Mark Peters

I've been working on some card wallets recently, hoping to improve my stitching in particular. I have also been trying some different materials. I like the wallets for practice as the loss of material when I screw up isn't as significant as some other projects. The dark brown leather in these is Horween tobacco chamois. The light tan is actually cork fabric which I picked up recently. It is nice to work with and is supposed to wear very well. (Time will tell).

Really not sure. I've made holsters and sheaths from 0.06 that seem to hold up well.

You can get 12" x 24" (30.5cm x 61cm) sheets without custom cutting. Custom cuts can get you much larger sheets. A full sheet is 48" x 96". A full roll is 48" x 120 feet.

Kydex. Cut strips from sheets to fit, heat up and fold over. Trim as needed.

Re:stamping. If you search the forums there are some threads on modifying an arbor press for stamping so that you wouldn't have to swing a mallet. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=62670&view=&hl=&fromsearch=1 is one. Basically having someone such as a machine shop drill a hole in the ram to accept your stamps and another for a set screw. Tandy makes a tool that does the same thing With 3d and letter stamps but it is a bit pricey. http://www.tandyleather.com/en-usd/product/imprinting-machine-32418-00.aspx

Thank you all for the kind words. The hides are $12-$14 each from what I've found in the US. The ones I have are pretty small with an irregular shape. It took two hides to make this piece.

Center pocket is made from some Horween Tobacco chamois scrap that I picked up from a member here. The outer pockets are cane toad. The hides were very small leaving me few options. The center pocket is a little tight - I imagine it will stretch a bit with use. Can carry four cards easily, perhaps six with some stretch. Still working on my hand stitching. More even on this go around, but still a long way to go. MJP

The link nastyleather provided has what you are looking for. The d ring plate is sold separately from the d ring. Scroll down the page. http://www.wwlhardware.com/wwl/Rings.jsp#dee_rings

Very nice.

Have you considered a hollow paper drill bit? They taper on the inside of the punch. http://www.amazon.com/Punching-Machine-Straight-Shank-Hollow/dp/B00PZMFA94

So the straps holding watch are cut from the main strap and tucked under?

I'm using a stitching chisel to mark it, but not drive it all the way through. I'm using a diamond awl to make the slits.

Thank you. I did not use a groover, I used a creaser to provide the stitching line. I will give the hammer a try. Had to look up "bund strap" - I'm very new to this. The first strap I tried I think is in that style as well. I liked it for it's simplicity, but I really messed up cutting the slots.

I finished this strap this evening. It's the first of the three I've tried that I really like- (even with the errors - and noticing that the date on my watch needs to be set). Veg tan with lambskin lining. Saddle tan base and neatsfoot oil only top strap. I think I'm getting better with my edges and stitching, but there is still quite a long way to go.

My attempt.

As i'm very new to leatherworking I have started out with cheaper hides, to keep down the cost of learning. I recently picked up a couple of craftsman sides from a local shop. I was practicing making a wallet yesterday and wanted to try finishing with just snoseal. After applying about three coats, I noticed what almost looks like freckles. I did clean the piece with denatured alcohol before applying the snoseal. I'm just curious - are these bug bites?

I thought about the spring but was concerned about snagging the thread. Have you had any issues with that?

More complicated than I thought it would be,but after a couple of failed attempts, I came up with this one that I think will do the job. Still need to attach leather to the clamp faces, and waiting for the cam lever clamps to arrive from Rockler. Pine for the base and legs, oak for the clamp heads which are 6 inches wide. The heads use flush mount allen head screws into 1/4 x 20 t-nuts to allow for rotation. The base swivel is an old brass toilet seat screw (very thin head) as I didn't want to recess the base too much.

The tilt/angle idea has me thinking of a slight redesign with a pivot point at the bottom of the clamp faces and a series of holes in an arc. Perhaps in 15 degree increments

Built with poplar. Used a t-nut on the side opposite the start nut to hold the 1/4" screw in place. I think I'm going to replace the star nut with a larger version to get better leverage in tightening the clamp.

Very nice.

Tried using snoseal for the first time today on a small cellphone case. The case was died with fiebling's oil dye, black and saddle tan. After letting the dye dry for 24 hours, I applied a light coat of neatsfoot oil. Buffed with a white paper towel when the dye was applied, again before the oil was applied and yet again when I got ready to apply the snoseal (48 hours after the oil was applied). I was not picking up any dye ruboff at all prior to applying the snow seal. I used a small heat gun to heat up the leather (got it warm but was still able to handle the piece) and brushed on the snoseal, where it melted in. I then briefly passed the heat gun over it again until I saw the "puddles" fully absorb. I repeated this twice more, so a total of three applications. I then used an old t-shirt scrap to buff the snoseal in and followed that up with a boot brush. So far so good, until i made another pass at buffing with a paper towel and was picking up considerable amount of dye ruboff - moreso with the black, but the saddle tan rubbed off as well. I buffed the piece for almost an hour while watching tv tonight, as I'm still getting ruboff. With that long intro, I'm trying to figure out where I went astray. Is this normal with snoseal application? or do I need to let it sit for a day before buffing?

Thank you. Fortunately the stain is under the flap. Rather than risk ruining the piece I think I am just going to try filing the nick with beeswax and polishing over. Hopefully that mitigates catching the edges of the nick and lifting the fibers.

I've been trying several different projects since picking up this new hobby earlier this year, working my way up to some big projects I want to try like holsters and bags. One item I've been working on is an iPhone case. Of the five I've made this is my favorite so far. There is still so much to learn and improve on, but I think I'm making progress - in no small part due to the excellent information I've found here. I chose the clip as this is my work phone which I remove frequently throughout the day when I'm at my desk. I've had good luck with the retention type clip. A couple of questions - 1) I managed to put a knick in the corner of the face of the case. I tried to smooth it but was worried I would make it even worse. Can this be sanded out and touched up? 2) Any tips on how to remove a blood drop stain before dying the piece? I tried saddle soap and alcohol without much success.

I hope this isn't hijacking the thread. I too have been trying to determine how much buffing is needed. I've followed the advice to buff until no dye is lifted by the buffing cloth. I've been using paper towels and turning frequently. However, when I subsequently apply either neatsfoot oil or a sealer (I've tried resolene, tan kote and super sheen) the applicator comes away heavily soiled with dye. It is particularly bad with fieblings ox blood. Is this normal or is just an indicator that I stopped buffing too soon? Thank you for the help.