esantoro

Yeah, just a rolling suitcase but one that is water proof, and if by chance you get thrown overboard on a cruise ship you can float on it and paddle your way to land. I think there are quite a few people who need to carry loads of papers and electronics with them daily. In NYC I see many people with three bags overflowing. It could all go into one weatherproof rolling case. Ed

I think I've got it. Forget about the modular compartments. Just a bunch of leather cases, some padded some not. All held in place by 2" wide Velcro, which is stitched to the backs of the individual bags and glued onto the polymer shell. What type of glue would work well to keep 2"-wide velcro securely attached to the polymer case for a long, long time? Ed

Here's an idea that I think will fly: Module leather interior for Pelican rolling office: 1. removable padded leather laptop case in lid underside 2. two or three removable leather auxiliary cases in lid underside 3. removable padded leather LCD projector case 4. removable leather file/document case Pelican already does this for the 1510 http://www.pelican.com/cases_detail.php?Case=1510LOC But the 1510 is for airline carry-on and too small for a real road warrior. The 1610 and 1620 are sized more suitably. Ed

Look at p. 216 of this linked PDF: http://www.leathersupply.com/downloads/cat...mp;Supplies.pdf

LCI has a product that is distributed by Weaver. It is Tuff Cote and has a satin finish to it. THere is a similar product with,also by LCI and distributed by Weaver, that has a glossier finish. I'll have Tuff Cote later in the week to give it a try. Everything I've read about this product seems to suggest that it will do what you want. We'll soon see. ed

I add a rich brown oil stain to neatsfoot oil. The more stain you add the darker the look. ed

This Nevr-Dull is working out very well. Thanks for the recommendation. Because I couldn't find any locally, I had to buy online in bulk, so if anyone needs a can or two I have about six I can spare. Ed

After calling around I may be in a position of having to buy 40 to 50 one -pound spools of each size I want. I don't have a price yet, but might anyone be interested in Coats Dabond bonded poly 277 and 207 in a chestnut brown? It looks like $20 a spool will be doable. Ed

This is great information, Blake. Thanks. Now I've got another R&D project. A quick additional search turned up the following information, which might be useful: http://www.swannysmodels.com/TheCompleteFuture.html Ed

I've called Weaver and was told that they have American & Efird, which I've tried before and don't like. Ed

A recent post on holsters got me thinking again about something I was trying to research about two years ago. I remember once being told by someone in a leather shop that I might try using a type of strong, hard, flexible plastic that was used in the sailing industry as a reinforcement bar underneath my briefcase handles. I forgot what this woman called it. Might anyone of a plastic for such an application? Ed

The last time I looked for Coats chestnut brown thread, I had difficulty finding a supplier. Ferdco was also having a difficult time getting it. I need to stock up on thread once again and was wondering if anyone was having luck finding Coats chestnut brown in 138, 207, 277, and 346? Thanks, Ed

I'm putting in my order tomorrow with Weaver and haven't tried this product yet, but I'm wondering if Tuff Cote might work well, though I won't be using it on holsters. ed

This is only a problem with dark colored flesh sides, which I don't use too much of. I've tried wax pencils and squares as well as chalk pencils and squares. At least on this latigo, the marks aren't distinct enough. I risk running into problems if my markings are off in either direction more than two mm, which is why I need a thin line for my markings. The wax and chalk pencils are good for prepping dark colored pockets. I found what appeared to be a good deal for Bic gold and silver metallic gel pens on ebay, .8mm points and bought a few. Thanks for all the input. Ed

I'd be interested in one with the same channel widths, but I don't think the channels should be as deep, so as not to risk leaving marks on the grain side of leather. ed

Hi Luke, I use a scratch awl on the grain side, but I need to use ink on the flesh side to line up certain elements properly. It all gets covered up with lining. Ed

Anyone have a favorite pen for marking the flesh side of leather? I like Zebra ballpoint pens and Uniball Vision Elite, but they aren't showing up that well on the dark flesh side of some dark latigo I'm currently working on. I could use a good silver or gold gel pen. Ed

Obsessions are never time consuming. They ARE time itself. The experimentation is taking a bit of time. If I do get a reliable method down I don't think the actual application will be too time consuming. Finishing off with the orbital sander is rather quick. ed

I think the results will be surprising but not spectacular. I still have to get used to the planer. I'm beginning to see a method taking shape. 1. Plane in two or three passes at the shallowest setting, 1/64". 2. Give it the once over with the random orbital sander with 40 or 50 grain paper. I can see that results will be better with larger work pieces than with the odd shaped scraps of skirting leather I'm currently using The dust collectors on both the sander and the planer don't seem to work well with leather or at all. I'm using a Milwaukee sander, $70, and a Ryobi planer, $70. Not aware of how these planers actually work, I played with some at The Home Depot that had had their blades removed. I didn't realize at the time that the blades had been removed and wondered how the rotating part could plane anything. I thought that maybe this would mean it might work especially well on leather. Then I walked over to Lowes and nearly sliced my finger off, not expecting anything sharp underneath. The demos at Lowes had the blades installed. ed

............................................................Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. ....................... The jury is still out.

just got back from The Home Depot. Planer and orbital sander for $150. Ten minutes playing with it all. Not bad....not bad at all. The planer isn't as scary nor as loud as I thought it would be. I'll play more tomorrow and post pictures and results. ed

Windy, Thanks for the vote of confidence. I hope you get to some experimentation yourself this weekend. I think the orbital sander will be good to have on hand anyway. Regarding the planer, I hope that a cutting depth of only 1/64" to 1/32" won't pose much of a problem. Ed

This is only from my own experience and personal opinion and preference and not to discount anyone else's expertise. One reason I moved from the nylon/blanket needle plate set up with feedog to the slotted needle plate without feed dog is that I felt the feeddog coming up through the needle plate pushed the leather around too much for stitching close to the edge. After viewing the Artisan 3000 video I was tempted to return to the stock setup with feeddog and Nylon/blanket needle plate. However, this time around I ground down the teeth on the feeddog a bit with my dremel and instead of having the feeddog protrude 3/32" (2.38mm) above the needle plate, as directed in the video, I have it protruding between 1/16" and 5/64" at around 1.7mm. This may seem like small potatoes, but it seems to give me better control in edge stitching while still being able to use the feeddog to help move the leather, and I think I could even go down to 1mm, which may be even better. My two cents. Please correct me if I am overlooking something. Thanks, Artisan, for the video. Ed

Sanity left me a long, long, time ago. Belt sander idea...gone. Orbital sander... still a possibility and the safest bet. Will have to get one with a dust bag. Handheld electric planer... seems a rather dangerous option, but the theoretical possibility is very tempting. And I'm beginning to think that this may be a real winner. Ed

Would a handheld planer also shoot the leather across the room? My understanding is that I can set the planer to 1/64" depth and there would be less risk of the blade digging too far into the leather, as the flat base of the planer would serve as a level. Ed