Chief31794

I've got quite a bit of storage space in the leather shop, but I've always stored my leather rolled loosely with the grain side on the inside of the roll, I usually tie a cord around the roll and put a tag on the string Identifying the leather, such as "HO Grd B, 4/5" or "Lining, PigSkin Brwn", etc. Chief

I use Hermann Oak and buy a side every month or so, I've been getting it from Springfield Leather Company but I'm looking for another supplier. My last two orders with SLC haven't gone very well so I was wondering where everyone else gets their leather. Chief

Only two things I'm afraid of; Women and the Police!! There isn't too much I don't like about leatherworking, hand sewing large projects makes my hands sore, but I don't really dislike it. Chief

Never used the weaver, I'm sure if they're for magnetic money clips they are fine. I usually buy mine from Springfield Leather Company, however, they are Tandy resellers so the ones at Tandy are fine too. They are extremely strong, come with two plates and two magnets. Make sure you orient them the correct way by testing them one way they'll line up perfectly, the other you won't be able to get the ends together. Orient them the way that the ends line up perfectly. They will be extremely hard to separate push them sideways to get them apart. Chief

Magnetic Money clips are something I make a lot of, I normally use 4/5 oz leather on the outside and pigskin lining to hold the magnets. The magnets are very strong however, you don't want to restrict there magnetic pull by covering them with to much leather. 7/10 Oz for the outside might make them a little hard to close, I recommend you v groove the back side pretty well in the middle to help with the folding before you sew them together. I would try one and see how it works, I've never seen one made with 7/10 oz leather.

I have no qualms about selling things, I sell on ETSY and at craft fairs, I have two this month. I prefer to sell at craft fairs because people like to ask questions and I like to talk. I enjoy answering their questions about leather working. What I do not like is custom work, I do a lot of it, but people have trouble conveying their specifications or what they want done. I have an order in the shop now for 20 cases to hold 4" long Iron Rods and a card slot, this order is from the "Engineering Department" of an Iron Works Company. The order was placed by the Senior Engineer who had seen a case I had made to hold a flip phone. Just to show how it goes here is how the order communications went: 1. Customer: Can you make a case like the flip phone case to hold five 3/16" Rods and one 1/4" rod, all 4" long with our Logo on it. I need 20 of them and then I may want to order more. 2. Reply: Sir, I would be glad to custom make 20 cases per your specifications, please send me a set of the rods and a line drawing of the logo and I will make a prototype without the logo and send it for approval and order placement. If you place the order, I'll have a stamp laser engraved with your logo to use in the production run. 3. Customer: Excellent, about how much would you charge for this case. 3A. Reply: After recieving the rods, I layed out the case. I sent the graphic to Black River Laser and got a quote from Joyce on how much to made a 1-1/2" square stamp of the logo. How would you like it to close, I can use a Pull-the-Dot snap, Normal Snap, tuck closure, or a tuck catch closure like is used on some attache cases. The tuck catch is the most secure, the pull the dot is next, the snap is next and then the tuck closure. I recommend the tuck catch where you press in the button and slide it out of the keeper to open the case. 5. Customer: The tuck catch 6. Reply: After calculating about 2" wide by 4-1/2" tall fold over case with a 2" Flap, I quote him a price of $40.00 per case plus shipping. 7. Customer: Excellent, can you make a divider for the rods? 8. Reply: After throwing away all my design work for the 2"X4-1/2" case, I design a inner "Bullet Loop" piece that will separate the rods by sewing the loops to the back of the case. I reply, "Yes, but it will cost $55.00 per case. 9. Customer: That's fine, I understand more leather, more labor = more cost. Can you make a place to put a 4X4" Laminated Card in the case? 10. I make and send the prototype with my 1-1/2" makers mark where his graphic would be, the bullet loops wet molded to the rods and the case hand sewn. I send it off and he recieves it. I leave the cost at $55.00, I'm still making money, the case cost me about $8.00 in materials, no carving, $1.50 per case to cover the cost of the stamp and another $.50 for shop supplies and consumables per case, and I'm making $45.00 per case profit. 11. Customer: This case is perfect and it is beautiful, very nice work. 12. Reply: Thank you, let me know if you want to proceed. 13. Customer: I would like to order 20 cases. Can you make it so it will hold one 1/4" rod and six 3/16" rods? I reply yes. He replies "How do I pay you." 14. I send an invoice through PayPal. 15. He pays it, I am working on the order. Would have been easier if he'd have stated all of his requirements at the beginning. I'm not complaining! This is how it goes with an engineer, accustom to working from supplied requirements and specifications, imagine what the conversation is like when a non engineer is designing an item through email!!! Chief

There is no need to hit any stamp that hard unless it is quite large (like 1-1/2" square). For the stamps the leather should be wet with a sponge and then as it starts to dry and return to natural color, hit the stamp. You might want to use a deadblow hammer, you can get them at Harbor Freight pretty resonable. Punching through the thickest leather should not have to be hit excessively hard unless your punch is dull. Hitting your hands and smashing them gives me a visualization of you swinging very hard, that should not be required. Arbor presses can be adapted to press large stamps as well, I have a press that I use for large custom stamps, they can be bought at Harbor Freight as well. Chief

There is an excellent book by Al Stohlman, "The Art of Hand Sewing Leather". It is old, but still very valid. There are a couple of different ways to sew. The dremel Tool with 1/16th" bit is one, but it is not what the purists recommend. They recommend, a awl with a single diamond blade, groover (needed regardless), harness needles (needed regardless), waxed linen thread and a lot of sweat labor. Another method of making the holes is with a diamond punch, I think it's better than the drill bit but not as good as the hand awl. Some people punch holes with a 00 punch, I wouldn't recommend that method, it doesn't look very good at all. To do it with an awl it takes a lot of practice and developing the technique. I would get the book, study it, then decide. I'm sure some other folks will chime in. Chief

I read the post you're talking about, if I remember correctly, it was suggested that you could use parafin wax. My concern would be that it wouldn't have the same feel as carving leather. With the pieces you not only get to practice carving, you can practice and experiment with casing, even dying and finishing, antiquing etc. Personally I think the real thing is the best thing to practice on. Thanks about the work bench, it's functional, that picture is a couple of years old and I've added some more items, a bigger slab, and some other features. Need to update the pictures. Chief

Most leather stores have boxes of small pieces, they are pretty inexpensive, sold by the pound. Lots of times you can find pieces large enough to make some small projects. Springfield Leather (Sponsor Here) sells 2lbs for around $8.00. Tandy sells tooling leather pieces at 1lb for about $10.00 retail, if you have a gold or Elite warehouse membership it is cheaper ($6.75 for elite). I would call Springfield Leather and get them to send you a couple of pounds. Chief

My favorite saying about lacing is, "It's Part of the Art". Lacing done right can enhance the look, feel, and durability of your projects. I saddle stitch by hand, sew with a Tippman Boss when it's absolutely necessary, and lace with double loop and Mexican Round Braid as the project dictates. Lacing is very simple and provides a very durable means of assembly on many projects. I guess what I'm trying to say is that lacing has its place it is a technique you should learn and employ when the situation dictates. If done haphazardly or sloppily it can also detract from the appearance and durability of the project but so can saddle stitching. Chief

Tankote is water resistant however, not much. ClearLac has to be cut with a lacquer thinner, it is more water resistant, but if you want a good water proof there is nothing that is completely water proof with leather if you dunk it in a tank of water it will eventually get soaked. A really good "Water Proofing" product is Aussie Leather Conditioner" by Fiebings. It is used on outdoor gear, snowboots, etc. Didn't see in the original question that you were asking for a highly water resistant finish. Aussie is beeswax based, I rub on a light coat then heat it with a hair dryer the buff it well, it finishes nice has a nice shine not glossy but nice. Springfield Leather Company (one of our sponsors) sells it as well as some of the others I would expect. Chief

All good tips above, I always glue liners first then trim. However, something else to think about is using 2/3 oz leather for the lining on a belt, I use pigskin more for wallets, purses, phone cases, etc. Chief

I would also think about a camoflage tool or two and a seeder, they are used quite a bit in Floral Carving. Congratulations, you'll love the Barry King tools. Ken

My likes, Large Barrel, Smooth (ball bearing) saddle, sharp blade that holds the edge well. I'm old and my hands hold a large barrel better. I have recently changed over to ceramic blades and so far I like them, they take a little getting used to, but they cut smooth and never require sharpening, just stropping. Dislikes, Screw that comes loose (holding the blade in the barrel). Chief

I would recommend you get a couple of necessary tools for belt making and then buy what you need as you need it. At a minimum, I would suggest you buy good quality tools of the following: No. 3 Edge Beveler Snap Setter Set Safety Beveler (actually a skiver, If you're going to make your own blanks, which I recommend, belt blanks already made up are iffy at best, snaps fail, crooked, etc.) Good Metal ruler with a cork back 1-1/2" Strap End Punch (Other sizes if you make different size belts, 1-1/2 is the standard Jeans Belt size.) Granite or Marble Slab (Probably do with a 12"X12" Poundo Board to match the Slab to go underneath of it. Punching Board (Poly unless you want to spend some real money for the clicker type) Scratch Awl for marking hole locations Tape Measure to measure Belt Length. Strap Cutter (If you are going to make your own straps, you can buy straps already cut to 1-1/2 or whatever size, they work ok) Edge Slicker Mini Punch set from 00 - 1/4" or so. They can be used to make the holes for the snaps or chicago screws and also the belt holes Then decide what type of designs you want to make and buy the stamps you need to do that, don't buy anything unless you need it. Hope this helps, I've probably forgotten a few things but this is a good start to Belt Making. Chief

Floyd, First, thanks for your service, I retired at Fort Stewart in 1990, still go back there every year or so. Take care of yourself in Afghanistan and if you are an NCO or Officer, make sure you take care of your soldiers. Second, keep at the leatherwork, it will improve. If you get a chance to come over Tifton way, send me a PM and maybe we could get together, tell war stories and look around the shop a little. Chief

You can, in fact Springfield Leather Company sells just the stud and socket so that you can use them with normal Caps and Posts. Chief

I've always glued the flesh side to the board, no oil (my opinion), load with jewelers rouge, strop away. I have just as much success using the back of a note pad (cardboard), loading with jeweler's rouge and stroping on that, I also use the edge of the note pad back to strop edgers, works great. I have two on the bench made with leather and a couple of cardboard ones as well. i can't tell much difference. I use the leather on the board for round knife stropping, it just doesn't seem to feel right on the cardboard, swivel knives work on either. Just My Opinion. Chief

I use HO on both sides when I double up like gun belts and lined holsters. I don't buy any Tandy Leather, did for years, but finally gave up on it. Additionally I can get HO B Grade for near what Tandy wants for their stuff and HO Craftsman grade for less. The Craftsman grade works ok for some situations, but I predominately use B Grade. Chief

Sylvia, Shipping a machine from England is probably pretty expensive, just didn't know if you'd noticed. Chief

I've never had Line 20 or 24 snaps fail, I set them with a hand press and they work pretty well. How are you setting them? Chief

Just my opinion, I've carved on several different surfaces, I wouldn't use the Quartz/Epoxy, if you're set on it, I would get a 1'X1' piece about 2" thick and try some carving on it. On the other hand, I agree that a 2.5ft by 8ft carving surface isn't necessary, many folks carve on a 12"X12" piece of granite, I have one that I've had for a long time that is 18" X 24" and it handles anything I've ever made in more than 40 years of carving. Lumber is a lot cheaper than Granite, I would set a 24"X36" piece into the front centered on the bench. Just my opinion, probably ain't worth much. Chief

Clear Lac, put on lightly and rubbed in. I normally do two light coats or Tankote (Cut with water 2 parts TanKote to one part Water) again two or three light coats with several hours drying in between followed by bufffing well. Either works well, I like the clear lac a little better and it is more durable, both are water resistant, but Clear Lac seems to be more so than Tankote. Both are available from several of the sponsors here, I get mine from Springfield Leather Company. Chief

Gator, It wasn't embossed and it wasn't lizard. The guy I sent it to said it was gator belly and side. Pretty nice sized piece, I made a couple of different projects out of it. 4 magnetic money clips and 2 business card cases, one of each is in my pocket the others I sold at a craft fair. Chief