MikeRock

Looks good, kind of agree with North Star..... Can anyone tell me what sizes were common for the oval shaped makers stamps on holsters and gunbelts, like in Packing Iron.... it's time to get a stamp. God bless

The Optivisor folks sell a light frame that goes right on over the lens set. Battery and switch on side of visor, works great. https://www.penntoolco.com/quasar-led-lighting-system-for-optivisor-qsl-6010/?msclkid=00cfc8e8887a1748b000ab484cc115ab&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=**LP Shopping (1.1) - <%2450&utm_term=4575686358867949&utm_content=166342 | Quasar LED Lighting System for Optivisor - QSL-6010 | %2429.95#mz-expanded-view-419269663073

I told you, it was rawhide. By wetting and steaming it swells. Stake it to the ground over a fire that you buried in wet soil, steam is generated under it. It shrinks in diameter and gets thicker as it dries. Some museum Indian shields were over an inch thick. That buffalo hump skin is damned thick to begin with. I got the hides in Custer State Park during the butcher there. The Mennonite butchers used air knives to skin the buffalo and thought what I was trying was cool. I think it is talked about in Mystic Warriors of the Plains....... I found more information at the Museum of the Fur Trade in Chadron, Nebraska. I lived south of Keystone, where Mt. Rushmore is up on the hill. I lived on the Iron Mountain road.....fun times.

I mentioned the rawhide because I've made Indian shields up to 3/4" thick from Long Horn bulls and buffalo bull hump. It just gets steamed to a soft state and shrinks in radially as it drys and thickens quite a lot. You need a flexible hinge or something similar, so no joy with rawhide. Good luck. The tannery folks might be on the lookout for old range bulls for you, we skinned some out that would probably have filled the bill. They made good dog food!

Would rawhide work? What is your project goal??

Another beautiful piece of work. God bless Mike

Well, the cat just dragged this email into my litterbox: https://www.weaverleathersupply.com/pages/retail-store Announcing their new retail space. Looks wide open.... take a look.

Blue Point Capital Partners has announced the acquisition of Ohio Travel Bag, a Solon supplier and manufacturer and specialty hardware, fittings and related materials for a variety of end markets, including leather goods, as an add-on for its Mount Hope, Ohio-based platform company Weaver Leather. They go on and on about Weaver and it's great history and friendly staff. Like someone said, that is history.... today they could give a horse puckey about customer service. Even my Amish buddy has found other suppliers that might be more pricey, but they listen and respond, unlike Weaver. Since I sometimes piggy back off his large purchases, we both wonder what the future holds for OTB... The article claims that OTB will continue to service it's customers with the same staff and at the same Solon, Ohio location. Time will tell I guess.

What great photos! Fred, what are some examples of Victorian history alterations? It would be fun to see something and know it was not the correct explanation. God bless, Mike

That screw body looks pretty ductile. I wonder if it can be brazed? Flux it with borax, then squeeze back in shape, then a tiny bit of brazing rod applied..... worth a try. God bless

In 1970 I visited an old ranch, owned by a retired banker. His 6' wide roll top desk had a leather writing surface, maybe 3 feet wide, dark reddish. This discussion made me remember, back then virtually all writing was done with a fountain pen, requiring virtually NO pressure on the writing surface. Pencil writing, I am not sure if he used an underlayment or what. Most beautiful walnut desk I ever saw. His grand daughter kept it waxed and closed up most of the time.

Watches......yup. Some with a key in the front, others on top. An old fellow I worked with always carried a key wind. One day a fellow told him his wife had a new baby, and Kenny asked, "Open face or stem wind"... Took a second to get it, but then had a good laugh.

Ruger was founded in 1949, even after WWII, let alone WWI....... How did they get the Rugers' in 1914......or am I missing something? Bill was a friend, we'd argue about everything, old cars, guns.....

Thanks for the reminder... I forget to do that some times and then scratch my bald head..... God bless

Yup.....looks like Vaughn's is the only game in town, at least in the US. Vaughan's Custom Leather, Inc. 6125 Smith-Kramer Street N.E. Hartville, Ohio 44632 Phone: (330) 877-9677

That was W. B. Place, in Hartford, WI. They did great work. I used to send all my deer hides there, even bought/scrounged hides during season and sent them over. Had fringed jacket made, and a boatload of gloves. Those gloves stood up to baling hay better than store bought gloves. Sad when they closed up. God bless

Good news. I hope they resolve their inventory and shipping issues. God bless

Sounds like the girl has the meaning of Semper Fi down pat! Nice work, that heart trick is neat. God bless

Oh boy!! That is so clean :)) Lucky girl...... God bless

TomE and Dwight. Thank you both. I will open GIMP and see what I can do now. I'm an old mechanical draftsman and use a very old copy of Vellum, 1995'ish. Have to admit, even with all the K&E drafting stuff, digital IS a darn fine way to go. Wish I had my old printer, it did B size format, 11"x17". God bless, Mike

Dwight, In GIMP is there a way to load a photograph, then do some contrast work and see only the edges? The edges are the pattern. I remember someone using 'some program' doing that. HELP! God bless

My computer box and monitors sit on my K&E 4'x5' drafting table, big x/y drafting machine sits on it. I can clean off a space and draw D sized drawings. 3 K&E slide rules, one a 20", LeRoy lettering set, Compensating Polar Planimeter (for measuring areas on maps when laying out mining sites).... Proportional dividers...... all within hand reach. Remember, the average of the engineers who put us on the moon was something like 25, and it was with slide rules and Marchant mechanical calculators. I had graduated engineering school a month before they landed on the moon. God bless Get out the pencils and get to work, if it looks right, it is......if not, more paper or an eraser. I know one kid who did not know what an eraser was, or what it was for. He knows NOW! He'd never used a lead pencil, only ballpoints since whenever....

Fred, Was it just the flat bed and needles you were missing? God bless

I knew Tippmann from the paintball days, 1990'ish. Made a zillion aftermarket barrels for their paintball guns and other companies too. I just copied Fred's first note and pasted it to an email to Tippmann, asking them to quit embarrassing themselves. God bless

North Tom, You just solved a problem for me, thank you. God bless