CitizenKate

I think you have captured the "smokey" theme very effectively. Nice dye job! *caff* *caff* Kate

Handsome piece, Jim. Makes that little Derringer look like a real bad-ass weapon. Kate

I use a latex-based contact cement which coats the surface pretty thoroughly, so the part that the leather touches is sealed quite well. MDF resists moisture MUCH better than particle board, but if you soak it long enough, it will begin to swell. Kate

I use it to make leather game boards. The leather is mounted permantently on a piece of MDF, and the tooling is done on it after it is mounted. I used to use plywood, but the MDF works much better because of its smoothness and rigidness. Kate

You can get medium-density fiberboard (MDF) at Home Depot, Lowe's, or a local independant lumber supplier, in various thicknesses. MDF has very good properties compared to regular fiberboard. It's very smooth and rigid, and moisture resistant. When I got it from a local lumber supplier, I had to special order it. Home Depot stocks it regularly. I pay about $3.64 for a 2' x 4', 1/4" thick sheet. Kate

Looks like the Brits are way ahead of us in solving this problem: Kate

Clay, I saw some of her work firsthand at the IFOLG show in Denver. Her work is quite awesome. I wonder what that 4th yak did to deserve eviction, eh? Thanks for all the new input from Sheridan! Kate

Great report, Clay. You focused on all the most important details! Can't wait to see your photos... Kate

I decided to check and see if Fiebings had released their version of an "environmentally friendly" leather dye product, and they have. Here's the info I found on thier site: "LEATHERCOLORSâ„¢ is a low VOC leather dye formulation that works as easily and effectively as traditional penetrating leather dyes. By emitting less Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) into the air LEATHERCOLORSâ„¢ is better for the environment and complies with CA VOC regulation title 17CCR94507-94517 that limits VOCs in certain consumer products. LEATHERCOLORSâ„¢ is available in 12 vibrant colors that can be used on shoes, boots, saddles and all of your favorite Leathercraft projects. Available colors: Black, Light Brown, Medium Brown, Dark Brown, Chocolate, Cordovan, Mahogany, Red, Yellow, Green & Royal Blue. Packaged in 4 ounce plastic bottles." No word from Tandy or Fiebings about how colorfast their new products are? Thanks for passing along the info, guys... I can't wait to try the new products from both companies. Kate

If they do come up with some really decent water-based dyes, I for one will not miss the fumes from the alchohol-based dyes, and all the safety precautions I have to take when using them. And if they include UV inhibitors (so they don't fade so easily over time), that will be a major plus. Jeez... I hope they don't just come in 50 shades of brown. How about "kelly green" or "oxblood", or just yellow, blue, turquoise, etc.? Kate

Bill, The video card or chipset that came with your computer will probably have problems working with an LCD monitor, regardless of the format. But you should be able to install a newer video card that will support the newer display technology. All you need to know is what type of video card slot your computer has - most likely it will be PCI or possibly AGP. Most of the video cards you buy today should support LCD technology, and as long as you buy one to fit the type of slot you have, it should be pretty easy to upgrade your system. Kate

Yeah, I saw this on YouTube.com a few days ago. You beat me to the post! Ha! Kate

Can't wait to see the results, freak. Kate

Hmmmm... think about what things come in pairs... I will say no more. Those look great to me, Jim - certainly nothing to be ashamed of. How did you attach the braid to the cartridge? Through the primer hole? Kate

Thank-you, sir. However, my braiding has a looooooonnnng way to go before it could even hold a candle to yours. Hope you keep posting your work; it's great inspiration for the rest of us. Kate

LOL When I lay something down, it becomes a victim of absent-mindedness. That's almost as bad as having kids around. And no, it's not a senior thing; I've had this problem since I was a teenager. A lot of people buy handcrafted bookmarks as "collectible art", and often don't actually use them as bookmarks. Kind of a shame, in a way, because I make them to be used. They can be preserved quite nicely inside the pages of a book. But you make a good point. Maybe part of the packaging should include some way to mount them. Kate

The applique braiding really seems to compliment the celtic ornament. Kate

Pete, My specialty is large-sized game boards, typically 22" or 23" square, which I make with 5-6oz. Out of one side of leather, I can cut out 2-4 game boards, and there usually is quite a bit of perfectly useable leather leftover. Usable, but not big enough for another game board. By the end of last year, I had built up over 300 sq. ft. of those smaller pieces. So I needed some smaller projects to use up those smaller pieces. If I couldn't use the leather I already have to make the bookmarks (or wrist bands, or keycases, or wallets), I'd probably have no reason to make them. I do the splitting before I do anything else to the leather. Kate

Hmmm.... nice! Small handgun...

Thanks, Regis. I make bookmarks from 5-6oz pieces that I've split down to 3-4oz. This particular one is probably closer to a 4oz thickness. The border design was done using the "celtic knot font" that you can purchase and download from www.clanbadge.com. The vertical cuts are cut all the way through the leather, to make a kind of fringe that you see on a lot of bookmarks. Kate

Here is a photo of a bookmark I just finished. Not much to it... except about 5 hours of carving and dye work. Turned out to be a little more ambitious than I expected. It's 3.5" x 6". I decided to try a wider format for my bookmarks to open up more artistic possibilities, but this particular design was probably more work than what even a hard-core bookmark collector would be willing to pay for. But we'll see... The odd-looking horse/fish figure is a mythical creature from Scottish legend known as a "kelpie". Kelpies are said to be seen standing by brooks, rivers, or lakes, posing as beautiful, tame horses, and when someone comes along and tries to ride it, it rushes into the water with the hapless rider and drowns them. Sounds like good work, if you can get it. Kate

Beautiful work, Victor. So professional! Kate

Robert, I've never built one myself, but the ones I've seen appeared to be constructed of pieces that were wet-molded. Here is one I found on ebay... the seller posted several photos showing some of the details of construction. http://cgi.ebay.com/Brand-New-Cairns-Bros-...1QQcmdZViewItem Hope this is a start, anyway... Kate

Uuuuh... is there an image or something? Kate

Clay, does he still offer his mauls and swivel knives? I know there was some question about whether he could continue making the mauls because of problems getting the material he used to make them. I second what the others say about these tools. When I got the first basketweave stamp I ordered from him, I knew it would be better than the entry level tool it was replacing. But the first time I tried it, I was dumbstruck. The clarity of the impressions that the tool makes is surreal. Kate