Sheilajeanne

936 is just a little smaller than 701. You do need bevelers of different sizes, but since the difference between 936 and 701 is quite small, I'd go for the larger beveler instead, if money is an issue. Yes, B60 is an undercut beveler, for lifting different areas of your designs. If you are going to do Sheridan style carving, where you are tooling leaves and flowers, you will eventually need one, though the simple designs you show above likely wouldn't need it. The arrows point to areas of this leaf where you'd use this sort of beveler: Edit: I probably should say this was our project for the third or fourth week of the beginner leather working course at Tandy. My tooling skills have improved since then! Bill, thank you for your patience with me...I will never forget you! God rest your dear soul...

I just found out the 4th World Leather Congress is taking place in New York City the weekend after next. New York isn't all that far from me, so I am thinking of going, but would like to know more about what to expect before I decide. It's free to register, but I am NOT a fan of big cities like New York, so that's one reason I'm hesitating. Also would have liked to have found out further in advance for the sake of booking a flight/accommodation. Okay, I HAVE driven to New York in one day, but I was much younger then, and it was one of the WORST trips of my life.... Another incentive is I have a cousin who lives in Great Neck, and she's not in good health. This could be my last chance to visit with her.

Holy crap, that's a LOT of cards!! Paper records are vulnerable to fire, water and mildew. Yes, you REALLY need to preserve those in some other form. I've been working on my family history, and pretty much an entire Canadian census was lost due to the records being damaged by a flood.

I've done a messenger bag from a Tandy pattern, and that was exactly how they dealt with the lower end of the gusset - there was a V-shaped notch in it to keep it from wrinkling. Never had a problem with the stitching!

Very nice! Is that a binding on the edge, or just very professional edge slicking and painting? HOw did you finish the edge of the gusset?

Too late to edit - the last word in that sentence, should, of course, be shaders, not bevelers! DUH!

You can do an awful lot with the six basic tools Tandy includes in its beginner kit. Most of what you see on that belt can be done with these tools, or very similar ones. The basic tools, which you can view here, are: https://www.tandyleather.com/en/eflyer/craftool-stamps-fullpage A backgrounder, for filling in backgrounds A104 A beveler, for beveling along the lines of your swivel knife cuts: B 701 or similar. Undercut bevelers are used for lifting the edges of petals and leaves, and are also very useful for Sheridan type carving, though they aren't one of the basic tools that come with the kit: B 60. A crescent shader- C 431 (has many uses - borders, decoration of stems, etc.) A pear shader - most commonly used is a cross hatched one such as P217, though there are also smooth and lined bevelers. A veiner, such as V 407 and a seeder S 706, used for flower centers, etc. Another tool that has been used on most of those belts is a mule foot, for example, U 851. If you are in to basket weave stamping, which is frequently used for decorating belts, wallets, ect. a basket weave stamp is a must. https://www.weaverleathersupply.com/learn/how-to-videos/tools/stamping-leather-with-a-basketweave-stamping-tool

tturtle said it was 6 oz Horween Dublin.

Our local Tandy store still has the Craftool Pro stamps available, but I imagine once the stock runs out, that will be it. If you can visit a Tandy store near you, they may have what you need. If they don't, and really care about your business, they may be able to order the stamps from another store that still has them in stock.

That was my first thought, too. The machines I used in Home Ec. in school had knee controls. I liked them much better than the foot pedal on my mom's machine.

A quick search on Google turned up this thread on Leatherworker.net:

Exactly, Tom! However, some of the designs posted are downloadable, and the photos are a good source of inspiration to leatherworkers of all abilities. I've already downloaded a couple of Al's wallet templates for possible future use. He WANTED people to use them - he was always teaching! Even in the scenes he did for the Tandy calendar, he'd leave part of the picture unfinished, and stamp the tools he'd used beside the picture to show people which ones were needed for finishing the picture.

Gee, let me guess....

Very nice! Reminds me of the Roman shoe I posted earlier this week in Leather History!

I have recently joined this FB group, and the work being shown is AMAZING!! It started just 2 days ago, and already has over 1,000 members. If you are interested, google "Facebook Ann and Al Stohlman Group". I think Peter Main is the organizer behind it. And oh, the regret I feel when I find out Ann and Al spent over 20 years in my neck of the woods, just at a time in my teens when I developed an interest in leather work, but let it drop because I hadn't a clue what I was doing, and there was no one to mentor me... We also had a Radio Shack/Tandy store that wasn't too far away, where I could have bought what I needed to get started.

Ridiculously expensive for a block of wood, eh?

I think Mike has the best advice! Yes, be REALLY careful! As a one-person operation, you can't afford to be cheated on this.

Yeah, I store mine in a piece of 2x4 with holes drilled in it. Only problem is, due to recent purchases, I now need a BIGGER piece! I put labels in the middle of the rows between stamps with the names of the stamps on them, and they are sorted according to letter and number, similar to what you've done. I also bought a plastic storage rack from Tandy when it was on sale, and my most recent purchase of a large lot of tools and decorative stamps included 2 nice plywood boxes with dividers in them to hold stamps. I am thinking of sewing covers I can put over top of them to keep dust and dirt out when I'm not working on a project. Cleaning between the tools when you have over 100 of them becomes a real PITA! Too true!

I just realized something while reading this. Sewing machines are one of the few mechanical thingamajigs where women (especially OLDER women) have an advantage over men, because we were expected to take Home Ec. in school, while the guys took Shop. Many of us also had a sewing machine at home that we were allowed to use. And that means, of course, that we LEARNED how to use sewing machines. And a leather sewing machine, in most ways, still works pretty much like a domestic one...meaning I knew immediately what was wrong with the way the machine was being threaded! Sorry, guys, you will have to forgive me...having a moment here!

Thanks for the info, Mike!

bikermutt07, can you remember the names of the other videos on doing markets, so I can search them on his website? Sorry, couldn't get the bolding to turn off after I copied and pasted your name!

[sigh!] Was afraid you were going to say that! Where can I get one? Yes, new basement much, much drier than old, and mostly fully finished with a beautiful HUGE craft room. The house came with 2 dehumidifiers, so I have them both running. Unfortunately, there is nowhere else to store my leather, but I am keeping a close eye on it! So far so good...only moisture in the basement was when the water softener packed it in and started to leak! As it was the middle of spring thaw, and raining outside, I FREAKED!! I was actually relieved when I discovered where the water was coming from, although the idjits who had installed the softener hadn't equipped it with a shutoff valve, so I had to shut the water down at the main. No longer have a softener...never wanted it in the first place!

Thanks, Ferg. WOW, that's a LOT of punches! Definitely beyond my skill level right now, but would love to see just how the shoe is put together! It looks like the back of the display case has individual pieces of one of the shoes displayed at many times their actual size. Got to be some books out there with more detail...screwed up my knee when gardening on the weekend, so I no longer have any excuse to not get back into my leatherwork, which I've been neglecting since I moved in December! When I see something like this it just makes me drool...I'd so love to make one. Maybe I SHOULD buy that patcher Wiz is suggesting I buy! How heavy is a machine like that, and how hard would it be to get it down 13 stairs to the basement? https://leatherworker.net/forum/topic/86163-singer-machine-with-table-and-motor/

Just found this picture of a woman's shoe from 2000 years ago, and it inspired me to dig deeper. Wow, I would SO love to visit the Saalburg, and see these shoes in person! The craftsmanship is exquisite! https://mymodernmet.com/womens-shoes-ancient-rome/?fbclid=IwAR3SO4duDxLTDw1n9dgTmPuCqF322fS-pGiYdPn7Nx2FtejMwNJJs4w4puo https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/08/18/2000-year-old-roman-shoe/