fredk

There have been a few threads about cutting costs or getting stuff cheap but they were by and for the US cousins so I thought I'd start one for the UK-ers I can't see anywhere else but here to run the thread 1. Granite chopping board. From Home Bargains = £4.99, exactly the same one sold by Argos is £9.99. Size is 40 x 30 x 1.3 cm. It may be thin but I've been stamping on it and it hasn't cracked yet. Certainly good enough for edge skiving if you don't want to chance the stamping on it 2. Next we visit the Poundland shop, so all these items cost.... ?? How much? anyone? Bueller? UHU glue. Look for the solid box. There is one with a window in the box, that tube is far smaller [half the contents afair]. Its a good contact glue, Easy to apply because it is a tube - and in my case you don't waste a load cos the rest of the glue in the tin has solidified. UHU is also available at some Home Bargains for... 99p a tube. Home Bargains sells a Bostick type glue in their own brand name; its good too, at £1 a tube. 3. Stainless steel roasting tin. I use these for dip dyeing. Holds enough dye and easy clean up 4. Compartment storage box, About 20 x 20 x 4cm. Divided up into twelve 5 x 5cm and one 10 x 10cm sections. Many of the partitions are removable making the areas longer [or wider, but not both ways]. Handy for keeping and segregating small things like small rivets, Chicago screws or Sam Browne buttons 5, Black box with lid.This one is just under the size of half of a folding crate. I throw scraps into a number of these, then sort out the stuff that can be used from the real waste. I make board games so any piece from which I can punch a 6mm disc is still good for me 6. Need to see better close up? I wear reading glasses. Available in powers from 1 D to 4 D. I have several in 2, 2.5, 3 and 3.5 powers for various tasks [not all leather work] They're cheap enough to have several pairs kicking around. My eye specialist [I can't spell her fancy title!] put a pair on one of her machines and she said the lenses were fine; almost as good as the ones she gets for customers. 7. A new style of reading glass on the block. With LED lights, one each side. I'm still checking these out. In low light they help but if you have bright working lights they don't seem to make much difference. These cost me £1.09 from China via ebay 8. Back home - to Home Bargains actually. A medium sized clear storage box, £1.69. I keep things that I use more frequently in these as I can see the contents better 9. At many discount stores; small spring clamps, usually about £1 to £1.50 for six or eight. Their jaws will mark leather so I use lolly sticks between the jaws and the leather, both sides. Not only does this prevent the leather from getting marked but it spreads the clamping force. And, yes occasionally the stick will leave a flat impression on the leather but it never looks bad. Normal lolly sticks at The Works; 50 for £1, or some craft stores 100 for £1, and wide sticks; 100 for about £1.50 Don't use the coloured sticks; the colour comes out and will stain the leather, it even stained some chrome tanned upholstery leather I have. 10 Another bargain. I'm currently 'remodeling' [ahem....clearing out, tidying, sorting the mess of, or as we say here 'redding it out' ] the room I do leather work in. I went to Homebase to look for another tool box and got this; £40, discounted from £160. It was a stock clearance sale. It pays just to keep yours eyes and ears open. I already had two drawer units [the top bit of this] from Halfords for my tools. Sometimes they discount the tool boxes too. Right, that's all from me for now. Over to youse.........

nah, if she says owt just say you need to have your own cos the other boys won't let you have the lend of theirs and they won't play with you if you haven't got one of your own - like a bowling ball

You can buy very basic airbrushes for the cost of a couple of magazines. An adapter can let you run it from a car tyre or; secondhand - can be picked up a spray tanning set up. A basic compressor with basic spray brush or two. I got a spray tan set 2nd hand 12 years ago for $10, compressor still working and does a good job. Thats loverly bit of work there immiketoo

Make sure your dye is really dry. Buff off any excess. Apply a thinned coat of Resolene [1 Res to 1 water]; let that dry completely. It'll lock the dye in. Subsequent coats of Res [also thinned] should not lift the dye colouring then

Many years ago a young artist I was working with said something which I carry through even yet. She liked to paint very modernist work, but week after week she painted people and pet portraits. I asked her about this. She said for every portrait she did she got more funds for doing the painting she really wanted to do. I follow this thru by making small items in upholstery leather [No, I don't scavenge]; these I sell at modest prices, profits go towards buying the more expensive leathers or tools for the higher priced range of goods.

A thought; use centre back or shoulder for the outside and belly for the lining. Belly will have plenty of 'give' in it, but will stiffen up a lot when it dries out after any wet moulding

The way Bob has shown to do the sewing at the top edge puts less strain on the top hole of the leather. I've seen items sewn with the thread not like that and the first couple of holes have torn like perforations on the edge of a stamp

dang, those are real beauties...

oh, my Josh, that is really a beautiful bit of work there

Check if its an acrylic; if it is, add alcohol - methylated spirits, IPA, vodka. Let it soak over night; shake and stir and see if it starts to dissolve into the alcohol. If it does keep repeating the adding/shaking/stirring over a number of days. If it doesn't show any signs of dissolving its too far gone. IMHO it's cheaper and better to throw it away and buy a fresh bottle

Very happy to hear your project is now saved I guess thats goin to be the slow-draw holster?

The swivel knife blade used for leather cutting widens out so that it leaves more of a wide bevelled cut and its easier to control the depth of the cut. An xacto or scalpel blade produces a fine straight edged cut and its too easy to cut too deep with it. That carving is looking much better. Get a modelling tool which has a ball on the end. Dampen your leather again then write around the edge of your letters etcetera with the ball of the modelling tool; it will help smooth out the lines https://www.tandyleather.eu/en/product/craftool-pro-modeling-tools

Not web sites - ebay sellers. I've bought from all of these three. Nothing to choose between them. All excellent work and speedy enough. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Custom-Leather-Flexible-Interchangeable-Letters-Stamp-Mold-for-Hot-Foil-Stamping-/131844191235?var=&hash=item1eb286b403:m:mo-Hbbdsc4Fqm_J4mnKejRA http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Custom-Seal-Stamp-Logo-Leather-Carving-Tool-Foil-Embossing-Stamping-Machine-Mold-/131849677396?var=&hash=item1eb2da6a54:m:m8JF0-uDByLiJGhePKo_gVw http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142322898759?var=441360988489 The second one does some 1cm letter sets. It'd cost at least £139 to have a full set http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Custom-Leather-Flexible-Interchangeable-Letters-Stamp-Mold-for-Hot-Foil-Stamping-/131844191235?var=&hash=item1eb286b403:m:mo-Hbbdsc4Fqm_J4mnKejRA

Not letter stamps, but I've had stamps of line-art cut in brass by a few sellers in China/Taiwan/Malaysia Cost from £14 for a 2cm stamp. Cutting is perfect to the line-art, even very fine lines have been reproduced. Takes about 9 -10 days from ordering & paying till the stamp drops through the letterbox. Tried 3 different sellers/cutters, just see if there was difference in quality or speed of delivery - not a sausage betwixt any of them Never a problem. I'll be ordering more soon

Get a couple of cheap thonging/lacing chisels and grind of the 'sharp' edge. A 4 pronger for the straight runs, a 2 or 1 prong for the curves. Or just get an old straight blade screwdriver, grind it down a bit to make it wider if necessary and do the dashes individually

Not 100% on this; I seem to remember we used vinegar on our boots. Try vinegar on a bit of cotton wool, rubbed gently

Know what you mean; I recently bought two books and they're 17 inches across by 11 inches high. I need a new bookcase

It looks very nice Stamping looks nicely done and quite quiet yes, it is a pity about the stitching wandering a wee bit but its a hand made sheath after all

Resolene will make the sharpie ink run and blur. Diluting the Resolene with water will make it even worse. In this case I would simply coat over the writing with bee's wax; rubbing it into the leather with a bit of linen or denim. But I'm not 100% sure that even this will not affect the writing

Egggcellent find; it looks quality made whoever the maker might be

Not exactly the same; https://www.tandyleather.eu/en/product/craftool-pro-edge-dye-roller-pen But I got one from china for about 1/7 the regular Tandy price http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DIY-Leather-Craft-Top-Edge-Dye-Oil-pen-Applicator-Belt-Strap-Finisher-Tools-New-/132163089188?var=&hash=item1ec588b324

Where are you based? Leprevo in England have two types; http://www.leprevo.co.uk/leathergoods.htm Look at the bottom section - Folio lock and Tucktite [it says not lockable but I bought a couple and they are lockable] or here; http://www.gdltradingnz.co.nz/shop/Example+Category+2/Locks/Folio+Lock++KA0131A+and+KA0130A.html and http://www.saddler.co.uk/shop.html?cr=2471&cdesc=tucktite_clasps_for_bags_and_cases

I take your point My sewing machines only have two wires coming from the foot pedal to the motor. The drill unit has two wires from the trigger to the motor. My father did a sort of reverse to this; he wired up an old s/m foot pedal to his vertical drill stand switch unit, so he could control it whilst using both hands on the work

I made for myself an end grain block. I use it when I'm punching holes. The punch can go into the end grain, it doesn't take any bits out of it and the edge of the punch is not harmed I use a block of granite - household heat proof counter top protectors - when I'm stamping by hand & hammer For general cutting I use a bit of cheap hardboard as my cutting board; when its all covered in cutting scars its goes into wood recycling. A new piece only costs a couple of $$ at most. When I started I had a very expensive very large self-healing cutting mat. It didn't really self-heal and I thought it was a waste of money.