Ian

Wow, that's what leather is supposed to look like. Beautiful job.

Art, just so you know, there is a difference between dies made for American made and European made presses. They are not interchangeable. The European dies are threaded on the top die. Also the post on the bottom die for European made presses is too big to fit an American press.

seems to be the general price - Ohio Travel Bag is even more expensive

All a matter of what you're used to, just like speaking your native language. Personaly, I hate trying to read all those tiny marks on metric rulers. They'll have to pry my inches from my cold dead fingers. And, I'd much rather buy leather by 2/3 oz than .078/1.19mm I have to look it up every time.

Speaking of logos. Someone gave me their own business card to duplicate their logo on a project. I needed to enlarge it to make a pattern and took it to Staples to use the self serve copiers. The eagle eyed clerk wouldn't allow me to use the xerox machine to copy the logo, even after I explained why I was copying it. So, Marlon, if you need any adjustment on the size of the logo you have, don't go to Staples, or do it on the sly.

After buying and trying every hand held snap setter on the market I finally said "enough already". Broke down and ordered the Heritage setter from Weaver. This baby is GREAT. Unlike the little bench top jobs 'others' are selling, this is an industrial quality machine (much bigger than it looks in the catalog). Large, heavy and very well made. Best part it was only $95 bucks. The die set was pricey at $71, but I think this is going to be a Godsend. Oh, and it sets the snaps perfectly!

I agree with Luke. If a customer wants a logo on one item you're making for him, I seriously doubt anyone is going to object any more than they would over a sports fan getting in hot water for drawing a picture of the team's logo on his t-shirt. The difference comes when you are using the logo on items you're putting out for sale, like the Harley patches on the wallets mentioned in another post. Or, if you had t-shirts made up for a rock band and sold them outside a concert. I've carved many Harley logos on individual items for customers, just as custom painters will often include a harley logo in their paint jobs. They are not implying that the tank is a Harley product. If I were to make up belts (for instance) and display them for sale, that's a differnt story since you might be giving the impression that they are genuine Harley merchandise. Harley has reps at every show looking for conterfeit Harley buckles, etc. There was a Canadian Company that was putting out fake Harley buckles which resulted in a huge lawsuit. I have a stock of chrome Harley bar and shield conchos from a defunct factory that used to make Harley merchandise. I wouldn't dare use them on items I sold in the shop. So, no, if someone asked me to carve a Marine Corp. emblem into a bike seat (as I have), I wouldn't call the Pentagon to ask permission.

Darryl, you can iron leather. Put something on top thinner than a towel, and do it on medium heat. I's do a corner to see what the hottest you can go without damaging it. i've ironed a lot of garment leather that way

Wow, Ed, that's a seriously beautiful bag

Trouble with the 'D' being in the middle is that the buckle ends up at the throat - not too comfortable, I'd think

Good thinking, but I'm just as impressed that you have a school to learn leatherwork. I bet some enterprising person could make a go of it here in the States. There must still be plenty of people who'd like to take a professional leatherworking course. I know some guys teach saddlemaking, but there's tons of things a good course could include.

Max, the first pic is some of the style of collars I used to make, but now I find that putting the keeper right below the buckle, then rivets, then your d-ring, then rivets works better. That's how I did it in the second picture - unfortunately, I didn't take a picture of it unbuckled.

Ed, I don't have any special plates. My machine is an old factory Aerostitch that operates on compressed air rather than a motor. I believe they made a stirrup plate for it, but havent gotten around to getting one. Don't know what I'd do without the material guide though. Pretty cool that W&C will split sides to your specs. Your bags will really look nice in bridle leather (not that they aren't beautiful the way they are)

Sawyer, I use 10oz leather, but you can also use a lighter weight for the gussets and line the interior of the sides with ABS plastic. It holds the shape great and they won't sag as easily.

Ed, it was a bit tricky for me. I don't know how you do it, but I cemented the pieces together and clamped them for a few hours before sewing, then it wasn't too difficult to sew the corners. By the way, your bags are awesome! What weight of leather are you using?

Very nice indeed. I really like the graphics behind the title. Photography is great too. Speaking of good graphics, I just spent some time going through iStockphoto.com. Tens of thousands of primo graphics. You have to buy them, but well worth the bucks for something unique.

Just about finished all my shopping, and I never left the house - best part is most of them were made out of the scrap bins plus a little hardware. I bet the total for everything comes to about $30 1 A couple of belts for my brother-in-law and cousin 2 a hippy type bag for my neice and a lizard wrist band for my nephew 3 Handle bar grips for a friend's wife 4 tank panel for a friend 5 dog collar for a friend 2 more things to go and I'm done. Wish I could figure out how to take pictures though

I need to tarnish or antique a few brass double cap rivets to match the rest of the hardware on a project (no time to order antique brass rivets). Anyone know a quick and easy was to get a little tarnish going?

Kevin, one thing you can check is if your needle is properly seated and the eye is properly aligned.

Hide house has Baby Blue chap sides (stock number 217BBMW-Baby Blue)

Luis, not difficult at all. First, of course you'll need to get a measurement from the handlebars. I cut the leather I'm going to use to the width of the grips, wrap it around the handlebars, mark the circumference on the leather. If you use cardboard, or a measuring tape, you'll lose a bit in your measurement. If you're doing your grips in veg tan, cut them the exact length. If you're doing them in chrome tanned, cut them 1/4 inch short to allow for stretch when you lace them on. Then punch small holes every 3/4 inch down each end, and voila. You could put eyelets in if you're doing it in chrome tanned leather, but not neccessary if it's 4/5oz or better. Then, of course, you'll lace them onto the bars.

No kidding, it makes me want to clean out my savings account, just in case they ever stop making this stuff

Art, I was checking out the garment leather from Waterhouse online. Tell me about the stuff you got. Does it have a lot of finish? i.e. is the grain visable. I'm looking for 21/2 oz and am always scared to take the plunge just from pics online. Actually, I live 90 minutes from there and was going to take a drive out on Friday. Tell me more.

Is leather the most magic material ever, or what? I needed a hide of naked garment leather for a pair of riding pants I'm doing for a customer. After getting samples from every supplier on the face of the earth (it seems), I settled on an Austrian naked leather from Hide House. Got it today - MAN, this is the most beautiful leather I've ever bought. Most expensive too, and also the biggest hide (65 sq feet) Sounds crazy, but I can't get over this stuff. My next order is a jacket, and if this doesn't blow the customer away, nothing will. I've had some dissapointments as far as leather orders go, but this isn't one of them. I like this stuff so much, I could sleep with it.

Is this a die for chap yokes? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...ME:B:SS:US:1123