MADMAX22

Finished these guys, 8 oz herman oak. Really like this leather. So easy to work with. The floral was my design and it needs some work. A little to thin. Neoprene padded with suede back. Hand stitched. Comments, questions, critique welcome. Thanks, Corey

Thanks Jim, guess Ill stick with the right hand twist then since Im right handed.

Great looking stuff, you did an excellent job on that stitching.

Could you post some pics by chance. It will help.

Everytime I use steel wool it dissolves in the mix. Sometimes you will get some smaller grains that stay behind that settle out on the bottom. THis usually takes a little while though.

OK so I know you can either get left or right hand twist thread. I assume that with machines there is a reason for choosing either direction but I have no clue as I dont have one. Now for hand stitching using the saddle stitch with two needles which is the only way I stitch is there a reason for choosing either left or right twist thread. Im guess its probably a pretty easy explanation but I cant seem to figure out how it would matter. Thanks for the input.

Some very nice work. I think some of those saddles are amazing. I dont even want to know how long it took to do the one with the rifle scabbard and rifle cover. I dont know about the boots though, dont get me wrong they are amazing work, it just seems to flashy for my blood I guess. I would look more for a nice style, with less colors lol. Thanks for sharing, much appreciated.

By chance do you have any pictures. Are you letting your work sit after oiled for 24 hours or over night. When you first oil something it gets really dark usually but then lightens back up once the oil has properly soaked into the work. I use to and still do struggle with getting the finish correct. For now I am at finishing the work and letting it dry a few hours, then I dye it. I usually let this sit for minimum of a few hours. Then I oil it and let it sit overnight. Then I do my finish and antique or whatever.

Gotta make sure you wash the steel wool because its usually coated with stuff. Rinse it off real good and thats about it. I think temp plays a part in it also. Did you give it a stir, try out a piece of leather and see what happens. The vinegaroon that I did didnt turn black for some time but would turn leather black even when it was lighter in color. I just realized your in alaska, is your garage heated? I think being at room temp it will work alot quicker then if its at a really cool temp, not sure what the temps are up there.

Have you taken a look at this thread http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=16609 Further down the thread Hidepounder (Bob) gives a good explanation on how he does his. I use a similer method but modified and I do it by hand since I dont have a real workshop lol. Your case does look good though. One question for ya, do you cover your pvc yourself or do you pick it up lined. I would be interested in knowing of someplace that supplies them lined like that.

That is very nice looking, would love to see a few pics a little closer. Looks like it took some time for sure.

Yeah sorry, rubbing alcohol. I use it to clean stuff. I use the denatured alcohol for thinning my dyes. Works great. Probably work great for cleaning as well.

Jeeperaz link for the resin supplyer has it on sale for $5 1lb. Thats half price if anyone is thinking of picking some up.

The only time I have smoothed suede is for edging and I use some bees wax then burnish and it smooths out pretty good. I know on a few projects I have gotten sno seal on it and that portion lays down some. May try something like picards, snoseal, bees natural lp. Something like that may take alot of the fluffy out of the suede. As Jim stated alot of use will eventually rub the top layer off and make it pretty smooth. Speaking of that you may try on some scraps taking fine sand paper to it then burnishing it like Jim mentioned. May do the trick.

I think Johnbarton is the guy to crituqe cue cases. Not sure if he has been on lately though. Construction looks great from what I can see. One thing I would look into is finishing the edges. A good burnished edge looks more pro imo and just nicer overall. Have you thought about getting into carving at all? It could be the next step in adding to them. As far as stamping try mixing stuff up and see what looks good. I think stamping looks better in designing a border more then anything else but thats just personal preference.

Thats way cool. Excellent job.

Alcohol will work just fine, pick up the 99% from safeway or similer.

That is some great looking work. Love the patterns you have going on. That color is very nice as well. Good job.

Those look excellent. Very nice style you have.

Yep ditch the wallet even if it isnt that thick. Same thing while driving and so on whenever your sitting for some time. One thing I recommend is get a stool or chair that is adjustable in height so you can change the height accordingly. Kind of like a barber has a adjustable work table which is a little hard for us to do. Oh and do some stretches before you work, sounds funny but stretch your back muscles for a good 10 minutes before you start working, will help with blood flow and loosen your muscles up a bit.

Hit Kevin up for some of that herman oak stuff that he has for like 4.79 ft. That stuff rocks, I just got into the side I picked up and man I really like working with this leather.

Looks great, and pictures take time to master as well. I still have a heck of a time with them. Im sure Steve will love em.

Looking good. You got any more pics by chance.

Looking forward to the finished product. That seat looks great so far its gonna end up making the bike jealouse lol.

Did you make his pm box bigger lol. I commented on the other thread and must say it is a great tutorial, and very useful. That is one of the great things about this forum is the wealth of knowledge everyone shares here.