fredk

Try deglazer. I had a bit of leather that wouldn't take dye evenly; deglazer didn't make much difference so I used cellulose thinners [aka lacquer thinners to you maybe] to clean it, that did the job well, but it also took oils out of the leather, but that didn't matter too much as I just used beeswax/neetsfoot mix on it to replace the oils. For some things I brush Resolene on. Its a 1:1 mix with water. I get small air bubbles but I don't let them dry, I just keep brushing over them till they are gone.

Most excellent, very nice indeedy Better taking time and doing neat work than trying to rush it.

The bubbles will pop but leave minute circular marks looking like tiny holes.

I like it, but I'm not sure just when I could use it

I use Fiebling's Deglazer. Sometimes, very rarely, I use lacquer thinners

I either dip or use a sponge for dye. A sponge for neetsfoot. Sponges are the cheap washing-up ones 10 for 99p [10 for $1 to you] For buffing; As Mattsbagger, bits of old teeshirts or cotton rag I get from a car finisher supplier. All disposed of after a project is done. Only one not thrown away too often is my rag block for applying beeswax/neetsfoot polish finish on.

Well that just look fine so it does

50/50 = 50% of A plus 50% of B can also be written 1:1, or 'equal amounts' In the discussion earlier they are talking of thinning Resolene (a) with water (b), in equal amounts

Well, thats certainly another take on it. Polymer Clay, aka FIMO and Sculpey, are normaly available in 2 ounce blocks. It'd take a quare lot of them to make a shape for a bag tho. But each maker does a special bulk pack of around 1 to 2 pounds in certain colours at a much cheaper per ounce rate

Its clever. I've used those types of magnets and they really are very strong so I doubt that the chuck would drop or even move very much unless it gets a great deal of sideways force. Used carefully, with the alignment of the pressing tool, eg a 3D letter or picture stamp, checked right to the point of contact, it should work wonderfully well mmm, this is giving me ideas; I have a spare chuck, magnets, ...........................

Most excellent. Nice display. Best of Luck May it bring you in a load of orders, if thats your desire

I would think that to use a die to cut the belts you'll need a die-press, an expensive bit of machinery for just starting up. You can buy these templates much cheaper. These are just one style of templates, there are others http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142176518874?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

I mostly agree with electrathon; get a a diamond shaped awl and use two needles to sew. It really does make a difference. With those you can use any size thread you want. The self-contained awl/needle thingy has its place in the tool kit. in my case I hardly ever use it but it has its uses.

Also; when hitting with a hammer/mallet, don't just rely on the straight down impression. Tip the stamp to the top, hit again, tip to right, hit, tip to left, hit, tip to bottom and hit again. Takes care to do it so the stamp doesn't move and give you a 'ghost' image. Strike - North pole, then North, East, West and South.

Beautiful to see, but not to be messed with. The pups are wise

A tip; if you are using regular printing paper, you can make it semi translucent and waterproof by giving it a good coating of beeswax/neetsfoot oil mixture

Chemically smells are retained and carried by oils. You need to replace the oils in that leather. If its veg tanned try giving a really good fresh dose of neetsfoot oil, to push out and replace the old oils. Then hang it up in a warm airy place to let the neetsfoot oil evapoarate out a bit. If the smell is really bad you may need to do this again

interesting I must look out for this

Did you case [wet] all the leather before doing the stamping? Did you let it dry completely [or near completely] and evenly all over before dyeing? If I see a part of cased leather drying faster than the rest I redampen it with a slightly wet sponge to make sure it all dries at the same rate, evenly.

Maybe the original is Wookiee hide?

I would use 1 to 1.5 mm upholstery leather for this. Sewing; place two shaped parts grain to grain, sew edges with a saddle stich, turn inside out, pad out with wadding. Fold over and glue the strap lengths Can't see signs of stiching around that bit on the front. For that I'd cut out the shape on the main piece and glue the insert in place on the inside, pad it out a bit with wadding, then glue a thin lining leather, eg pigskin, over that wadding and the insert part. Assemble as above. If the original was leather and the insert on the front was sewn; I suppose it was done by cutting out the area, leaving an edge to fold inwards, the insert and welt were sewn to that edge [grain to grain], folding the sewn part against the inside of the front panel. That would keep the stiching hidden

Historically; sword scabbards were not made of wood and covered in leather, very few were, most were just thick leather From studying actual scabbards for both swords and daggers found in London and Dublin digs there can been seen evidence that a scabbard/sheath was folded over, sewn with flesh to flesh joint then put on the blade and twisted round until the seam was along the back centre of the blade; thus no need for welts. The sewn seam was trimmed down and sometimes hammered flatter. I refer you to archeology dig records publications from the Museum of London and National Museum of Dublin A cardboard or thick paper pattern is a must for this project I think.

Another vote for LePrevo. I've been using them for nearly 17 years now. Never a glitch.

I've only ever needed to cover the base of a snap a couple of times. On those I glued the head of a rivet onto the base with the wee short stemmy bit fitting tightly into the centre hole of the snap's base

How about a bobbin box, like this one http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TRIXES-25-Bobbins-Spool-Storage-Case-Box-/391409322411?hash=item5b21d049ab:g:a40AAOSwLnBX2q6g