Ian

Thanks Dave

I'm writing a little blurb for a website I'm building. My question is: what is the origin of the ranger belt. I had assumed it originated with the Texas Rangers. Correct? Anyone have a little history they could share? Were they originaly used as gun belts? What is the benefit of the overlapping ranger style vs the regular buckle style? Thanks Ian

Interesting, as I was talking to a guy who has a leather shop about an hour north of here. He has been in the business 35+ years. He said that when he started in Greenwich Village, leather shops were as common as tattoo shops are now. (Actually this guy was married to the sister of the drummer for 'Big Brother and the Holding Company'.) Anyway, back in those days, the only imported leather was high quality garments and luggage from Europe. Everything else, from jackets to saddles to wrist bands were made here. A friend of mine is a stained glass artist and makes incredible kalaidoscopes (sp?). He tells me that 2 of the stores that used to have his work, now sell similar items made in China. All the crafts are dying - furniture making, quilting, jewellry - even decoy carving - in favor of mass produced Asian copies. But, on the plus side, I am just about the only person in a 50 mile radius who does what I do, so I'm able to keep pretty busy. On the down side, I have only met a half dozen other leathercrafters in my life, so there's not much chance to form a community. As with many other aspects of today's life, it makes me grateful to be old. The kids born today will never know all the great things we had a chance to experience.

Very nice Dave, just the right amount of rustic 'old wild west' look Good to see you're keeping busy Ian

Hey, thanks a ton for the informative answer. I guess I need to start by building a light box. Also need to play around with the camera some more - I didn't even know you could adjust the shutter speed. Thanks again Ian

Ohio travel bag sells high quality German made snaps as opposed to the lightweight (Taiwan made) nickle plated snaps that Tandy has

When you say lightbox, are you reffering to the kind of box used for tracing?

"only $4,375" Hell, they're practically giving those things away huh? I checked out their website. Man, I'd love to be able to get $200 for a plain leather belt - can you say "serious mark-up"?

Actually, the idea of people being able to get no money down houses isn't that bad, if their income is enough to pay the mortgage. The morgage on some modest houses is similar to what people were paying in rent. The problem came when the slick brokers who had nothing to lose (because Fannie Mae was backing the loans) crunched the numbers in 'creative' ways, and all of a sudden people were getting stars in their eyes. My own experience was when I was looking to get pre-approved. I had a figure in mind what I could afford for a monthly payment, but the mortgage guy said "are you kidding, I can get you much more house than that" The realtor was sending me listings for houses 20,000 more than what I was looking for. Slowly the idea started creeping in that maybe a two car garage would be nicer and a bigger yard wouldn't be that bad, etc. It hard to stay realistic when you're being constantly encouraged by slick salesman. Fortunately better sense prevailed, because the higher priced houses are now down to the price I was looking for originally. I agree that there should be some serious investigations. McCain might do it if he's elected, because he's not so married to the party, but that doesn't look like it's going to happen. Obama will never permit scrutiny of his party officials. Many of his friends were Fannie Mae higher-ups and campaign contributors.

You kindly offered to give me some photo help, so, here goes. Do you see how poorly the first picture shows? However, when I zoom in I get closer to what I'm looking for (3rd pic) All of them were taken in close-up/macro mode with auto flash, and an overhead flourescent and a desk lamp on either side. Does it look like a light issue? The second pic was lightened in my graphic program. Thanks in advance Ian

I've done quite a few stock seats that are similar. The biggest problem you'll run into is that if you're using the existing cover as a pattern, you'll find that the vinyl has stretched and formed to the foam. So, you'll need to iron it with a warm iron, with a cloth in between the iron and the vinyl. Also, check the seam allowances. Sometimes the seam allowance has been trimmed after it's been sewn. With a light coat of spray adhesive, you can glue your pieces to poster board - then use a wing divider to re-draw the seam allowance (usually 3/8"). With button tufted seats like that one, there is a little leeway when you aply the new buttons. You may also want to glue a layer of 1/4" foam over the existing foam, before putting on the new cover. Ian

Ohio Travel Bag has line snaps in a variety of sizes and finishes

Thanks for the tips. I can see there's a lot to explore. Darn. I think I feel a new hobby coming on. Best thing with digital vs 35mm is it costs nothing to experiment. Remember the days when you had to wait days to get your pictures back, only to find that only 1/4 were usable?

Thanks for the links to the photography thread. Lots of good info there AND (gasp), I even broke down and read the manual that came with the camera. Why do I never think of that first

Hey Windy, what a great link. I'm going to get started on building a decent phot space. Thanks much Ian

I'd love to know how many of you get those crisp, finely detailed pictures of your work. I just traded in my Kodak for a Nikon Coolpix. I know it's not the priciest camera around, but it's a 10 megapixel and I still can't get the quality I want. What do you use for lighting? Do you back up and use the zoom? This is frustrating to say the least. Ian

A couple of things I finished up A python guitar strap and a Eastern Diamondback belt. Also a cobra strap I did last year. As a follow-up to the exotic ethics thread, I have to say I do feel some guilt using python. I know they're farm raised, but this guy was 13 ft long and it must have taken quite a few years to get that big. The rattler came from a friend in Florida who shot it on his property.

I can't say I've used the chrome tanned for work chaps, but I've bought the 09-1001S ($4.35), the nubuck ($3.00) and their09-1000S ($2.83). Also the pebble grain 5/6oz ($3.00) The first is very nice quality - almost flawless - maybe too nice for work chaps The Nubuck was also very clean - medium temp The $2.83 was a bit different the two times I ordered it - the one time it had a great nubuck/suede feel - nice and soft - I used it for mechanics wrench pouches and they looked great. My favorite was the pebble grain - a really great feeling leather and looks like a million bucks too. However there were some fairly large flaws which may have been tricky to cut around for chaps. I think they would all work well for work chaps depending on how important the finish is (I'd pick the nubuck)

Don't panic, bro, even the very worst economic situations don't last that long. Unless you're going to retire in the next year or two, you'll be fine. The bailout will pass, and then we can all be treated to years of stories of how the dough is being looted by assorted scumbags. I bet they're salivating, as we speak, thinking about all the scams they can perpetrate to get their hands on as much of that big cash pile as they can. I want to buy stock in a Swiss bank - their business will be booming shortly.

Tony, don't be a trouble maker You'll get me all worked up again. Wouldn't be a million, more like a couple of thousand, but if everyone did get a million, either everyone would quit their jobs (we have plenty of folks here getting money for staying home as it is) or everything would go up in price a thousand times. So, no, it wouldn't be a good idea, or just give me a million as a test case, and I'll let you all know how well the plan works.

It's stunning the contempt that the Internet elite show for average working people. When it comes to treating middle America as a voting block, the blue-blood, ivy league educated elite are happy to don hunting vests, swill a couple of whiskeys with the good ole boys and mingle in small town diners. But, if one of the people who actually do America's work dares to assume a position of power, then all stops are pulled out to rip them to shreds and put them back in their place. It's a tradgedy that hero status is heaped on the inventors of the next 'MySpace' )or some equally mindless pursuit) and the useless drug addicts in Hollywood, while the men and women who are setting their alarms for 5am to keep this country running are denegrated as "white trash", "rednecks" and "morons". Try living in Massachusetts, you'll pull your hair out to see the arrogant snobbery that's rampant here.

I think the bottom line (for me anyway) is in my 51 years on earth, there have been presidents come and go, and the only thing that has made a difference in my life has been my own decisions, good and bad. I really feel sorry for the poor bast__ds who are waiting for the leader who is going to make everything better for them. I have survived a hundred sticky situations in my life and never once thought to look to the government for direction or help. Personal responsibility is everything. I know most of us end up being dependant on government at some point in our lives (Social Security, etc), but with government involvement in our lives comes an erosion of personal freedom. So, I plan to fight government dependance until the moment they haul me off, kicking and screaming, to some old age home. Until then, I will always choose the candidate who is most likely to leave me the hell alone. But, if Obama wins, I'll survive that too.

That was my thinking too The biggest reason we don't get decent people who come from the real world (as our form of government was originally intended to be) is simply : who in their right mind would want to be - along with their families - ripped apart every day for years? So, instead of true representation, we get meglomaniac rock stars and ancient career polititians - both who live and die on the adulation and money of the celebrity, money and power hungry obsession of the American public. The only reason I'm voting this year is, because I'm lucky enough to live in the People's Republic of Massachusetts and I get to vote against John Kerry - again! We also have a ballot question to end the state income tax. You should see the thieving polititians sweating over that one. It's a hoot! Yes, Art, we are just flies on the wall watching them do whatever they want. It's an illusion that we actually have any say

Since we're now posting pics of our wheels, I thought I'd include a couple of my two wheelers My big boy, Felix and my '93 Harley FXR (note, total lack custom seat or leatherwork, which will be this winter's project)

Interesting that gaffs by one's own party are always chalked up to nervousness or fatigue (of which Obama and Biden have had plenty) but gaffs by the oposition are seen as indicative of low intelligence. As far as ruthless ambition, I can see plenty of that in the Hollywood productions of Mr. Obama. But, having said that, polititians are polititians - a more self serving, low achieving group of individuals can't be found in any other segment of the population, unless you count organized crime. And, that goes for both parties.