Frank

Good looking holsters Ran

Thanks for the purchase. Hopefully in a few weeks, I will have 3 or 4 more listed. I don't make any money off selling these. I list them for a friend that made them.

Thanks for the post. It's pretty difficult to find someone that has gone through virtually the same situation. All of us kids are in the same boat. We would never allow her to be put into any type of home, so long as one of us 4 kids are still alive. Like your Sister, mine cannot be left alone either, which means that my work happens when she goes to bed for the night. I end up working 10pm-3am. When I need to draw patterns or tooling patterns, I bring them in from the shop and do it at the table, so I can keep an eye on her. As I type this, I am sitting at the hospital as she was admitted Friday with a leg infection due to her nervous picking. Friends of mine and I have been doing shifts here at the hospital which gives me a chance to eat, sleep, and get some orders worked on. Currently I am the only sibling that lives here in the state. We have a pretty good handle on local resources for her. In another week or so, she will be moving permanantly with my oldest Sister in Massachusetts. We already have her enrolled in an adult day care facility that has 64 disabled adults with approximately the same cognitive abilities that she does. At least my oldest Sister will have a chance to work during the day and pick her up in the afternoon. The program is pretty neat. They take them swimming, bowling, fishing, etc. They even have a gym in the lower level for times when it is raining. They really do a lot of stuff for the adults. They also take them one weekend a month so the caretakers at least have one weekend to themselves. It's all working, slow but sure. I get frustrated at times but I take my frustrations outside away from her. I don't for one second want her to think that she has been a burden to anyone. I appreciate you sharing your similar experiences. It does help a lot. Hang in there as well.

Slicker is on hold pending arrival of funds. I will post more for sale when I receive them.

Just wanted to bump this up to see if there is any interest.

Thanks everyone. The entire family appreciates it.

Thanks for the kind words and comments. We watched Mom slide downhill the last couple of years and knew it was coming, but thought we had a little more time. The greatest thing was that everyone (all of us kids and her brothers and sisters) somehow called her the night before she passed. The stress of her illnesses actually caused her to have a heart attack, so it ended very quickly and did not drag on.

Thanks Ferg, I appreciate it. It's going to be a tough road but those of us left in the family are pretty darn tough

Hey All, I know a few of you have asked where you can get the mini-slicker that John Bianchi used in his videos. I had a friend make some up. Currently I have one for sale and more to follow. The first person to PM me will receive it. It's the only way I can be fair with this. I will offer 8-10 more mini-slickers over the next few months if the interest is still there, so keep checking back or PM me and I can put you on a waiting list. The friend that does this is a little long in the tooth so his process is slow and I can never guarantee when exactly they will be ready for shipping. He promised 4 more within the next month. These are made of high polished stainless, with rosewood handles. Price is $85.00 shipped

Hey All, I just thought I'd put this out there, simply because I need an outlet. I used to post on here a lot but only get on here every once in a while. Hopefully I'll be on here more often. Almost a year ago (last June 20th) I lost my Dad at age 54 from a stroke. In April 2012, my Mom started having major health issues. She was in and out of the hospital 7-8 times since then and every time, I would have to travel 2 hours to take care of my developmentally disabled Sister who lived with my Mom. I was out of the shop for a good portion of the year. 19 days ago, my Mom passed away, just after her 65th Birthday, 11 months after Dad. I haven't the words to describe these losses. Per Mom's wishes, I was appointed executor of the Will and legal guardian of my Sister. She is currently living here and my work has slowed a bit but soon I hope to be back on track. I will be posting a new tool up for sale here today as I need to get some sense of normalcy back. No matter how bad things seem, just take a look back at what my year has been. Thank God I have great Brothers and Sisters. I'd definitely be lost without them. Frank

No problem Jon....everyone needs a few of these stamps in their arsenal.

I looked at the "patent" and stating the obvious, he says that it includes bullet cartridge elements and a concho that you purchase from Tandy or any other place, was never a bullet, shell, or cartridge at any time. So, it does not contain cartridge elements. The other thing being, if anyone has a photo of a cartridge concho belt, band, collar, etc. that was added to their website prior to 2011, you can blow this guy completely out of the water as infringing on prior art. Tandy can do the same since they had these conchos to be used on leather "bands" prior to this guy. That being said, just do not use the same number of conchos that he has shown on the drawing.

I was going to say that it sounds like a scam as well, to get you to pay "royalties"

Thanks a lot. I really liked the way that it turned out....minus the flub.

Thanks guys, definitely not a problem. As far as the spacing between borders, it depends on what size tool you are using and also what you think looks good. It's a judgement thing....practice a few times on scrap.

Very nice rig. That's the first BBQ rig I've seen for a Blackhawk

Glad I could help out.

Once you oil and then add the finish coat, those areas darken and are hardly visible. The other thing you can do is pull a smooth beveler over it carefully by hand and it will smooth those out but the difference is really nill as far as I'm concerned. Frank

I'll try and explain this to the best of my ability. Lay out your first border. Make sure you cut deep with a swivel knife as this border needs to set deep in a cut, not a groove, so do not use a groover for this. From your first border cut, then scribe your inside line and cut that as well. Make sure you test on scrap as far as the distance to get the spacing you prefer. I always start on the inside corners and work my way to the middle. This way you can alter the tool distance to make sure you come out even on the intial spacing. I then go all of the way around the inside border and finish it up. Always slightly over lap the tool initially until you find the last few spacings that you need. Then alter to fit. Next I start on the outside border line. Start the first impression on the outside border between the first and second impression on the inside border. Line the lip of the tool up even with the border cut. You can tip the tool to see if you are in the middle of the "Wave". Once you see that you are in the middle and the lip is still flush with the groove, then go ahead and make your first impression. Go all the way around the project and stop in between the first and second impression of the corners. When finished, then go back to the outside corners and add one more impression to bring the corner out. Keep in mind the distance in between the other impressions. This is just an eyeball type thing. Once I am finished, then I add a stop or some other tool to the corners to add a little "pop" to them. Hopefully the pictures can show what I am talking about better then me trying to type it. Feel free to chime in if you have anything to add.

No worries Rory. I included a tutorial. You should be able to find it. If anyone has anything to add to it, feel free.

Knut, If you find it, make sure you buy two copies as I want one!! Best of luck Frank

Thanks for the compliments. I can be pretty patient when it comes to stamping and carving. It just takes time to get the hang of...keep at it. Getting frustrated with it will ruin the project since at that point, you don't care anymore. I have had a few projects that frustrated me but when I hit that point, I moved on to a different order and came back to the other one when I had calmed down. I have done this several times back and forth throughout the building process in order to keep my cool. It seems to work for me.

Thanks everyone. Rory, as far as starting that serpentine border, just measure the distance between the two that looks best to you and/or for the project size. I test out on scrap. Then always start on the inside corners and overlap the tool slightly. Run your entire line on the inside first, When you do the outside line, start the first impression between the 1st and 2nd impression on the inside line (in the middle) and then run your entire outside line. Afterward, go back and add one more impression to each of the outside corners. This will give that "wavy arrowhead" effect in the corners. See my mess up on the underside of the flap in the left corner of the photo. I wish I could explain it a bit better...maybe someone could help or I can post photos tomorrow. Those always seems self explanatory. Frank