Sheilajeanne

Agree with Tugadude! They are also selling Angelus paints, and have greatly increased the range of colours you can get for Fiebing's dyes. A year or so ago, I'd have to go to Michael's to buy Angelus.

I admit, it does sound pretty strange, and I hope other Tandy's aren't operating this way, too. They're shooting themselves in the foot if they are!

Yin Tix, there was a father and daughter in my leatherworking class, so they don't object to family members being in the same class. I'm suspecting the deal was only the wife bought a kit, and they're being cheap and saying BOTH husband and wife must buy kits before they can get in on the `free lessons`deal. Just guessing, but I think that may be the reason behind it.

Wow, way to turn off potential customers!! Tandy provides free lessons with every beginner's kit. It could be the rule is only the person buying the kit can take advantage of the lessons. But, still, you think they could make exceptions for a husband and wife team! It was that deal that got me permanently hooked on leatherwork, and I've put thousands of dollars into Tandy's coffers in the years since!

Excellent post! I do notice Tandy dropping a lot of the patterns that require extensive tooling from their product line, in favour of bags, purses and wallets that don't require any tooling. As someone who enjoys tooling, I'm not happy about this trend, but I can see the reason for it.

Apparently Al Stohlman knew a thing or two about puppies! This was posted by Peter Main on the Al Stohlman FB page, and since they look to be my favourite breed (or a mix thereof!) I decided to share!

Tandy did open up its library at one point, and allow everything to be downloaded for free. I am sure this book wasn't one of them, or I would have remembered it! Too bad - maybe we need to put pressure on them to put it in the library! I'm sure many people would be willing to pay to have a copy, even if it's digital!

Usually the amount of chemicals and processing that goes into creating artificial leather means it is not the environmentally friendly product it's advertised to be. Just sayin'....not that I think anyone on this board is going to dump real leather for something made of fungi!

Welp, you know what they say - you can fix anything but a broken tree or a broken heart! And from what we can see, the rest of the saddle looks to be in pretty good shape! Good luck - I think it will work out just fine with a little help from the members here.

Fred, I believe Dwight isn't referring to the ads, but to the pictures currently being shown in the Gallery. I agree - the Gallery is supposed to be for showing off your leatherwork, not showing old sewing machines.

I've spilled small spots of dyes in areas that hadn't been dyed yet. Rarely does the first coat of dye go on evenly, in my experience. By the time you've got the second coat on, everything usually evens out, unless it's really crappy leather. I would give Fred's method a try before dyeing the rest of the belt , if it really looks that bad.

Gorgeous work, Tim! And your tool rack makes me ashamed of mine!

Got a really nice veg-tan side from Tandy for $94.00 Canadian the other day. If you are able to shop in person, you can get nice stuff, as long as you go before the best sides or shoulders are gone. I got there while the store was still grading and sorting their shipment, and most of the sides were not that high quality: brands, holes, insect bites, wrinkles, etc. I went through quite a few of them before I found a really good one. So glad I live close enough to the store to shop in person. If I had to buy my leather from the States, shipping fees are ridiculously high!

That was going to be MY question, too!

I'm sure I will use the leftover grommets for leather working at some point, but right now, they are going in a nylon canopy for my gazebo! I will be careful with the measuring, to make sure they fit.

Thanks, Fred! I was thinking they might be like rivets, with different sizes for different thicknesses of material.

I need to put some grommets into a nylon canopy. Anyone know if the grommets used in leather work are different from the ones meant for fabric? I've asked several leather workers, and none of them could tell me.

Angelus is the go-to paint for leatherworkers. Even Tandy has started to sell it!

I once had a cat that could break out of just about any cat carrier ever made. Same with harnesses! I eventually found a figure of 8 harness that worked very well. It was just a long leather strap with a single buckle, and was very easy to put on him! There are some examples on this page here: https://www.amazon.ca/s?k=figure+8+cat+harness&gclid=Cj0KCQjw-uH6BRDQARIsAI3I-UebzpZjzzluy30ULJO63tET4Qi7iCVsrac3kBycGpBTj5O9ky7KLfAaAgt_EALw_wcB&hvadid=249805138783&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9000736&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=17754287918582392215&hvtargid=kwd-3722692357&hydadcr=4088_9337052&tag=googcana-20&ref=pd_sl_34ixqhlimw_e The harness I had was even simpler. It did not include the plastic plate on the top that the straps thread through. If I can find it, I will post a picture. It was the simplest thing you could imagine, but oh my gosh, it WORKED when no other type of harness did! Edit: found it, and am VERY surprised to find it doesn't fit my current cat! I always thought he was very small compared to the cat I bought it for! Anyway, here's how it goes on: Position buckle on top of cat's shoulders, with the tab for the leash next to it. Run strap around cat's neck, then through the tab and under the cat's belly and up the other side. Fasten the buckle. What I like about it is there is only the one buckle to worry about, and it doesn't interfere with the cat's shoulder movement the way many harnesses do. And when the cat tries to get free, both the neck and belly portions of the harness tighten to prevent escape!

Did that mean some of the metal had to be completely replaced? How much of the original metal was re-usable? I'm in awe of the craftmanship that went into the original, and also, therefore, into your restoration! I'm sure most people would have cut some corners when it came to things like the angle of the seat back!

Fred....wow....just...WOW!! I guess there's always someone that enjoys a challenge!

Someone was actually trying to SELL that rusted lump??

Scott, that looks really good! And I don't know why lanolin should be expensive: it's a byproduct of the wool industry. It has to be removed from the wool before it can be spun into yarn!

You need to give lessons to most of the rest of us! That is just so clean and professional looking!

As I said in my first post, you'd never think something that damaged could be restored AT ALL!