Chief31794

Started with a rawhide mallet many decades ago, converted to poly and still use them. I tried a maul but didn't like it, like someone else said, it's a personal thing. I had trouble striking my tools solidly with a maul, but that's probably because of how long I've been doing it with a mallet. My suggestion is if at all possible, try both and determine for yourself which is more comfortable and usable by you. The more comfortable and confident with whichever tool you choose the better the results will be. Just my opinion, Chief

May have been calfskin, lots of high end wallets have calfskin interiors. Chaylor-Fennelli interiors are calfskin and very suple, you can get them from Springfield Leather Company. Someone else may know where you can buy calfskin to make your own. Chief

Hang in there Devil Dog, it is a good machine, just takes some time and practice. Thanks for your service, I retired from the Army in 1990 as what you guys would call a Gunner (Army Chief Warrant Officer). Chief

Brian, Hard to diagnose without being there, but a couple of things. 1) Skipping stitches in mostly caused by the incorrect size needle for the thread you are using. I normally use 277 thread and a 200 size needle. The manual explains how to check the needle on a piece of thread to make sure it glides through the eye easily. 2) The needle must be installed correctly, if it's canted a little it will skip, it takes some practice to hold the needle perfectly straight so the eye is aligned perfectly from left to right. There is also a cutout in the needle (Scarf) make sure it is mounted toward the set screw. Shortening stitches can happen if you're holding the piece too tightly and restricting movement, also if the thread is binding for reasons above. It takes a little time but it gets easy to set it up and sew well with it. If you are still having trouble, call Tippman, they will spend as much time as you need to help you with it. Chief

X2 on Springfield Leather, they'll sell you what you need and don't require you to buy a whole side or whole shoulder, etc. They do sell Hermann Oak shoulders, sides, bellies, everything but the nose and the tail. The Hermann Oak I get from Kevin is absolutely beautiful. They sell different grades as well. Grade B is beautiful and the Craftsman Grade (which is a lot cheaper) is extremely good. The ladies there that answer the phone are very knowledgeable and can help you decide what you need. Like Jason said 5/6 oz Hermann Oak glued together flesh side to flesh side with Contact Cement is perfect. Most people stitch the entire edge if the holster is lined, that not only assures the lining adherence but also looks very nice. Welcome to the obsession of Leather Craft, Chief

X2 on Springfield Leather Co. Excellent Customer Service and good prices. Chief

Ched, I don't have an answer, you might get more input on this if you posted it in the Other Specialty Forum under Clothing, Jackets, Vests and Chaps As to your question about Snake Skin you might want to post that in the Exotics, Reptiles, Furs and others forum section. Sorry, but I don't have a clue, Chief

I started at local craft fairs, bluegrass festivals (Instrument straps), I still do those, but have a customer base locally now and I also sell some items out on ETSY. I started that about a month ago and I have sold some items but I think it will pick up pretty good as we get closer to Christmas. We'll see! Chief

I sell what I make, have a business license, but I don't put in 8 hours every day, I'm retired and let the hobby pay for itself. I wind up hand stitching nearly everything, I bought it, but honestly can't justify the cost. If I were a production shop, then a machine might pay for itself, but like the old Grump I'd rather handstitch. (Note: since I bought it and justified it to my other half, I sew something on it once in a while when she's in the shop just to cut down on the aggravation of answering, "Thought you needed that machine to sew things?") Chief

I know Tandy used to sell this guide, I believe it was discontinued. You might try calling the warehouse in Fort Worth, Tx, the phone number can be found on Tandy Store Locator. If there are any left laying around they would know about them. Local Stores wouldn't necessarily know. I am pretty sure this thing was available as soon as like 5 years ago. It was advertised to aid in setting decorative studs (rivets) along an edge, I never under stood it because you still have to punch the holes unless you're setting something that is very thin and can be punctured by the stud. Give em a call in Fort Worth, that's their headquarters. Chief

Another great thing about Springfield Leather, if you don't need the whole shoulder you can buy what you need, they sell Hermann Oak for less than Tandy's leather and will take an order for as little as 2 Sq Ft. They are truely a Service Oriented Business giving customers what they want. They are also very knowledgeable, call the order in, you get a person, ask a question you get an answer, if you aren't sure what you need they'll ask you what you're going to use it for and then suggest to you the best product for the project. They also sell Tandy products at Tandy prices. Chief

Boss Here, still hand stitch a lot also. The machine is good for some things but hand stitching is hard to beat on everything except time. Chief

X2, you shouldn't have any trouble with Veg Tanned by wetting, waiting, stamping. Carving requires a more detailed wetting process called casing but for stamping only, thouroughly wetting with a sponge and water, and then waiting for it to dry back close to normal, it should stamp like butter. Chief

The rawhide should work fine, don't pound the leather, wet the leather well first, then let it dry back til the surface is just beginning to lighten back up, then start stamping. You don't have to hit hard, if you're deforming a leather mallet, you're hitting way too hard. Most mallets these days are Poly but many still use the rawhide mallets. Chief

I use both, contact cement when I install liners (always oversized and then cut to match what I'm lining. I use Tanner's Bond (probably what you saw them using) when I close a seam or put welts in a seam and close it before stitching. They both seem very durable and hold pretty much the same in my opinon, the reason I use Tanner's Bond instead of Contact Cement is when I want time to make sure every thing is lined up perfectly such as closing a holster or sheath, I normally use closepin style plastic clamps of various sizes to hold the two leathers together until they set (about 30 minutes). That gives me time to get them well aligned. Contact Cement pretty much sticks as soon as they touch and it doesn't come loose or give you much opportunity to align the pieces. That's just how I've always used them, each has it's place in my opinion. Chief

An alternative to scribing a line (if the line doesn't get eradicated by the stamp it will show up after dying usually, particularly with any kind of highlighting or antiquing process), is to take a piece of scrap, wet it, stamp the border stamp into it. Then take a pair of wing dividers, set them in one point of the stamp (such as a veiner) and adjust them to where the other leg marks right outside the other end of the border tool. Then use a ruler to measure in what ever distance you want from the border 1/4", 5/16", 3/16" etc make a mark with a stylus where you wish to start then move the ruler down the border and use the wing dividers to measure from one mark to the next aligned to the proper distance from the edge on the ruler. Mark it all the way down to where you wish to stop, then stamp the border by aligning one end in the first hole and the other just next to the next hole and continuing to move down, then you have a perfectly aligned border with no lines showing what so ever, and the little marks the wing divider makes are stamped away. Hope that helps, Chief

Retired Army Officer retired in 1990, Retired from a Large Defense Contractor March 1, 2012 where I was the VP, Logistics Services Group. On Social Security and a Disabled Combat Veteran from the Viet Nam era. Now I lose money operating Chief's Leather Works but I'm having a ball. Chief

First, welcome to Leatherworker.net, this is a great place and there is a lot of information searchable through the search bar. I would suggest you take advantage of all the free videos on Youtube, just search for leathercraft, leatherwork, leather, leather carving, make a wallet, etc. You'll be amazed. In the "How Do I Do That" forum there are several pinned posts at the beginning mostly of tutorials and good to know tips and techniques. Second, there are lots of free videos on Tandy at: http://www.tandyleat...aft-Videos.aspx Third, there are premium videos on all sorts of topics for about $10.00 a month, you can subscribe here (Still Tandy): http://www.leathercr...nal-videos.aspx Kevin at Springfield Leather Co, has a new video on leather working, you can buy it at: http://springfieldleather.com/ he has some free info as well. Many of the sponsors on LW Forum have info, videos, tutorials, etc. Give them a look, support the folks who support us. There is a myriad of books and such that are available on the web, from our sponsors, from Tandy, etc. Hope this helps, Chief

For those that do like Black River Laser's products and services, they have a new guitar template that will go on sale very soon. There is a video about the new template on youtube at http://youtu.be/evXYOvi-cv4 Chief

I wear denim aprons, I have two that are Weber grilling aprons and one that is just plain blue denim. They basically keep the dye mishaps from getting on my shirts and that's what I want them to do. Chief

Won't work, for tooling you need Vegetable Tanned Leather. Chief

Great work as usual, congratulations!!! Chief

Bob, I use the plastic bag and fridge method as well, sometimes I just keep in on the shelf in the plastic bag and I can't tell any difference. I make sure I put it in the refridgerator if it may be more than 24 hours before I get to it for carving. I haven't determined any difference. Maybe if the temperature was set so low that the freezing point was being reached (like the Coke Zero's) in my house drink refridgerator. I use Bob Parks method with the exception that Bob advocates wetting, then letting the leather return to carving condition before bagging. I usually wet it then bag it and then I have to wait for it to dry and return to carving condition after I take it out of the bag before I start carving, that may be why I haven't noticed any difference in the feel if there is some. Chief

I always used poster board and it holds up for 4 or 5 uses but then has to be replaced. I recently converted to Black River Laser templates, you can create a template or send one you have or send them a file (not sure what format they need, but Joyce or "Stitchwizard" as she goes by on this forum can tell you) and they'll make you a permanent template out of laser cut acrylic. They are beautiful, I recommend you give them a try, their prices are extremely reasonable and their products are first rate. Chief

Just personal experience but the Fiebings White Dye is anything but, it is more like milk and will not dye anything that I've tried white. I wanted to use it for painting eagle heads but it was not even close to white, pretty much transparent, so now I paint them with cova dyes, for a belt, I think I would check with Springfield Leather or one of the other suppliers, might be surprised. The chrome tan glued to a piece of Veg Tan seems like the way to go and gives you a belt with a smooth liner to boot. Ken