fredk

I'm in a different country to you so trade names you know mean nothing to me. Use a good strong dish washing liquid soap-detergent

Start using your stitching pony. It will seem awkward at first but it will help you to concentrate on getting your sewing done nicely. Your work is very much fine for a beginner. It is not as bad as you think it is Apologies folks, but I just gotta say; gengado's work and attitude is far superior to someone else who was doing 'rustic' leather work. by the way gengado, I have made belts, bags, purses, pouches, hats and more, but I have yet to do a wallet like the one you have made. Well done for making it

First; simply scrub it [gently] with warm water with a good detergent [washing up liquid] in it. For tough greasy bits use the washing up liquid neat directly on the area. Rinse wash with more clean warm water. Never use hot water. More than tepid is bad. As it starts to dry out it'll need feeding. use a good leather conditioner; saddle soap or beeswax/neetsfoot oil mix. Let that dry. Apply more coats of wax and buff up between applications

I came across these letters; 15mm tall approx [about 5/8"]. Not what you are really looking for tho https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/208Pcs-Metal-Letter-Rivets-Studs-Rivet-Buttons-Fastener-for-Leather-Belt-Bag/401613992501

Always wise to keep wiping the lace with some soft wax mix On quick, small jobs I have hardened the ends of lace sized 1mm up to 2mm with superglue, then cut it at an angle to make a point. Only good for short runs tho

a. have you got enough lace screwed up into the needle ? b. when I use any needle for lacing I only use the needle to get the lace thru a hole or under another bit of lace, as soon the lace appears I pull on the lace, not the needle to get the rest of the lace thru

Very nice indeedy most clever

Do not think all belts and things in movies and TV productions are always of leather. Sometimes they use plastics

Many from the US on here use an arbor press from Harbor Freight [? afair] Cheap. Some need the press ram bar drilled out to take a stamp adaptor

As the coloured part has the same grained pattern I'd be thinking that the area showing [of the back piece ] has been dyed that colour and the window part glued over the rear piece

Sorry; I keep forgetting the language barrier. Meths , short for methylated spirits, a wood alcohol, bought from every chemists [drug store] or even supermarket. Here it is dyed purple. Cellulose thinners, aka lacquer thinner, for cellulose based paints which are mostly used on cars

With Mike's warning. I use cellulose thinners to cut through industrial finishes. On work I have done meths will take off resolene, then I use the cellulose thinners to remove the dye. I recently had a chap want some car fittings done in black; duly done, then he changes his mind and wants them in mid blue. Meths to take off the resolene then cellulose thinners to remove almost all the black dye - what was left was just a darkening of the leather. cellulose thinners dries out the leather something wild so it needs a good feeding with nfo afterwards

Buckle tongue bar to main hole = waist size

The name has an Italian thing about it. As you are in Scotland I would assess that it was done by a local Italian in Scotland. For those who do not know; Scotland and Northern Ireland became home for very many Italians. The rivets/upholstery nails around the edge are rather like the type and in position typical of the 1920s & 30s

Sometimes I do, or a beer, or fruit juice. I make my own meade; I have red and white, I drink it when and with what I like

Its what I call the 'Kings New Clothes' symptom. It has to be xxxxx because 'everyone' says it has to be. Like drinking white wine only with fish meals; I'll drink white wine whenever I please. Learn to never listen to those people who try to dictate 'rules'. There are certain ways of doing things because that way has worked out best/more efficient, but they are not the 'rules' When all is said and done, the stitches can be zig-zag, straight, herringbone, baseball, done by hand, foot or machine, as long as they are strong and fit for purpose is all that matters

Thats exactly what they are

Nice to see a result

just add up the square inches of each piece. Add a few more square inches for bits you cut off. Divide that total by 144 for your square footage eg; you do a wallet 9 inches by 4 inches = 36 sq" for the outside, x 2 for the inside as well = 72 sq ". Four card pockets, each about 4 in x 3 in = 4 x 12sq" = 48sq". . . . . 48 + 72 = 120 sq" .....1 sqft =144 sq" . . . . . 120/144 = 0.833 bar, or about 0.85 of a square foot 0.85 sq ft was used but the parts were cut from a larger piece, so I'd round that up to a full 1 sq ft.

5 oz - 2mm approx. You'll need to double that up for a decent belt. I don't use any thinner than 3.5mm for belts. We use thinner belts than our US chums as we have no requirement to carry heavy items on our belts. Our belts merely serve to hold our trousers up

29 ft is kinda average for a side in the UK. We have big cows

Not really; depends on just how stretchy it is. Try pulling it in different directions. It'll stretch most going away from the back bone. The leather will stiffen up a wee bit as you work it. I find belly is decent for womens' bags, as they try to cram the whole house hold into it. yup, they are. choose carefully, buy wisely, but they are an investment, just like a good knife. But try here too; https://www.leathercraftlibrary.com/ Via that library you can download most of Al's books - at a price of course, but often cheaper than a paper copy https://www.leathercraftlibrary.com/category/79/ebooks

Generally the thickest and stiffest part is along the back bone, it gets more stretchy the closer you get to the belly. Belts from the back, purses & book covers from the middle, light weight occasional bags from the belly, but as there is no hard line from one area to another a piece has to be judged on its own merits I never cut a side up. I cut a number of belt strips from it and then just use it as required. I'm not sure but I bet Al S said something in one of his books

The largest is about 3.25 by 3.6 inches - about 82 x 92mm

May be this helps. maybe not. I use the Tandy press - https://www.tandyleather.eu/en/product/craftool-pro-hand-press It is about 1.25 T pressure. Whilst is good for single letters using the adaptors, the ram bar has a small cross section/area. I have several embossing plates bigger than this. I put a 3mm steel plate between the embossing plate and the ram bar which has the wider letter adaptor fitted. I press the embossing plate centrally first, then I move the leather around carefully doing the outer edges of the embossing plate; its usually - top left, bottom right, bottom left, top right, centre left, centre right. As long as the embossing plate doesn't move out of register on the leather this gives me a pretty good even impression. My embossing plates are made of brass and of magnesium. I've recently purchased a couple of those from Bunkhouse, but not yet used them. Maybe in December. . . . Bunkhouse recommends a plate of steel over the resin plate and they supply a piece of hard rubber to go under the leather whilst pressing.