AndyL1

I don't want to know. I bet it looked like a horror movie. HAHA! -A

That is truly beautiful. While I'm not a huge western art type fan, I can really appreciate nice work when I see it. Thanks for posting that. Nice work on your other stuff in your website too. Do you do custom work? Like if I supplied some artwork? -Andy

Hey Eric, thanks Man! It is all sewed by hand. No machine yet, but I'm saving for one... my fingers can't take much more of this. :-) I thought I'd be able to get this thing finished and some photos of the bag up, but the new baby has other plans for my time. HAHA! -Andy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luddite Welcome aboard! Let the revolution begin! cheers, Andy

That is truly very nice! The amount of relief in that piece looks like it's ten feet deep. Very cool. Thanks for sharing! Cheers, Andy

HAHA! Sweet! Glad I could inspire you for your wife's birthday. Be sure to post some pics of your project when you're done too. Thanks for the kind words everybody. Cheers, Andy

Yeah I beveled all the edges on everything before backgrounding. The parts I had trouble with were the very small triangles in the smaller parts of the knots. But I think it came out pretty good. Overall they blend right in. I had a little trouble with the lines flattening and spreading out on the over/under parts of the fine lines. Anybody have a tip on how to solve that problem? Thanks for the compliments Steve! (and everybody else too of course!) Cheers, Andy

Nice work Phillip. I wish I had gotten into this leather business at 24. I just think how much better I would be at this point in time! I'm may be a bit naive, but what are the things in the first and last photos? Cheers, Andy

Thanks Kate! My process is a quick wipe of Tandy's black antique with a simple kitchen sponge, this gets into all the scratches and nooks and crannys. Wipe that off with a damp rag, let it dry up a bit. Then a good rub in with Tandy's Mahogony All-In-One. Wipe off excess. Then I come back with the sponge again but with just a little black dye in it. It's sort of a dry-sponge technique with the black. I pat around the edges of the bag and kind of into the middle areas just to add a little mottling effect. The sponge has just a bit of dye in it. I build up the black slowly and randomly. Cheers, Andy

Thanks guys! Hope to finish this thing up in the next week, I will post complete photos of it then too. Yes Marcel, that is the tool I used for the background. I also have the smaller tear drop shaped one to get into my bevel areas and smaller parts of the knots. This pattern was a bit tough in the small details–the tool was too big to fit in there. So I used a pointy part of a modeling tool to replicate the texture in some parts. Don't worry Dread, you'll get there too! This is only my third bag and maybe my 6th time tooling something. I don't have a pattern. I just sketch out the final product in my notebook and figure out the size and pieces in my head. I take the bag apart mentally and mark out my pieces on the leather. Cheers, Andy

Hey All, It feels like forever since I've posted something. Just had a baby a couple of months ago so I have been torn away from my leather bench. Anyway, back into it again slowly so i thought I'd share a work in progress of a day trippin' messenger bag. Tall enough to hold a couple of wine bottles so maybe for a nice little picnic? This one has sort of a celtic dragon theme going with the tooling and the pocket buttons. Still need to sew the thing together, add the closure, make the shoulder strap and some stitch detailing on the pocket flaps (which I forgot to do before I put them on, got too into it I guess and overlooked the details) Hope you all enjoy it! Cheers, Andy

I think of all the leather you may waste having ghosted stamps would be a lot more expensive than spending 8 bucks on a deadblow hammer from Harbor Freight. I always use the right tool for the job. Just my 2 cents.

That's pretty awesome! Could you please post some pics up of the case as a whole when you're done? Did I say pretty please? HAHA! Love the coloring with the horses. Nice and subtle shades with an antique look to it. Cheers, Andy

I don't know if it's perfect... although it looks damn good to me. This is one of a few bags I have made by hand. -Andy

If I may add a little bit of advice, you guys need to invest in an adjustable stitch groover. Here is one from Tandy, and there are better ones out there for sure. http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/store/p...ts/8069-00.aspx This helps get your holes a perfect distance from the edge of the leather and consistent all the way around. I use it all the time for my stuff. Plus I can do double rows at perfectly even, parallel spacing. Cheers, Andy

Beautiful. I love the "boxed" look, I mean the way the sheath doesn't look like a leather knife. nice photography too by the way. Cheers, Andy

Yarrrrr! Welcome aboard matey. Cool stuff you have going there. Check out one of the other member's work (Tom Swede) on a set of Motorhead cuffs. http://www.1eye1.se/armband/page_01.htm He's got some killer designs that truly inspire. Cheers, Andy

That's a brilliant way to make the tri-bolt. I don't think it could be easier for someone without welding skills. Two questions: what do the legs look like without the leather on them? Are they rounded off or tapered so they do not poke through the leather? Good job! Nice bracelets too. Cheers, Andy

That is fantastic! I love the eyelets in the middle of the piece surrounding the concho. What I really like too is how you "framed" the texture. Nice contrast between smooth and bumpy. Good job man! -Andy

Michelangelo gets the credit for painting the Sistine Chapel. He did, of course, have apprentices helping him out. Not every brush stroke was his. Don't see any other names getting credit in the history books do you? I say sign away and without guilt.

Man, that is gorgeous. Aside from all the intricate dimensional tooling I really love the simple and elegant swivel knife work on the handles and the inside rim of the lid. That's just a beautiful detail in my book. Thanks a lot for sharing this and all the other cases you do. Truly inspiring! Cheers, Andy

Thanks Troy. Things like this help out people like me who need a little more info at times. Cheers, Andy

I think Gaffa tape is like duct tape, I've known it as Gaffer's tape too. It's got a fabric weave in it like duct tape, just no sticky residue. Used in the entertainment industry a lot, hence the name. You could also put a head sock over your cast and tape on top of that. Try and use a light color tape that you can draw on with a sharpie to make your pattern lines. Not sure about stretching the leather out. Maybe make it a bit oversized to accomodate? -Andy

I'd say the product was taken under a soft box and then the image clipped out, shadows painted back in via Photoshop. The soft gradient in the background is most likely a layer in Photoshop too. At least that's how I would have done it. -Andy

Pretty sweet Josh. I bet that would sell nicely. i love the tri-weave paired with the white stitching. Looks classy. -Andy