chuck123wapati

All is not lost; now you have a basic wallet pattern to use, just take it apart.

lol I posted the tandy wallet kit above, I think it's 30 bucks. Thats a kit wallet if i ever saw one. They're a good learning tool. The second time you stitch them back together, you learn what is wrong with them lol.

I think they accept crappy leather from the tannerys and just don't do their diligence and send it back to them. Instead, they know they can sell it onlione, and if it's returned, they just sell it again to some other dummy online. If you order online, be prepared to get second best at best.

https://tandyleather.com/collections/wallet-kits/products/classic-bi-fold-wallet-kit

It's been a warm winter for me, this last week in the high 50"s and that's in farenheight lol. No snow, but the wind is still blowing pretty good. I have been able to get my old bow down and shoot a few arrows lately its been so nice here. I decided to take it down to the bare bones and shoot totally traditional (American traditional). LOL, all it had was a flipper rest, but I pulled that off and used a piece of my hair on elk hide for the rest. Man, did it ever quiet the thing down. I haven't shot much in the last few years and had forgotten how relaxing it is. Been trying a three-finger under release, and built a couple of diferent tabs, but i dont think I'll change from my old ways.

Those are a PITA!!! and pretty much useless except for making money on callouts.

ok I don't rant much anymore, but today is an exception. You know, we used to just call it bitching about really stupid shit. Anyway, I went to buy some hearing aid batteries yesterday. I'll repeat HEARING AID batteries. They changed this round little pack to a childproof thing, Big letters and everything so you know your kids will be safe if they swallow a battery smaller than the size of a friggin pencil eraser. You have to cut each little battery out with scissors, two cuts for each little battery in a ten-battery pack. Now I'll go out on a limb and say MOST people who use HEARING AID batteries have kids at least 20 years old, not only that, they probably also have some form of arthritis and possibly just possibly some vision problems, as well because they ARE FRIGGIN OLD PEOPLE. Can anyone see the stupidity in this besides me, a man whose youngest is 22 and has arthritis in both damn thumbs? Now, as I was writing this i just realized the whole friggin package is small enough for a kid to choke on before they even knaw through it getting to the damn batteries, so it wouldn't help the dumb little shits anyway.

Buy up all the yardsticks/ Metersticks ? lol you can, I hear they aren't making them any longer.

I'll add to what Bruce was saying about the good tools. Not only good, but the right tool for the job, they were invented not only to make the job easier but also safer and to keep you healthier in the long run. The right weight maul or mallet to do the job, a good sharp knife, is essential, also, so your muscles and joints, especially, don't overstress, or the properly sized awl and needles for the thread size, and don't be afraid to use pliers so the joints in your fingers don't take the abuse. Just a couple of examples that affect you over time, kinda like loud noise and wearing earplugs. It may not seem like a big deal, but a few years down the road........

beautiful!!!

I guess I know where you got your need for structure lol. There's a time for everything on a farm, but not much extra time for anything else lol. But I bet you remember some fun in those hard times. We did just that, but with no 100 acres, just our back yard, we grow a huge garden most years, we used to raise meat rabbits, we can everything or preserve everything we grow, and make i also make my own wine. Man, it makes a guy feel good to work in the dirt in the fresh springtime earth. Gardening or farming is a structured life, and when you're retired and don't truly need it for survival is a lot less stressful. I would say it's good food for the soul you would be surprised how much energy it will give you.

Don G has an excellent vid on antiquing.

Tape has its place; I don't use it all the time, but I think it is the right tool for the job in this case.

Find a heating air conditioning shop, they can cut it maby even have something you can use, they cut and bend tin/sheet metal.

lol with tape 1. Apply tape; you can even buy repositionable tape, sew. I doubt it takes a minute to use the tape. And no glue on the grain side!!!!

https://tandyleather.com/collections/adhesives/products/2535-650-tanners-bond-adhesive-tape

use tape

Oh, heck yeah, that would be super simple and cool as heck. With a decent band saw, you could stack and cut several at a time.

I've heard some folks use that metal or hard plastic pallet strapping band stuff, but I have never used it. Never even made one with a stiffener, does it run the whole length or just to the holes?

practice and hard work. You would be surprised at what some folks can do.

Nice indeed!! I like the hidden slots.

You're a master man that looks great and after some use, no one will be able to tell it wasn't original. Maybe the saddle was used for some kind of event or something where the horse turns one way more than the other. Stay warm, my friend!!

I think the difference is that the folks you see mostly here on the forum are making belts for carrying pistols, lol. I don't see many belt maker threads for just everyday work, if that makes sense. I never wore thick belts either until I started carrying then it's just one ply 10 oz. with plenty of nfo to make it more flexable. They just aren't comfortable working in, especially if you're bending over a lot. And thick super stiff gun belts come from Hollywood or the internet, i dont quite know where.

lol that feeling only lasts about a month or two, then you wake up one day with more chores than you had while you were working. I burned out from a very high-stress management job, had the time in, 30 years, so one day I cashed out my sick time and vacation and just retired. My kids were in their teens, so we spent the summer raking lawns and such, then a fellow who was remodeling an apartment building hired us as help. I spent the rest of the summer just doing my thing. I could come and go as I pleased and work as long as I wanted, plumbing, painting, sheetrock, etc., and the guy even taught me how to cut and tile showers; he was a retired contractor. Having a job that required no critical thinking and set no limits was the best thing I could have done at the time; it reset me and got me into a routine, and reminded me that a much simpler and easy-going life was possible. I am still up by 4 and start the day with the forum and coffee.

I know with brain-tanned hides, you get it wet again, then stretch and work it as it dries, but if it works on chrom tan, i dont know, you would have to test it if you have some scraps. Don't stretch it out of shape, but work it until completely dry, or maybe throw it in a dryer with NO heat