Sheilajeanne

dprezgay, there's nothing listed for sale under your user name on E-bay. Did you sell them all?

I didn't think you doubted me. But I wanted to post a bit of eye candy for a horse lover and former Roy Rogers fan... (me!). He was a pretty special guy - adopted orphaned children no one else wanted. The day his little Downs syndrome girl died from mumps, his manager had to literally pull him away from a crowd of young admirers he was signing autographs for. He said he 'didn't want to disappoint the kids.'

So, I was right about the Roy Rogers saddle...

I am a member of a FB group called Callahan's Crosstime Saloon. Spider Robinson fans will understand When someone makes a really bad joke like that, we throw peanuts at 'em... 8888888888888888888

No doubt he did this saddle for Roy Rogers and Trigger! I think that type of edging was sort of a signature of his work: And I think this is the same saddle the stuffed Trigger was wearing in the Roy Rogers Museum. https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2Fpin%2F360076932679590293%2F&psig=AOvVaw3dSEXflah5KCc3KZRDlAkH&ust=1568753124688000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCMijkfma1uQCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAk

Interesting question! Following.... The only drawback I can think of is the wood stain might contain chemicals that are irritating to human skin, and most leather items do touch our skin at some point.

Hi, another resident of Ontario here! Very nice bag! The local Tandy store had some golden elk hide available the second last time I was there. It was absolutely GORGEOUS, but oh, was it EXPENSIVE!! In spite of that, it was sold out by the time of my next visit... Where do you get your elk hide, and what did it cost per square foot? Another question...I am very interested in porcupine quill work. Do you know of anyone who does it, and could help me learn? The sewing looks fairly straightforward. It's cleaning and dyeing the quills I'd like help with.

Fred, my vet sold me a box of 100 1 ml. syringes for $20. I'm good to go for a looong time!

I use 1 ml. syringes for measuring dye and transferring it from the dye bottles to my painting palette. One thing I notice is the rubber plungers on the syringes seize up after awhile, and don't want to slide through the syringe barrel. Then, of course, when they do move, there's so much pressure on them that the dye comes out really fast. This would really make a mess if I was using a syringe and needle for painting, and not just transferring the dye. (I don't need needles for transferring the dye, of course.) Some general tips for dyeing that I've picked up, and which you may/may not know already. When dyeing, a little goes a really long way. A 60 ml. syringe would be way, way too big. If I were working with a large project like a messenger bag, I might use a 3 ml. syringe for measuring and mixing dye, but would never need anything larger. Dye is usually diluted about 50/50 with denatured alcohol. One of the biggest risks when working with dye is spilling it and ruining your project. That's why I NEVER leave an open bottle of dye on my work surface. I take what I need out of the bottle, wipe the cap so it doesn't stick next time I need it, then recap it and put it away. I have some heavy bottomed glass shot glasses that I use when I'm dyeing. They are less likely to tip than light-weight containers. I used to use disposable plastic shot glasses (also used as medication cups in hospitals) but they were too easy to tip. Many leather workers have designed something to hold their dye containers when dyeing to keep them from tipping. One person has something like a wooden test tube rack with holes in it just the right size for the containers, which like mine, are the size of shot glasses. If I'm working with a small project or dyeing a really small area, I use a plastic painting palette, like the ones Tandy sells. The little cups only hold about a maximum of 1 ml. which really helps reduce the mess if something spills! Going to look into those needle bottles - they would DEFINITELY come in handy for dyeing small areas!

I think the pink one is a rivet setter.

If you are talking about leather thickness, I found this handy chart online, and have it on the side of my computer: https://www.tandyleather.com/en/leather-buying-guide.html

And to complicate things, most dyes contain alcohol. Some things that aren't soluble in water are soluble in alcohol, so if the sharpie ink is touching a dyed area next to the letter, that can cause problems, if the dye isn't completely dry! Always wise to do a test piece first!

I now know why my mother purchased a Seamstress sewing machine during the 1940's rather than a Singer. For most of the first half of the 20th century, the demand for Singer sewing machines exceeded the supply, so no doubt, they were more expensive to buy than other brands. I remember my mom telling me the Seamstess was cheaper, and if she'd bought a Singer she would have been paying more just for the name. A lot of the clothing I wore in the 1950's was sewn on that machine, and my sister-in-law, who is the sewer in my family, took it when my mom died at the age of 92. I don't know if it will ever be used again, as she has her own modern machine, but it's nice to know it's still in the family.

Those photos inspired me to look up the history of the Singer company on Wikipedia. Interesting read! Thank you for the photos.

Hello, Frodo, and welcome from a fellow Lord of the Rings fan! I have a dog named Star of Hope, and used to have one named Ranger Aragorn. You'll find the people here are pretty much a great bunch, and very willing to help newbies!

It's awesome the stuff I learn here, some of which has very little to do with leather working! Until this evening, I knew pretty much squat about sand casting! I had no idea the sand could be made to hold it shape, or that there could be a secondary mold inside the first one so the resulting piece was hollow inside.

The problem is we keep finding brand new misteaks to make....

JJN, there was a top and bottom to each casting when they were doing the machine arms. How would the sand in the top part stay in place while the metal was poured in? Or did the wooden patterns burn up as the metal was poured? (That seems quite wasteful!)

Did they cast those machines using the lost wax method?

To put my 2 cent's worth in here, what a person looks for in a wallet is very individual. However, to generalize, I've noticed men often don't bother with a change purse, they keep their change loose in their pockets. Women are more likely to want a change purse. Men generally want smaller, slimmer wallets, as they carry them in there pants pockets. Women carry their wallets in their purses, so their wallets can be larger. They sometimes go for a clutch style wallet that has a large change purse, and space for cards and cheque book. Some people want a wallet that can hold a lot of plastic cards. I have a friend (female) whose wallet is bursting at the seams. I couldn't even BEGIN to tell you how many cards she has stuffed into that wallet!! There's a middle section to the wallet that is JUST for cards - never seen a wallet quite like it in my life! Women like colourful wallets. One of my friends has a wallet with a beach scene painted on it. Another has a wallet that's pink. Men prefer basic black or brown. So, there's my thoughts. And as for what others have said above, please pay attention. They speak the truth. This is NOT an easy hobby to master, and you will never stop learning! Oh, and unfortunately the way we learn is from our mistakes...

I use a polished granite floor tile for tooling. It weighs a fraction of those Tandy slabs, and gives me a good tooling surface. I think the idea of the poundo boards on one side, and a granite tile on the other would work well, and be fairly easy to transport. The tiles are also much cheaper to buy! Edit: just looked up these tiles on the Home Depot website. They are about $5-6 bucks Canadian for a 1 foot square tile, or $7.20 for an 18 x 18" tile. I've had mine for about 5 years now, and it's never cracked or chipped, even though I've dropped it a few times. https://www.homedepot.com/b/Flooring-Tile-Natural-Stone-Tile-Granite-Tile/N-5yc1vZasju

That's AMAZING!! That factory was HUMONGOUS!! I worked in factories during the summer when I was a student. I shudder to see how little protection there was for the workers to keep their clothing or hands away from moving belts, stamping machines and other dangerous equipment. I assume the casting was done by the lost wax method, using wax molds that melted when the molten metal was poured in? I've used steel bearings to clean out the inside of Coleman lantern gas reservoirs (founts) but until I saw the scene in that film where they use bearings to polish the machine arms, I had NO IDEA just how efficiently the bearings can do the job!

Woldbill, I always balked at getting that Tandy marble slab. I thought it was ridiculously expensive. I went to Home Depot instead, and bought a 10x10 polished granite tile. So far, it has held up to everything I've done, and if it breaks, it's $12 to replace it! Places that make counter tops and headstones are also a good source for slabs, if you don't want to pay Tandy's prices. They will often let you have their off cuts for nothing.

The opening in the top part of the A's does not go all the way through. The leather has been stamped to make a small depression, then painted white to match the background.

There are commercial car harnesses for dogs. I'd have a look at how they attach to the seat/seat belt. That set up does not look at all safe!