Ian

You're not plageurizing at all. I wish I could say I invented something, but sadly that's not the case. Let me know if I can be of any help when you start putting your bag together. Ian

When I read the title of the post, I thought it was going to be some weird fish head recipe from Finland

It's called age, brother. When slipping on a pair of brand new socks becomes better than.....well, you know what....is there much left?

Don't know if this fits the topic, but I have an annual new years ritual of buying all new socks and underwear. The old ones become shop rags. Socks are great for applying finish and conditioner. It's a little embarrassing having dirty, dye stained underwear lying around the shop, but..... This may seem a little wasteful since some of the socks and underwear still have some use in them, however the joy of having a drawer full of new matching white socks and underwear is unmatched. And, since my party days ended many, many years ago, my new whites cost less than one night of new years eve partying. New socks are a beautiful thing!

That's 3oz naked garment leather sewn with #92 thread. I don't know of any new machines in that range, but you can sometimes find older walking foot machines in that range. It's a bit tough to find the old machines, because they are so well made that they last forever and people don't want to part with them. Mine is an old Japanese made Consew 206RB (hint, the old German and Japanese machines are the best - that's why the Chinese knock-offs, like Yamata give their machines Japanese names in an attempt to do a little misrepresentation). I was lucky enough to get 2 machines from a defunct car upholstery shop. Like an idiot, I sold one of them, but the one I have is a fantastic machine. You might try Ebay to see what's around, though be wary, not everything listed as being an industrial machine actually is.

I'd pass on the Yamata - bought one of those by mistake once because it looked like a Juki. Ended up selling it for half the price 2 weeks later. I guess no one else wanted it either. Youll find (as I did when I started making garments) that there are many times that you'll be sewing 6-8 layers of leather at some seams. Don't skimp on the machine - some of the cheap machines just won't make it through

Rob, sandpaper works great. I use that purple, longlasting sanding stuff (whatever it's called) on a block. Been using the same piece for more than a year. In future, don't try to cut 2 identical pieces. Cut the top and adhere it to a bigger piece, then use your blade to run around the edge. There are quite a few options for finishing your edge - edging tools will give you a rounded edge. Then, a simple way is to dye the dge and burnish it. After that, apply your finish on all sides including the edge. Or, you can use a specific edge coating acrylic. Ian

Thanks. It has two coats of Bag Kote and lots of Aussie

From one Ian to another - welcome to the forum, just don't expect any recovery from the leather addiction here. If your not an addict now, believe me you will be

I asked this chick once "why do you go out with a sadist?" She said "Dunno, beats me"

Well, it definitely works, and I liked the color - I just don't like the smell and having to wait another day for it to dry.

Now I have to show my ignorance again. How do I extract them?

That's a great resource - there are quite a few fonts that I'd like to save. Now, I believe I saved them correctly (i.e. windows - fonts). But I can't find them to use in a document - I tried using it in Photoshop and it's not there. What's the problem?

Everythinbg about that custom seat is great - but that background color is SUPER great!

Thanks Bree, but I'm pretty much a dye guy vs vinegroon when it comes to black. I've tried it, but still like dye better.

I'm not a holster maker, but in stitching two layers, I always cement them together and punch through both layers. Ian

There's the face of a guy enjoying his bike.

Thanks again for the kind words, folks. Yes, I love that color too (Fiebings Saddle Tan) NicNice to do something other than black, for me.

Thanks xozhorse, The raised part is a little strip of leather edged on one side, and sanwiched beween two layers of thinned down leather, then stitched Ian

Sorry to tell you Tex, that was in the day when the U.S. government was still interested in defending and promoting personal freedom. That day has come and gone. The people who are supposed to be keeping an eye out for monopolies are now invested in those molopolies and they aren't going to do anything to rock THAT boat. They are all bought. Personally, I blame all the "there ought to be a law", mommy-government people. They have begged the government to control our lives, and the government has been happy to oblige.

Paypal works like traveller's checks. Banks don't make their money from the fee they charge for the checks - they make their money by holding your money until the checks are redeemed. Can you imagine the net worth of Paypal holding and collecting interest on your money until it's retreived? On a different issue, but regarding Ebay. They need to have a seperate area for commercial dealers vs. private sellers. I get tired of scrolling through hundreds of listings by Tandy dealers listing their entire catalog. I never sell my work on Ebay, but I do use it to sell other stuff, just because of the huge exposure you can't get through other avenues like Craigslist, which is very local.

It doesn't re-dye that well, but you can get it a darker color than the original. it has a lot of wax in it which prevents the dye from absorbing well. You can wet form it to a degree if you really soak it in very warm water, but not as well as veg tan, of course.

Brad, I bent it when it was still wet and it dried like that. Unfortunately smoothed out the border design a bit. Jeep, that's 8 oz

Ohio Travel Bag has them

Sure, I'm just going to put a couple of side release buckles on - should hold it