Ragingstallion

Great to have you here, but word of advice. I was given a set of tools from a family member who had no more interest in it, they made a few bracelets with the stamps, and the set they got was from amazon as well. The cheap sets you can get on there, are usually made out of zinc. most of them, when you look at the model number, somewhere on the handle portion of it, will have a Z (ex. Z-x511) which means it is a zinc. these tools are made more for kids and small hobbies. I bring this up because these tools love to bend and warp easily while using them. had one bend to a 45° after only about 30 hits, and not hard either. They are great for starting out and figuring out what direction you want to go, but don't get upset if/when it happens. best way to get into it, is just do it. you may find you hate it, you might find you love it. you could be a natural at it even. If you want to do it, then best way to do it is just start. There are lots of people and topics posted here to help you out. Again, welcome to the forum

Welcome to the forums bud, this is a great place, with lots of great people. you will find a lot of help here, immiketoo is a great person to get help from

so, just browsing CL and this is the first match that came up under sewing machine. what is it? is it worth it to even try it? they are asking $150

Angeles is a great acrylic paint, vary easy to mix, easy to apply. some colors, i think brown was one of them, that you have to add just a tiny bit of water to it so it doesn't streak as much. the pigments are usually pretty good. but the paint does come a bit thick for some of them, not sure why. So if you get some, just make sure to test it out first before diving in. and try watering it down to make it smoother if needed.

means your 5 years ahead of me

well, you have been doing this for a long time....it's experience! im sure at some point in my life I will have the same mindset as you, however....almost all of us here have the artist mindset, where we are our own worst critic.

Every time you post...i can not help but drop my jaw slightly. your work is always looking great, and a positive outlook on leather working. I, like probably many....MANY other here hope to achieve what you have with your skills.

Agreed, best advice is patients! As for other advice and first project, the most common gift, easy to learn for beginners that I come across in not only message boards, but also in person is a belt. you can go as simple, or as complex in the design as you want. you can even just leave it blank if your not wanting to get into stamping yet. Your best friend for learning minus asking the people here on this board is Youtube. I have found several, if not thousands of videos on leatherworking hints and tips. you might find your first project just by browsing those.

well it looks great

heh, not verbal, no...was meaning showing those how to do it.

Great job explaining Mike.

its looking great. love the way you did the wood texture to it.

im not familiar with exotic hides, but my first guess from looking at it would be elephant, and that is just by trying to compare to a good search. http://www.exotic-skin.com/species/elephant-leather/

looks good, though now im curious on figuring out a simple way to math out the dimensions for a curved coffee travel mugs that wont slide down.

Not sure about any of you.....but my family is impossible to get stuff for, or even make stuff for. It is not that want the most expensive things, they never give any ideas on what they want. With the season coming around in a month, it is time to get on those projects. Let's hear what ideas you have for making leather gifts for those who impossible to shop/make stuff for. most common gift I know is a custom belt. This would be great, except they refuse to give up their measurements. Small quick draw hip quiver for the archery person

so, I have made 2 mouse pads before, but have never put anything under them to give them a better grip. the one I am using at work likes to slide around now after so much use. use to be decent at staying in place, but now I think its time to upgrade it. any ideas on what I can add to the bottom that is not to bulky or wont leave a residue?

so, curious on how all of you store your paints/oils & dyes. I have mine just in a bag as I have no shelf room to store them on. but this causes some of them to tip over and leak at times even with the lids being on tight when the bag is not full. share your pictures of your storage.

ok, so I am working on a commission, I have already tooled the design, and am about to place my order for some Angelus paint. I am wondering what steps to finish this will be, as I am wanting to use some gel antique, and the angelus paint. Do I apply the paint first? do I put the antique on first? anything I should also do in between? I have never painted leather before, only dyed, so any helpful steps are most welcome.

I have the same problem with the smaller sized ones, and as long you don't care if they are rounded, the only way I can get them to set and be straight is by using pliers. just go slow with it when you do. works out every time for me.

I am curious on everyone's opinions on the difference between waxed thread and artificial sinew. I personally use waxed thread, but i do believe that Sinew adds some character to some projects. I have only used sinew once, and I loved the way it looked, but I have not used it since. what are the benefits of both in your opinion? what are the cons of both?

you should check out youtube, there are a lot of videos on leather shops, they show you around and how they set them up

That is an awesome job