fredk

Of course you could just punch out a leather washer and buy small flanged headed bolts. Probably much cheaper that way. I bought a couple of packs of the conversion sets, just cos they was on sale For more as I'm in Europe I couldn't get US threaded bolts so I got a thread tap, recut the thread in the concho for M4 and bought M4 bolts

Back on topic chaps; I reckon a few of these, in different heights, dyed in red and green with Christmasy type decoration might be a good seller at Christmas markets

10/8 18.30. Almost 1 week on None of my pieces have any smell nor any growth of anything on them, which I will loosely call 'fungus' Piece #3, Lard, is slightly stiffer than Control Piece #4, NFO Compound is slightly stiffer than Control and is very slightly stiffer than #3 Piece # 6, 3-in-1 oil, is noticeably stiffer than Control and #3 & #4 All other pieces seem to be equally flexible as Control. But these, including Control are slightly stiffer than the leather they were cut from so I'll have to have a #2 'Control' in my leather-working room I've not yet sorted the #2 set for hanging up outside

Buy it, then; forego coffees from Starbucks and choccy bikkies for a couple of weeks Ya never know when ya might want or need one

Here a 'pig in a blanket; is a sausage roll. Sausage meat cooked in a pastry type roll I reckon it might be cos a lot of Oirish were transported to the penal colony now called Oistraylia No chicken is involved in the making of My main recipe is. Mix and grind down, not too smoothly, some (no exact measurements, just as much as you like or want) regular salt, coarse sea salt, ground black pepper, some black pepper corns (crushed down in a mortar), a bit of ground ginger, a wee bit of cinnamon, a wee bit of cardamon,(optional) a wee bit of ground garlic (NOT garlic salt!) and some ground dried onion granules, (NOT onion salt!) and sometimes some other 'erbs I may spot in my cupboard. All, mixed together and slightly ground together in my mortar & pestle (not the vessel which has the poison. . . . ).Keep it slightly rough so you can taste the large pieces of pepper et cetera I usually make a very large bowl of it and dispense into salt shakers. It lasts a very long time as you don't use much. I've given some away to some friends from South Africa and OZ and they like it and they gave it the thumbs up. The main differences between this and medieval 'poudre deuce' is that contains saffron (lots) and finely ground sugar (lots) and was used on top of puddings. not chips/fries, cooked chicken. I like it on cooked ham slices in a sandwich

Good job Tandy sells, or did sell a 10 pack conversion set https://tandyleather.com/products/concho-snap-adapter-10-pack

Bees' wax burns at a lower temperature than paraffin wax. But get either to a critical temperature they will self ignite. When melting its best to use a dry heat as it takes longer for the wax to get to that point * I use a glass holder, which looks a bit like an ash tray, but it ain't * when I was a beekeeper I was a champion candle maker

@jrny4wrdit would be very helpful if you put your location in your profile I buy coloured lace meant for jewelry making. I can get it in diameters from 1mm up to 6mm. I usually buy 1mm to 3mm, by the 3m long

ach, shure we call that a 'sausage bap' or a 'pig in a roll'. Very popular with the likes of builders as a mid-morning breakfast. Grilled pork sausage. You get chucked out of the shop if you want a beef sausage.

I make my own 'chicken salt'. I've been making it for over 25 years. There are a few variants of 'chicken salt' and some are the same as a medieval condiment called 'poudre deuce'

Yesterday a hunter came round to sell me some meat He offered me 8 legs of venison for $500 Do you think thats too dear?

If you are really concerned; you can buy battery operated LED tea-lights. The LED flickers randomly and the CR2032 battery lasts several days, about 10 days in constant use, far longer than the wax burning. No smoke, so flecks of ash in the air, no heat, no fear of fire if you leave it on alone, no molten wax to spill, The LED light is as bright as the wax light and the LED bulb is covered by a soft pliable plastic cover made to resemble a flame shape I can buy them 6 for £1 in a £-shop. I sometimes buy them just for the batteries and or the LED bulbs These are plain ones but you can buy fancy ones where the plastic case has been moulded to look more like a candle which has burned down a bit, and you can them in different heights and colors The wax tea-lights I use are scented. You don't get that with the LED lights tho

I would not use treated wood for the shelves. Maybe MDF board, or plastic board, melamine laminated shelving boards

They look cute Maybe not; I can hold a lit tea-light candle in my fingers. The aluminium cup doesn't get too hot

Char-grilled / barbied burger, slice of pickled beet under, a slice of strong cheddar cheese on top, a little salt directly on burger, lightly toasted bap/bun with sesame seeds on top yum

They nicey They look kinda Spanish

First report from me; 13.15, 10/05 Initially all the test pieces curled up a wee bit, then they flattened out, as they did their colour came back to almost the non-oiled look. Just a faint trace on a couple. I'll check the pieces again later

Invest in a press. I believe you can get a low-cost arbor press from 'Harbor Freight' (name?) A worth while investment. I bought the big Tandy one and it has been of great value in stamping things. Then you can buy the Tandy type 3D stamps and make pretty pictures and stamp in names et cetra with just a pull of a handle

Just a thought on what I think has happened; Resolene is acrylic as is the Angelis paint. Resolene's solvent carrier is aggressive When you applied the Resolene its solvent softened and thinned the paint. It didn't turn the paint yellow but thinned it enuf so that some of the natural brown of the leather is showing through the paint making it look yellow

I use heavy duty kitchen-type scissors made by Mundial. I have 3 pr, each cost about £12 when I bought them 20 years ago.. They'll cut leather 5 mm thick and thin sheet brass or sheet steel. Only recently has the smaller of the 3 been showing signs it needs sharpening 1. shop around, sometimes you can pay too much more $£$£$£ because a tool says 'leather' and you can buy the same tool cheaper in a different place * 2. take a piece of thick leather with you and try the scissors on it. Thats how I found the Mundial. I was working with some 6mm thick leather and mentioned to a friend who worked in a home goods store. He recommended the Mundial ones, I tried them and have them since * eg, recently I bought a special self-contained airbrush/compressor. Regular art places had it for over £80. One seller of leather working supplies had it for £120. I found one on ebay in 'Nail Art supplies for under £25 ~ And they had a discount sale so I got it for £21!

All the rotary knives are good. I use a 60mm blade one. But the 40mm is just as good plus the replacement blades are easier to get and a lot cheaper than the 60mm. The 20mm size is handy but watch out for the blade guard. On some, when it retracts it only clears the blade by about 1mm. Fine for cutting cloth free-hand but it won't cut through 1mm or more of leather, and the guard will run on top of your guide as well so the blade doesn't even reach the leather. Cut away a whack of the blade guard and it works better, but then you don't have a blade guard

The oils I'm using; NFO Compound, Baby Oil, Vegetable Cooking Oil (Rape Seed Oil), Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Lard (pig fat) and 3-in-1 oil My test squares are 8 cm x 8 cm, about 3 inch x 3 inch. Each piece has one hole punched in one corner, this is for set #1. Set 2 will have 2 holes punched there. Each piece has a number of holes punched in another corner; 1 to 6 holes, which correspond to the oil used on it - see further down. Leather is approx 2.2 to 2.4 mm thick, about 5 - 6 ounce (?) The index of my note book; I use coloured paper clips as page markers in books. One extra section in case I decide to add in another oil. Details of each leather & oil combination will be written down in each corresponding section marked by the coloured paper clip The leather squares, shortly after being oiled. Oil was applied using a clean piece of sponge for each oil These were put into my special car just as you see them laid out here. They went in at 23.00 on 10/1. In the car they'll stay dry but get the full sun on them thru the day and chilled at night. I'll need to check the temperatures. Looked at, but not inspected, in the morning of 10/2 & 10/3 I'll need to make a frame so I can hang set #2 up outside. I think I can get that done this coming weekend Comments? Ideas? Suggestions?

I'll update later

Assuming it has been veg tanned; give it a good soaking with clean warm water. Lay it out on a big board, which has preferably been covered in clean white paper, cover the hide with more clean paper, then lay a big board on top of it. Put lots of heavy weights on top of the top board. Leave to dry for several days or a week, or even longer. This may need to be repeated

When you put a temporary board extension to your work bench and forget to clamp it down tight? Then you set an opened bottle of dye on the board and its enuf to tip the board and spill the dye Not too much dye spilt, its the clean up I hate doing. No mess on anything except the bottoms of some containers