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budd4766

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Posts posted by budd4766

  1. Posted · Report reply

    I'm working on a day planner for a friend who wants a grizzly tooled on the cover. (His nickname is Bear). I've done the search here, and haven't found anything, so I'm wondering if you guys might have a grizzly drawing on-hand, and if I could have a copy of it?

    I need a decent tooling pattern, (preferably of a grizzly, but I suspect most any "real" looking bear would do), that I can scale down and carve in a 4 1/2" x 7 1/2" area.

    Currently, I'm working a job where I won't have access to leatherworker.net except on the weekends, I won't be able to view this post during the week, or respond, so I'm putting my email address here for you to send a pattern too. I would really appreciate any help.

    buddkeith@yahoo.com

    While I'm on the subject, some of you who make patterns out of photographs, would you be interested in a tutorial of how you do that?

  4. Posted · Report reply

    I've been commissioned to do some edge lacing. I've never done this for cash before, and really have no idea how to price the job. If any body on here does this for profit, I'd appreciate some sort of guideline on what to charge the guy. PM me if you don't want to "expose" what you charge, I'm not going to try and undercut anybody else, I just really need some help here.

    I've talked to a couple people about this...one said I should charge $65/hr....another said $6 per inch of braid. Does this sound reasonable? I'm thinking it's kinda high...but I don't want to undersell myself (one of my biggest weaknesses).

  7. Posted · Report reply

    I went with Vistaprint.com. If you don't want anything too terribly fancy, they have a lot of "stock" cards to choose from and you might get 'em for about $20 for 250...from there, you just customize them anyway you like them.

    I wanted my own image on my card, and they let me do that. When all was said and done, mine cost about $40 for 250. I just stamped a scrap piece, colored it, and took a close up pic of it to use for a background.

    bizcrd.jpg

    post-6892-12629713134_thumb.jpg

  8. Posted · Report reply

    My wife and I made some leather place mats for my mother and father-in-law for Christmas. They seem to think the place mats would sell good in a "high end" furniture place or something. But I have a couple questions...thought I'd ask you guys...

    1. What would you use to seal leather place mats with? I'm concerned about water rings from drinks, and cleanability, without affecting the finish.

    2. Would the finish need to be "food-grade" for a place mat? Any suggestions on what that finish would be?

    The mats we made were done with tan gel antique and sealed with neat-lac. (My last can). Here's a couple pics:

    plcemat1.jpgplcemat2.jpg

    post-6892-126240258319_thumb.jpg

    post-6892-126240261602_thumb.jpg

  9. Posted · Report reply

    My wife and I bought workbenches from Lowe's for our shop. They're pretty handy, but my main complaint is a lack of leg room under the table top. They put 3 drawers under the top, and there's a shelf about six inches off the floor for the bottom. Great for storage, terrible for a long legged guy to try to get close to the work area with.

    If I had to do over again, I'd go with the Craftsman workbench we originally looked at from Sears. Saved some money going to Lowe's, but I'm not sure we got the best deal.

    Here's a pic of mine:

    wrkstn1.jpg

    post-6892-126240167449_thumb.jpg

  12. Posted · Report reply

    I'm trying to find a traceable Tandy Leather Factory logo. I'm working on a present for a Tandy store manager. Anybody know where I can find one suitable for enlarging into a pattern? Been to the website, and can't find one I can use...yet. Just wondering if anybody here has one or can point me to one.

    Thanks.

  16. Posted · Report reply

    Another stupid question from me: could it be sprayed after it was bent & fixed in place?

    russ

    Not a stupid question at all. It could be sprayed after it was all assembled, but the end product would be used...meaning flexed all to heck and back by the customer, so I would imagine that would only prolong the inevitable and wind up having to be replaced...(bad customer experience and all that to boot).

    I think from now on, I'm going to just use super sheen from the bottle, and when I have a fear of messing some color up, I'll just air brush it on. I thought the spray can of sheen would eliminate that step, but, sadly, it ain't workin'.

    Live and learn.

  17. Posted · Report reply

    No oil on the vinegroon. Nothing at all done to it other than water/baking soda right after it came out of the vin. I didn't oil it for the very reason I was planning to seal it with sheen later.

    The problem is, I thought the aerosol super sheen would be flexible...same as the rub-on super sheen, and, obviously, it's not. I've been told that neat-lac would crack the same way. All I know about the difference 'tween the two is they both smell the same coming out of the can.

    I have to say, it looked BEAUTIFUL...as long as it stayed flat. I loved the way it looked, and on future projects that won't get much "action", I'd still use it just because it looks so good.

    Apparently, you just can't bend it.

  18. Posted · Report reply

    Ok...got this idea of doing a flame job (like you'd see on a car) on some black leather for a project I'm working on. Cut all the pieces, carved and tooled the flames, vinegrooned it (beautiful black), air brushed the flames red with yellow tips and base, (pretty good for a first time air brushing, I thought), and now I'm ready to seal before laciing it all up.

    I've had problems before with putting super sheen on...sometimes it'll lift the colors, or smudge them. I know I'm probably more to blame than the sheen, but still, it happens, so I decide I'll try some areosol super sheen. You know, spray it on rather than rub it...good idea, right?

    Well, while the black leather and flame job looks AWESOME...shiny as glass, I'm real happy with it....unitl I have to bend the leather to put the parts together.

    All that spray-on sheen cracks into a million spider cracks. My beautiful black leather piece has these little white cracks...all over it...grrrr.

    No time to redo anything, so I'm hoping when I get it all laced up and I apply another coat of spray, or even some hand-rubbed on sheen it'll blend the cracks in...but I'm not holding my breath.

    Not sure if you guys have any suggestions for this...I just more wanted to rant about it than anything. But I'll take any and all advice.

    No pictures yet, but I'll post some soon as I can.

  19. Posted · Report reply

    For me, it often winds up differently from what I originally envision as well. Logistics, physics, all sorts of problems arise that I have to navigate around to get the end product. But more often than not, it starts out with a sleepless night, turning an idea over and over in my head trying to figure it out...then the next (drowsy) day at work itchin' to get home and get started on it.

    I'm a drafter by trade, so I have a "need" to get all the technicalities sorted out before I get started. That often winds up being a pattern laid out on an old manila folder and cut out for a dry fit first, then adjustments before I start on the leather. I have to have an idea in my head of color, tooling, braiding, conchos...whatever I'm going to do in the end before I start. I hate surprises, though they do often pop up. With a good plan, I can sort of minimize those.

    Sometimes things work out and I get what I lay awake thinking up in the beginning, but sometimes it just works out differently. Best thing is start with a "vision" and be flexible along the journey. It works out pretty well most times.

  21. Posted · Report reply

    I'll pitch in...

    I'm married now, but this used to be my favorite "single guy" (read, EASY), dessert.

    1 can blueberry pie filling

    1 box yellow cake mix

    1 1/2 stick of butter

    Pour pie filling into 9x13 baking dish and spread out fairly evenly

    sprinkle dry cake mix to cover pie filling

    melt butter and pour randomly over cake mix

    bake @350 'til it starts to brown on top.

    Great hot with ice cream, or cold for breakfast...perfect single guy food..:)

  24. Posted · Report reply

    Vellum is paper...usually used by drafters...it might not work well transferring anything to you leather if the leather is wet. I would imagine it'd stick and tear and pretty much drive you crazy.

    I think Mylar (another drafting medium, more a "plastic" similar to Tandy's transfer paper) would work better, but you have to be careful if you're tracing with ink and give it plenty time to dry before trying to transfer to leather with it.

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