Ambitious1

Carrienna, I just bought Dusty Johnson's instructional DVD for Holsters and Chaps. I actually chatted with him today, via email, he was very helpful. I heard from a few others on this forum that his materials are pretty darn good, and he doesn't require previous experience, either. check it out. David http://www.pvsaddleshop.com/BOOKS%20&%20VIDEOS.htm

Randy, I am new to this craft, zero leather experience, some with upholstery but not a ton. I want to re-cover my seat on my Harley and was wondering how you would rank the difficulty. I'd like to do some tooling on the seat if possible. The attached photo is what my seat looks like.

Will do, thanks, Art! appreciate it.

I'm new to this craft, so maybe I'm missing something, but is there another name for the hide that I should search for besides horse butt? Besides passing a mirror a couple times a day, I haven't been able to find a horse's ass to save my life. Any assistance would be appreciated. Thanks David

Well, I got myself a mix of vintage tools, made in the USA. Just waiting for the shipments to arrive. Never connected with Bruce, but I will for the other things that I need. I'll let you know how things go. Thanks for all the help.

wow, impressive! thank you for sharing!

Who would be willing to spend a little time teaching newbie the very basics? Thanks!!!

Thank you very much, I really do appreciate it! I'm definitely interested in getting into this craft, and will get in touch with Bruce to get me set up. David

Thank you, very much! That helps a ton! I should have looked for the lists, but was a bit too anxious. Really appreciate you, and Troy taking the time to respond. David

I had a feeling that would be the answer. :-) I'm interested in making guitar straps, cases, belts, and ultimately recovering my motorcycle seat. figure carving, definitely. Floral patterns, absolutely. basket weave, some of the things I saw in Al Stohlman's book, "how to carve leather" is very appealing to me, too. Does that help? thanks very much

I'm looking for suggestions for a list of tools, etc. I should get to start learning this craft. Thoughts? David

I hope I'm that good in 2.5 months. i haven't even taken my first class yet, hoping to find one locally, soon. Looks like great work to me, but I'm not an expert, however, I have purchased a lot of custom made leather goods, and I'd buy your stuff. Go for it!

Hello all Okay, I'm not that old, but... My name is David (aka ambitious1) - I have absolutely no experience doing any kind of leather work, other than commissioning someone else to create what I want, and I think it is time for me to jump in and see if I can actually do this myself. My background? I'm in technology. I am the Chief Technology Evangelist for a big data storage company, I do some marketing consulting on the side for small startup technology companies, I'm on the board of directors of a local startup in my town I live in, and sit on the board of directors for a non-profit called, Colorado Wounded Vet Run. I play guitar, sing, ride a motorcycle, married with three kids, the youngest of which is four and the oldest, 18. i'm a busy guy, but something about working with leather, creating artwork, seeing people respond to your creation, really intrigues me. So, I began down this journey. Knowledge so far: Well, zero, as I mentioned above: I've ordered some books and began reading them, watching youtube videos, asking some questions in other forums, but I haven't a clue where to start. I've been on tandy leather's site and looked at some of the starter kits, I've been on ebay and have been tempted by a few things listed there, but to be honest I just don't know what to get. Projects: What I would LIKE to do: Guitar straps (I own 14 guitars, I already had two beautifully made leather straps done by Margaret Turner out of Parker, Texas (i should post a couple of pictures of those, she does such wonderful work - and quite frankly was my inspiration to jump in to this art form) Leather bracelets (for my wife's professional business coaching and motivational speaking business) and...ready for this? Recover my Harley Davidson, two-up motorcycle seat. - this is why I chose the username that I did. I wouldn't mind making some cases, too, especially for some of my guitar gear, and for presents, but I just need to know where to start. So - I found this forum, and I'm looking forward learning - everything I can, so I can hopefully make some of these things on the list - especially the Harley seat. Thanks for reading, David