Storm

That makes two lilies! Storm

Actually Ben I thought that covering the frame in fiberglass and resin in a form fitting way would be a good base. Then add someneopreme foam and cover it in tooled leather. The attached picture shows a leather cover for the original rubber seat. Storm

Welcome Pucci, I'm thinking that Pucci is the new western Gucci! If that tote didn't make your wife jump for joy nothing would. Very nice piece of construction and the carving is very tight! For myself, I am looking forward to your next project. All The Best In The Near Year, Storm

Thanx Dixie! I appreciate te compliments. Storm

Hey Beener, I love the net. First check out some of the images and info on these sites. http://scoot.net/56prima/ http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NSU-Prima-Scooter_W0QQitemZ220510010669QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Motorcycles?hash=item33576bbd2d http://scoot.net/56prima/dealers_manual/ (This is a downloadable NSU Dealers Maintenance manual) It is also downloadable. http://www.nsuprima.com/mm.html (More Info) The seat seems to be a molded plastic mounted on the spring unit. You could add foam and to a cover over the top. Do you have that molded seat? Storm

Hi Mary, Well this is very good for a first time out. I beleive my first project was a wallet with figure carving on it. Your lacing looks very good but you need to pay closer attention to the way you carve and stamp. But these things come with time and experience. Use your scrap pieces to practice on. Waste nothing! I have a feeling that you are going to get very good. Nou dit is heel goed voor een eerste time-out. Ik geloof dat mijn eerste project was een portemonnee met figuur snijwerk op. Uw vetersluiting ziet er heel goed, maar je moet meer aandacht besteden aan de manier waarop je snijden en stempel. Maar deze dingen komen met de tijd en ervaring. Gebruik uw brokstukken naar de praktijk op. Afval niets! Ik heb het gevoel dat je gaat erg goed. So we are even! But I think your English is better than my Dutch! HA!!! Storm

There is one thing to always keep in mind is looking at your hide before buying it. In essence start at the source. What you are encountering is like as not the belly of the beast. Sometimes you can't avoid it but you can plan for it when you're cutting out for the project. Not only is the flesh side of the belly all stringy but that part of the cow has a tendency to be much more stretchy. So if you are not careful the act of your tooling out a piece will deform the shape of what you are tooling or stamping on. For the most part I use a apply clear Scotch Storage Long Lasting tape to the back before I do anything to the piece. When I am finished I then wait until it is totally dry. When I remove it the tape I lay the piece face down and then pull the tape off the leather. Most of the time if you are buying a brlt blank at Tandy the back will be clean and smooth. Storm

:wtf: I guess I am going to go out on a limb with this one but......why in heavens name would someone go to all the trouble of trying to get good depth on a piece of handtooled leather and then stick it under a roller and flatten it out? Seems to me that that might be defeating the purpose of the hand tooling all together. But in answer to your question...in over 30 years of doing this I have never heard of anyone doing that sort of thing. Are you sure someone wasn't having you on and pulling your leg?

WOW! If I still tossed a loop I would love to have one of these. You and Bob Park make the best rope cans my memory can recall. Storm

Wow Ed...that's a real hotdog! A real weiner!!!! That has so much going for it!!!! Very nicely done!!!! Storm

Nicely done Luis. No better way to use scrap than to practice and get better. Storm

They say that the Pooka is a black as night. A supernatural creature. They are classed as one of the Fae(Fairies) and the most feared of the Fae. Nothing like a little Irish folklore to go along with a pair of distinctive chinks! Storm

Hi Luis, Here is my idea for a locking tool bag. Basically two lock hasps and a long bar padlock. You can secure the lock hasps with rivets. I created the drawing to be able to better show you what I am talking about. I hope that this helps you to solve your problem. Aqui é a minha idéia de uma maleta de ferramentas de bloqueio. Basicamente dois ferrolhos de bloqueio e um cadeado barra longa. Você pode proteger os ferrolhos de bloqueio com rebites. Eu criei o desenho para ser capaz de melhor mostrar o que eu estou falando. Espero que isso ajude você a resolver seu problema. Boa Sorte! Good Luck!' Storm

Andy this is a really clean piece and beautifullu done. Hope to see more in the near future! Storm

I would suggest sticking to Tandy waterbased dyes if you are going to be using Cova dyes. But also remember that if you mix your own colors that you might as well use standard acrylic paints. They are way cheaper than Cova is. When I am using Cova/Acrylics I seal them with several coats of Super Shene This helps to protect them and maintain decent color quality. I am going to go out on a limb and guess that you were using spirit based Fiebings dyes or even oil based. This will lift and disintegrate the waterbased dyes. You are better off using a water based antiques or the Eco Flo All In Ones. But not to worry as it is a learning process and sometime they change the rules. Tandy's quality assurance leave much to be desired. Their attention to detail is is not always on the money. I have used the same dye on the same leather and come up with two different colors. It can be totally furstrating. Just keep on experimenting and it will all come out right. Storm

Really awesome piece of work! Stunning!! Storm

Over the years I have had a chance to use a wide variety of blades. I had one ceramic I used for years and loved it. Then I had purchased a newer one and found it to be junk. You could strop it till the cows come home and it just wouldn't work as I liked. I have since learned to be a lot better at hand sharpening a steel blade and correctly stroping same. My favorite blades now are the Al Stohlman steel blades. When it all comes together and the leather is cased the blade will really glide through the hide! Here is a tip on stropping. First use a business card or my favorite a 3x5 index card. Then apply a liberal ammount of white jewelers rouge. I used a straight pull for stropping but now have found another way. Instead of just pulling it straight toward yourself I strop in an tight wavely line while bringing the blade toward myself. Keeping in mind that my first finger rests on the top of the blade so as to keep it flat on the surface. Two strokes on one side and two on the other. The reason for the card stock is that you do not have the tendency to gently rock the blade back and forth. This messes up your edges. For years I used a polished oak wood strop with and 8oz. strip of leather glued to it. I find now that I get a nicer smoother edge using the card stock on a hard surface. However I might take advantage of King's X's offer to sending him my current blade and see what magic he can perform. Always try to leave your options open. Storm

Hi Tim, This is really looking sharp. I like how you incorporated the initials into the pattern. Storm

This is a bit of a change for you. I really love this one. Great idea for a cartridge holder. I am really impressed!! Your blocking technique is excellent. Love the two tone effect. It is always a treat to see your latest pieces! Это немного изменений для вас. Я действительно люблю это. Отличная идея для держателя картриджа. Я действительно впечатлен! Ваша блокировка техника отличная. Любовь двух тон эффект. Это всегда относиться к просмотреть последний штук! Storm

Wow Dixie! Celtics chinks! Very cool. Just the sort of ting ya need to wear when ridin' dem der Black Pookas! I have only made one pair of chaps but these look just great. Storm

Both are excellent but I like the first one the best! Nice carving and construction!

Thanx so much! I think that there is no limit to what you can carve in leather. It is all up to your imagination. Storm

Glad you liked it Alisa. I really enjoy carving them. Thanx, Storm

You are very welcome Steve. One of these days I am going to have to come down and talking sewing machines. Thanx, Storm

Thanx much! Appreciate it!