jleidel

The damascus steel is gorgeous. Very nice combo.

The only caveat is, the compression screw has a very wide pitch to it... which implies that there is very little mechanical advantage without putting some serious mojo on it. If I decide to use this very often, I'll probably fabricate a separate stand for it with some large feet made from 1/2" steel plate.

A friend of mine had an old book press in his shop that he bought from an estate sale years ago. When he found out I was looking for a shop press, it landed in my office. I finally had a chance to try it out last weekend. I used an 8" (diameter) Molon Labe sign made from 1/8" steel plate I had in the garage for the pressing. As a first test, I cut out an insert that fits into the dash of my 2006 F250. I was a little skeptical that I could get enough pressure with the book press to make a permanent mark, but it actually pressed relatively well. I left it in the press for just over an hour before letting it dry and dying the embossed region black. I've already ordered a pair of 1/4" plates cut to fit in the press for a better surface as well as some additional embossing plates (buddy owns a steel shop).

You might be able to derive a pattern from this: http://www.scotthandcrafted.com/leather-koozies

+1 to this question. I've also thought that a Yeti rambler coozie (20 or 30 oz) would be very cool.

All, I'm rather new to this hobby, so I apologize if this question is rather naive. I've been working with some basic kits and belt blanks that were all the standard veg-tanned leather. I'm working on my first custom design where I'm going to make a partial dash cover for my truck. Our family spends a lot of time hunting/fishing/etc and I thought about trying to use deer hide rather than the standard veg-tanned leather. Does deer hide stamp well in a similar manner as veg-tanned? How tough is it to work with? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Those look like .410 shells. What's the best way to measure and lay out that single piece that wraps around the buttstock? I would be interested to try this as a next step to moving away from the canned kits (I'm new to this). What size holes and grommets are those in the lower stitching?

Very nice. I'm definitely going to give you a shout on a couple projects. Nice to see another member in DFW.

I'm in McKinney, but often wander down to Austin and out through west Texas.

This is the wallet I made for my other son. The stencil is one that I made using some vector graphics as a test. I'm still working on getting the hang of lacing. I admit that I'm rather ham fisted with respect to certain small tasks. I also need to invest in some better needles/tools.

Thanks for the weclome! This is a picture of the knife sheath that he and i worked on. This is based upon the basic knife sheath from the Tandy Leather basic kit. I also made a wallet for my younger son with a custom stencil that I did. I'll post a picture of it as well.

Hi all. I wanted to post a quick intro on the forum. I'm new to leather working, so be patient if my questions are rather naive. I started into the hobby after my 8-year old made his first knife (which actually turned out quite well) and subsequently wanted to make a sheath for it. So far, I'm starting small. Tandy kits arrive at the house along with basic tools+stamps. I hope to tackle a new belt for myself next week. Thanks! John