hidepounder

Now that I have lost my little point and shoot I need to find a camera to take photos of my work. I would be interested in knowing what you all think a good camera would be for a novice to shoot pictures of their work. I was using the Cannon A80 which is basically a point and shoot with some extra features. It was only a 4 megapixel camera and was several years old so it was defintely time to update. I have been looking at the Cannon SLRs but have a problem justifying the expense when I will only use it for taking photos of leather. I would like to know what you all think are important features and what is really not necessary. I would prefer to stay with Cannon but am not oppossed to considering another brand. I have been looking at the PowerShot SX1 or the G10. Any thoughts? Is it important to be able to shoot in RAW format? Is there a need for more than 8-10 megapixels? Is 25mm to 28mm a good size for close up shots? Wouldn't a remote shutter release be really handy when shooting from a tri-pod for staged shots?If you click on my "View My Gallery" you can see what I was getting with the A80. Not horrible but defintely not professional quality. Those photos were all taken with just a cheap back drop draped over my bench under florescent lighting. I really want to improve the quality of my photos and will probably invest in some better lighting. I have a light box, but without better lighting I wasn't getting any benefit from using it and it is impractical for larger pieces. So, any ideas or opinions? Bobby

I spoke with folks at LCI some time ago. They assured me that their ClearLac is the exact same product as NeatLac. They mainly sell large quantities of leather finishes to industrial mnanufacturers, but supplied Tandy with NeatLac for approximately 15 years. They were laughing about what to do with all the NeatLac labels they have left over. ClearLac is available through Kevin at Springfield Leather and Panhandle Leather in Amarillo. Hope this helps..... Bobby

David, I use 7/8 oz leather and line it with 2/3 oz. Like Will said, however, 8/9 is adequate. Bobby

Rick, I don't have a clue if these folks can help or not but they were the first ones that came to mind....... thethreadexchange Hope this helps...Bobby

Jim, That's a beautiful tutorial! A hell of a lot of work went into that! Thanks for sharing! Bobby

David, The seats are superb as they always are! When I saw the photos Jo posted I knew it just had to be yours. Congratulations to you and your son! Terrific job! Bobby

Nice job, Storm, looks really good. Lots of detail and very different from what we usually see. I like it! Bobby

Rickey, There is possibly one other option that just occurred to me......I think that at one time Hide Crafters made a Beard style tri-weave that sold for around $35. I can't comment on it except that it was done with a series of other tools that were copied from master tool makers and was a much higher quality than the standard entry tools......or so that was how it was marketed. They may still carry them and I think they had the tri-weave, but I could be wrong. Hope this helps.... Bobby

Pretty cool Knut!!!! Bobby

Steve, I do not use any casing solution from Tandy....I wasn't even aware that they had one. I tried Carve Eze when it first came out and found it did nothing for me. I case with water. I often put a few drops of Joy dishsoap in my water but it is not important to do this. I am currently experimenting with some casing solutions but haven't found anything that has rocked my boat. Case with plain old water...leave it overnight at a bare minimum. Your leather is ready to carve when it has almost returned to it's natural color and feels cool when touched to your cheek. Nothing is accomplished by soaking your leather.... You want to induce enough moisture that the leather can absorb all it is capable of absorbing....anything after that is just wasted. I also have never heard of testing leather by using your fingernail in the 40+ years I've been tooling. I'm sure it worked for your mentor but that is not something I would suggest trying to follow. I hope I have answered your question....if not I'll tyr again, LOL! Hope this helps..... Bobby

Really nice job, Ian! Bobby

Grumpy, I have not used very much of the Eco Flo gel stain and I could be wrong here but it seems to me that using it and antique paste is redundant. To the best of my knowledge both products are designed to provide approximately the same effect. Maybe someone more knowledgable about the Eco Flo products can jump in here. But to me unless you are using two entirely different colors in order to achieve a special effect you probably don't need to use both products. Before I apply any dyes or antiques I clean my leather with oxalic acid. If you didn't do this it may account for some of the blotchiness of your finish. Oils and dirt from your hands during the tooling process will affect the way stains and antiques are absorbed into the leather. That is one of the reasons for using the NeatLac as a sealer before applying antique paste. It insures that you get even absorbtion of color. Hope this helps.... Bobby

I sharpened free hand for years and have now returned to using a jig. I like the "Big Red" that Chuck Smith sells the best. I really don't worry about the abrasions running perpendicular to the blade because I use a series of grits resulting in a high polish. I would like to have a graver sharpener but have never invested in one. Bobby

Beautiful job on the bag Art. Really professionally done. It looks like a pattern that would be sell suited for all kinds of leather, too....very nice! Bobby

Harvey and Bruce, This is yet ANOTHER post I missed the first time around and am glad it got bumped so I could see it. You both did a terrific job on this. Harvey, it would have taken me a lot longer than an evening to get that tooled! You guys make a pretty good team! Bobby

Al Stohlmans book on Case Making Vol. 2 has one I'm petty sure.... Bobby

Slickbald, I highly recommend calling Bob Douglas at Douglas Tools. He carries several of the old brands and is very knowledgable. He knows when they're good or not and how to keep them that way. I now use old Gomphs and Rose knives for the very reason you stated. Hope this helps.... Douglas Tools 307-737-2222 Sheridan, WY

UncleGeorge, I would venture to guess that most of us have to order our leather. I happen to use Goliger Leather because I can trust them to sort and find what I'm looking for. I think many suppliers do this successfully. I recomend discussing this with someone you know and find out where they get their leather and who to talk to there about it. I would think that Siegels, Sheridan Leather Outfitters, Goliger, Springfield Leather...would all be great places to start and I know there are several others as well. Most of these suppliers have no minimums and are accustomed to helping their customers with single side orders. Several offer leather from more than one tanner, such as Herman Oak and Wickett & Craig. Once you have a good contact, buying leather becomes much easier. Just my opinion.... Bobby

Grumpy, You didn't mention stain in your first post. If you are going to apply an atique finish over the NeatLac, using it a s a resist, then no problem, however I am concerned when you mention stain, because that might be something that should be applied before you NeatLac....what are you planning with regard to stain? Bobby

Grumpy, I agree with Ross....it shouldn't pick up the dye if the dye is dry enough. I always worry about it and so I carefully apply a light coat over the dye to seal it before going back and applying a more thorough coat. I use the spray cans (I still have a few) just for this. If you don't have anymore spray use a trimmed piece of woolskin and apply lightly without going back over it until it dries. Then you'll be good to go! Hope this helps..... Bobby

This is another thread I missed the first and second time around.....I'm glad it got bumped! Beautiful cinches! And after trying all the new materials that's gone around for the past few years I'm back to the good old mohairs! Great work JW! Bobby

I missed this post first time around. I like holes where I can group tools together like Ben shows in his design. I'm curious to know what you came up with also! Bobby

Rick, Good looking rig Rick! I like it! Bobby

Hobbywelder, Do you have any photos we could see? It would be much easier to help you if we could look at something to focus on...... Bobby

My most memorable moments in the saddle where all those that didn't include this moment! To be honest I had much worse wrecks....this is the only one I have a photo of! Bobby