zman7458

brass is another nice soft metal that polishes up real nice also. you might be able to find some plain conchos to practice on and if you like what comes out you could use them on your leather and blend the two crafts. never know til you try.

the scroll saw (jigsaw) I use is a table type (I think dremel even makes one or did) i had to modify the one I bought to hold a jewlers blade that is just a little thicker than a human hair, but they sell a chuck that will do that also. I use it to cut the metal to the shape I want. I use carbon paper to transfer the patern to the metal then tool it and lastly cut it out. dremel sells some very fine burrs, the diamond ones are good too. it really depends on the size of the peice and the gauge (thickness) of the metal. I like to work with aluminum because its fairly soft and polishes up really nice. I also work alot with a xacto knife for nice clean sharp lines. I think I have a few pics of some medallions I made here somewhere...here ya go. this was one of my favorites, I'm not anywhere near as good as the pro's but I enjoy the detail work anyhow. this one wasn't polished up yet in this pic so it looks rougher than what it should but you get the idea. you can't really get an idea of dimentions from the pic. this one was roughly 3" by 2.5" I believe

thanks Gremlin, nice of you to comment. staining is still giving me the heebie jeebies, but with the info I'm finding on this site I think I'll muddle through. it seems I ran across my old air brush compressor awhile back. I'm not sure how it survived the fire that wiped out all my old leatherworking goodies, but I'm gonna go see if I can find it and get it up and running. if not it would be a worthwhile investment if it saves me time and money redoing ruined projects. what a great site and fantastic group of people we have here!

Hey now, theres a novel approach! I would never have thought you could get enough suction on a porous material like leather to do that without something to contain the negative air preasure. great how-to Tom, you da man.

it's similar to leather. a different set of tools and alot of time spent behind a magnifying glass. I found carving metal to be a little less forgiving than leather. its really not very expensive to get into a scroll saw, some jewlers files and a dremel with a few basic burrs and your set. oh and a lighted magnifying glass on a arm is a must, but I use that alot with my over 40 eyes (chuckle).

I was afraid my manufacturing comment would be taken wrong. really there is no cheating and if theres a tool to make a tedious job more tolerable then its just that, another tool in our arsenal. besides its what you do after you get that basic shape that forms it into art. sorry if I offended, not my intention at all. I can't wait to see what you come up with next, especially if you can devote more time to the art part!

Tina, once again you amaze me. your art is so original and well thought out. I look at that peice and I know who created it. beautiful work as usual!

I know what you mean Tom, but I'm strictly a hobbiest. I do crafts to relax after work not for work. I'll leave that to you pro's. what I meant to say was that my next project will be an expanding portfolio, I'm probably calling it the wrong name. its like an expandable file folder, but with individual sections for different files and a flap. like a brief case, but not as rigid and boxy

I can relate, I was actually looking for a regular (air cooled) Harley the day I walked in and saw what I consider to be a rolling peice of art sittin' on the showroom floor. the smooth lines and contrast of chrome on jet black plus the low sleek profile still makes my heart race just looking at her, then factor in the fact that I can kick the snot out of anything slower than a rice rocket... . but I do still love the normal Harleys and will most likely have one sittin next to my vrod in a few years. I definately have a soft spot for the old school bikes, bobbers, choppers, rockers all have something to turn my head. I just happen to have fell for the vrod. matter of fact I don't think there is a make or model that I won't stop what I'm doing to watch and listen to it roll by. Thanks Tom, I'm seriously considering an expanding porftolio, just gotta figure the thing out and find something to tool on it.

thanks and yessir and yessir it is, its the reason (or should that be excuse) I came back to leatherwork. I paid 800 bucks for a set of plain black saddlebags with the Harley name on them and after a recent trajedy I found that what I thought was a leather seat turned out to be vinyl. so I've decided to rip the Harley bags of their frame and redo both the seat and bags to match. lol don't get me started on motorcycles tho or this will quickly become a vrod forum. phil

I did a black python and stingray motorcycle seat a few months ago and in addition to backing the python with pig, I used cotton canvas thread and glued my seams back to kepp them flat. I used a normal sewing machine set on a long straight stitch with no problem with the stitch cutting the leathers. you do have to go slow and keep the foot preasure tight while helping the leather through in places. I havrn't put a finish on it yet cuz I'm waiting to be able to afford a gel/foam insert. but I intend to use the Fiebings Aussie conditioner. will use the aussie wax heavily on my seams inside and out to keep it protected. I don't know if this is the proper way to do this, just the way I did it. there are probably folx that know much more about this than I. hope this helps. phil

I'm just guessing here, but I would imagine those space saver vacuum bags would do the trick. since they are already set up to accept a standard vacuum hose. I'm curious tho Tom, did you make a negative form from your positive to put on top of the leather before you put it in the bag, or is thet just from the positive and just plastic bag (hense the chin wrinkles)on top?

thank you Myriam. 'tis true I haven't played with leather for 30 years, but I have and I guess always will ba a craftsman. in the interum I've played with hand made cabinetry (my pop was a cabinetmaker), all kinds of woodworking, metalworking (actually carving with a dremel), cake decorating ( a long story, but I wound up being an instructor for about a year with Wilton), photography (actually I've been an amatuer shutterbug since 14 years old) and on and on, but I always knew I would come back to leathercraft. it's just too darn fun not to. thanks Pip, its good to be back.

way to go storm. that is a great idea and a nice peice. looking forward to seeing more.

wow, I didn't realize that peice was so big. outstanding work, and it had to be tough doing a subject you don't care for. but hey you pulled it of with flying colors (hey maybe a goth pegasus next? sorry the flying colors set me off). very nicely done Kinmber.

I think the folder is my favorite also, the tooling is perfect, and the bi-colored lacing really shows it off nicely. you said that was a weekend project? wow! the whole collection is great, you show a very diverse set of skills here. inspiring work, thanks Art.

sweet chaps Anne. looks like they were worth the trouble. the next pair should be much easier/enjoyable. thanks for sharing those.

Bob. ya gotta love the joker. I look forward to seeing where you go with this one.

nice work, espcially for a first. I hope my first seat is nearly as good. I have to agree with Snuffy, it's all about the learning curve, not stupidity at all.

I love the way you mix old with new. somehow I get the image of you standing at the bow of a viking dragon boat while jamminng on you Ipod (chuckle). sorry thats just the way my mind works sometimes. I can't get over how great your dying comes out, and your tooling as always is great. I will be studying your work since the dyes are what still throws me. thanks for sharing those.

I like it! Leonardo would approve I'm sure, and your friend should feel honored to know how much thought and work you did to make him something so nice. (sorry to hear he didn't make the cut, perhaps next time. nice consolation /bday gift tho)

very nice work. did you do your own pattern for that? the stitching is excellant , and I love the colors with the natural leather contrast. I'm sure the customer was thrilled with the way it turned out.

Very cool Spider. mine waxes and wanes on the leather so far. I won't push, but I hope he takes to it like your little guy. as far as staying inside the lines, well what can I say? the lil acorn doesn't fall far from the tree does it? (wink).(thinking outside the box that is)

David, man your work is always so immaculate! no matter how critical an eye I use I can never pick out a flaw. lol, you sure you aint using a tooling/braiding/staining/stitching/assembling/finishing machine? (grin). I have a thousand questions to ask you, but I won't do that to you. very very nice work.

Thanks David, no not rocket science. if it were though, you would be at NASA right now. thanks to your braiding/lacing the magnify button on my mouse is worn to a nubbin. yep, thats the book I have, and if I'm not mistaken its the exact same book I used almost 30 years ago. one thing I don't agree with Mr. Stohlman is the splicing technique he shows. if you pull your ends down between layers it always makes a slight bulge that is barely visible but visible none the less. I like to lace over my tails, I start lacing over the next peice about 5 to 6 stitches back, and make sure it is laying flat on top of the seam. other than that it is an excellant how to guide tho.