Ian

He stole my idea - my goal when/if I get old is to be an eccentric old leatherworker, tapping away at chunks of hide and only taking jobs I really want. Might even take up the herb again and crank Motorhead, or at least Skynyrd while I work and hold audience with journalists, all begging for the story of the 100 year old leather crafter. Well, that's the plan anyway. Great picture, Tom.

Ohio Travel Bag has just about every eyelet known to man and excellent quality too as well as setters.

You can find Lexol at most tack shops and online. As far as your leather being top grain, that could refer to a number of different leather types. Regardless of the leather, top grain (not the best quality, as some think) is often a leather that has been sanded and imprinted with a faux leather grain, but is the hair side of the hide. Full grain is the natural grain of the leather that has not been altered to cover imperfections. A better product because only hides with few blemishes can be used. If it is soft, like garment or upholstery hide it is chrome tanned. If it is firm, like a belt, probably veg tanned. Some leather has a great deal of finish on it and I wouldn't chance putting it in a dryer.

There is a posibility that your duster is water buffalo which is what a lot of the Pakistani leather goods are, or, in the worst case senarion, split garment leather with an imprinted grain pattern. In the second case, the imprinting compresses the fibers and makes for a stiff product which you probably can't soften too well. I can tell you what I have done to soften buffalo leather - go over it with a light coat of Lexol and then put it in the clothes dryer on the lowest heat setting for an hour or so. I have only done this with sides and not finished garments, so proceed at your own risk.

The quality of the Tandy vs OTB snaps is like night and day - way better from OTB. It's too bad that so much of Tandy's stuff is the lowest grade available. It would be nice to be able to pick stuff up locally rather than waiting for an order to come in. Their double cap rivets are another example.

Man, those bags of yours are beauties. the detail, stiching and finish are top notch. What weight of leather are you using?

Thanks Johanna, I'm looking forward to any info you can offer Ian

Bree, I sew a goodly amount of patches for several area clubs. What I do is give them a quick shot of 3M spray adhesive. It makes them tacky enough to hold while I sew them and it doesn't leave any residue on the vest/jacket. Don't use Barge - it will leave a mess on the jacket if the patch has to be removed (those 'Prospect' patches will have to be changed sooner or later)

Thanks everyone for the kind words. Actually, it was one of the easier projects I've tackled - there are relatively few pieces in a bag like that. The biggest trick was keeping the pieces lined up while I sewed them together. Anyone who has medium skill shouldn't be scared to tackle a briefcase like this. My biggest fear was screwing up since I only bought a double shoulder and it took most of that to do it, so there was no room for error.

I was looking for a discussion group devoted to site building, but thought "heck there's a lot of web savy folks right here", so.... here's my questions. I have been working for quite a while on a web site using the site builder in MS Publisher. It has most of the features I was looking for. Now, someone tells me that some hosting services can't handle Publisher built sites, or the sites don't appear properly once they're posted. Bummer, if true, and I can't seem to find info about this problem online. I also have a program called 'Web Easy', so, I guess I could rebuild it using that if need be. Have any of you guys had experience in this regard? I had a simple Homestead site some years back, so I could go this route too. The other issue I had questions about was adding a shopping cart to a site. I am already set up with a credit card service, but it's a pain in the neck to get hold of anyone knowledgeable there. Does anyone here know how I would proceed? I'm no computer wiz, so I get lost easily in all the terms found in most information I've found, but I don't have the dough to hire someone to do this for me, so do-it-yourself is my only option (besides, building drag and drop sites is kind of fun) Any and all help will be gratefully recieved Thanks Ian

A couple of weeks back there was a post from a gentleman looking for someone to duplicate a legal briefcase he had. Here's the finished case I did for him. I'm not a case maker, but thought it would be a good challenge. PS The I didn't notice the white mark on the front pocket until I'd taken the picture - it wiped off. The first picture is the original he posted post: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?s...pic=5606&hl=

I'm not sure about this one at all. I have found that pattern making is very often a huge part of the project and a skill that is an important one that anyone who does custom leather should develop. Asking someone to turn over many hours of pains taking work is a bit much, especially when it comes to a unique design. I have never used a pattern from a book. I have at least a hundred patterns that took me countless hours to develop. I'm stingy when it comes to sharing them. When I get a private IM asking about how to do this or that, I try to be as helpful as I can, and usually folks are grateful for the time it takes to reply. I have had a few guys who, after I've taken a lot of effort to peck out detailed responses with my slow, one fingure typing skills, have just dissapeared without even a thanks. One guy was purchasing the same harness stitcher as I have and had a lot of questions - no problem, I told him what I know. Then after he got the machine he had more questions. I took a great deal of time explaining the machine, needle and thread sizes, stitch-per-inch for the type of harness he was making, leather types and general harness making questions. Wouldn't you know it - not a word in reply, least of all a thanks. I don't believe this thing is typical of the regular members who have always been more than grateful for replies. But, when it comes to asking for someone to turn over something that has taken a great deal of time to develop it is sometimes going too far.

What I use to transfer designs to leather for top stitching is white transfer paper, available at fabric/craft stores. It's like carbon paper, except can be cleaned off arfter you're done stitching. You can either trace with a stylus or a tracing wheel (also from fabric stores).

Thanks guys Dave, I'd better get a lot faster before I go into the vest business. That sucker took me 2 days and almost a side of leather wasted by screw-ups. I'd be working at Asian hourly rates if I can't pick up the speed. Took me a full day to make the pattern (there's 36 pieces in the vest), but at least I have the pattern now and can adjust it fairly easily for any size. Art, I have an old Consew 206RB - best purchase I've ever made. It can sew 138 thread to edge 10oz belts. I barely use my harness stitcher anymore.

I really like the vests worn by the guys on 'Sons of Anarchy'. With a little research, I discovered they were made by Lil Joe's Leather who makes great vests. But, figured I would try to make one myself. I made the pattern myself. It needs some work - for instance on the shoulder line, and it's a bit snug. But it was my first attempt at those kinds of pockets, so overall, I'm pleased. It's 2/3 oz leather.

best thing I've found is a small foam paint brush. I spread the edge coat onto a piece of glass so I'm only getting the paint on in a thin coat on the brush. Works like a charm, and you can wash it out after.

Just for the FYI, you will get about 26 belts at 1 1/4 inch and about 21 belts at 1 1/2inch out of a side.

I've never seen solid copper spots (including on the two, very good, sites that were suggested) I wonder if it's because copper is so soft that they wouldn't set without the prongs bending. Maybe copper plated brass, if you could find them

I agree with Troy. I make mostly round bags, but on some bikes they look a bit bulky so a thinner bag looks better. Whatever you decide, I'd avoid trying to duplicate any of the common styles. It's tough to compete (price-wise) with mass produced products.

I'd also be interested in finding a white marker/pen that will work on black upholstery or garment leather. I've tried every white pencil I can find without luck.

Something I do is spray a light coat of adhesive onto a piece of illustration board and temporarily adhere the leather while cutting. It keeps the leather from shifting. Also, those snap-off blade knives seem sharper than the regular Exactos and you can change blades more often. When you're cutting into a point (like flames, for instance), start at the point rather than risk cutting too far. Ian

Tashas idea is a good one, but I've found that most people either leave their bags on all or most of the time, and when they remove them they don't want the yoke staying on the bike. Some bags come with separating zippers on the yoke to romove the bags, but in the time it takes to get the bags on and off, it's easier just to lift the seat and take the whole set off.

In regards to making your throw-over bags. If they will only be used on your bike, don't bother making the yoke in 2 pieces laced together. The laces will rub a dull spot in your paint. This will happen anyway, but lining the yoke with suede or felt can help avoid that. Also, get mounting brackets for your bike and place your ties where they will tie snugly to the bracket. I prefer punching 2 3/4 inch slots and running a buckled strap though from the inside of the bag, so the buckle is inside.

Got the pic in one of those circulating emails. He survived, being raised at a wildlfe rescue place. On the subject of deer, a guy was telling me yesterday that he wrecked his bike when a deer jumped out of nowhere and right onto his wife who was riding on the back. She suffered 8 broken ribs, both collarbones and pelvis broken, leg broken in two places and many internal injuries. This happened in the middle of the day. Could it be the little C-Section Bambi all grown up and out for revenge?

Born by C-Section at the side of the road after mom was hit by a car - just 6inches tall. Is that a cute little sucker, or what?