McJeep

Sharp as always David - nice work

Very nice

excellent - look forward to it

Nice Thanks much

That's about all I use the stylus for as well - packing tape on the back of the paper pattern and stylus to trace with on cased leather - works for me

Maybe that's why he teaches it that way - being a beginner myself, I like to go slow and lightly to bevel tight to the cut before walking the edge with more weight - I find it helps the tool track the line better and I don't walk off the cut then. Might be able to just step up and pound away some day, but not yet ;0)

So I was checking out a Tandy shop over on the mainland last week and discussing this and that about techniques. And checking out some beeeautiful european veg tan - had to pick on up to try it - feels like creamy butter - can't wait to see how it carves Store guy said I should be running a stylus along my carved lines before beveling up to them? Never seen nor heard this mentioned anywhere else so I thought I'd ask here. Do you? Should I? How much of a difference will it make? Thanks in advance from a newb ;0) Rob

A day's work? I'd be weeks! LOL Question: I don't see any anchor points etc for forming the top to the foam? How do you do that??

Very nice as always guy - love yer work - falling in love with the pebblers myself ;0) They do a great job of texturing/filling open space :0)

I read the title and thought "why bother?" Then I looked at the pics - Gorgeous work! Now I know why ;0)

Will this answer your questions??? Not exactly sure which number you need but hope it helps - found it here a couple weeks ago http://www.amefird.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/5-Thread-Size-Comparison-Chart-2-4-10.pdf

Nice & clean

Nice job buddy - 'like that better than swingarm bags by far

I've found them to be a real beggar to measure what with the compound curves etc. I think I'm going to take a cue from one of the people on here that makes corsets of all things. When I template out the next set I'm going to mock it all up with duct tape, then cut the seam down the center of the bars and use the duct tape template. I have a couple buddies that like the look of the covers fitting inside the bars and being laced to them - lets the chrome show though

'kay - found it - muchos garcias

leather balm? Haven't seen that before - thanks much for the advice - I'll look for it My wife took the picture LOL - that's my story and I'm stickin to it! hehehe

Many hardware stores carry it up here in bulk - if not, boat/marine stores are a good source as well.

Just finished a project for my bike. I'm pretty satisfied with how my carving and braiding is coming (pretty new to this) but not real pleased with my finishing efforts. The last thing I want to do is have a bunch of returns coming back because customers are having colour coming off etc. If you look at the picture, you'll see that I have some red showing through the black topcoat. I saw it as it happened so I kept buffing till I achieved a bit of a distressed look - wasn't much else I could do. I had basically dyed the whole piece with fiebings red. After it dried for a few hours, I applied fiebings pro black everywhere that it was supposed to go. When I was buffing off the excess, the black started coming off too. I take it that I can not layer different colours and expect them to take well? Suggestions? For weather proofing, I decided to try just using multiple layers of fiebings aussie leather conditioner. I liked the idea of bees wax for the water proofing aspect and am not personally a big fan of really shiny finishes. The leather conditioner also started lifting more black dye. I had let it sit for a couple hours before buffing as well. Can I not layer dyes to get the relief that I want? Am I not letting things dry long enough? (I was a bit rushed as I wanted this to be on the bike for a weekend rally - netted me four more jobs :0) What would be the best process for sealing and proofing my projects without a glossy finish - I want my pieces to end up being known for style AND being almost bulletproof so far as weather goes. All advice is certainly welcomed folks - thanks for reading Rob (aspiring to produce solid products)

All done - not soooo happy with finish but that's another thread ;0) Changed the round braid to "3 holes back" vice 2 - I like the way it tightens the angles up so no leather is visible between the laces.

Will look into them - thanks for the heads up

Glad to hear that nylon is acceptable from someone who uses it on outdoor stuff - I was err'ing on the cautious side I guess - this news should open up more colours on the palette for me ;0) Thanks much Rob

Ohhhhhh, I think the sewing machine is gonna add a whole nuther dimension to what I can plan for projects - took forever to find the thread but I like the end result. 7-8 oz tooled (4 coats of beeswax) with 5 oz latigo underneath for bulk and hopefully some water barrier? Also lined it with felt - now for the braiding tomorrow and time to bolt it on.

Well doh! That explains it - thanks for the pic Can ya tell I'm new at this? LOL

hehehe 'zactly