chuck123wapati

That would be a good solution however my problem was that the black dye wont take, I mistakenly washed it with saddle soap, I have already made another so just want to save the leather by covering it with snake skin or something. I like roses to but man there has been a learning curve for me lol.

Wow that Is a beauty!! To bad there aren't any crocs here in Wyoming or that would fit the bill alright, all I have is a rattler that crossed my path a few years back lol.

Great idea Thank you !!! I think I'll go with a little padding in back too.

So would you glue it back in also, then add a backing piece and top piece?

Wallet, phone case, or maybe hair ornaments like this feather I made.

Thanks for the help! What I did to finish the poor thing off was mistakenly use saddle soap on it before I dyed it. The red and green dyes both took but the black just took in spots. Yea I was reading a book on finishing and it said to clean it with oxalic acid, but my mind read saddle soap? Any way I didn't like the composition very well either, its for a roller derby lady named reckless raven. I am almost done with the replacement but don't want to waste this chunk of hide. It 9/ 10 oz leather and tooled pretty deep. I like both suggestions I was thinking of some type of backing in between the tooling and snake skin but it would have to be thin. Halitech that's some nice work indeed!

Hey all, I have a question, I made a rifle sling the other day but screwed up the dyeing so had to start over. I am thinking about covering my mistake sling with snake skin ,so the leather isn't wasted, and am wondering if the tooling would show through or how I would keep it from showing through. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Very cool indeed.

it looks like it was sponged on, either paint or dye then the notes, snail were painted. I think you could create the mottled effect with either, with some practice. Beautiful work indeed.

skive it as thin as you can then mash it in a vise between two pieces of wood or metal. What I do for my coleman lantern pumps.

Your on the right track, Tools aren't scarce here in Wyoming but money is lol. I make what I can, forget about what I want and buy only what I need. I have made a good share of my equipment, head knife, awls, modeling tools, a few stamps, mallet and stitching pony. to name a few. I find you can re work a number of cheaper tools to fit your needs also such as old screwdrivers. If you have metalworking tools you are a step ahead of the game.

Hey there, I'm in Rawlins also, but I don't have the money or the knowledge to make saddles. I'm just learning and trying to make a little spare change, on belts spenders and such. If you do have to break up your tools to get them sold I would love to have a shot in need of some stamping tools, dyes ,and books. Good luck to you.

Very nice work!

Thanks they work well this is my first test with them. Prolly work better than I can use them, still learnin.

It came out great imo, nice work.

I like those!

Thanks zuludog for the great idea!! took less than an hour to make an awesome tool!

Nice I like it! Here's mine made from scrub oak harvested locally. LOL not much to look at but it does the job. I'll be lookin for a wheel like that.

Awesome indeed, is that a skate board tire or what?

a stacked leather handle would be easy peasy lol two brass nuts, one for each end, that fit the thread then tighten them down to compress the leather washers. Then just a matter of chucking it up in my drill press and file/sand it all down to size, brass and leather, would look cool indeed. Now I gotta think on this a bit lol, was planning to turn down some maple but....

Thanks ! I guess I should say how I made them. I chucked them up in my hand drill then turned them against my belt sander, you have to go opposite directions, makes them nice and round that way, the deer foot lifters are 2mm and 4 mm diameter, the spoon I shaped with my Dremel then polished all on my belt sander to 1000 grit. Yes I think some curly maple handles would look kinda nice.

I just made these modeling tools, seems 20 bucks a pop from Tandy was a bit much so I went down and bought two stainless steel threaded rods for 6 bucks. Took less than an hour to make both and they work great. I'll be putting wooden handles on soon if I feel they need it.

What weight leather did you use, looks really nice.

Thanks I have one of them already I will be searching for the others, would like to learn more about animals seems everyone wants a critter on their work.

Hey everybody I was wondering what thoughts were on best books for leatherworking, not totally beginners books but full range type. The older ones I feel are better as they offer some of the older methods and procedures lost to modernization. Also was wondering if anyone still uses vinegaroon to dye their pieces I tried it and it works very well just don't know what the leather will do in the future.