fredk

I bought a set of these; http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/172479859661?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT Not used them yet but I reckon they might come in handy. As they come they're ok sharp Also bought a few of these; http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hot-Half-Round-Belt-Strap-End-Punch-Wallet-Cutter-Tool-Leather-Craft-10-45MM-/391213513381?var=&hash=item0 They need a good sharpening when they come [how do I get rid of this double spacing of lines??]

I'm watching from the bleachers

I always skive a short length, just like the buckle end of a belt; from where the end would attach thru to the end of the strap

I used an angle-grinder to cut a large circle hole punch down to an arc

I'd go for the hard copy. If like me, you'll print out every page, put them into slip-pages then a file, by the time you've added in those extras and the time to do it you'd be better off just getting the hard copy. Plus [not with Tandy] with some scanned books they weren't scanned properly, missing out lines, compressing paragraphs into a few squashed squggly lines.....

What about a clothes storage bag and a vac? The clothes bag already has a vac connection and is of thicker material. Local shop to me sells clothes vac storage bags in various sizes for £1 [US$1.50?] for one or two - depending on size What would you use it for in leather working?

What about ye? Hi from me too

The press I thought of using is no longer available so that idea will have to go on the back burner

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