irishsaintcarver

Well, being poor (or maybe just cheap) I went to the lumber store and bought a 16"X16" solid concrete block 4" thick for just a few bucks and covered it with a cutting mat from Wally World (glued it down with the contact cement). So I have all the helpful measurements and angles that were on the cutting mat. I only get to leather sporadically and not very seriously but the block has held up for about 6 or so years now. phil

This is an older thread but.....there is a power lifting belt manufacturing company in Coleman TX. Perhaps they'd share suppliers with you. phil https://generalleathercraft.com/

Rocky, I just saw a Springfield leather video where an iron was used successfully - watch the video to determine the settings and water. It was interesting and, perhaps, for you helpful. phil

Hi, there, Chain. Homemade is often the best way to go - I built a maul from PVC pipe and a dowel. A 2inch, or the size of your preference, glue on cap with a threaded reducer is what I used, I filled the space in the cap with BBs for the weight and screwed the dowel in. The prototype used a drilled dowel and all thread which went through the cap. It was difficult to drill through the dowel without a drill press, but it is my "everyday" maul. I have beat the snot out of it with no signs of wear yet. Great fun, Phil

Thanks, Mike. I appreciate the input and will definitely weigh yield into my decision. Phil

Is there a advantage to one type of briefcase bottom over another? I have enough leather to make the case I want with one piece for the front, bottom and back, sewing in only the sides, and having only 3 pieces of leather to deal with, this seems easiest; it seems most folks sew in a separate bottom and sides using, then, 5 pieces of leather. The only disadvantage I see could be wearing out the bottom - however, since it will be a laptop case I don't think it will spend much time on the bottom - mostly laid down on it's back. You know, typing this out has convinced me to use one piece for the main bag and sew in only the sides........................................ but I am going to wait and see if there is a good reason from you knowledgeable folks on why I should not do that. Thanks, so much, I'm a wood carver dabbling in leather and would really appreciate the advice from leather workers. Phil