Chief31794

I do, I buy all my leather from Springfield. It is all very good leather (Hermann Oak), they have some others, but I stick with the Hermann Oak. Chief

Very nice job on the carvings, they look great. I do some of these for bluegrass musicians, they wear them on stage so there instruments don't get scarred up like they can from a metal buckle. Chief

I haven't messed up anything today and at my age I can't remember yesterday or before. Course it's only 7:00 AM so I've still got time to mess one up today. I don't call them mistakes, I call them new chew toys for my shop assistant Dixie. She loves bad leather projects (only if they haven't been dyed or finished yet.) Chief

No problem! Thanks, Chief

I do it like electrathon however, I do cut it about 3 part neat lac and 1 part thinner. I've never had any flake. Chief

Thanks Grizz1, Chief

Leather Rudi, The lacing isn't joined exactly it appears to be, I stitch the top of the gussets before assembling the front or back to them and I start and stop the gusset stitch in the holes that will be used to stitch the front or back to the gusset, so both sets of stitching pass through that hole so it appears that they are continuous. I hope I explained it well, it's easier to do than to say. Thanks, Chief

I've always used barkeeper's friend as said, I get it at Lowes, I think Home Depot carries it as well. I noticed that Springfield Leather has started selling "Leather Bleach" (says Oxyalic Acid right under the "Leather Bleach") in packets. May be a good source. I don't use it always, only when I have leather that has become dingy. Works well. Chief

Sorry, I missed this some time back, the cutter I use is a 16" nipper, like the one you see in the picture. Chief

Many years ago I bought the Tandy setter with all the dies for snaps, rivets, etc. It has never failed to set anything perfectly in over 5 years, maybe longer. They are costly, but I was occasionally ruining projects, and that is more costly than the tool. Chief

Thanks Wild Bill, Chief

Thanks Rohn, Thank you! Thanks, Thanks, I always wet the leather before applying the antique stain. It seems to help distribute it, someone told me it opens up the leather. I also have one cloth ready that is wet, after applying the stain, letting it set for a very short while, then I wipe off the excess with dry towels, then I do a final wipe with the damp towel (it removes some more of the excess pigment), If the damp towel leaves any residual moisture, I wipe again with clean dry cloths very lightly. Hope that helps, Chief Thanks, Chief

Did this purse for a lady in Australia a couple of weeks back, forgot to post it, she seemed pretty happy with it. Chief

Great looking holsters, nice work. Chief

What I've always used is add the thickness of the leather, for example using 4 oz I would add 1/16". I think some just add 1/8" regardless, that works as well. On tri-fold I add 2X the thickness because it folds twice. I'm sure other's have different methods, but these have always worked for me. Chief

Sort of a slow week, put these out so far. A 44" Rifle Sling with a Fox carved on it, a Banjo Strap, and two wallets, one I'd already posted. Thanks for looking. Chief

Thanks, Chief

Thanks, I appreciate the compliment. Thank you sir, Chief

Thanks Rohn, I'm a little concerned about how it will feel in your pocket and sitting on it, shouldn't be much more than a carving, but you never know. Chief

Thought I try a wallet with applique to match the round braid on the edge, not sure about it though. Chief

Nope, no beveling, it was done exactly like I did the one on the video, after that point I Oil the item very very well, let it dry then dye it, antique it, and then put Clear Lac on it. Chief

Good quality leather, dampen, wait, (I didn't let the piece in the video dry quite enough), good hard surface to tool on and good tools, then the depressions are highlighted by antiquing, I'm not sure what else you mean, the one in the video would look about the same as the belt if I dyed and finished it. If your depressions aren't deep enough looking it could be that your leather isn't quite wet enough before you let it start drying, if the depressions don't seem as "crisp" then your leather is either too wet or your tools don't make a good impression. I've tried some of the newer Tandy Stamps (Say made in the past 15-20 years, and they don't make good impressions.) Hope that helps, Chief

I have posted a video on youtube on how to achieve the arrowhead pattern. It can be accessed from here. http://youtu.be/L3r71MNPm20 Chief

I prefer to sew mine, it only takes a minute to sew the ends together. I tried staples and the zipper stop type, just prefer the stitching. Chief

I looked and couldn't find it, it may have even come out as a technique in a magazine or something over the years, can't remember that or a lot of other things anymore, I'll definitely do a video, it's pretty easy to do, the only tricky part is getting it started but once you see how that's done, it is simple. I'll be back in the shop monday and have some orders backed up but I'll try to do a video early next week. Sorry for the confusion. Chief