Dwight

Yep, . . . sure do, . . . usually have one hanging on which I'm cutting. I'm down in that picture, . . . was taken maybe a year ago, . . . was running out of stock. May God bless, Dwight

On straps you do not want the wrinkles, . . . bend if first around a half inch bolt, . . . then a 3/8 inch bolt, . . . and finally a 1/4 inch bolt, . . . all while it is more than damp, . . . but not sopping wet either. AND, . . . don't just bend it around the bolt, . . . pull on it while you are doing it. This will stretch the outside layer a bit, . . . and it won't look as wrinkled. What I usually do is form mine right after I dye them, . . . OR, . . . right after the first coat of the final finish. You have to touch up either one, . . . just depends on which you want to mess with. My worst offender is the buckle end of CCW belts, . . . but with a bit of care, . . . they won't look too awful bad. May God bless, Dwight

If you just took a picture off the wall (or something similar), . . . used only 2 x 2's as the top, bottom and sides, . . . with only a half sheet of particle board, . . . you could still hang a dozen double shoulders inside that little space. Vertical space is not hard to find if you just stop and look at all the possibilities. I have one wall I'm removing next summer, . . . turning it into a storage wall, . . . as one side will be hinged, . . . opening it up to a 4 ft by 8 ft by 3 1/2 inch box, . . . 2 x 4's will be set horizontally to act as shelves, . . . I'll store a boat load of little "thingys" in there that clutter the workshop today, . . . on the wall, in boxes, on shelves. May God bless, Dwight

When I built my shop, . . . I started with the idea of rolling them, . . . but it puts a permanent or at least long lasting curl in every piece of leather. I chose to hang my leather that I'm presently using, . . . and it makes working with it a whole lot easier. I can hang something on the neighborhood of 65 sides of 8 oz leather in my "vault" if I could afford that much. In the one picture you can see that I have other stuff in there. It is two 4 x 8 sheets of particle board, . . . one is nailed to a ring of 2 x 12's that make the sides, top, and bottom of the vault, . . . the other is hinged on one side. I made arms that swing on one end, . . . so I can find the piece I'm looking for. Have never run out of space, . . . and can find anything I'm looking for in about 30 seconds or less. Wouldn't store mine any other way after using this. May God bless, Dwight

Turn it over so the seat is laying down if you cannot remove the pieces. Take a small bristle brush (1 inch from Harbor Freight for 69 cents or so is a good one), . . . dip it in a jar of neatsfoot oil, . . . NOT neatsfoot oil compound, . . . brush on a light coating to the flesh side of the leather, . . . go find something else to do for 36 hours or so, . . . Come back and see if it has become a bit more pliable. One more coat should do it if the first does not. Just about any good shoe polish should fill in those scratches, . . . not liquid, . . . paste wax in a flat round can, . . . and if you put a bit of elbow grease into the project, . . . it should look good as new for less than $15. At least that is how I would do it. May God bless, Dwight

Well, Treesner, it will sound at first as though I'm picking on you, . . . believe me I am not. ALL decent saddles that cowboys ride for a living, . . . that the cavalry rode for a living, . . . that armies for hundreds of years rode for a living, . . . were made of leather, . . . and it was polished and wiped with beeswax and beeswax compounds that while waterproofing, . . . also made them more slippery than a democrat at a town hall being asked about taxes. The riders learned how to hang on to their mounts with their legs, . . . mostly their thighs. How did I learn this, . . . I own a 700 cc King Quad with a vinyl seat that is more slippery than two of those democrats previously mentioned, . . . and I had to go back to my horseback riding days to figure out what I was doing wrong, . . . almost sliding off the Quad if I wasn't careful. I've since adjusted my riding techniques, . . . life is so much better now, . . . BUT, . . . having said that, . . . many saddles do have a "rough out" patch in the seat of the saddle that does aid in keeping seated, . . . if you were to make one like that, . . . incorporate a patch of rough out leather (not suede, just the leather turned over) I think you would find it much "grippier" so to speak, . . . and with a little imagination it could be very attractive. Also, . . . relying on past experience, . . . brushed on 50/50, . . . Resolene and water, . . . is a very good water repellant, . . . looks good, . . . and has a sun blocker built in just for these types of use. Best wishes on whatever you do. May God bless, Dwight

Pappy, . . . I don't mean to sound like an ogre, . . . but the 99% cause of sprayers not spraying is simple: not properly cleaned. Little air sprayers work like a champ, . . . but are a pain to clean and keep clean, . . . at least that has been my experience. That is why mine are all on the shelf and I use brushes. May God bless, Dwight

Honestly I had to google a coach wallet, . . . and then obenaufs, . . . just to see what the question was. If dye is coming off, . . . that means whatever protective covering that was on it, . . . was eaten off by the obenaufs product. From what I was able to glean from the couple of articles I scanned, . . . their product is more for heavy duty work boots, etc, . . . not necessarily for the finer leather products we live with, . . . as in wallets, vests, etc. That said, . . . your wallet is losing dye, . . . so it can be re-dyed, . . . or just sealed as is, . . . and if you seal it as is, . . . you have a beautiful example of "worn" leather, . . . that many revel in. I have one such coat, it's an Eddie Baur, . . . and while I did not pay retail for it , . . . it is one expensive coat, . . . especially with the "worn" look. If you decide to re-dye it, . . . and are near Columbus, . . . look up Scott at the Tandy store on Morse Road, . . . he'll clue you in on what you need. You can also buy a small bottle of Resolene, . . . mix it 50/50 with water, . . . is one of the best products out there for sealing and bringing a bit of gloss to it. Actually, . . . there are several in that store that can help you, . . . Scott is just the boss and has the most experience. Tell em I sent you. No discount, . . . but they'll get a chuckle out of it. I'm in the Marion area, . . . go down there once a month or so myself. May God bless, Dwight

Personally, . . . I would line the thing with a plastic bag, . . . one that could be easily wiped out with a washcloth or paper towel. Toothpaste, deodorant, soap, after shave, . . . eventually one or all of those will break thru your "waterproof", . . . and the bag will be ruined. Line it, . . . your problem is solved. May God bless, Dwight

Google Ohio Travel Bag, . . . They are my "go to" place for stuff I don't buy on a regular basis, . . . May God bless, Dwight

On your next "test run", . . . lay down the piece of leather you are going to use, . . . have it cut to the proper size and shape, . . . Take a bristle brush (one of them cheap Harbor Freight, . . . 1 inch, . . . 50 cent models), . . . and use neatsfoot oil (absolutely nothing else) and give it just enough coat that it is 90 % covered, . . . and I mean LIGHT. Just enough oil so it turns a "wet" color, . . . Don't get involved in covering every last square millimeter on the piece, . . . just a quick 90 % covering is great, . . . long quick strokes, . . . looking at that piece of leather, . . . should take all of about 15 seconds. Lay it on a piece of cardboard in a dark corner of your shop, . . . or put it in a drawer (keep it out of the light). 48 hours later, . . . go to your cutting / stamping / dying / antiquing, . . . etc. You'll like the result. Vegetable oil is for salads, steaks, spaghetti, and dried and cracked hands. NOT for leather. May God bless, Dwight

Make the belt, . . . tie it to a line, . . . drag it behind your buggy for 30 Kilometers in the rain, . . . allow it to dry It may be expensive, . . . but it sure is ugly, . . . I wouldn't wear it to a soccer match, . . . and I hate soccer. May God bless, Dwight

If you properly sand, bevel, and burnish the edges, . . . the glue or contact cement (if properly applied) will never be seen. Tape, OTOH, . . . will always be subject to drying out, . . . letting go, . . . and then you have a gap in that edge. Contact cement is the best in my book, . . . it is my 99% product to use, . . . Elmer's white glue rounding out that last 1%. Tape is also finnicky, funky, and hard to use compared to contact cement. The suggestion of not bringing the tape all the way to the edge, . . . leaves an edge that undoubtedly will produce a gap between the layers, . . . not a desirable feature. May God bless, Dwight

Don't forget to sew a liner inside it too, . . . I'm getting ready for another vest for me, . . . and this time I'm thinking about lining the thing with flannel, . . . this ol' body needs a hand on keeping warm, . . . gonna give that a try. Have fun and don't forget to post pictures when you get done. May God bless, Dwight

My first attempt would be a hand held wire brush. I have one that looks very similar to a tooth brush, . . . it would be the first tool I would grab. Another I would think of is a 1 1/2 inch wide wood chisel (very VERY sharp) and if the pieces were flat enough, . . . I would use it to cut of any fibers that stick up on the piece. The cement does not penetrate deep into the leather, . . . actually, more or less, lays on top of it, . . . and it would be especially easy on any flesh side parts. May God bless, Dwight

Not meaning to tell you how to run your rodeo, . . . but with my Tippmann Boss, . . . I learned a long time ago that the TOP tension is the one you can regulate, . . . can fix, . . . can work on, . . . and make things go good. Bobbin tension on it is a hit or miss, . . . maybe yes / maybe no, . . . type thing. But if I can keep it just close, . . . manipulating the tension on the top thread will just about always give me a good stitch on both sides. Best wishes. May God bless, Dwight

Your guess, . . . yes, . . . leather firmness and thickness can affect stitching that way. What is happening is your bobbin tension is too tight for the job you are doing. Tighten the top tension to pull the stitch up into the leather. May God bless, Dwight

If you cut the belt blank, . . . then roll it from end to end around a 3/4 inch dowel, . . . flesh side inside, . . . you will be amazed at how soft and pliable they become. My belts all get this treatment before I pass them on to my customers, . . . everyone appreciates it. The amount of oil you have to put on a belt to "soften" it, . . . will also ruin it. May God bless, Dwight

Years ago, HondoMan, . . . I saw your problem. I gave up on Edge Coat, . . . instead, I went in the "edge dying" direction. Didn't take long, . . . decided on ending that relationship as well. Now I just burnish a little harder, . . . using either a Dremel tool, . . . or an electric motor I've outfitted with a burnishing wheel. It darkens the leather while it polishes it, . . . and I get a really good looking product, . . . without the hassle of doing the edges a separate color. May God bless, Dwight

I have a BSBA, . . . have never had any problems reading and understanding cursive, printed matter, union contracts, legislative mumbo-jumbo, etc. But my friend, . . . quite honestly, . . . I have read your post several times, . . . and still have no real clue as to what you want to accomplish other than a strap will be sewn to the front, sewn to the back, secured to the side, . . . and finally attached to a D ring in the back. If you were to include another 2000 to 4000 words (picture is worth a thousand words), . . . OR, . . . 3 or 4 pictures that actually show what you are doing, . . . one of us may be able to help you out. May God bless, Dwight

Actually, . . . MikeRock, I've been using mine for over a year now, . . . never a problem with it, . . . but that does sound good for any long term shut down we might do. May God bless, Dwight