esantoro

more info: Bostik may be the company we are looking for: http://www.bostik.com.au/browse.php?cat=Wa...sed%20Adhesives They have U.S. offices and distribution, as well as offices and distribution around the world. The data sheets on their various glues seem to zero in on what we are looking for. Ed

I spent the morning reading up these glues. I will try to get the 2057 in the next few days. The fact that it dries clear in my mind means that it bears similarity to tanners bond. I'm off to a few local hardware stores right now n the vicinity of some errands I must run. When I use TB, I glue and stitch 30 minutes or longer after clamping, so whatever alternative we come up with has to allow for the same. Plus it has to dry clear. Terry: Is the Wickes you're using white or beige or tan and does it dry clear? How long must you let the leather sit before stitching? I'm now off to see if I can read up more on Wickes to see if I can find further clues. ed

I was a bit quick in placing the link. The 2057 does seem the best bet. Ed Wood glue, if it dries clear and doesn't take too long to set, would work well and seems to be a little less expensive than Tanners Bond. Another thing I noticed with the wood glue is that the set time is about an hour and the curing time 24 hours, about the same as with Tanners Bond. The 2057 has an open time of about 45 minutes, which may make it more similar to TB than are the other building glues. ed

further research turns up this: "Be wary of over priced PVAs that claim to be for a specific use. There is very little difference from one PVA to the other, and nothing that should increase the cost." ed

Terry, Thanks for checking into this. I should be able to get to one of these stores in the next few days to try out this PVA. Ed

The author of that article was recently on _The Colbert Report_. http://www.comedycentral.com/colbertreport...pisodeId=231840

I made the doming tool, but it seems a little light duty. There's something to be said for having a larger mass of hardened steel underneath the maul, but a narrow concave tip. Thanks, again, Bruce, for this suggestion. It was superb. ed

If CelticLeather is successfully using Wickes, which I believe is a builders PVA, we've got to have something similar at The Home Depot and Lowes. ed

The label on one of them states that it dries clear, so I guess I'll get that one. Thanks.

I get those "boogers" even with Tanner's Bond. It's not too bad, but occasionally I have to pick them out. My big criterion is that it dries clear. ed

I'll supply the flat brass plates. The silver plates are stainless steel. Is stainless steel doable? I should be receiving my sample plates this friday. I'll get back to you on the font. Thanks

I would like to pay to have someone engrave "Walden Bags" on 40 brass name plates (5/8" x 2 1/2"). Is anyone on the board setup to do such engraving? Ed

Can it be that this stuff is the same as or better than Tanner's Bond at a third of the price: http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores...ocStoreNum=8125 It seems some PVA experiments are in the future. ed

Did a bit of checking. It seems that it's quite easy to find this stuff, but terminology is a bit different. It seems that you just need to go to the adhesives isle and look for "latex" on the packaging contents. I really only need a small bit of very high-bond PVA for short 3" sections of gusset corners (especially where two panels merge on one gusset seam) where the leather often wants to pull away during stitching. Tanner's Bond is fine for everything else. I see a trip to The Home Depot in the near future. Plus, I still haven't gotten that much needed shop vac. ed

I'd like to try Wickes building PVA, but it doesn't seem to be available in the U.S. Does anyone know if The Home Depot or Lowes carries something similar? Ed

Madmax was right to suggest looking at the small white plane. I had been looking at the wrong small plane, not even thinking about national colors. Even Siegel came back with a clue to look at the small plane, though he didn't say which one. I'm one for four on the periodic Siegel of California trivia questions. ed

The hell with 7 am. That's only four hours away. Just found the right sized bolt. I'm on it now.....................

Thanks, Bruce. I'm on it tomorrow 7 a.m. ed

Does anyone know if it is possible to buy a small doming tool for use with small diameter (.085") solid rivets (to dome the post end), something about half the diameter of Tandy's doming tool. I can't use a solid rivet tool for #14 copper rivets (I already have one for #12 rivets) , because I need the doming tool to fit into tight spaces. Thanks, Ed

yellow, blue, and red: Colombia?

I don't know if this is part of the problem or not. If you are using glue to prep for stitching, what kind of glue are you using. Try some scrap leather and lining and stitch without glue just to see if you notice a difference. Also try stitching some scraps with a very loose tension on the bobbin thread and see what happens. ed

I called in with England and was wrong. I bet it was Israel. Wikipedia lists Japan, Israel, and Saudi Arabia as using the F-15. ed

Come to think of it, OTB will make locks to specs for minimum runs of something like 400. Would it cost less than, say, $3000 for the basic machining equipment necessary to do these locks? I know pictures will be helpful and they are forthcoming. Ed

The overcast looks like England. My next best guess is that the small plane is a British spitfire, but I really don't know planes. On Friday I was getting ready to put in guesses of Afghanistan and Egypt. Not sure why, just thinking that maybe there was a peculiar twist to the question, and I believe that recently Steve was around the Middle East looking for leather buys and he wasn't able to tell us exactly where he was. I read my newsletters. Over the weekend I have been learning quite a bit about fighter aircraft tail insignias. Ed

Has anyone correctly answered Siegel's question of the week? My best two guesses are England or Germany. i think the answer bears on correctly identifying the make of the small plane in the left of the picture. Ed