CitizenKate

That is way cool, Kimber. I don't know why... I've never made leather armor, nor worn it, nor ever intend to do either, but I sure do admire it. I can see he is very happy with his new gear. At least I think that is a smile I see on his face... Kate

I don't think the problem is with your computer, Aaron, because as you have observed, the problem does not occur on any other sites. I am seeing the same thing on my own IE browser (although I use FireFox normally), so I can vouch for it. There is definitely still something here on this site that needs to be addressed. Thanks for the info, it helps us determine if we're making any progress. Kate

Hey guys, it was not taken personally at all, and no apologies are necessary. As I stated in my original post, we DO need to know what you are experiencing (good, bad, or otherwise), and the more factual details you can provide us, the more helpful it is. It's understandable people are going to vent... but while it may help you feel better, it really doesn't solve anything. I get the impression that some of you are concerned that we're going to just shrug off the issues and allow it to continue running this way. Please rest assured this is not what we consider "normal" operation, and we have no intention of allowing it to continue running this way. Many of you have provided very useful feedback in helping us document the problems and send them to the developers of this forum system for resolution, and progress is being made by the hour. Thanks for your assistance! Cheers, Kate

How rude! Okay, noted. Thanks for mentioning it. Kate

The back button doesn't work? Kate

Tosch, Don't upgrade your browser yet (unless you just want to). We have confirmed this problem and believe it is an issue with the forum software. Johanna is working with the publisher of IP Board to resolve the problem as soon as possible. Thanks for the feedback, and your patience. Kate

Somebody's gonna make a heckuva fashion statement wearing those! Saying they look great doesn't do them justice. You said working with the buffalo hide was different than you expected... how would you describe it? It looks softer than I would expect buffalo hide to be, but also fairly heavy. Kate

We are very appreciative and grateful that most of you have been very supportive of our efforts to improve this site. However, I am seeing a few posts in regards to the upgrade that are not especially constructive, to say the least. We do understand the frustration, and anticipate there is going to be a little venting as we sort through things and get things running normally again. That is to be expected during any kind of major upgrade. Although it is understandable, it is not especially useful in helping us sort out the problems. Suffice it to say, we are well aware of the problem with Internet Explorer while visiting this site. We have confirmed the issue, are able to replicate it, and ARE GIVING THIS FIRST PRIORITY UNTIL THE PROBLEM IS 100% RESOLVED. I have also become aware of some astonishingly harsh and presumptuous messages that a few people have sent to Johanna, demanding immediate resolution of the problems we are experiencing. I'm not going to call out anyone publicly, but may I take this opportunity to point something out: This site, and everything in it, is here because of a mountain of blood, sweat, and tears put forth by Johanna and the rest of us over a number of years. She was up all night Sunday, babysitting the server as it worked to complete the upgrade. To date, neither she nor any of us gets paid to build and maintain this site that so many of you (and we as well) now enjoy at no charge. She is not some corporate executive sitting up in an ivory tower, impervious to the needs of this community. She does understand how vital a part of your businesses LeatherWorker has become to many of you, and does not take it lightly. The changes we are making now are the culmination of years of listening to members' feedback about the site, and what we can do to better meet their needs. This would not be the growing, thriving community it is if Johanna didn't listen to your feedback. But we cannot continue to grow without having to make changes occasionally. You all owe Johanna as much patience and encouragement as you can muster as she leads us through this process. You all have something to gain. So play nice, people - we'll get through this! Peace out, Kate

Here's a little video to lighten things up around here. Produced by Pixar Studios. The background tune is "Take Five" by Dave Brubeck. Kate

Hi Josh, Nice work, overall! I wonder if you could post a couple more photos that show more detail of the stitching and carving on the belt? Kate

There are people working to develop add-ons to integrate Twitter with IPB, but the ones I've come across are still pretty unstable. However, this version of IPB does have built-in integration with Facebook: I wouldn't be surprised to see future updates to add the same kind of functionality with Twitter. Kate

Hi guys, We do apologize for any inconvenience anyone is experiencing. Thanks for all the bug reports (it's fine to report them here, or in the feedback section). We are reviewing them regularly, and obviously there is still some work to do! Kate

You won the cigar! There is quite a bit more javascript (including numerous ajax and jquery functions) integrated into this new version of the forum system than previous versions. We have already taken some steps to improve the overall performance of the site since last night's upgrade, and will have time to look more into it when Johanna gets the rest of the custom features restored that we had in the previous version. Meanwhile, your feedback is highly valued, so please feel free to comment. Thanks, Kate

Sure, nobody in their right mind (who should know better, anyway) would turn loose of a leather item that has not been properly sealed to protect the colors. The point of the test was to put the colors of both dyes under more stress than you would usually expose them to so I could compare how they hold up over time without having to wait years. Both sets of samples received the exact same treatment. Of course you wouldn't hang your paintings out in the sun. But a large percentage of leather items are not made to just hang on a wall and be kept in museum-like environmental conditions. They are designed to be used for various purposes indoors or outdoors, and they do get exposed to the elements. I do agree that I like how spirit-based dyes go onto the leather much better than water-based dyes. That is why I still use them for some things. If that is your main consideration, as it is for many people, I do not question your choice at all. It sill pains me when someone emails me a year later, telling me all the brown is gone from a custom chess board I labored for hours to get just the way they wanted it, for no other reason than its having sat out in normal indoor lighting conditions. That is the sort of thing that keeps me searching for the "perfect" dye. As far as I'm concerned, I have yet to find one. Kate

This may be hard to tell from the pictures, since there obviously is some paint used in some places in the examples above. I use both spirit dyes and water-based dyes. The water-based dyes do penetrate into the leather and do not cover the surface texture any more than a spirit dye does. Maybe this image will make that a little easier to tell: I certainly am not here to tell anyone what dye or any other product they should use on their products. Everyone gets to make their own choices based on what kind of results they want, and that is as individual as fingerprints. Although I use both water and spirit-based dyes, for each project, I weigh the trade-offs between water-based and spirit dyes. Here is my #1 reason for not using spirit dyes in every case: light-fastness. Here are two pieces of leather I applied two different colors of Angelus dye to, Turquoise and Oxblood. This is how it appeared on June 30: I placed the samples in a south-facing window, where they get several hours exposure to direct sunlight every day. Here is how the same two samples looked on July 17, slightly more than two weeks later: You can see there is no more turquoise, and the oxblood is now a very pleasing shade of orange-red. Granted, this is brutal treatment in terms of light exposure, but it gives you an idea of what to expect on an item that might be used outdoors. Here are some pieces of leather I applied three different colors of Eco-Flo dye to, yellow, red, and blue. This is how they appeared on July 8, 2007: I placed them in the same location, same lighting conditions, as the other pieces, and here is how they appeared a month later: You can see the leather became more tan-colored from the exposure to the sun, but the pigment colors have not changed much at all, not even the blue one. (This was the "old" blue, that was recalled by Tandy and replaced with a better formula.) After this little experiment was done, I totally forgot my samples sitting in the window, and didn't notice them until 10 months later. Here's what they looked like then: Well, obviously you can see some fading of the pigments now, and I didn't seal the leather after applying the dye, so there is also some moisture damage, but this is after receiving several hours of direct sunlight for almost a year. Kate

The forum is up and running, but we're still in the process of restoring the site theme and getting all the custom features working again. Meanwhile, check out the new features... and more to come! Kate

Wow, Spidey, I don't think anyone is gonna mess with you today. LOL Cool (and scary) mask! Kate

Nice work, Steve, you've got that grungy look down well, but the carving, stitching, and edging are very professional. I imagine you'll be getting some good referrals from this one. Kate

Meg, I love the design - WOW! But it looks like there are some issues to resolve with the execution. I'm glad you shared it because of how different it is from the usual thing we see. Can't wait to see more of your work. What did you end up using for a finish? Kate

I haven't really jumped into this topic up to now, because I've already shared my findings in regards to EF versus spirit dyes. But since we're here beating this dead horse, I might as well add my own humble dos centavos once again. In my opinion, there is no "best" dye product, at least one that meets all my needs fully, and therefore there is no single dye that I would use exclusively. They all have advantages and disadvantages, and you simply choose which advantages are most important to you for the kind of work you do, or the kind of project you are doing. There are things I like - and don't like - about all of them. I could care less about any politics that may have brought about the development of a new product. Whenever anything new comes out, I always want to try it and see what I can do with it. If I have to adjust my methods to make it work better, I do. This is because the more I adapt to new things, the more I am capable of doing. It is true that Eco Flo is not at intense as spirit dye. For some projects, I do want intense color. For some projects, I like softer, more subtle color. If I want intense color, it is much easier to achieve that result with spirit dyes. If I'm doing work where I want more subtle colors, or if I think the item will be exposed to a lot of light, I use water-based. It is not true that Eco Flo fades quickly. Those who claim this are mistaken. I have personally tested both spirit dyes and the water-based dyes for light-fastness, and have found exactly the opposite to be true. I posted photos of my results in an earlier thread. All dyes fade with exposure to light, and some colors fade more quickly than others. But the water-based dyes hold up under intense light exposure far better than any of the spirit dyes I've tested so far. It is not true that your project will automatically look like crap if you use water-based dyes. It depends on how you apply it. If you don't want to make the effort to learn how to apply it to get the results you want, that is your choice. If there is another product you're happier with, nobody expects you to change. But that is far different from just trying it once and saying the product itself crap, and your project will look like crap if you use it. Below are some examples of some projects I've done using EF. Maybe in your opinion they do look like crap, but those who have commented on them have not raised any issues with the coloring of them: ClayB has won awards with work he has colored with water-based dyes. It is true that water-based dyes run like a bad dog when water hits them! That is, if you don't seal them with a moisture-resistant finish. I've now got numerous items I've made with the dye, and in the months since I've made them, the color has neither faded, nor rubbed off. But at the end of the day, it's just dye, and we still have choices. Kate

Oooo... there's something I haven't thought to try. Looks like a great solution for the larger pieces. The rigidity of acrylic sheet with the clean separation of packing tape. Tim, you're a genius! Kate

Liquid "white-out" works for me. Kate

Before casing, try temporarily mounting the leather to something somewhat rigid. You can use rubber cement and mount it on a piece of poster (light) or illustration board (heavier and more rigid), or just line the back with packing tape (use extra layers for larger pieces). I prefer the packing tape, because it comes off easily without leaving an adhesive residue, but there are lots of options, depending on the results you want. Kate

Hi meg, welcome to LeatherWorker! Yes, you can use a resist over your dye job to resist the antique. In fact, that's what a lot of people do. The basic choices for both the resist and the finish are acrylic (such as the *shene products), wax (such as shoe polish, bee-natural, or carnauba creme), or lacquer (which is hard to find, these days). Some finishes also make good resist agents. They all do a good job of sealing the dyes and antiques and preventing bleeding, fading, and rub-off. Some are more moisture-resistant than others. Wax and lacquer are more moisture-resistant than acrylic. I'm sure others will chime in here, presently... Kate

Thanks for speaking up, Clay. Not that I'm such a big fan of Tandy (or anyone I do business with, for that matter), and I don't mind if people discuss what they do or don't like about any product, but this is starting to become a "trash Tandy" bandwagon, and some of the claims I'm reading here simply aren't true. Let's keep the discussion focused on facts. Kate