Brianm77

Any reason not to use aluminum in leather?

I was mainly thinking of some Wickett & Craig skirting in brown or mahogany, 3-4 oz maybe 3-6 sqft or so. But other tings might peek my interest

Do you still have some of these?

I will have to check them out too

That is a good idea, but I am a small time job. Leather is the side gig, I sure don’t have a sewing machine. I done some looking and there are some on eBay and Amazon that would be feasible if they are diecent enough quality mainly looking for something I can purchase cheep enough. All of my sales are on the internet right now so the packaging does not help sell the product, but I would like to improve the experience of the customer receiving it. Aliexpress looks promising, I will have to look when I get some more time.

I checked out midatlantic and they have some double wine boxes that might fit the bill for a padfolio...

I will sure keep that in mind

I will keep that in mind for the future. But for now I was trying to keep the cost a little lower. What is your minimum order on say a 4” x4” pouch if I left off the embossing? where does one go to get the velvety drawstring bags?

Well currently everything I make is small, wallet or smaller. And it all goes in a clear bubble envelope then into a padded shipping envelope. That was an attempt early on at marking my first projects seem like something for very cheap. Now I was thinking of fancying up the inner package. I am kinda a simple guy and after some brainstorming I keep going to a nice craft paper type box, maybe even a sliding box. And I thought of maybe getting a rubber stamp with a logo on it. I could stamp the box to make it look like I had them done. I do like the idea of a draw string bag. I saw some small burlap type drawstring bags on stuff I have gotten and they would probably take the same stamp. I am ok with the shipping package being what ever but I would like to spruce up the inside. I will have to check them out. That is the kind of stuff I was looking for.

Hello guys, i am looking to improve my image a little with customers. The first thing I would like to do is get some boxes that are a little nicer than just sticking them in a padded shipping envelope. I have dine a little looking online but have only seen custom orders or boxes that are $3-5 a piece. It is hard to add that much to a wallet or money clip just for a box. I would like to hear about sources or ideas that you guys (and girls) might have. thanks, brian

Any of these Conchos left?

I know, and I have bought several sides from NSarleather. But sometimes you are looking for something else or don’t want to spend $80-$125 at the moment. Just thought I would try something new

Or I have been thinking about trying some bridle

Well I have bought quite a bit of stuff out of the cuts pile at the local saddle shop. The last couple times they did not have much beyond really bad stuff and some tooling drops. I have seen the stuff at hobby lobby and they really did not have what I am after. I just thought there there may be some others out there that may be in the same boat. Thought maybe we could work out a trade. Maybe in another year or two buying a side won’t be such a big deal.

So most places sell leather by the side which is understandable. But for a relitivily new hobbist it is not always feesable to buy entire sides. And most of the time by the foot is not very cost effective. I have seen a lot of by the foot type stuff go anywhere from $15 to $25 and up per foot. I am not knocking it, I just can’t spend that kind of money on 1 square foot of leather. That is especially true if I am making something to try to make a few bucks on. My question is, anybody out there want to trade 4 or 5 square feet or sell kinda the same amount, and not try to make you living on selling me a piece of leather. I would rather trade if possible. I have a few sides or most of a side pieces that I have picked up for different projects. If it makes the deal any easier I could provide a couple of names that I have had dealings with here. I am right now looking for some dyed skirting in about 4oz. But there could be other things that might spark my interest. If there is any interest I can go into detail what I would have to offer and provide pictures. So so that being said, what do ya got? Brian

I wanted a couple pieces of steel for the weight to clamp leather together while the glue dried. I went to a local fab shop they had a entire pallet of pieces about 4”x6”x1 3/4” or so laser cut. They did not work for their project. They are about 40lbs each. I bought 4 of them for $20 I am thinking about going back for a few more.

You guys can take a regular 4.5" angle grinder and beaten up the edges a little. I would go slow so you don't chip it and blow the dust away with a shop fan.

They are the marine version out of round stock. Check with the rope and chain hardware.

Check with your local hardware store. My local ace has them in stainless and brass.

Someone else mentioned rubber bands and made me think, maybe you could rig up some rubber bands to assist mashing the pedal. May take some playing around to get it calibrated if you will. Or maybe you could have someone make the pedal longer and give you more leverage. Just a thought.

Thanks Tim

Interesting!!!

http://leatherworker.net/forum/forum/78-leather-and-lace/ have a look here

Tim, do you have any contact info, I might like to give him a buzz?

I second that. nstarleather sells quite a bit of stuff there and is a pleasure to deal with. I have bought some Essex (from horween) a couple times and it may fit the bill of your milled/tumbled. It has been nearly as flexible as the mill tanned chap leather that I have bought. I would send a pm, maybe there is some to be had I have also bought a bunch of stuff from a local boot, saddle and general leather work shop. I have bought scrap and several square feet off of a side. So that might be an option.