GregGaub

Very nice. Love the two-tone double-loop lacing as well.

First off I want to thank Luke for not giving up on me. I have loads of reasons for procrastinating as long as I did, but no excuses. Luke was rightfully dismayed at the delay, but he was very gracious in his acceptance of my apology. Thanks, Luke! As Luke said, it's a large name plate. Having seen Luke's stuff in his many threads and posts, I knew that he could make anything I could just as well or better. I couldn't think of anything to make him! Sure, I could have made him a nice wallet, but would he have used it? Not without being spoiled on the surprise by me getting all his likes/dislikes about wallets, anyway. The beautiful PIFs I received gave me the idea of the name plate, but now I had a hard time figuring out how to show off my unique style/skills... such as they are. Some of the ideas for this have been bouncing around in my head for a while, but since I had never done them before, I was also worried that they might look like crap. :\ Like I said... reasons for the delay, but not excuses. ;-) The lacing is just a normal applique double-loop lace, right out of the Stohlman book, but I wondered if it would look like I imagined it would with the distance between the holes spread out like that. I wasn't expecting it to look so much like a fish bone, but I'm still happy with the way it turned out. Yes, that was the first time I did that... though it probably won't be the last. BTW, I ran out of lace, even though I made the piece EXTRA long. I had to splice in some more for the last few holes worth. hehe The lettering is actually my handwriting. I just wrote "Luke" nice and big in cursive, then gave it width and tooled it. It's not so narrow, given the size of the project, really. They hat was me being clever, but it really made sense when I saw a photo of Luke with one on. ;-) The '-ley" I originally had after the hat in my design would have been a little over the top, I think. I'm glad I didn't keep that. Anyway, that's all. I'm really glad that Luke likes it. He didn't deserve to wait so long. If anyone has any other questions on it, I'm happy to answer them. Thanks! -Greg

DaveD and Son sent me these wonderful carvings. His son has some great skills!

I have one of those... just leave it attached to my dad's old knife and blade, and hang it on my tool rack for no other use.

If you're going for some kind of authenticity, then I can't help. If you just want to archive magazines without putting holes in them, then I recommend getting some magazine holders for 3 ring binders. They're just long flat pieces of plastic with 3 holes for the ring binder, and a long slot for the magazine to be put through. I used a bunch of these with LCSJ mags a while ago. If you need a better description or a link, I'm sure I can find one.

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I missed the post where the expected deadline for completion/shipment was posted. Is it just "asap" or is there a date we're expected to git er done by?

I'm assuming there is evidence of arson? I'm sure you know as well as anyone that when things are really hot and dry, fires can start spontaneously. It's part of the natural cycle of forests. I agree, though, that if it was arson, and they catch the idiots, they should be put into labor camps for the next 50 years.

Hey, now THERE'S an idea! I wonder if anyone has made a "portable workshop" in a nicely tooled/crafted case? Just the bare necessities to start/complete basic projects when you're traveling or something. You'd need some marble, maul/mallet, Lucky-7 plus other fave tools, a couple knives, some small containers of certain chemicals (dyes, dressings, finishes), your favorite applicators (daubers/sponge/wool), a couple small spools or lace and thread with appropriate needles. Maybe an awl or a set of punches. Then all of that cased up nicely with dedicated pouches/ties for everything. You could even design it to stand up a certain way when working. Of course, the whole thing would be nicely tooled/accented in your favorite style. It would be perfect for those who do fairs and stuff, to easily break out some work during slow times or to show people how it's done, or for teachers that do classes/seminars for clubs and such. If anyone's done such a thing, I'd love to see it! Thank you kindly! -Greg

If you follow Al's guides, and carefully plan things out based on his incredible resource in those three books, you won't make any mistakes that you'll really regret, or cause you to start over. Sure, you might do some things better the next time. Your cases will surely get better and better with each one you make, but definitely don't sweat it. With those books, it's almost like having him right there in your shop with you. I usually work with relatively thin hides, between 5 and 8 ounces. I rarely get anything really heavy, and I'll only sometimes get something thinner if I know I'll need/use it for something. To add stiffness, I'll glue a piece of paperboard (like from the back of a notepad) between the layers of leather for the front, back, and spine. Thanks! I was as apprehensive as you are when I made it, but I bit my lip, told myself "just DO it" and gave it the ol' college try. I'm still proud of it, even if I would do some things differently. -Greg

Thanks, ATX, I appreciate that. I hope it makes my point, though. I had never made anything like it. In fact, I've not made anything like it since then. I used the 3 Stohlman case making books as my guide, and managed to get through just fine. I turn to those three books more than any other book in my library. You can follow the patterns in there, but it's primarily a guide for showing you how to do lots of things that you might need for your own, custom projects. Just make your needed adjustments to the patterns, and go for it!

I made this "Writer's Briefcase" based purely on the Stohlman books. The customer had some very specific requirements for the inside, which I did my best to meet. Although there are a lot of things I'd do differently, the customer loved it, and I think it turned out pretty good. No pattern used, and I'd never done anything like it before.

I was gonna say what wildrose said. I raised both my boys (stay at home dad since the first was born), and while we had large bags, it didn't take long for me to slim down what I took with me/us. Your bag will hold plenty for any common outing. You might need more for a vacation, but just to go shopping or to the park or whatever, that's plenty. And yes... definitely include a toy in there. ;-)

umm... seen any Harleys lately? ;-) But seriously, leather would look AWESOME on a chrome directors chair! One of the most famous architects designed some furniture that was leather and chrome. they DEFINITELY go together.

I'm not a gun owner, and don't have a strong desire to be one, but I'll tell you what... if I DID go out and get one for some reason, I'd get the gun that best fit me, from the feel of it in my hand, to the look of it in a holster and while holding it, etc. I would not spend the money on something like that and NOT treat it like and extension of me. I remember seeing quite the display of handguns at a local sporting good store, Sportsmans Warehouse, I think. They had more guns than I imagined existed. It was like looking at a shoe store with so many styles. Not only could you get the style you liked best, but you could get them for different outfits, in case you were going to a dress ball, or a honky-tonk! ;-)

Very nice work. I love the fantastical designs. Out of curiosity, is there a reason you chose to lace from behind for all but the KRK wallet?

ah. ok. with the way RVM45 was ranting, I second guessed myself. Or... maybe he was being facetious? Darn you! You got me! ;-)

Wait... that's the actual gun? I thought it was a dummy, or "blue" gun for holster making. Shows how much I know about guns. I've been getting tempted to try a holster like you guys are making, though... for my son's Airsoft pistols. ;-)

I would like to participate this time, if possible.

The finish is what caught my eye as well. It's simply gorgeous! That's an interesting finishing technique you got there. I've been thinking about trying an airbrushed finish, but a compressor would be a hard sell with the bank (wife ;-) and I hear airbrushing with cans of air is an exercise in frustration. I especially want to use an airbrush for finishes. It's really frustrating to add a finish, with the lightest of touches, and still have some dye come up. If I'm not watching like a hawk, it ends up somewhere else on the item.

You waxed the lace? That's a new one for me. I'm used to waxing thread for stitching, but not waxing lace for lacing. Can you tell me more about that, and what it accomplishes? I would have thought that putting wax on the lace would make it too "grabby" and actually *cause* problems. When I'm presented with weak lace, I usually give it a quick Lexol or Neatsfoot treatment. That not only adds suppleness to the lace, but also gives it a little more lubrication to slide through the holes or slits, reducing the breakage by reducing the friction. -Greg

I appreciate everyone's thoughtful input on this. Don't get me wrong. I don't believe that I'll suddenly become a better tooler with nicer tools. I know that a master can make do with some rusty nails. What I do know is that I'm capable of better work than what I ended up with last night. Of course the recipient thought it was great, but I didn't bother taking photos of it because I'm really not proud of it at all. I know that anyone here would be able to see the mess I made of it. Could I have done a better job with the tools I had? Probably. I'm sure my initial frustration caused me to make more mistakes, repeating the cycle. With a cooler head, I can see that. But, even knowing all this, and while it might sound petty, I still believe that the tools make enough of a difference that it's worth getting some better ones. I knew that I'd get a lot of competing votes for various makers, but I didn't expect quite so much of the other kind I got. ;-) I guess I'll just get those catalogs and try a few different ones. It's great that there is such stiff competition in the maker's tools market.

Ok then, if money were NO OBJECT, what would you knowledgeable people say is THE BEST tool maker. If I were to trade up to the top, who should I call first? Or, is it basically a wash between all the top tool makers, and any of them will be as good as the other on average?

Thanks, everyone. I'll definitely be ordering some of those catalogs, and get a good grip on what's out there and for how much. I remember that I did have a non-Tandy tool in my collection that was really good. I went out and checked, and it's a Hackbarth. It doesn't have a code number on it, but it's a round checked shader of some kind. I think I got it during some kind of promotion a few years ago, or as a prize from something. Anyway, it's far and away a better tool than anything else in my collection, including Tandy tools my dad had from when I was a kid in the scouts (probably before that, actually). While I readily admit that I'm no master at this, it's clear to me now how big a difference the quality of the tools make, even in the hands of an amateur. Thanks again for all the feedback.

Ok, I know you guys will understand my frustration. I have a guitar strap that I have to hand over tomorrow. I went to Tandy to take advantage of their sales this weekend to pick up some tools to fill in my collection where I needed a couple. I then began to use them on this project. All I can say is that I'm VERY disappointed in these new tools. Ironically, I found that I bought a new one of a tool I already had, but I thought it was a different tool because the impression was so different from my old one. Specifically this was a checked beveller, B936. My old one was flat and has a deeper texture, while the new one is rounded, both on the face and on the toe, and has a much shallower, almost invisible texture. I tested them at the store, but obviously not enough. I also found that no matter how soft/hard I stamp, or how little/much I move it, it always wants to leave prints behind. I end up having to tap so lightly and frequently to even out the impressions that the pitiful texture gets completely lost. Obviously, I'm in a bad mood over this. I've already searched the boards for suggestions on high quality stamping tools, and found that many of you recommend Hide Crafters tools, which I plan to order from very soon. Am I being too hard on Tandy? Does anyone else feel that their tool quality has taken a dive? Is there a better option than Hide Crafters? Thanks! -Greg