UKRay

Many thanks, I can see that idea working really well, Luke, but I was kinda thinking I'd like to make the whole thing from leather. A sort of 'one piece' pattern that could be stitched up the edges somehow. Elastic sounds a tad complicated and I definitely don't do complicated! Besides, I managed to 'accidently adjust' my ancient sewing machine today and I'm having something of a *&@%* struggle sorting out the tensions again; so machine sewing probably isn't on the agenda any time soon! LOL I can do the bits of wood though... <grin!> Anyone got a 'one piece' style that works?

I have just been sweet-talked into making some simple, hand stitched or laced mobile phone cases but to be honest I don't know where to start. I don't make soft squashy leather stuff, I work with tooling leather so what are my options? Has anyone found a good basic design that can be 'grown' or 'shrunk' to fit any size of phone or am I in a heap of trouble? (again!). Right now I'd really appreciate your advice, comments and some helpful pictures guys. Thanks in advance... Ray

Davy, Are you telling me you don't have ANY scrap leather to practise on and play with? Get round here and teach me how to cut out stuff right now - I need you!!!

I think the mask is great too - I love your work! I have a big question for all you airbrush people: I know nothing about these things but having read several posts including this one I have kinda decided to go with an Iwata airbrush. Queston 1: Is an Iwata Eclipse HP-CS like an HP plus? If not what is the difference in simple, easy to understand terms? I will probably only use the thing occasionally but would like to try spraying leather finish to avoid bubbles, streaks etc. Now, what sort of compressor would you suggest for an Iwata airbrush? I have been looking at all kinds and don't know where to start and living in the middle of nowhere doesn't help either. I don't have a handy store to ask my daft questions and will have to do everything mail order hence: Question 2: Should I stick with the Iwata brand or what? Are all the fittings the same? What about air-pressure? what about noise? What model would be best to buy?

Has anyone got experience of using one of those Weaver edge slicking machines? They certainly look the part but do they do the business?

Does anyone remember 'baby reins' for toddlers? I made a few of those back in the day but you don't seem to see them nowadays - I had a set for my son and they saved his young life on several occasions as he rushed to play with passing cars...

For those of you amused by such things here is a couple of pictures of the camels. We found the dead one by the side of the road. It looked like it had been hit by a truck - I bet that surprised the driver! The hippy beads are a reminder of a wonderfully misspent youth!

Jon, I made a few touristy type waterbags in Morocco back in the early 70s out of poop tanned hair-on goatskin but they weren't too successful. I suspect this is because the leather I was using was too porus/was scraped too thin/generally wasn't suitable for the purpose - but oh was it cheap! They didn't hold water for long I know that... At that time I was working leather with a nice old Arab guy who made some quite good big ones out of a dead camel we found in the desert (I can still smell it...); but even they tended to leak a bit. The evaporation kept the water quite cool so perhaps it was a design feature rather than a fault. I seem to remember that the trick he used to get things watertight was to roll the seams to get a triple thickness which he then stitched with unwaxed linen/cotton thread that I believe swelled up when it got wet. He also made a sort of leather spout like an elephant's trunk that could be folded over a couple of times and tied with bits of thong. It was a very long time ago and to be honest my memories of that time are a bit slightly les than lucid. <grin!> My most recent offering was a leather cover for a pukka mountain expedition plastic waterbag which was definitely my most successful water carrier to date! - What did you want to know?

That Pilot bobbin can cause all kinds of grief unless you get it right. I'll gladly show you whatever I can, Steve. I'll PM you about dropping in to say hello sometime soon. R.

Lovely work, David - congratulations on your success!

Slightly off topic, but I enjoyed those pictures - big thanks Marlon - and would like to attend a show. It just means travelling to the US to do it... As this is something of a major undertaking from the UK, which show would you say is the best? I want to see the top tool makers, fabulous 'stuff' and have a good time and hopefully meet a few of you guys too - It would really help me plan my vacation for 2009.

Amen to that, cousin Luke! Did I see two powered strap cutters - are they Merkle machines? And a BUSM creaser? Plus riveting machines and something I know not what... Whoooooo! Can I organise a visit? That big Singer is a monster... what do you use that one for Steve?

I would agree Leerworker, a forum is not the first place you might look but Leatherworker.net isn't just a forum is it? There is no reason why the Leatherworker.net 'brand' shouldn't encompass a leathergoods marketplace. As it happens, I regularly buy from folks on the forum and I know plenty of others who have done so. This forum is a focus for sharing the very best leatherworking practice so why look elsewhere for top quality leathergoods. Thanks to the internet, we live in a 'global village' so it makes sense to shop where you know the goods are the best on offer. I would simply like to see a 'marketplace' where members can put their goods on display and sell with confidence. Given that we know and appreciate Johanna's care and concern for the well being of the leatherworking community, I would be happier if this happened as part of the Leatherworker.net web presence. Hopefully it could provide much needed income to expand the site even further. I have run a website for the past eight years that attracts around 140,000 visitors each month. This doesn't happen by accident. Johanna has proven, time and again, that she is able to build a large scale web project, expand it and KEEP IT RUNNING. This is the hardest bit of all. Frankly, building a pretty looking site is the easy bit, attracting people to it is a far bigger issue and managing it is the biggest issue of all. We all know that Leatherworker.net already has a constant stream of visitors so why re-invent the wheel when you can simply grease the axle to make it go faster. I don't say there isn't room for more private enterprise in the world of online-leatherworking, I just feel that a runner with 'form' is a very much safer bet. I have complete confidence in Johanna's ability to make a fine job of setting up an online marketplace that will benefit the community (and not any particular individual) and I will support her wholeheartedly. I suspect all it will take is a little patience before we see things starting to move and that excites me. Keep up the good work Johanna and team!

Hello folks! I'm pretty old but I run okay most of the time. I'm a bit difficult to start in the morning and I go much better down hill. My bodywork is shot but I reckon there are still a few miles in me yet! The picture was taken in my workroom after a very long day...

Not illegal, Art. Just controlled so heavily that getting a firearms license is very difficult unless you can prove that you have a very good reason for owning/using a gun. Shotguns are also restricted but the criteria isn't quite so prescriptive.

SteveB has definitely got a point! However, it sounds like you have already dug yourself a big hole by agreeing to do the job so my best suggestion is that you tell him in advance that on further inspection the leather is in very poor condition and you will do the best you can but he definitely shouldn't expect perfection. Then stitch up the sides very carefully but don't take the thing apart any more than you can help. Having done that, give the whole job a good going over with Skidmores - see: www.skidmores.com to put some 'goodness' back into the leather. I suggest Skidmores because it is relatively inexpensive and I've had some remarkable successes with the stuff particularly with leather that has dried out and gone hard. It isn't magic, but it ought to sort out your problem quite well. Get a jar mail order, you won't regret it (and it makes a great veg tan finish over oil dyes so you won't waste any). Just my thoughts and worth what you paid for 'em...

I'd agree completely with you Tom. Each leather type has a different 'sag factor'. Leather thickness and where it comes from on the hide are also critical factors and even the species it comes from can affect stretch. Think: veg tan and chrome tan / 2oz and 12oz / elephant skin and goatskin / shoulder or belly - IMHO the initial question probably needs to be re-phrased. In other words not so much about sagging but maybe more about the best sort of leather for the job. When that is determined the sag factor may be a little easier to understand.

Welcome to the forum ErikB. There are a lot of great folks here that will go out of their way to help you and answer your questions. Now I have a question for you: You did a really nice job on the bracer - what background tool did you use? Best wishes, Ray

Then you just go right out there and do it!

If senior member means 'old fart' then I guess I qualify... this is also one of my favorite rants! You can't open a 'liberal' newspaper these days without falling over someone griping about the use of animal skin/fur/teeth or the killing of any/some/all kinds of animal. (IMHO the complainers are generally the ones who would also like to see the gun laws tightened up even further to a point where gun ownership is nigh on impossible and all kinds of hunting and fishing are under threat - I live in the UK where this has actually happened). In my experience, these same complainers still eat meat, would kill a non-poisonous snake if they found it in their bed/shoe/wherever, swat and zap harmless bugs indescriminately (who knows what species they just wiped out?) and wear or use high quality leather shoes, belts and bags in preference to plastic. I accept some may claim to be card carrying vegetarians/vegans/pale looking weirdos but they are almost all prepared to kill if sufficiently hacked off (think 'wasp in a small room'). Reality is not generally on the complainer's agenda as it gets in the way of tunnel vision idealism. IMHO, this issue is not necessarily about the actual physical demise of an animal and the use of its skin to make leather it is really about the death of Dumbo, Bugs Bunny or Bambi. Most animals have been anthropomorphosized to such a point that some people fail to recognise the difference between reality and Disney. You wouldn't make a Dumbo-skin briefcase would you? I'm not sure that I wholly agree that simply looking for a Cites tag is enough to protect an endangered species, but then again, most of us don't want to use leather from endangered species anyway so the Cites tag is a darn good start. If you have any suspicion that the skin you have been offered is from an endangered species then check out this website: http://www.cites.org/eng/disc/species.shtml where you will also find out how to report a breach of the code. Personally I work almost exclusively with cowskin, sheepskin or goatskin, but in my mind there is absolutely no difference between farmed ostrich, farmed crocodile or farmed cow when it comes to ethical use of the leather. I absolutely draw the line at using the skins of creatures that have been identified as being at risk unless they are killed as part of a controlled and regulated cull and/or come from a CITES approved source. I have also gone on far too long... I'll shut up now!

Welcome Steve. I'm based in Ludlow, Shropshire but my dear old mother comes from Ottery St. Mary near Exeter! We would all appreciate seeing a few pictures of your workshops and machinery and examples of your work - on a personal level, it is great to have the opportunity to learn from a specialist like yourself. Enjoy the forum.

I've had a look at all the suggestions and will be having another try later this week. Thanks for all the great leads and special thanks to those kind folk who have offered patterns. I really am most grateful. Ray.

Hi Richard, Welcome to the forum! I'm also from the Midlands (Ludlow). I'm not much help with case making I'm afraid but always happy to chat. Drop me a PM and I'll send you some contact details. Ray

That looks like a fairly straightforward pattern Art, I guess the problem lies in trying to get the size right. Has anyone else got any suggestions about this? How do you do it?

Those look like a pretty good pair of moccasins to me. So how did you get the idea for the pattern shape, Art? Did you start with a commercially produced pair or was this an entirely home made thing? I'm sure I read somewhere that moccasin style varied according to the area in which they were made and which native American people made them - is this right? Yours are roughly the same as all those I have seen here in the UK, but I'd really like to see some examples of the different sorts.