CitizenKate

Have a fun one! Kate

You can easily make one for about the same amount of money, but much larger. Here's a thread on LW on the subject (with photos): http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?s...light+box\ Kate

Nope, not us. Kate

You can use wood glue, contact cement, or upholstery tacks. Here are some trade-offs to consider: - Contact cement sticks the best, but you have to position the leather perfectly when laying it down. You don't get a second chance to reposition it. - Wood glue allows repositioning, and sticks pretty well, assuming it maintains good contact while it's setting. Sometimes it can be difficult to keep enough pressure over the entire area of the leather, while it's setting, to make a good bond. - Tacks are easy to use, and "stick" as well as anything. You can use an adhesive to hold the leather in position while installing the tacks. Tacks can also add a nice touch to the appearance of the piece, but in some cases, they may not be right for the kind of look you want. Kate

Steve, you're thinking of the flexible stuff, right, not the rigid plastic? I make luggage tags with see-through windows using clear vinyl plastic sheet you can buy at any fabric store. (Same stuff as Liz mentioned.) WallyWorld also carries it. It's a fairly tough material and you can sew through it. Kate

Beautiful work, Ian! Doing work like that is entirely beyond my comprehension. Kate

Very nice, Roger! Love the coloring you did on this. I always think of you guys here on LW who do custom bike seats whenever I see those gorgeous bikes out there with those pathetic stock seats. Kate

Here's one I posted a while back. I still haven't done the tutorial I promised - haven't gotten to build one since then, but hopefully soon... http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?s...l=biker++wallet Kate

Just thought I'd mention, the information on that web page is a little outdated, and the pricing has gone up since their last update. I ordered a knife with a blade a few months ago, and it came to a little over $90. Well worth it, though. I love mine. I will also second what Bob said about different knives for different uses. The one I use for strong lines with large curves is very different from the one I use for very intricate carving. Kate

We've been kind of dancing around this subject of reducers for awhile, with no definitive answer.... Here's what I know. When I used Fiebings' spirit dyes, I always used plain denatured alcohol to reduce it, and I could not tell any difference between that and their "special" reducer formula. However, I just bought some Angelus dye for testing. One of the things I asked the person taking my order was, "What do I use to reduce it?" I thought she was going to tell me I had to get the Angelus reducer formula to use with their dyes, but she said "Just use denatured alcohol." Sure enough... I tested it with plain denatured alcohol and it reduces the color just fine with no side-effects whatsoever. Just my opinion... you guys can stop wasting your money on their "special" formulas. You can buy a gallon of denatured alcohol for less than the cost of a pint bottle of "reducer". Kate

First of all, for storing passwords, go download a copy of AnyPassword (it's free) and use it to store all your online account passwords. I've used it for more than 5 years and have hundreds of passwords stored in it, and have never lost one yet. You should be able to revert to your old version of IE by uninstalling the IE update through Control Panel, and Add/Remove Programs. When you see the list of programs, look down the list for "Windows Internet Explorer 8" and click Uninstall. If that doesn't work, you can restore your system files to an earlier state using system restore. If you need to do this, and you aren't sure how, I'll get you some detailed instructions for that, but it may be something you'll need some local assistance to do, depending on how comfortable you are with safe mode operations. IE cannot be entirely uninstalled because M$ made the Windows operating system critically dependant on some of its programming. This was one of their ways of ensuring we could never live without IE. (Resistance is futile!) Kate

I use the purple (low-tack) tape all the time for masking the leather while airbrushing, and have never had a problem with it damaging the grain or leaving adhesive behind. I buy that stuff by the case. Unfortunately, it is getting harder to find, and I have to order it now. I recently tried the Painters Mate Green tape; it also does a great job masking and pulls easily and cleanly off the leather. I don't know if that's the same thing, or similar to FrogTape, but if not, then you have another choice. I have successfully used the blue tape, but you have to remove it very, very slowly. It scares me, I don't use it. Kate

I use Adobe Illustrator for all my design work. Illustrator is a little pricey for many, so I will also mention there is a growing array of free open source alternatives to Illustrator. ("Open source" is not always free, but in this case, these are.) - Inkscape - OpenOffice Draw - Creative Docs One that is not free, but much more affordable than Illustrator is XaraExtreme. They have a free trial you can download if you want to try it out before spending your money. - XaraExtreme Kate

I strongly advise you to get an organic vapor respirator mask and, if possible, a spray booth. YOU DO NOT WANT TO BREATH THE OVERSPRAY. It will be fun... eventually. I would also be considering canceling the back-order and getting a better airbrush from somewhere else. Kate

I use about 25lbs of hose pressure. You can use as little as about 20, and some people have been known to set it as high as 30-35. The lower the pressure you use, the easier it is to control the stream. If you're doing a wash over a large area, you can set it higher if you wish. If the dye is coming out before opening the nozzle (pulling back on the trigger), there may be something clogging the nozzle and preventing it from closing completely, or the needle is out of adjustment, or something preventing the needle from moving all the way forward. Check the manual for specific instructions for your particular model. Kate

You mean, one in which we provide the actual venue for members to sell their stuff? Nope. Not if you ask me, anyway. Consider the investment of computer hardware, software development, administrative labor, etc. to make an operation like that profitable. Those companies have investors to foot the bill. For us to do something like that, it would take years of people working for free and donating money to make it work in a market as narrow as this one. (It took that to get us where we are now.) And I also think, as selling venues go, I'd rather have my work showing next to other mediums, because of the cross-over traffic that it would draw. We do have some things in the works to help promote the work of our members, but our emphasis has always been more on learning and sharing knowledge about leather work and the leather business. Kate

I've also been looking to expand the number of online venues to offer my work. Quite a few Etsy sellers also sell on Artfire, and I've seen a few posts on the forum there from people who seem to be having a good experience with it. I think it might be difficult to sell much without the $12/month upgrade, but if you only have a few items, it looks like a great place to set up shop. Here are some others I've also found: - http://www.gozabo.com - http://www.winkelf.com - http://www.handmadefusion.com/ - http://www.1000markets.com/ Kate

Tom, try using a horsehair shoe brush for buffing the wax finish. It can get into the impressions better, and make the finish as perfect down in the impressions as it is over the surface areas. Cute polar bear! Heheh! Kate

When I saw you posted something new, I just had to jump in and take a look. Jeez, Tom, your imagination just blows me away sometimes! Kate

I just did a quick search through my references for any examples of Spanish ornament, but it doesn't seem there has been much documentation of it, other than what was common during the time the Moors occupied Spain. Kind of a shame, since Spain has a very rich heritage of architectural and typographical ornament. Is "Eligant" known under any other names? Any idea what period it's from? Kate

I definitely do see the similarities, Pino, and what a fascinating question to ask: Where did the Sheridan style of ornamental art originate from? In my references I see several examples of ornamental art from both Rome and France that are similar to the Sheridan style, mostly 13th century. I'll try to post images when I have more time and energy. I wonder if anyone knows who was the first to carve what we now recognize as "Sheridan Style", and what his/her influences there might have been? Kate

Ah, okay... I didn't see a boo-boo because it was a do-over, not a fixer-upper. Lemme guess... knock the dye bottle over? I noticed when I got my samples of Angelus dye that it comes in domino-shaped bottles that are very easy to tip over. Kate

And here is an example of how to take something "cute" and go beyond the "crafty" look to make it into a piece of real art. Nicely done, Tina, as always. Boo-boos? We're always our own worst critic, aren't we? Kate

Good observation, Kustom. Not that we hadn't thought of it... goodness knows, I'm always telling people the same thing... just haven't gotten that far, yet. Kate

Impossible, actually, last I heard, he doesn't make them any more. I use my 20oz. maul for most of my work. Kate