LatigoAmigo

I've had some luck cutting acrylic and plywood, but only very thin plywood and only certain acrylics. My particular machine does not do "fine" engraving, but some units can do very refined work, and even cut at varying depths. To get the leather to lay flat on the cutting bed, I adhere the leather to stencil board. This stencil board, or oilboard, is available at some art stores, and is a thin, but rigid, cardboard that comes in 24 x 36 inch sheets. Its durability would work as a template, and it is very reasonably priced compared to acrylic or plywood.

I use a laser for cutting and engraving all of my leatherwork. The homemade CO2 100-watt laser will easily cut leather (have only cut up to 8 oz.), and after some fine-tuning have been very happy with the results. I don't know if this kind of machine is available where you are, but the parts are imported from China, and are available through dealers here in the states. The laser leaves some smoke residue on the leather, which can pose a problem on some softer, lighter leathers, but can usually be cleaned off with a damp cloth (I don't cut veg-tan leathers). There are threads on this site that discuss this issue. Here is my latest piece as an example of what can be done...

Too bad. Not knowing what type of leather you have, maybe you could clean it up with what they call a Magic Eraser. That is a sponge put out by Mr. Clean. You add water to the eraser and rub it over the surface of the leather. It will pick up excess residue but can leave the leather with a somewhat "flat" look (again, not knowing what kind of leather you have), to which you might want to apply a conditioner.

You may not be interested, but there are various ways to gain access to Photoshop and Lightroom at a reasonable price. This link shows several options. Check the Students and Teachers section for discounted student pricing. https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/plans.html

I have had success using a heavy mesh style interfacing along with "HeatnBond UltraHold Iron-On Adhesive." For me it has worked better than spray on adhesive, which tends to be both messy and uneven.

I have successfully used HeatnBond UltraHold Iron-On Adhesive (ordered from Amazon) to glue fabric to leather. You iron the fabric onto the back of the leather. There will be no bleed-through.

When you scan images, you can save them in various file formats. The file extension ".jpeg" (or .jpg), the file format for Joint Photographic Experts Group, has been around a long time (in computer years) and should be around for many more. Some of the file extensions mentioned above are designed for very specific applications and find themselves outdated.

The amount of shaving needed will vary depending on the letter pairings. This table demonstrates the kerning attributes of various letter pairs, where you can see, for example, that VA uses different spacing (-123 / tighter) than VT (+16 / looser). Hope you find this helpful.

From an early age, Bruce Grant has been my inspiration.

On a recent visit to Santa Fe, NM, I was inspired by some Chaco Indian designs that I saw there and decided to incorporate them into a bag. The leather comes from the Hide House in Napa, and the pine needle pattern is from a linoleum print my niece created.

Just type "Sussex" into the search box on the home page and you should find a few folks from your locale.

I think Ohio Travel Bag has what you are looking for: https://ohiotravelbag.com/c-1951/1-14in+quick+release+latch+solid+brass

You might try Maine Thread Company, they carry turquoise waxed cord in assorted weights. https://www.mainethread.com/index.php/waxed-polycord/product/155-turquoise-waxed-cord

When I email a photo on my IPhone, a dialogue box pops up, allowing me to scale the image to a smaller size. So if you are using an IPhone, it looks like you can shrink the photos by simply sending them to yourself, so there is no need for an app.

My wife silkscreens onto wet clay, so I'm sure you can silkscreen images onto leather in the same manner.

Sounds fantastic. What software do you design with?

I've seen quite a few backpack patterns available on this site: http://www.leathercraftpattern.com/index.php?route=common/home

Here is another possible source, 250 lids for $28.95: https://www.amazon.com/Mann-Lake-CN160-250-Pack-Container/dp/B00B8L5JUG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1534534014&sr=8-2&keywords=yellow+flip+top+lid

The deal is only as good as what you make with it, or what you can re-sell it for... but it looks pretty good from here.

I tend to believe that Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) are only available for American products. This product seems to be Canadian.

Short of removing the rivets and re-riveting the Velcro in place, you might consider stitching small pieces of Velcro between the rivets. Using very light weight cream colored thread. It wouldn't have very many stitches, like 3 or 4, just enough to tack down the Velcro.

I have several Horween hides with backs like that, just part of the tanning process, probably when the hide is stretched out over something with a mesh pattern, like a screen.

Dwight, you are a saint to provide us all with such specific steps to success. For a "drying box" I have found that using the "sweater rack" in our gas clothes dryer works very well.

Maybe you could take a picture so we could see the what kind of leather you have and what the discoloration looks like.

Since you continue to have a relationship with him, just tell him you are not ready for such a project. Your mental health is worth more than any paycheck, and it sounds like you would be suffering more that this project is worth, either to you or to him, so just let it go.