cowboycolonel

... and I'm still waiting for someone to order a left-hand gun belt. You can do the left-to-right conversion quickly if you wait until you're almost done and then put the Makers Mark on upside down. I use plexi glass too - works like a charm and allows you to turn the work as required.

I did the "left to right reversal" several times when I first started. I even built a belt backwards once. What a waste of leather! Your work is beautiful, though, and not easy to keep the tooling area from stretching out under the stamps. You should be proud to be able to do such beautiful work.

Good luck there. Everyone I know who has one wouldn't part with it. An older gent actually GAVE me one five years ago - for which I am forever indebted. It is in very good condition externally, but the pages have dried out so that it is fragile. Still, quite the treasure.

Pete Gorrell did the book for the artistically impaired

Call Bob's

I agree with Dwight. I have and 8" and a simpler 6" model, and There's no way I could envision making a similar product for anywhere the cost of those. I regret that I am not religious about stropping these blades, as I have never been able to strop them innn situ, and it's a pain to remove them and then to re-set the splitter. I do take them out to a professional sharpening service every other month or so and then go to work. Couldn't live without them.

I really like mine. Hard to say what's better -- matter of preference.

Wayne Jeuschke!!! Elko, NV Call 775-738 4885 Great balance and easy to use. No need to look any further

May sound stupid, but what's wrong with Barge's thinner?

Do you still need the clips? I have two I'm not going to use.

They're called "French clips" and weaver has them.

Very nice, but I personally prefer to have the trigger shielded. ...and while I can't see a strap-down, I assume there's one there. Also, maybe incorporate a second shell holder for whatever you consider alternate ammunition - .410 and 45 cal don't seem to me to be compatible in the same holder.

I've been telling my wife for years how to pronounce it, and she still thinks it's pronounced phonetically!!!

I bought a set of dapping taps which take 1 stroke of a mallet to set. One stroke on the burr side, and one or two to dome the head. Too easy. The only consideration is how short you cut the shank, and you can either guess or make a gauge like to one in the video.

I like the old stuff too, but once again, you can make you own. Not that hard and not very expensive.

Primo, How the devil did you get away with that much room in a leather shop? I work out of a horse stall, 10 1/2 by 11 1/2. Gotta go outside to change my mind. I'd love to be able to do layout like that!!!

No Steel, I guess you're about as smart as the rest of us. I did about the same thing - took up horses, got married, and started leather work all at about the same time. While to marriage wasn't necessarily that expensive, the divorce which led up to it sure was. I started making my own gear because I didn't like to price for relative quality that I saw. Now my gear doesn't cost a lot less, but the quality is much higher (IMHO) and I can off-set a bit of my investment by making for others, They get what they are wanting and I pay for some of my costs and still get to do my own stuff. Everyone wins.

Fly, All you have to do here is to know what questions to ask. So many well-informed folks and all willing to help. What part of Ohio?

Nope. I can honestly say that I have never intentionally drunk that stuff. Even stayed away from Purple Jesus when it was fashionable. Fortunately I was a late boomer and consequently never even drank tequila until my later years. I've been trying to catch up since, though.

Interesting... I Live here in the Peoples' Democratic Republic of California, where ALL things are leaning WAY left, and you can buy it in the liquor store. About $19 for 750 ML and it's great for use as a thinning agent on alcohol-based dyes.

Hey Waldo, Thanks for sharing - as always. Two item I might add, though. First off, when I dip-dye, I use a plastic tub to dip in, as all thing metal grate against my preferences. Note how metal contacting wet leather will leave a dark stain, so why chance it on finished work. Secondly, I have found that Everclear, which NOBODY drinks any more (I sincerely hope) make a great reducer - and much less expensive. When I mix, I recover as much excess dye as possible, and label to mixture for further use. 1/5, 1/3, etc. Saves a lot of dye.

Tap-offs are cutouts of items you will use repeatedly . Like if you're doing a floral pattern with several similar flowers in it, you cut out a flower and prepare it (I can tell you how if you decide to do this) and then when you want to add a flower, you place the cutout and tap it with a broad-face hammer so that the imprint is transferred to the work piece, saving you the time (and hand cramps) from having to trace or draw the item over and over again. The next item I'd suggest is to organize the stamps you are going to use and separate them from those you will not be using, Then, to the maximum extent possible, try to handle each tool only once - twice MAXIMUM. This saves time searching, etc. The exception I make to this rule is in backgrounding. I do my backgrounding area by area, regardless of which tools I have to use. I have a 1,3,5,7,9 bar backgrounder. Start with the 9 and do all you can, then move to the 7, then the five. I almost never get to the 3 and don't even bother laying out the 1 because I so rarely use it. If I were doing the eagle piece above, I'd first smooth bevel everywhere required. That would be everywhere a flower occludes with a leaf or a stem, and interior lines on the eagle. Then I'd to all the pear shading, flowers first, then leaves, then stems. Then background and move to the eagle. Checkered bevel all exterior lines, then model and shape the bird itself. Decorative cuts with the swivel knife should be last and all done at the same stage. Once you get accustomed to handling each stamp only once, you should be able to knock this out in virtually no time - depending upon how intricate you want to get with the eagle.

Sounds to me like you're right on track. Of course it always depends on size and intricacy of design, but you will get absolutely nowhere by trying to do it fast. If your leather is perfectly cased I find it goes much faster, but the long pole for me has always been the design and layout. Once you get it roughly laid in, the rest is pretty fast. Using tap-offs can save about half the time of layout and tracing, as it eliminates a whole step, and it's almost always faster to do the "second" of any one design. Use the right tool for what your working on and save time by not beveling every line -- just where need, but everywhere it is needed. Can't say much more without seeing your design and tools.