Chief31794

Renegadelizard, I have the drill press version and I found that I had to move up the size of groove to get them to burnish completely, I would try using the next larger groove in your burnishers. I liked the press option one because I have an industrial drill press, and two all the grooves are there so I can move up or down as necessary. That may help, they do a good job and do it quickly but you do have to work with it a bit. Chief

I'm just glad there was no internet when I started, I'm pretty sure my first 40-50 projects were destined for the scrap heap, no one here criticises anyone's work regardless of the level. What you will get is constructive tips and ideas for improvement. Trust me, from Bob Park on carving to Katsass on Sewing to everyone else out here, we all had our first piece and most of em' weren't that good! We would love to see you're work and watch you progress over time. This is an extremely friendly site. Chief

Wink, Glad it helped. Like Aaron said, it's pretty easy once you get the hang of it and with just a little attention to detail it can be really beautiful. Make sure you post a picture of the finished product. Many people take great care with carving, tooling, and dying, then ruin the whole project by getting in too big a hurry with the lacing. I always tell people that the lacing is "part of the art" and you should be just as careful with it as with the carving, dying, etc. if that's how you choose to assemble the product. The same goes for stitching, it is also "part of the art" and should be done with great care as well. Lacing can be fun and is beautiful on some products. I think the lacing on this Bible Cover I made adds to the overall look. Chief

Wink, Don't know if it'll help or not, George Hurst video on lacing is pretty good. I posted a video on you tube on lacing, you can find it by going to youtube and searching for "chief31794", all my videos will come up. Some people say it helps. It is geared toward folks who know how to make the stitch and is more on the line of how to do it so that it looks good. Here is a link to the first part of the lacing video series. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaVa542mArA Chief

Mike, Even though you haven't set a rivet in years, you still ain't lost your touch. This is beautiful as always, love the color, the look and the construction. It's perfect. Chief

Most stones use honing oil (mineral oil), diamond stones use lightly soapy water, and there are some water stones I have seen but if you purchased "Whet Stones" they should be coated with mineral oil. Chief

Doc, I started using Nylex gloves, I get them from Walmart. They last longer than latex, have no powder, and the dye doesn't get through. They feel better to me than latex. The ones I get are blue and I can use one pair for 6 or 8 different dye jobs and then I don't discard them because they tore and the old dye doesn't bleed off, I just change them so that I absolutely don't have any dye transfer although I never have (except if I use deglazer, that'll dissolve the dye and make it run). Chief

No, they are still active. Springfield Leather Company is their sole distributor in the US. Chief

All good responses above, I'll add that if a piece is pretty "Hairy" you can sand in one direction (with the grain) and it will smooth out. Sometimes when hand sanding if you go back and forth, it just keeps raising the "Nap" on every other stroke. It can be slicked as said above, another way to slick it is with a glass burnisher and some gum tragacanth or water depending on how well you want it burnished. Better leather is the best solution, Hemann Oak flesh side is very smooth to start with. Chief

I use clear lac as a resist and I haven't had anything get through it. Pro Oil Dyes, Fiebings Normal Dyes, Angelus and Forget Eco-Flo it ain't got a chance. Ken

Welcome aboard, this is a great site. X2 what Cyberthrasher said. Post some work, ask for constructive comments and suggestions and you'll be amazed at how easy it is to get suggestions from some great leather workers. I look at critique like chicken soup when you're sick, might not help but it can't hurt. Chief

Looks great!! I don't have your patience, it would have been USMC Black if I'd done it. This is way better. Chief

I have the holster makers burnisher for a drill press. I love it, works great, looks great, very versatile. The one I have has stepped pins at the bottom in addition to the grooves so that I can burnish guitar strap holes and slots. Excellent value, they are worth more than they cost. Chief

When I thin water based dyes I use distilled water to ensure I get consistent results. Like TwinOaks said it can be thinned (and should be), I would thin it sparingly, a little water will go a long ways (not like spirit based dyes where I might go 10:1. If it is 8oz bottles I would start with a teaspoon and go again after thoroughly shaking it up to mix it until you get the consistency of normal dye, not thin but "liquidy". You can over do it. If it's a quart bottle, I'd start with 2 oz of water and add 1 oz until the consistency is what I wanted. I would also never trust the finish in the All-in-one, it even says on the bottle, I would apply a coat of your favorite finish after it is dry. I normally use clear lac, but super sheen or satin sheen should work for you. When I experimented with these dyes, I discovered that you need to coat the entire piece heavily and then wipe off the excess. If you have an area that is not covered as well as the others you won't be able to add dye to blend them, the dye sets pretty quickly and the finish makes it impossible to reapply. If that happens there is always Fiebings USMC Black, it'll penetrate anything as long as you haven't put a final finish on with clear lac or such. Chief

For round holes, use a 3/32" punch for 3/32" lace and mark the holes 3/16" apart using a ruler or a 1/8" punch and space them 1/4" apart . Double Loop Lacing looks a lot better with slits which are made with a lacing chisel and they are fairly inexpensive. You can buy them with up to 8 slits, I would buy a single and a 6 or 8 in 1/8" width and use it for both 3/32" and 1/8". I only use holes for Round Braid (Mexican Basket Weave). A lacing chisel keeps the spacing absolutely perfect and the chisel is easy to keep straight by scribing a very light line with a pair of dividers 1/4" from the edge. You can use a creasing tool (don't actually crease the leather just make a very light line, however, with holes that line will show and unless that is a look you are going for it will detract from the looks of the item and a overstitch wheel to mark the hole locations. Keep in mind that no matter how careful you are with the punch, the holes will not all be perfectly aligned as they will with a lacing chisel, they will look ok. Hope this helps. Chief

Katsass does a lot more sewing than I do, I lace quite a bit, but do sew from time to time, look at some of his posts and the work he does, you could never achieve anything close to that with one of those stitching thing-a-majigs. There is a good book you can get from lots of sources, it's "The Art of Hand Sewing Leather" by Al Stohlman, Tandy carries it, you can even download a digital copy fpr a nominal cost. Other places have the hard copy as well. I would read it two or three times, keep it for a reference, and then practice, practice, practice... Chief

The Eco-Flo dyes will go on smoother if the leather is dampened as Cheryl said, you might want to try some better dyes, eco-flo dyes are iffy at best, Fiebings professional dyes are much better, if I use them, I cut them with denatured alcohol to obtain the color I want then I use deglazer on the leather just before dyeing (as it says on the can), that makes them saturate more evenly. Water for water based dyes, deglazer or denatured alcohol for spirit or oil based dyes. Angelus also makes some excellent dyes, you can get Fiebings and Angelus from most suppliers, Springfield Leather Company carries both. If you are locked in to Tandy they have some new dye products called their "Professional" line of dyes, they look interesting and there is a video by Tandy on Youtube and on the Tandy website about how to use them. Chief

Tallbald, It sounds like you're looking for a hand stitcher, I have never seen one of those that was quality, I wouldn't waste any money on them, the best way to hand stitch is with a stitching awl and harness needles. If you are unable to stab the leather with a stitching awl, an alternative is to use diamond punches to make the holes or mount a needle in a drill press and punch the holes with that. Just my opinion, there maybe others who will chime in. Chief

X2 on holding it in my hands, my drill press speed is 1200 RPM. Works well, I have one of the burnishers from Bearman and an old industrial drill press. Chief

I'm a little axxx retentive, but I have a ritual, I case my leather, then just before I take it out of the bag to carve, I wash my hands thouroughly and do so a couple of times during the carving if it's large. I Trim my fingernails (keep a trimmer in the shop), I don't wear any thing other than a simple wedding band, and I am very careful. When I finish and the piece is dry, I wash it with Oxalic Acid (I buy it at Lowes under the brand name, "Barkeepers Friend"), then I dye, oil, finish, etc. Keeps the stains to a minimum. Chief

I use them to lay out borders on say guitar straps, I set them to the width of a large veiner, then make a mark where the end of the veiner will go by placing a T-Square on the edge of the leather and moving it along as I use the divider to mark the ends at a specific measurement from the edge. That allows you to have a perfectly straight border without any layout lines however light they may be. The small marks at the edge are obliterated by the end of the veiner. I also use them to keep basket weave even and straight by setting the divider to the double the width of the basket weave stamp and then lightly scribing a line so that each line of basket weave has an alignment line on one side of the tool or the other, that keeps them from wandering and works for straight as well as angled basket weave. I also use it to scribe a line for to align my thonging chisel so that my lacing is even around the edge of a project. As said above, this is one of the most versative tools in the shop, particularly for laying out designs.

I'm in Tifton, sell at craft fairs and markets in the area and on ETSY. Didn't know anyone was this close that does leather work. I've been carving and working in leather for about 45 years. Chief

There are three different adhesives I use on a regular basis: For Immediate Permanent Bonding - Tanner's Bond Contact Cement For Permanent Bonding/with time to adjust (usually works best if clamped until it sets up) - Tanner's Bond Leather Cement For Temporary Bonding(to glue a cardboard backing to thinner leather when carving, temporary assembly before lacing/stitching) - Tanner's Bond Rubber Cement Brand isn't important - Rubber Cement can be purchased at office supply stores or Walmart, Contact Cement (normally Weldwood) can be purchased at Home Depot/Lowes, etc. I've never looked for any other kind of leather cement. Chief

I don't have any banjo strap videos on youtube, I have some guitar strap videos, the links to them aren't links they're URLs, you have to cut and past them into your browser. I posted the url's on several of the items like the banjo strap because the techniques are the same. Chief

When I buy Hermann Oak it's grain side in, most leather stores I've been in have it grain side in, never had a problem with it in over 40 years, I have seen some that was rolled the other way and the grain gets dirty, scuffs, etc. May not be the right way, but its the way I've always done it. Chief