UKRay

Charlie, I didn't notice any mention of the type of buckles used (I'm away from the workshop today or I'd take another look for you) but there are plenty of excellent pictures of all kinds of leather and the buckles are clearly illustrated. Initially, I thought it was an extravagance as the book is quite expensive, but I have to say it was worth every penny as a reference work. Thanks to all those who suggested it. Ray

Lay your 48" steel ruler on the straightest of the sides - providing the leather is long enough for the work you have planned. Then, holding the edge down good and hard, cut a single clean line (you wish!) to give you a starting place for your strap cutting. Don't worry too much if you aren't able to cut the full length you need at the first pass - shorter straps are always useful. The important thing is to get the first line straight. The first cut with your strap cutter could be a bit scrappy (mine usually is! LOL) but the edge will level out as you cut successive straps. I usually cut a narrow strap first off so I don't get a rough edge on a wider (and more expensive) strap. Hope this helps - it is the only way I know... One trick: if you need a strap that is longer then the piece of leather you have in hand consider cutting a curved line to gain a few inches. Leather is resilient stuff and can be coaxed back into a straight line with a good soaking and a tiny bit of a stretch. Best wishes and good luck, Ray (from the UK!)

I get the same problem and have tried a number of remedies including a felt pad soaked in silicon oil that the thread runs through on its way to the needle - that helps a bit. Also try a bonded nylon thread, that was my most successful move to date - good luck! Ray

Nice job, Dave. Good choice of leather - classy colour! Ray

I was only talking about new work, Bob. Warm neatsfoot oil is a great rejuvenator of old leather and I've used it myself occasionally when repairing old dry stuff. I have to say that most times I'd probably use Skidmore's on my repair jobs as it sinks in quickly and I get a nice clean finish pretty quickly. I ought to add, I don't tend to repair many saddles although I do get a fair bit of strap work. Has anyone brushed on neatsfoot or do you all use rag or wool? Just interested... Ray

I don't think that is what Dirtclod is saying, Lazybum. Tandy/Fiebings/whatever 100% pure neatsfoot is fine to use at room temperature (depending on how cold your room is!). Like most good quality oils (think automobile oil here), it gets quite a bit thicker when it is cold and may need to be warmed to improve viscosity and enable it to sink into the leather. Neatsfoot compound (a blend of oils) is a lot more forgiving IMHO, but I'd personally rather use the 100% pure sort as I feel it enables me to make a better product. Ray

Lovely job, Troy. It is always great to see something new. Cheers, Ray

I don't make holsters, so the discussion about what sort to make is out of my field of knowledge - however, my experience suggests that if you show you can make high end products, there will always be plenty of people asking you to make 'lesser' items. My suggestion would be to make the very best thing you can but make sure the reviewer mentions that you make other items too. Hope it goes well for you. Ray

Having said that, I use a deep fat fryer to dip my oiled straps. The basket makes a great drainer! (I just don't turn it on LOL) Ray

Great first project Mivecmick, You might want to try to get hold of some neatsfoot oil to finish your work. It is (IMHO) slightly less 'sticky' than olive oil. Almost any saddlery or tack store will sell the stuff. I do things slightly differently to Mike, I would oil both sides of the work even when it is finished. The oil soaks in quite easily so don't use too much until you have tried it on some scrap leather. I don't then use a finish as I like the matt surface it provides. Use a piece of natural sponge to apply the oil if you can find one (beauty counters at a chemists will often stock these but they can be expensive so cut it into small bits rather than try to use the whole thing). Synthetic sponge is okay (the car wash variety) but it doesn't last long and falls to pieces quite quickly then you have to pick the bits of sponge off your work. Have a look through the forum (use the search engine) and explore VINEGAROON. It is a great and cheap way to stain things black although the results can be a bit 'hit or miss' until you have had some practice. I have an old shoe horn (real horn) that I use to burnish the edges of my curved work. I find it gives me an excellent finish, however, I also use denim or a bit of old tee shirt to burnish straps. Just grip the strap with the fabric between your hands and the work and pull the strap through a few times. The friction will soon tidy up the edges. Once again, check out the forum for EDGE BURNISHING to find more info. For a shiny surface try to find some Johnson's KLEER (sp?). It may be marketed under another name in Ireland but it is essentially a kitchen floor polish/shine/sealer like Mop-N-Glo. It cracks up after a while but the effects you can obtain are pretty good and you can get it in most supermarkets - try the store's 'own brand' floor shine - just experiment a little until you get the finish you like. I get mine in Tesco! Hope this helps. Ray

Whatever...

Surely art doesn't have to be anything tangible, it just has to give pleasure in some way. Ray

Earlier this year I was privileged to meet a charming and rather unusual British artist called Rowan Mersh. Rowan, a graduate of the the Royal College of Arts, wanted a leatherworking machine to form part of his art installation at Harrods, in London. I had a thoroughly enjoyable morning with Rowan and his team of mechanics/designers and they took away an ancient pair of Newey, drum fed, press stud setting machines to convert into his 'dream machine'. Rowan's plan was to link his finished machine directly to a leatherworker, working in the window of Harrod's store in London. A computer would track the heartbeat of the leatherworker and transfer the data to the machine which would then punch out holes in leather strips to correspond with the heart rate. These would be linked with steel rods to form a piece of artwork - still with me? Okay, I confess, I lost it about that point - until today! Rowan has just sent me this collection of pictures of the event. The colours are amazing, but it was the concept that absolutely delighted me - mostly because I had never even considered using leather in this way - and also because of the direct link between the artisan and the finished work. See what you think. I have also attached the artist's proposal for the project and his explanatory document. Enjoy! Ray Future_By_Artisan.pdf Future_by_Artisan_Diagram.pdf

I use those clips too, Jaymack. Very useful and they seem to hold leather better than any other sort. I have a big box of them by the sewing machine for holding stitching and gluing projects together. The only problem is their tendency to 'self-destruct' after a while. I can never seem to put them together again either. LOL Ray

Thanks to all of you for your help. Ray

No gusset. I'm glad you all think this is easy! LOL I'm still wondering if you stick 'em or clip 'em before you stitch 'em - or do you stitch 'em plain? Come on Luke and Terry - and the rest of you, spill those beans! Ray

Thanks, Crystal - I'll give it a try. This is the sample purse the customer gave me. It is unlined and made from soft 1.1mm calfskin. Ray

Tried the stapler... could never line up the holes! Unfortunately, this job isn't going to go away. It is part of a bigger order and I couldn't get one part without the other. Sigh! Cheers for those kind words, John. I'll think of you when I stick my sewing machine to the leather (again). I'll probably manage to stick the leather to the dog too... The only thing that won't stick will be the zipper - but you don't want those to stick do you? LOL Ray

Beautiful work! Ray

I watched those videos too, John. It is definitely faster to stitch 'em 'raw and fast', but I think I've been lucky, so far... I'm going to try tacking the zip in place with a dab of contact adhesive and see how that goes. It can't make life any harder unless i manage to stick the durn zipper shut. Yup, I've done that before. I've got 100 x 5" zippers to sew into some small change purses this coming week and it kinda focuses your attention on making life easier. LOL Any further advice would be gratefully received guys. Ray

I was thinking that a thin strip of tape might be left in place and stitched over... any thoughts on 'glue gun' glues as a temporary 'holding' fix? Essentially I want to speed up the process. I don't even tack the zipper down at present - just stitch it 'dry'. If I could just set up the zipper in some way it would mean the machining would be faster, easier and less prone to mistakes. Ray

Thanks, Monica. I've got an old Arbor press that has been howling for some work. I know exactly what I'm going to do with it now! Ray

I also wondered about using double sided tape, John, but I guess a problem may occur if the item ever gets wet. I have also used barge but being more than a little cack-handed made a horrible mess. Gluing offers all kinds of opportunities to ruin a piece of work. LOL I wondered if anyone had used a blob of superglue or something similar to tack the zip sides in place? There has to be a simple solution to this - but, right now, I have no idea what it is LOL! Ray

Any thoughts on the best type of glue to use? Ray

Welcome to the forum! Ray