hidepounder

I like dirtclod's idea of using poster board and taping it together and I have used the pallet liners he's talking about....they work great also. If you want a more permanent pattern that will last for years then I would recommend using high impact styrene. It comes in 4'x 8' sheets and is pretty easy to cut. You can write notes on using Sharpies and it is impervious toeverythig except heat. It will be available from your local industrial plastics supplier. Bobby

I would think that the Kydex in the 6 mil range would be appropriate. I've seen steel used....I think it's a commonly used stiffener but the Kydex appeals to me more......

I have a Adler 205-370 and I love it. I bought it new and have never looked back. I have sewn with as light as 69 thread and as high as 415 thread. It has never given me a moments trouble. Based on my personal experience and that of friends with Adlers, I consider them the Mercedes of sewing machines. I am not as familiar with the lighter machines which is what you are looking for, but I have an acquaintance who is an equipment manager for a major league hockey team. He uses a lighter weight Adler to maintain all the players gear and I know he is crazy about his machine. However, based on Jim's experience it sounds like there may be a chink in Adlers armor so I guess the bottom line is you need to try before you buy. Customer service is certainly a huge consideration when buying any machine, especially if you are sewing machine "challenged" as I am, LOL! Bobby

Well I agree with everybody else. I've never heard of using acetone on leather either. I always clean my leather with oxalic acid before dying and antiqueing. I just think it helps keep my antique finish nice and even. Bobby

Stagdag, I apologize.....my first response was just my sick attempt at humor, LOL! We would need to know a lot more info to be able to answer your question completely. My guess is, however, that once you have finished molding, you should be able to re-dye the piece if it is necessary. Hope this helps..... Bobby

Probably not!

I've never tried one but it's a good idea. Assuming it's sharp it should work just fine. I use Bob Douglas' gouges. They are the best I've ever used. A little pricey, but you get what you pay for.One of the reasons I like them is that the way they're made you have some depth control, allowing you to be consistent across the entire length of the groove. They are a remake of an Osborne or Gomph design which is no longer made. On thin leather I use a #3 stitching groover....that works well also. And then of course I use French skivers to remove the shoulders of the groove. I won't even pick up an adjustable groover now.... Happy Holidays! Bobby

Thanks Troy. The flower center does have a slight dome to it. It's one of my favorites.

Here is a personal organizer which was made for a horse show roping award. All comments and critiques welcomed as always! Happy Holidays! Bobby

Thanks Marlon! The stitch line at the scallop joins the flap to the back but does not show through to the lining. I like to break the work into pieces as it is easier to utilize my leather, it's easier to tool a smaller piece of leather and lastly it creates some visual interest. Thanks for looking and Happy Holidays! Bobby

Thank you so much Tina. I struggle with things like that sometimes, LOL. Do I make the measurement perfect so that I 'm consistent or do I do what is visually correct? In this case I agree with you and if I were to do it over I would center on dots also. Hope you have a great Holiday! Bobby

Thanks for all the wonderful comments, everybody! Your kind words are inspiring! Happy Holidays! Bobby

It's kind of deceiving because the purse doesn't look that complicated....and it's not. However, I install stiffeners in certain sections which you can't see....that adds some time and making lined interior pockets is a very slow process for me because I skive and turn all the edges by hand and apply a fabric lining on them so that no flesh side is exposed. And of course, all those turned edges are then stitched and the interior is finger cut. Then the Mexican round braid takes forever. The lace has to be beveled and the braid itself takes about an hour for every two inches. When I'm finished braiding, I rub it all down with a rub stick which takes some time also, so there are some tedious steps that you might not see in a simple sewn purse without a fancy interior. Bobby

Mike, I'm not sure what I really have in this purse. I was only able to work on it a few hours at a time over the course of about six months. Under normal circumstances I would guess it would take over 40 hours with the hand made interior and the Mexican round braid lacing.

Beautiful job, David, as always! Happy Holiday! Bobby

Gary, those tools are listed on Ebay fairly often. It takes a lot of looking because so many are listed every week. Hope this helps.... Bobby

These are photos of a purse I finished recently. It is lined with calf and has interior pockets on both sides (photo shows the interior prior to assembly). The pursed is laced with kangaroo in a Mexican Round Braid. The silver was custom made for this project. As always, your comments and criticisms are welcome! Happy Holidays! Bobby

Stagdag, I apologize for not responding sooner...I missed your question until today. I have never tried to tool that kind of leather and I'm not sure I have ever seen any tooled. I would think it would be very difficult to get moisture in in it properly to make it toolable and so I just just wouldn't recommend using it. Bobby Sniper....good luck with your next session and feel free to ask is you have any questions. Bobby

Nice job Wayne.....I agree, this is your best work so far! I agree with Ferg, the wrinkles in the lining at the spine are un-sightly, however, I have the same problem when I make mine. I have tried gluing everything in permanently and I have tried attaching the edges only and letting the lining float. I don't like it either way. The true master at getting these type of linings in perfectly is Peter Main. We'll have to work on him to teach us how it's done. Anyway, it's something I struggle with also. Your tooling is coming along very nicely. Your flowers look very nice.....I would suggest adding a "stop" at the petals where they terminate next to the seed pod. Your vinework is looking good also. I think the next thing you should concentrate on is getting the petals or "stickers" as they are sometimes called, spaced more evenly. Also work on balancing the positive and negative spaces. The size and frequency of background spaces should be similar and balanced. It's something that takes some practice. When you are drawing a pattern, be sure to color in the background. That will help you to see the relationship of the background space to the foreground. Hope this helps.... Happy holidays, Bobby

Bobocat, Somehow I missed this thread. As always your work is beautiful and a great source of inspiration for me and I enjoyed seeing the sequence photos. Thank you for sharing...... Bobby

Sorry Pete....I missed this entire thread. Your theory about using a thick blade on thin leather is basically correct. The idea, though, is to use a blade sharpened with a very flat bevel so that there is less penetration in the leather while leaving a wide cut to work. Peter Main designed and sells a blade that he had Henley make for him for just that purpose and it works very well...I use it a lot. With thick leather, most any blade will do. You are correct that a thin blade will cut deeper a little easier than a thicker blade. The key to any blade of course is that it must be sharp! Hope this helps... Bobby

Spinner.....I would like to echo your sentiments about Ed's finger carving. He does a beautiful job....comparable to the very best. Bobby

Tina....that is a great tip for anyone who wants to find images to practice using their swivel knife. I often google "Line Art" to find images for inspiration but the "Victorian Calligraphy" search is even better! Another source of inspiration for these types of patterns can be found on many of the gun engraving sites. It's a lot more fun to practice cutting some of these images than to just practice the same old cuts over and over....although sometimes making repeatitive cuts is what is necessary to master a particular manuever.

We need a saddlemaker to jump in here, but it sure looks like flanky leather to me........ Bobby