hidepounder

That sounds right Jim, I had forgotten about the spring, but I think there was one. Thanks....wish I could find a pic of one.... Bob

Years ago...back in the 70's, Bill Porters Sadlle Shop, here in Phoenix, purchased some stitching horses that were made of steel. They had forged clamps and all the linkage to operate the clamps was located below the seat so that the entire clamp was open to hold leather. They were extremely strong and comfortable with padded seats. Has anyone ever run across one of these or know if they are still being made? Bob

Yes...dye, oil, then finish. You don't hve to use Neatsfoot oil....olive oil works great also. Be sure to let your oiled piece sit for a day before applying the finish. Bob

Marlon....great job on the bag and your stitching looks great! Bob

Russ...yes, that's how I do it. I often use 6/7 oz for the leaves also. Anyway, those weights aren't rules, use whatever makes sense to you to accomplish what you want. The process is probably more important than the materials, if you know what I mean. I think it's easier to use a piece of 4/5 oz for the binding, than to take a piece of 7/8 oz and do all the skiving and grooving to achieve the same thing...but that's certainly an acceptable alternative. I had to go look up exactly what that plastic is called. It's "High Impact Styrene" and you will have to go to a Plastics Supplier to find it. I think I paid a little over $20 for a sheet of 4'x8', 4 mil. Hope this helps, Bob

Crystal....that's spectacular! I think you've done an incredible job and I really like that you made some changes to make it your own style! Now we'll be looking to you for some tutorials! Congratulations! Bob

Russ, I do but stiffeners in both leaves and in the binder as well. I have been buying sheets of white plastic...I think it's polyethyline (sp). It come in different mil thicknesses...I buy 4 mil and 6 mil in 4'x8' sheets. I use this material for stiffeners and for patterns. I think I get a better project by using a little lighter leather, a stiffener and a liner. I cut the stiffeners undersize so that they don't show along the finished edge. I would rather not have a really heavy leaf...it just seems clunky to me. In addition, my tooling patterns keep getting smaller and smaller which dictates using lighter leather. On the binding, I usually add a piece of the 6 mil poly and then glue a piece of 7/8 oz or 9/10 oz over it before I put the lining in. I like the feel of the binding being really stiff. Additionally, a stiff binding helps keep the leaves square when closed. I can't stand when you close a custom organizer or photo album and the leaves flop together uneven. After I glue the 7/8 oz over the stiffener, I take a French edger and skive the edges at approx 45 degress to soften the edge as the lining goes in. I also skive the leaves where they are overlapped by the binding...again to soften the edge for when the lining goes in. I glue everything in with Barge or Masters...the stiffeners, the lining, everything! It won't come apart! Hope this helps, Bob

What a fun project and you did a great job! I noticed you had to build a brand new stand just to keep everything off the ground! I don't think I have seen a set of taps like that, that weren't wall hangers. We don't get to see that kind of gear out here, so I really loved seeing this. Great job and thanks for sharing! Bob

Dale...I think you are correct...I didn't mean that the way it sounded. It's just easier to refer to the different rouges by color. I know there is more than one kind of green...only because I ran into that question when I purchased the my first green rouge. Bob

Kate, The different colors represent different grits and are often used for different materials as well. I don't use the red much anymore. I polish with the white first and then use the green for a final polish. I use a strop loaded with green rouge for my swivel knife. When polishing with rouge, it makes a difference what grit stone was used first. The finer the stone, the less need for aggressive rouges. When buying the green rouge, one must be careful to get the one intended for steel. There are some out there that the knifemakers use that are intended for finishing wood, brass etc. Maybe some of them coud jump in here and explain this a lot better. Bob

Thanks, I appreciate it! Bob

Really nice Steve! I want to see them with the finish on them also. Great job! Bob

Now THAT'S good advice!

Mike, I'm not familiar with that one...didn't find anything when I Googled it. Can you point me to info regarding this? Thanks, Bob

He's just amazing! What else can you say? Wow! Bob

WOW Tina....WOW! That's amazing! What a great job! Bob

Really nice Elton...glad this thread got bumped, I hand't seen these before. They look GREAT! I really like the scalloped binders, they really jazz them up.....but throw away the letter stamps, you tool to well to use them! :soapbox: Bob

Hi Tina, Thanks for the compliment! I searched the Internet for free fonts and downloaded a bunch of them. So now, I go into Photoshop Elements and print out what I like. Elements is not the best program for manipulating lettering...probably should have Corel Draw or something like that...but anyway Elements lets me do some warping and stretching, etc., then you can just print out the size you need and trace them on. It's way better then drawing them from scratch like I used to do! Bob

Sorry for not replying sooner....I was out of town for a week and then lost track of this thread! MarkB, For me, the type of blade I use depends completely on what size pattern and what weight leather I'm using. For larger patterns and heavier leather I use a 5/8" barrel with a 5/8" HG straight blade. In the other extreme, on a small pattern on light leather I will use a 3/8" barrel witha 1/4" angled HG blade. In general, I do agree that a thinner blade is easier to use, however it may not leave a wide enough cut to easily apply larger bevelers. Consequently I use a variety of knives (I'm a toolaholic!). flathat4life, I like the glass slicker that Barry makes...it's edge is very smooth, it has some weight to it which I like. I also have some wood slickers, but the edge is easily dinged which leaves marks on your leather. In addition, I live in a really dry climate and have trouble with expensive wood slickers cracking. I also have an acrylic slicker and it's edge gts dinged easily also. Tim, The Ivory soap doesn't seem to effect anything like finishes, etc. I'm not sure if the soap actually lubricates the knife blade in the leather or if it prevents the crystaline (sp) build-up from forming on the knife blade which causes drag....I suspect it does both! In any case, I think it probably penetrates the leather and combines with other chemical residue which is there. I have never found it to effect dye or antique or Neat-Lac, etc. Bob

Good job Bert....looks really nice! I'm anxious to see how it looks on the website! Bob

I have never used anything but HO because I was originally taught that it is the best. What I know about WC leads me to beleve they are comparable to HO and that the differences are small and puely a matter of preference. I've always been told that WC is softer to tool and from some of the other posts, it sounds like WC is easier to deal with regarding small quantity orders, which interests me. HO requires a minimum order which means you have to buy from a dealer if ordering small quantities. I also think Raybans suggestion is a good one. Bob

I use Partner Pens. I didn't know what they were called until someone posted a link to them...I think it was Keith Seidel. It's a plastic tube with a piece of shaped felt inserted. They work great! Bruce Johnson has been using the wide Sharpie pens successfully for a long time. http://www.americanretailsupply.com/8092/1...t-and-Cans.html I usually edge and burnish after I have applied my finishes to the top and liner. The raw edge created by edging becomes a neat line to dy to after I burnish and like rdb said, a little overlap is easily removable. I started doing this to keep the lining clean. If I vary from this method, I still seal the lining early to help protect it. Bob

WOW Crystal...what a good job! That turned out really well and Clay told us how you improvised where you had to in order to make things work...that's huge! You can be really proud of that! And Clay, congrats on a great tutorial! Bob

I get asked every now and then by friends, to replace the seats in their roping saddles....so far I've been able to weasal out...I'm not comfortable taking on a task like that, having never done one. I'm confident I could do a good job, but at what cost to me or my customer? (two hours woud be out of the question for this old slowpoke!). I really don't want to do repairs, but I feel bad turning friends down sometimes. Your explanation of the process confirms what I had imagined and takes the mystery out of what I didn't know. Thanks! Bob

Has anyone ever tried using vinegaroon with a brush...applying it like dye in specific areas while leaving other parts natural...like dyeing a background? Does that work? Bob