Double U Leather

Since rodeo season is just about ready to kick off in a big way, I decided to make something for myself to pack along. It should keep all my papers organized, and may even cause someone to want something similar. Let me know what you think of it. I can tell ya'll this much....dyeing the background was a time consuming, pain in the neck...LOL. Oh and here's the back..........I call the border "Full Snake". You'll see where the snake apparently swallowed a mouse or something....LOL

Glad to make ya smile. I'd just dye if I couldn't make a person smile everyday....LOL

Thanks for the tips. I'll try the practice piece first for sure. Oh, and Horsehair, sorry about the "dying". I probably would die if I wound up dyeing this deal wrong!! Then I would have died from dyeing. If only I would have dyed before I died.

Uh oh.........no responses. Wonder if I'm typing in invisible ink again?

Hey.......here's a question that's probably been answered a zillion times, but I'm gonna ask it again. I'm working on a Sheridan style portfolio book cover thing and want to dye the background. Do I dye first, then Neatsfoot, then Neatlac, followed by antique and Tan Kote? I sure don't want to jack it up. Thanks in advance for the help.

When I'm pounding on some leather or whatever in my shop, I listen to a Christian station. Actually, I listen to a couple different ones. One of 'em I really like. It's Christian talk radio where they really delve into the Bible and put it in practical terms for living today. They have guys like Chuck Swindoll on. The other station K-Love is just music. Now when I'm on the road taking my kid to high school rodeos, or if I'm off rodeoin' myself, I'll also pop in some Ian Tyson, Robert Earl Keen, or Chris LeDoux along with the Christian stations I can find. Being fairly new at the Christian walk, it seems like I need to stay plugged into the Word or something close to it or I find myself getting sucked back into my old thoughts and ways. And I can assure you, I don't want to go back down that road. But, bottom line, when I'm in my shop it's 99.9% Christian. Oh and I should add, it makes it harder when I mess something up to curse violently and throw things when I'm listening to my Christian music.....LOL

I"m gonna jump into the fray here.....I've been makin' rodeo chaps for 25+ years. When I first started, I used to use scissors!!! After using several roles of Johnson & Johnson athletic tap for blisters, I discovered the rotary knife. I've used a rotary knife since. I don't even do the ruler/straight edge thing. I just start either at the top or inside bottom, depending on which leg. I can pretty much eye ball it as to angles and width. Occasionally, I will have to cut a small wedge out to make the angles work. I also am someone who cut 12-18" fringe on most chaps. I figure that if a guy is ridin' broncs or bulls in my chaps, the chances that anyone will be able to tell if my fringe isn't exactly even width or perfectly straight is pretty slim. And I know the bulls and broncs could care less. Just my 2 cents worth. I wish I had some pics of the chaps I've made on hand. I'll have to dig some I think.

Good stuff Pete. The offering box at our church is a hair on hide box. No tooling though, but pretty sweet too. We got a guy in church that's a pretty talented leatherworker. I'm sure he made the offering box. Anyway, good work.

I'm going to throw my 2 cents worth in here as well. I just got done doing some basket stamping on a guitar strap and was thinking about the posts regarding the use of a maul. That being said, I was trying to be conscious of how I was holding the maul, etc. The one thing that I noticed more than anything else was that I hold my maul more like a rock than a hammer....meaning I actually grip the maul part instead of the the handle. It seems I have more control that way, and it doesn't cripple me to stamp for hours at a time. Anyway, just something that popped into my brain. Good luck.

Denise, Thanks for fixing the pics. I kinda struggle with modern technology. In fact, I still listen to 8 tracks....LOL.

Dang....I have issues uploading.....Anyway, here's the bag cover from the previous post. BTW, the items actually look better than the pictures....LOL

Here's a couple more things I've finished. The Rope Bag cover is for my horseshoer's son. I'm not sure I like the barbed wire border, but he wanted it. I think I should have put a border line around it. I'm learning...LOL The other is s demo rope can that I made for a guy who wants to take it around to rodeos in his booth/trailer to drum up some orders for me. He's only taking a small percentage so I figured what the heck. Anyway, when I get more confident in my abilities, I'll get brave and put stuff on the "critique" page....LOL...

Pete, I'm glad you're back on the path. I'm just new on the path, and I can sure see how a guy can go down the wrong fork. That path is a whole lot more difficult to walk than people think. I can assure you, anybody who thinks walking that path is for sissies, ain't never walked very far on it. God bless bro'. Hang in there.

If it were me, I'd probably measure the horse (center of chest to end of D). Then allow for the D ring and the center ring. That way you can make your breast collar fit exactly how you want it, and to fit your horse perfectly.

Does anyone know of where I might find a reasonably priced cylinder arm machine. I'm getting some orders for briefcases and such, and the table top machine I have just doesn't really cut it. Thanks.

I've always had pretty good luck with NRS. The can in the pic was his old can that we just cleaned up. It used to have a basket stamped cover with an inlaid hair on lightning bolt and R2W tooled into it. Unfortunately, he got caught in a horrendous downpour a couple years ago at the Little Britches National Finals and the rope can was actually floating in about 2 feet of water. Needless to say, the old cover had seen better days.

Bruce, I got the part about Wilbur's monkey. I don't know if his monkey was Whiplash or not. Tommy Lucia's is named Whiplash, but I don't remember what Wilbur called his.

ATX, That's good stuff. I really like the portfolio. Nicely done.

I've made several different bronc halters for folks. Seems like everyone wants to own a "bronc."

ATX, I used a typical Sheridan style finish technique that I learned from this board. Neatsfoot Oil (let dry good) NeatLac (cover thoroughly so there's no spotting) Antique (That's EcoFlow medium brown I think) Tan Kote. That's the sequence. The key I think is to not get impatient. I really make sure stuff dries well before I go to the next step. Hope that helps.

Here's a couple Bible covers I made for my daughters. I've discovered while trying to figure out this Sheridan style stuff, the smaller the pattern, the danged harder it is to make it look right. Oh well....I'll keep practicing.

Hey thanks for all the kind words. I really appreciate them, especially coming from the likes of hidepounder and bruce johnson. I've been lurking here for while looking at ya'lls work and to receive compliments from the 2 of you is certainly a feather in my cap. I'd give my right arm to be able to go camp out on your door step (well actually I'd rather camp out in your leather shops) for a month or so. Anyway, thanks for your kind words. I've got a couple Bible covers I've done also that I'll put up when I get back to the house. I've been doing leather work for quite a while i.e. chaps, basket stamped things, etc., but have only recently tried my hand at Sheridan. I've now found a whole new challenge to master. Thanks again, and I'll post more pics soon.

Here's a rope can I finished for my son for Christmas. I've only been trying my hand at Sheridan style stuff for a couple months. I think this turned out pretty good. I've been watching this board for a while and figured I'd jump in the mix. I can tell you, my stuff doesn't really compare with some of the things I've seen on here. Ya'll are some fabulous leather craftsmen.