Frank

I know of no other place in Milwaukee for veg-tan. You can get some nice upholstery and chap leather from Seidel in Milwaukee though. I purchase all veg-tan from Wickett & Craig

Looks great Pard. I wasn't sure if I mentioned that to you before. By the way, when you are finished with that Marlin, you can send it on up my way!

Very nice Josh. I recently made this one to go with the "Hand of God" rig. Frank

Thanks everyone. The CIB was another project the sign maker was working on for someone else.

He was a hell of an actor. There are mighty few actors left from that generation. When they pass, we will not have anything left to look forward to when it comes to movies.

No problem Rudi. Glad I could help. Frank

Nice work as always Josh

Thanks very much. I rarely get requests for lined holsters but that part of the hide was thinner than most so I decided to line those two (after letting the customer know) I glued the liner then folded and didn't really have an issue with the tooling flattening out because I wet the leather before folding. It takes a lot of the stress away. Frank

Thanks again. The webbing had to be ordered in either 500 yard or 1000 yard increments. The last time I ordered, I got on here and 2 other people contacted me and we split a full order. I plan on doing the same thing in the near future. Frank

Thanks everyone, I do appreciate the compliments. Josh, no worries about the convention back in March. Things got hectic with me too. Hopefully some other time we'll get a chance to meet and hang out. Frank

Hey all, I haven't been on in a long time due to a show, being busy and a bunch of family stuff. Here are some photos of things that I have done while being away. A chest rig for a Ruger Blackhawk, A knife sheath to match a holster I built a few years ago, a double rig with web belt and cartridge pouch, 1881 flap holster without markings, a scalloped edge knife sheath, Cheyenne holster for a single six, a Tom Threepersons holster for a single six, a double rig for cap and ball revolvers, and a pair of Duke holsters for 5" Schofields.

The only thing I do different is use a double layer plug glued together and then glue it in place. I hate fighting with them when stitching so gluing saves on the mental anguish part.

Thanks benlilly. I always like these fun finishing projects.

A friend of mine does this stuff using a dremel. He's also a tattoo artist. Everything is done freehand.

It might be that they forgot to thin that jug before bottling...even without the freezing aspect. Try and thin 50/50 with distilled water. I have gotten it right from Fiebings here in Milwaukee and it looked exactly as you are describing.

Very nice. You definitely have more patience than I do when it comes to lacing!

Go visit Will's page. He does a great job of explaining it. http://www.willghormley-maker.com/MakingHOGRig.html

Thanks again everyone. Well, the weather finally warmed up here enough for me to build a frame for the sign. I found some old carr siding in the rafters of the garage and aged it with vinegroon. I aged a piece of canvas as a backer to make the sign stand out, then drilled the holes for the rope hanger. Not bad for a couple hours worth of work. Frank

Nice job Josh

Thanks for posting that for me Camano Ridge Frank

I feel the same way about that. This is only the second time I attempted to trade work for work. The first time I got burned pretty bad. I was leery this time but I was happy with it in the end.

Glad I could add a little humor to everday life. I guess by the title, you could take it to mean quite a few different things. I doubt I'd ever get paid for that. More than likely they'd want a "refund" on the trade!! LOL

Thanks much. It's not something I would wear either but he says that he's worn it every day since receiving it. benlilly; I forgot to mention it since I was only looking at the customer aspect of it but if you aren't comfortable with doing a certain job, then by all means, don't do it. I have turned down quite a bit of "adult" leather work. Not because it offends me in the least, I just wasn't comfortable with having random people in the shop being fitted for the stuff. Thankfully I have a local leather worker friend that I can refer the people to. Frank

Thanks for the compliments. As far as your question, this is the first item I have ever made that has something considered obscene on it. Given that this customer ordered it, the people he deals with/hangs around with probably find the same type of belt pretty cool. As a matter of fact, 3 of his friends contacted me about making them a belt. This is not something that I'd personally put on my website as an example of my work but will post on my business Facebook page along with a link to his business. I wouldn't worry about it too much. If a person loves a bunch of items that you made but are offended by one item custom ordered by someone else, they need to re-think what custom truly means. I'm sure there are atheists out there that get offended by custom bible cover work. You can't please them all but just make sure you please the person that is placing the order, not the person who would have if you didn't make this or that! I don't think the obscene part really comes back on a business name, just the quality of the work involved. That's just my opinion on the subject. Frank

A couple of months ago I was contacted via Facebook by a Veteran that does metal, wood, plastic engraving. He asked if I'd be interested in trading work for work. He wanted a custom belt made and since I have been trying to figure out what I wanted for a business sign, I jumped at the opportunity. The belt is what I made him per his request. and the other photo is him holding my sign that he made. I gave him a couple of photos and what I wanted written on the sign and just gave him full rein. I'm happy with this trade. If any of you need signs, pictures, or anything like that done, PM me and I'll give you his contact info. Frank