fredk

Thanks. I'd try making a milk-bottle-maul but I don't have any of the tools for finishing it off, nor access to the tools

what I really wanna know is, how many milk jugs are needed!?!

seems to be a dead link. I PM'd you a copy

May I plead - lets cool it folks, before this may escalate into personal attacks

Other than having two sets of letters A few methods, using word BOOK 1. Do B, then O, use a Q as a spacer, do K, leave K in place, remove Q and replace with O, and if necessary place Q over first O 2. Use an alignment frame, like this; https://www.tandyleather.eu/en/product/leather-stamp-guide Mark where the side of the first O block would be against the second O. Hand stamp each letter, move O over to the marks and stamp. I use a jig like this or one made of thick card for use under my press. I align all the letters needed, for a duplicate letter I put in a letter block the same size. I remove that letter block, cover the rest with a piece of steel plate and press. I then move the duplicate letter into place and press again. Thats how I did something with the name ROGER on it ~ although the R is on the ends the name had to be aligned and set inside a design so I needed to use a letter blank on the end

Dunno bout you, I plan to be around for a looooong time yet!

Here in N.I. car electricians use a heat shrink with heat activated glue inside. Its rather the standard h/s at suppliers now.

I have. But you need to go back about 1000 years to find out how its made. It was used on some Viking leather items found in excavations in Dublin. It wasn't in the remit of the arckies to discover what the glue is/was, all they could say was it seemed to be pine tree tar and propolis and 'other' constituents btw, I agree that felt is wrong for the lining

Perhaps your heat shrink didn't shrink down far enough? I use h/s which has an i/d close to the o/d of the tool, that way it shrinks down real tight

Rather than glue, use double sided adhesive tape. It will hold the leather securely and after peeling the leather off the remains of the adhesive tape can be removed with WD40. WD40 will dissolve the adhesive without damaging the laptop case

Have you tried thinning it waaaaaaaaaaay down, like 5 or 6 water to 1 dye. Then dipping, if you can, and building up the colour by successive dips, allowing the item to dry a bit in between dips?

Mark a set of lines across using a pointed marker pen then cut with a jewellers 3-square file. Then mark the counter lines and cut again with the 3-square

I went to a Tandy* once and checked over some leather. A lot of their leather was stored on shelves in a shop, in direct sunlight and high warmth. The leather was all as stiff as thick cardboard or mdf. imo it should not be. Even the thickest should be flexible. With the Tandy stuff I could not bend 2.5mm leather without it starting to crack - that is way too dry. I have all thickness of leather and I can bend them right back on themselves with never a crack. I have the last piece of a 3.5/4mm water buffalo hide which is now about 12 years old; it has cracked where it is folded over, but other than that area the rest is still flexible and useable Adding nfo to very dry leather aint gonna do much, it can help slightly dry leather or to replace oils lost during dyeing and casing Use what you have on simple projects but I'd advise getting top quality leather from another supplier. Others might join in here and advise you on suppliers in your area. Using poor quality leather can frustrate you, it'll throw up problems for you. With good quality leather you'll be encouraged to do more * there is only one Tandy anywhere near me

A. it is labour intensive, but I believe any job worth doing needs taking time over, sure I'll take short-cuts to speed up work, but not if the end result suffers b. my beeswax/nfo/carnauba wax mix is quite hard, almost as hard as straight beeswax. A 50/50 sort of mix like yours I only use to feed leather, then use the harder mix on it. c. my method is simple. I lay the belt/strap on my work bench. on the flesh side, I apply wax mix to about 4 or 6 inches using a bit of denim or linen cloth. I rub it in hard, then do another 4 or 6 inches until I get to the end of the belt. Then I start again, applying less wax mix, but to both sides of the belt. On the third time, I use a clean rag to rub the belt/strap, buffing it hard, section by section, one side at a time. On the fourth time I use a shoe-polishing brush to buff the belt along its length, each side. Fifth time I use a soft rag to buff the belt. I keep checking this for any dye rub off, happy to say usually there is none. Sixth time, the belt/strap is pulled through my hand a few times. I have a clean soft cloth in my hand for this. As I do this I can work the leather to make sure its flexible and the edges are well rounded. d. the heat generated by the rubbing in and buffing is usually enough to soften and melt the wax mix. Only in very cold weather [ie summer here] do I use something like a hairdryer to soften the wax mix e. my times mentioned above are kinda guesses, I've never actually timed it. f. basically the same process for a bag, but most parts need doing before assembly hth

Where did you get the leather? It looks like it could be some old dried out stuff. Good leather needs only a small amount of neatsfoot oil to feed it after dyeing. A wipe over with a sponge dampened with nfo can be enough A couple of things which could have prevented the glue from sticking, a: too much nfo and b: it looks like one surface is smooth grain [?] Glue don't like smooth grain, you need to rough it up some with 40 or 60 grade sandpaper. Even burnished flesh side needs roughed up some The cracking on the loops is leather too dried out and you probably [I'm guessing] did not wet the loop before bending it over

Stem length should be about 3mm longer than the thickness of the leather. Too short and the rivet will not set, ie join, properly and the head could come off under strain. Too long and the stem has nowhere to go within the head so it bends over displacing the head from where you want it. Use a head size according to the strain which might be put on the rivet. The stem length can be cut shorter to suit. Its easy enough to cut For decorative purposes I use 4mm head, for joining lightweight leather which is also stitched I use 6mm head, but usually I use 8 to 10mm head. Afair the guige to shield rivet [above photos] was an 11 or 12mm head and the other was a 9mm. Basically you want a wide head to spread any staining load or the leather will pull out round the head, like a Sam Brown stud. A double-head ready rivet is just a single head type with a head cover over the base of the stem, it plays no part in altering the strength of the rivet, but it does make it look better if both sides of the rivet can be seen, also, I've found that the base of a single-head type can split and have a sharp edge so the head cap covers that, less chance of hurting anyone. I only use double-head rivets now. Slightly more expensive but worth it, imo

A. its as Matt says B. A lot of 'experts' don't know what they are talking about. Correctly set rapid rivets are as strong as any rivet. I've been using them for nearly 20 years and I've never had one fail yet. One primary use I've used them on is on medieval type shields. The shields get used in full contact fights. They get thrown, literally, around by their straps. Never has a rivet failed. Here's a close up of a guige riveted to the wood shield. This particular shield spent 7 days fighting at Bannockburn 4 years ago. The rivet on the right was whacked with a flat face hammer on a flat anvil. The middle one was set using a setting bar on the anvil. the one on the left is not a rivet but a snap for easy removal of the guige. The guige from a different shield which was also used at Bannockburn. 7 days of full contact fighting, the shield being thrown around by its straps. These 'experts' just keep repeating what other 'experts' have said - they've probably never actually used rapid rivets and they just perpetuate the myth that a rapid rivet is not strong whereas in my experience they are strong.

I was wondering that as well but didn't want to look daft asking..... not that you're daft, just smart to actually ask ....so thanks for that link

If you can get the dimensions and the shape, carve one out of wood

1. If you've done your prep right any water should soak into the leather. If it remains as drops on the surface then the leather still has lacquer on it which needs removed as the dye will not get past the lacquer 2. The bigger the better, maybe even a small small spray-gun. A small air-brush will only cover about 2 square inches at a time, you need and will want to work faster. You can get non-compressor spray-guns. You'll need something that can take 500ml [1 UK pint] at a time. With a spray-gun you don't need to worry about the tip, you just want a fan spread. Most good spray-guns have a rotatable head so you get the fan vertical, horizontal or at any angle. Check out car spray painting equipment as well as equipment for spraying outside woodwork. 3. At least 50:50, depends on spray equipment. With a small airbrush I sometimes go to 1 dye to 3 water/alcohol mix 4. Resolene can be diluted with water or alcohol. I use a mix of both. 2 coats might do but I reckon you'd be needing 5 coats, to give long lasting protection and a bit of a shine. More coats = more shine.

Use an elephant stamp and then use a hair tool to put fur on it

1. Hard to say. It'll depend on absorption. I'd recommend have no less than 4 x 32oz bottles each of dye and resolene to hand. 1 x 32oz of deglazer should do 2. Cloth rag only. Scotchbright will scratch the surface 3. I prefer Fiebings standard leather dye, others will recommend the Pro dye 4. Minimum of 18*, 20* better 5. You'll not be 'casing' the leather, but having it moderately damp will help with the spread of the dye thru the leather 6. Yes, dilute the dye. You can apply the dye with a sponge or better yet get a cheap airbrush and compressor and spray the dye on. You'll have better control over the colour density

That looks very nice indeedy Its in the details you know; I see you worked a 'joint' on the arms of the Cross

Could you not just cut the hangy bits with shears/scissors, using the Mk.1 eyeball for judging the width ? By the way ~ This is a bad idea. I tried it and I left the glue on too long and couldn't separate the leather from the card. I tried soaking the combo and most of the card came off but some remained as did the layer of glue. Edit; This is my 1100th post!

Nearly there; two ways; 1. apply a resist first, eg a few coats of resolene, then apply an antique. Wipe off immediately - do not allow it to dry at all. Use kitchen paper towel folded up into a stiff wad block, or even a few layers on a block of wood - refresh the paper surface frequently; one wipe, new paper etc 2. use a dye like Fiebings standard type. Then use a cloth wad, wetted with alcohol such as meths or IPA, to wipe over the work. A stiff wad of cloth or wrapped around a bit of wood. Refresh the cloth surface frequently. The alcohol will remove almost all the dye from any raised surface but will leave some staining behind.