely, then seal with resolene. Also trying to add an acrylic finisher on top of wax is a bit backwards too in my opinion. The wax prevents the acrylic from binding with the leather, so it just comes off easily later. You may still be able to rescue this piece by trying to get as much of the gel off with TanKote or Resolene on a sheeps wool piece. The wax may inhibit this tho. Pictures will help us understand your current situation also. YinTx

This was top in my mental design. I imagine it will make closure a world different.

Oh. Oh no. no... no no no no ...... no no nnooooooo!!!! dammit. Also, I've already redesigned this thing in my head, so now I'll add a ring for a lanyard. Thanks for the tip! Now to put together 2 hours of time so I can actually make it... YinTx

The post looks like a sam browne stud, maybe that will help with the search. The other part if you can't find it may be able to make it easy enough...nifty for sure. YinTx

I have a few sides of Horween Dublin, would not have thought to make a case like that out of it, I'll have to give it a go, yours came out really nice! What weight was it and what did you line it with? YinTx

Thank you! I have about 8-10 other chairs that need covering now... suspect I'll be fairly good at it when I finish! YinTx Just wanted to post a pic of the second version sitting on top of the first version for comparison. Literally only 1" more of foam, most of the difference comes from not pulling the leather tight. As I mentioned, not near as pretty, but way more comfy. It'll probably be the one I use for the tooling bench instead! YinTx

I did like the grain myself, which is why I chose it despite my misgivings over the firm hand and the result that would have on the finished piece. It was in a lot of leather I bought from a fellow LW here, so I have no idea where it came from or what it is. The original seat had what looked like a hard foam polystyrene block with a 1/2" soft foam topper covered in plastic. It was miserable to sit on, and cut the circulation off of your legs in no time flat. The new one is super comfy since I used routered 3/4" ply to replace the metal, and used 2" high density medium firm foam topped with 1" Dacron. Version 2 I made with the same, and topped the foam with another 1" high density lower firmness (softer) foam and didn't pull the leather as tight. Also did a surround of 1" of the firm foam so you can't feel the plywood anywhere. It is not as pretty since there are resulting wrinkles, but even more comfortable. Kinda peeved at myself for taking this long to replace it! YinTx

I have one of these, been using it for years with no issues. it seems ymmv tho. YinTx

That is big. Lots of tapping in there. Looking good! YinTx

erhm... where's moonbug bay?

Very nice work. At first I was thinking some Elmore and Taos influences, but maybe more Apache influence? Will be interesting to see how you integrate your style in leather work! YinTx

Welcome! In Texas too. Any pics of your southwestern jewelry? Enjoy the leather journey, it is endless and filled with forks in the road, detours, etc. YinTx

It probably wasn't necessary to use adhesive, but it did make life a little easier so the foam didn't shift on the wood base. I used Camie 373, intended for foam, cloth. https://camie.com/high-performance-adhesive The outer layer is wrapped in Dacron, so no adhesive there. The second stool I just finished I used a second thinner softer foam on top, and a wrap of foam around the edge for a more cushioned look and feel. Those layers for sure benefited from the adhesive! Would have been a real challenge to assemble without it. YinTx

after untold $$ spent on tools to cut wood, sand wood, router wood, drill wood, staple leather to wood, and materials like high quality foam and Dacron, I have a new seat. Actually two, but here is one. Before and after.... YinTx