McJeep

Tape is likely to leave unwanted residue behind - I use a piece of tight weave rag to do mine and make sure it's dry when I edge dye - wrap a layer or two of rag tightly around my finger - dab the rag - blot off the excess on paper towel - edge dye till the rag is getting dry - repeat - less moisture - less chance of it bleeding where you don't want it Hope this helps - will be watching this thread for any other ideas

Rawhide re-enforced ... cool idea Yeah, custom is cool that way - gotta get some "off the rack" stock built for the quick sales now thought Thanks guy - great lookin stuff

THAT's the one! I forgot who's name to search under :0/

Question on the d-ring "tab" stitched on to the collar. I've been doing some with a similar lining layer on them and used the lining layer to hold a d ring captive at the top of the collar but the d ring goes around the entire main piece of leather vice stitched on with a tab. Your way is much nicer looking, not to mention there is no way I could do that wide a collar with a 1 3/4' d ring wrapped around the main body - would look like a fitting on a boat! So have you done many with this design, and has that method of attachment for the d ring held up alright? Just a bit concerned about the strength factor - I know you mentioned that it's more for show, but I like the detail and was curious how it stands up with shall we say *excitable* dogs LOL Nice work BTW!

There is indeed a great pattern on the board, and a thread that shows step by step construction but I'll be beggared if I can find it right now - happy searching - I believe it was pinned at the top of one of the forums?? Somebody here will chime in soon I'm sure. G'luck

anyone? Bueller? hehehe heading to buy some hides tomorrow and knowing the answer to above would help my decision on how many of which type

It's a cutting surface like your kitchen cutting board I'm thinking of covering my entire workbench in the stuff (8'x3') and then just sliding my marble slab off into the corner when not actually carving/tooling

If I cut a strap like this to do extra long pieces, and I use Latigo leather, can I expect it to pull into a straight lead if I soak it? Just curious if the soaking will soften it enough given all the oil in the leather?

Nice! Question - how do you do the crack detail? I'm looking at the jagged crack in the cheekbone on the left?

I use this stuff fairly regular for bike gear and bridle repairs - still a newbie but offer the following 1) It's vegtan latigo, I was wondering if vegtan latigo edges will burnish? I've managed to burnish it to a certain extent and fiebings edge dye *seems* to work well - haven't had any bad results yet but I doubt it has soaked in much - time will tell 2) Can it be wetformed as tooling leather can be? Not in my experience - the deep oil prep of it means it won't soak up the moisture required, nor will it stay glued with contact cement - it'll stick well and long enough to anchor it for stitching but not long term 3) Would this be an adequate leather for a fixed blade knife sheath? Not if it needs to be formed (see above) but if it's a flat stitched sheath maybe - have no idea whether the chemicals in the oil treatment of it would harm the blade tho? It would certainly last a long time ;0) This is definitely a utilitarian leather, not a pretty leather ;0) Hope this helps Rob

Thanks guys - appreciate the advice I'm using a bit of everything right now - haven't really nailed down a niche but am having to let demand steer the business where it needs to go to pay some bills ;0) Using *mostly* 8 oz veg tan for projects and about a third of my needs is latigo for bike and dog gear that needs to be tougher than pretty ;0) Have heard of Caledon before now that you mention it and will check them out - how's their pricing compare to the tandy wholesale?? Again, much thanks - hopefully shipping costs won't hogtie me :0/ Cheers Rob

As the title says - need a GOOD leather supplier as far west as I can find to save on shipping costs. Tandy just aint cuttin it - why would they say "this latigo is kinda dirty but will clean up with damp rag" instead of just cleaning it up in the first place to verify it, and why did I get sent two veg tan shoulder cuts instead of one double shoulder as ordered? Leatherwork is too time consuming to have jobs sullied by unacceptable leather, and I don't feel like doing the "return it to us" garbage which just eats up more time. I want a supplier that I can count on to send me leather that's at LEAST an 8 out of 10. Suggestions are very very very much appreciated - really trying to stay Canadian if only to save the customs and shipping hassles of getting stuff across the border, but will look at US suppliers as well. Thanks folks Rob (frustrated by time loss)

Holy thread resurrection Batman! It's funny tho - I posted way back when it was started, back when I hadn't even decided on a maker's mark or logo yet - things have changed a little since then ;0) Fuzzy "didn't have an iphone back then" pic ;0)

What about using a lighter weight leather to build the cover, which would allow you to use much less bulky seaming at the edges - then laminate (with stitched or laced border) the nice carved piece on to the face of the cover to dress it up - ease of construction - functional - and still had the carved pizazz you want to add? Just throwin it out there

'Thinking that his buddy's company is Canadian so the leaf is a straight graphic, no veining on the leaf from the flag

<Envious>

How well would this mixture hold up to rain etc?? Or is it strictly a "looks great with a natural lustre" finish? And I take it that it gets brushed on then buffed? Very interested in something like this as I really hate chemical sprays etc.

LMAO! Thanks much for starting my day off the right way

That's some pretty cool artwork there - look forward to more on this

Yesssss, the kinks - I'm quickly learning that I need to get some "production" line things going to keep the lights on and save the "custom" one offs for special clients They eat up wayyy to much setup time for me to be able to charge that much - wouldn't get any business at all if I did ;0)

Beautiful

Outstanding as always guy - How on earth you manage to do some of the work you do for such reasonable pricing, I dunno. If ya ever need other measurements for the Neo, lemme know - there's one right handy in the garage ;0) 1300R as well

There's a pretty darned useful client management software - more for managing repeat client info and scheduling your time than anything else - called maximizer. Used it in the finance biz - works well - reasonable cost. I mostly just use outlook on my computer - schedules all my time and the reminders are invaluable. Very useful to have the computer bleep at me to wake me up when I get lost in a job. There are lots of ways to manage time, schedule jobs, estimate jobs - but at what point are you spending more time scheduling then doing??

No problem I forgot to mention that I've found customers are much more happy when ya tell them something's done early rather than that it's gonna take longer - I always tell em two weeks when I think it'll be one week, if the circumstances allow - that also gives ya a bit of leeway for those ones that DO need to be slipped in between already scheduled jobs ... if there's a really good reason for the job to get put to the front of the line ;0) A little bit manipulative for sure, but helps me retain my sanity LOL Good luck!

Sounds like you're A) still getting a feel for how much you can produce in a given time, and trying too hard to please the customer with quick turnaround. I'm in the same boat and discovering (painfully) that I need to really get a grip on appreciating the time it takes to put things out. Am finally starting to realize that the customers asking for custom gear are more interested in the quality than time frames that equal off the shelf purchases. Gonna have to not worry so much about those that are rushing - let them but the off the shelf stuff - they'll likely be back when they realize that it's not *exactly* what they wanted. If not, then they weren't that worried about the fit/finish after all and I'll spend my time pleasing the ones that value custom quality ;0) Life's to short and ya can't please everyone every time ;0) <--- new mantra LOL