Leerwerker

With the plugs glued in, I am now working on the beveling again. I first bevel all around the edge again so that the leather get stretched around the plugs. Then I use pear shaders to "find" all the furrows in the plugs and sculpt the figure over the plugs. This will be more than one session of working ... but it is starting to give rewarding results! This part of it I really like to do!

I see the pics are not in the same sequence as what I posted them.Here you can see the underside of the leather after rolling and stretching the edge of the design. You can also see the green line I marked the beveling line with so that I have a clear line to follow when gluing down the plug on this side of the leather. Here the plugs are being glued on the back. I do not do detailed gluing - I just put some contact adhesive down on the leather and then put the plugs down on that - it just has to hold the plugs in place.

I made some more progress on my project. This pic shows the outline of the figure beveled - I kept the back of the leather damp as well so that the beveling will be very clear on the back side - that is the guide I have to show where the plugs should be glued down. You can see how I have already put a bit of extra water on the figure in preparation for stretching the leather. For the stretching you can see in the second pic, I use a half inch diameter ball bearing under the leather and I roll the leather over this ball so that it stays all on the edge of the design. More pics in follow up postings down below ....

Aha! Glad you enjoyed the show! Just have unadulterated fun with you leatherwork! JOhan

Here are two samples of mine ...

I am slowly adding my photos to: SheridanShow

This is one of the most outstanding pieces of leather work I have seen my whole life! It was made by a Japanese person and won a ribon! You ca just stand there and stare for a long time. The smaller Sheridan floral carving is very striking! JOhan

Bob Klenda entered these tapaderos and won a ribon. What caught my eyes were the swivel knive cuts. I took I close up and I dare all of you carvers out there to copy it and post your tryout. Ipromise I will when I get home. JOhan

Latigo is usually so stuffed ful of oil and fats that I find it hard to imagine mildew growing on it. Maybe... In latigo fairly fresh out the tannery, you often see the white eccess fat liquors "seeping" out of the leather - perfectly harmless and good for the leather if you rub it back in ....

My feet are tired and we are half-way! The show is good! Here is another pic of Stohlman stuff! Interesting one this one: it shows a cross stich embroydery done by Al - there is a second matching one that Ann did. According to the little sign the ladies at the fabric store were very amused when Al went to pick the thread colors for his emroidey himself! JOhan

We are ready for a nice show! The Don King reception was this evening and teh food more than a good eat. While there I took he time again to go and look at the Stohlman part of the museum. Simply surreal! Like someone told me - when you see his books and articles about him and Ann, you almost want to this the photographs have been enhanced - and then you see them in real life and you realise the photos do not even do the work justice. One of my favorites is this one - the deputy sheriff on a horse ....! JOhan, From Sheridan, WY

I would also like some of those practise sheets that gives you a whole lot of swivel knife cuts to practise .... Doe anyone have a copy? Johan (From Billings, Montana, headed toward Sheridan ...)

OK, it is not the whole thing ..... watch this space ....! Well, this is the next chapter of the anatomy study! It was indeed the middle part of the plug for that embossed piece. The plug is almost finished and I an 17hours into the project. JOhan

I am not a MS fan and avoid anything that comes from that direction. So ... I searched for many years for good free software just to print invoices with. I used to use X-Invoicing, but now I found Quickbooks Simple Start! What a pleasure! It is simple to use and very smart and an oaf like me can look proffesional! You can find it at http://quickbooks.intuit.com/product/accou...-software.jhtml

I am the very proud owner of this carving by Bill Stockill. It was a gift from him when we left South Africa to move to the USA.

A friend brought me a newspaper article on how to pick leather furniture, and it contained statements like: "... Top-Grain leather is actually bad leather that's been sanded down ..." and "Split ... leather started out as inferior leather and has been reconstituted ..." So, like a teenager, I want to say "Ieeeuuuooou ...!" Where do these people get their facts from?!?! Can we all please contribute and come up with working and correct definitions pertaining to our art and craft? I am willing to organize and make available all the responses we get on this topic ... So here is my first question: Do any of you know about a good reliable source for definitions on the internet? Thanks! JOhan

Help out a bit please: I dont get RCH and BCH! Haven't seen that yet in my ten years in the States....

Here is the pattern we came up with and this is the pair my friend made! He did redo the bleedknots on them after I took the photos.

The gentleman I made it for is a Native American Indian and I have seen that circle with the white and black sections in some of the shields they use here in Minnesota.... It must have something to do with that, I assume ...

Here are the names I have so far for the same idea: Botas Bolinas Leggings Half Breeds Half Chaps Puttees JOhan

Ken, I am using 8-9 ounce leather for the plugs. The test piece I used 12 ounce leather, but that was far too difficult to work with and I would rather use multiple layers where needed.

Yes, you are right! Late nite postings is not always that accurate. He is a Vietnam Vet! Help me with the symbols: I know the one silver bar in the middle is the rank insignia of a lieutenant ...? The other is a little dilver bar with purple ends ..

These were a fun project - the gentleman came to me with a detailed drawing which I was able to copy onto the leather just as it was. I did some minor embossing to lift the center pieces a bit.

Here is a glimpse of my current big project - a big wall hanging for my wife's massage clinic. If you look closely you can see a quarter on the test piece to show the scale. You can see more photos and explanations on my BLOG

Hi, I am busy making a pair. I also searched for a pattern, but could not find the western style I was looking for. If you look at my BLOG, and click on Looking For Patterns, you will see the type I was looking for. So I worked with a friend to come up with a design and his is done already. I will try to post some pics here in a day or two.