azrider

MadMax22, those were exactly the links I couldn't find. Thanks. I have been kicking around some ideas, and will probably just do a skull with some oak leaves. Thinking of dying the background black, but keeping some dark brown in the tooling area and the edges of the seat.

So I have a mustang seat pan for a softail. I have just the pan and the hardware kit. I am looking for a supplier for closed cell foam. On my last two seats, I used an exersize matt cut down and stacked, and am looking for something thicker. I am looking for an online place I might be able to get a small amount of foam, and also for a gel insert. I have searched in the threads on this page, and couldn't find the links I have read before. Google doesn't seem to be much help either. Any suggestions? Second question, this seat is not for a custom order. I am doing a craft show in a few months, and am hoping to use it to draw some bussiness. My last two seats were both done in western saddle style, but thats not really mainstream at all. (Still have the second one.) That said, I would like to make something that won't be too hard to sell. Any suggestions for designs for mainstream sales, with out going to skulls, flames, and Maltese crosses?

I liked the first one, it just seems cleaner.

I did my seat like an old western saddle, jut because I had never seen that on a bike before. (Of course I have seen a few since.) I also like some of the celtic animal patterns, like a boar or wolf, with a knotwork border. hmm, I may have to try that.

Thier new shop is bigger, and worth checking out too.

My dog keeps asking for a shade of grey I can't quite get right... I made about 50 collars total, and so far only one has sold. However, I have six orders for custom collars with the dog's name on it. Money well spent!

My vet's office has really liked the collars I made for my dogs. I have talked to them about maybe selling my collars, and they finally gave me the go ahead. They also asked me if I could provide a display. Display is a piece pegboard covered with chap leather, with a holes cut for the pegs. Comments and critiques welcome.

So, do you have a trade in program for older mauls? (kidding) I am still enjoying the mauls you made for me, and hopefully can upgrade in the future.

I bought one, and use it quite a bit for leatherworking. I use the sanding drum especially on pieces sewn together to even up the edges. I also use one of the polishing wheels with jewler's rouge to touch up my blades to keep them sharp, and to polish my smooth faced tools. It has also come in handy to cut rivets out of things to be covered with leather, and grind metal smooth if an old piece of hardware needs to be modified. I did make a hardwood dowel burnishing piece for edging. This was what I originally bought the dremmel for. I can get a better edge with glycerine, saddlesoap, and canvas though. I will still use this piece if there is a really rough edge I can't sand down any further, and then go over it with the canvas. It also will make melting bee's wax into an edge easier, but I still finish with the canvas. I am looking forward to hearing what else people are using dremels for.

Some of the hardware stores that have canning supplies also have it. I got mine at Ace.

Probably still hard to find where you are, but I have also seen antique ceramic door knobs used for this. Just make sure there are no chips or cracks in it.

Thanks all! Its really cool to get positive feedback from people who are as talented as here. I can really see a difference in the carving on my belts, especially when I compare this to the first one I did. I still feel like I have a long way to go, but I am getting there. I am still not happy with the decorative cuts on this belt, or the durabillity of the edges. They were like glass when I finished it. Guess I need to start on my next one...

My grandfather wore one of these, and I have always wanted one. I used a Craftaid to do the pattern, and thought it would look cool with out a border. There is no dye on this leather, it is three coats of olive oil on Wicket & Craig’s. RTC and antique, finished with Bee Natural. I have been wearing this for about two weeks, so it is broke in, but still looks pretty new. (And the fuzzies on the edges were not there when I finished it.) Comments and critiques welcome.

I used my ulu knife for a while with leather, but because of the thickness of the blade it has never worked quite as well as a round knife. I think its mainly because the blade is only beveled on one side. That said, its better than some of the other knives I tried. If you have a good edge and strop it, it will work.

Thank you. I will see how this works tonight. Sharpening should be fun.

Thank you for the info, Whinewine and Wyoming Slick. I knew I had read it, but couldn't find the thread it came from. Thanks King's X. I have had zero luck searching for the swivel knife maker either on here or google. I attached a picture of the round knife. I cleaned all the crud off it, and spent some time with my stones and a strop. If it hold the edge it already has I am going to love this knife. I did find this link, which implies that the knife might be 1890's. http://www.etsy.com/...ing_id=37623651 Can anyone confirm that, or point me to a sourse that isn't trying to sell the item in question? I have gone through half the scraps in my bin tonight playing with all these tools.

Thank you both for the info. I just got one of these and had no idea what it was. New tool to play with...

I just picked up a group of tools off Craigslist for $175. It included over 50 of the old crafttools that don't have the letters in front of them, an old CS Osborne round knife from Newark with a star on maker's mark, a bunch of punches and creasers, and five swivel knives, including one marked "Paris-Cario De Gervais Freres Los Angeles" and a ruby blade, but its chipped. I spent 45 minutes cleaning up and sharpinging the round knife, and don't think I will be reaching for my Stohlman one any time soon. Is there any guide of how to tell how old the crafttools or the round knife are? Has anyone heard of the maker of the swivel knife?

I used 4-5oz on the outside, and 2-3oz on for the insides.

Thanks all. I have actually been making a lot, but haven't posted pictures of all of it. I also have this pesky job I have to go to every day that really cuts into my leatherworking time. I will probably put a post up in the next few days with some pictures and questions on edging, so as not to hijack Bob Park's tutorial. Belive it or not, this has some of the best edges I have done. The hard part for me has been where the leather is glued together, and the glue sticks up. I don't use dye on them, mainly because I am not good at holding steady enough to avoid getting it on the surface.

I made this for my Aunt as a gift. Its probably one of the better things I have made. Suggestions and feedback welcome.

If it was me I would go for something shorter. I call mine Drygulch Leatherworks, and that is a lot to fit onto a Maker's stamp. You might need a pretty big stamp to get that in, and the bigger they are, the harder they are to use. The first thing I thought of was Pokemon when I read your idea. "Moonshine Leatherworks" would be easier for most folks to remember.

A family member recently gave me over 10 years of Make It With Leather, with all the pattern inserts intact. She also gave me over 200 original doodle pages, bound with three rings. Some of the stuff in there is awesome! Its fun to read through, and I have definately changed some of the way I do things based on it.

One thing I did on both of the ones above is to use cloth backed foam (used for automotive headliners) below the top piece of leather. It makes the binder seem more substantial, and gives a nice feel to the binder. I glue the fabric to the binder, and then glue the leather to the fabric, and the very edges of the binder. Use a good cement to glue it all. I used Weldwood from Home Depot on the first one I did, and it came out great. I tried to use a fabric glue, and had to redo it because it didn't hold well. The other thing I learned the hard way, resist the urge to fold the binder until ALL of the sewing is done.

I have done a couple of these, just by drilling out the rivets on a binder from office depot, and covering the card board. I used 4-5oz leather on the outside, and 2-3 oz leather for the inside and pockets. I used Chicago screws to put the rings in the leather binder, because the leather is going to outlast just about any rings you can get. Make sure the inside of the binder is glued very well to the binder, otherwise you will get wrinkles. They are very stiff when finished, but will break in with use.