Arturomex

Yeah, I think I'm at a point where acquiring and managing my tools is becoming a separate hobby from the actual use of the tools. LOL

Some background here: https://westernhorseman.com/culture/flashbacks/don-king-s-sheridan-style/ Regards, Arturo

It's one of those top secret activities nobody ever talks about, Dave. LOL For what it's worth, I only have one half round. It's a two inch punch from Weaver. I'm not committed to the whole half circle thing on every piece and I pretty much use this for everything that would require a round end or reasonable facsimile thereof. It puts a nice arc on straps from one inch wide and up. Any smaller than that and I start looking for my rounded corner punches. Again, not the full half circle but a nice arc instead. As to the punch itself, it's OK. Nothing special but no complaints. To avoid comparing apples to oranges I looked at the price difference between Weaver and Tandy. 1 1/2 inch punches. (Tandy doesn't offer anything bigger.) You could save $13.00 if you got the Tandy. I have one of their English Point punches and it's just fine. Regards, Arturo

Hard to advise without really knowing what kind of leather we''re talking about. There are milled veg tans available that are soft and stretchy and of course, there's the possibility that you've got some softer belly leather. No matter; what you really need is some dimensional stability. A couple of things that come to mind are wetting the leather (casing, not just a light surface application of water) and letting it dry or affixing the leather to a backing board to give it more stability. Getting veg tan wet and then letting it dry usually stiffens it up a bit but if it was me and I already had the leather cut I'd be inclined to try a backing. You could either contact cement the leather to some kind of flat surface or you could use shipping tape . The tape I use on the backs of all my veg tan stamping/carving projects is 3M Scoth Heavy Duty Shipping Packaging. It comes in rolls about 5cm (2" m/l) wide. No problem if you need to create an overlap with the tape but don't be stingy with the overlap on the seams. I don't recall exactly where I heard it but someone (Aaron at Makers Supply?) said that it must be the Shipping tape, not just the regular packaging tape. I don't thing I'd be inclined to use a hot creaser on something that thin with a tape backing, though. I think maybe a very light spritz of water and a cold crease could work for you. Regards, Arturo

Thanks, Todd, Tandy isn't exactly forthcoming with information, are they? LOL Arturo

Just got off the phone with Tandy. Nobody answering the phones there really knows much about their products. Not criticizing. Seems all the local store numbers are going to some kind of "call central" place in light of the Covid 19 thing and the people answering the phones are a little scattered. It happens. At any rate, does anyone know the arbor size of the Tandy Pro Burnisher? Trying to put a plan together and this is the one piece of information I can't seem to get. Thanks, Arturo

Me too. I'm using Barry King sizes 00 to 2. Like Hardrada, I prefer my edge bevels thin and find that I'm using the 0 and 1 a lot on leathers in the 8 to 10 oz range. As others have noted, making some strops is a good idea. I actually use a piece of very thin cord impregnated with compound on the 00 edger. Works very well. Regards, Arturo

I don't know exactly what you're working on or how large you want to go but if you're not fixed on buying a complete set, you could consider buying "most used" sizes. My most commonly used sizes are #1, #2, #4, #5 #8 and very occasionally #9. First thing to mind in terms of budget is, of course, Tandy. I can't speak to Tandy Craftool drive punches as I've never used them but the Tandy Mini and Maxi Leather Punch sets still come out of the drawer here every now and then and there's nothing wrong with them. They do a great job when I need something that I don't have in a drive punch. Weaver Leather has nice punches but they're a little pricey, probably somewhere between thirty and forty-five dollars each which, based on 6 punches, puts you over budget and in the price range of punch "sets." Have you considered the punch sets where different sizes fit into the same handle? Maybe someone here who has some experience with Japanese punches could share their thoughts. A friend of mine uses these: https://www.goodsjapan.com/leathercraft-items/general-hole-punches/craft-sha-leathercraft-round-hole-punch-100-leather-hole-cutting-tool-30mm/a-20978 and is very happy with them. And, of course, there's C.S. Osborne punches that fit into your budget range quite nicely. I'll add a caveat that I've found Osborne quality has been a little erratic. Good luck on your search. Arturo

You nailed it with, "stretchy," Dwight. I always try to have my leather laying "naturally" when I'm putting the pattern on. Nice and flat but not stretched anywhere. Sometimes I cut with shears keeping the bottom blade as close to the table top as possible and letting the shears do the work. Other times I use an 18mm rotary cutter. (Works great for making fringe, too.) What you're really concerned with is making sure the leather isn't stretched in any way shape or form when it's being cut. I imagine you've got your own way of doing that. I don't know what you're planning on using for a pattern but there's an interesting pattern here: https://www.crazycrow.com/mountain-man-clothing-patterns/trappers-fringed-buckskin-shirt-pattern There's also a series of Youtube videos that start here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PtT2Y-RDDo You might not decide to go this route but it's worth watching just to see her process. I assume you're goingto machine stitch this. I've had pretty good success cutting my fringe as a separate piece leaving enough for a solid "welt" between two pieces on the seams. I think it makes things a little stronger. I use double sided tape to hold things in place when I'm assembling and sewing. In some ways this stuff is a lot like heavy cloth. Don't know how much skin you have, Dwight, but if there's enough, twisted fringe would be worth looking at. If there's not enough, think about a vest. I mean that seriously, Dwight. You don't need acres of leftover trim but if you can't comfortably accomplish a jacket with the leather you have, think about scaling down. I've had to do this several times and was always pleased with the result. Lastly, I'd recommend looking at as many styles of buckskin coats and jackets as you can. I saw a really nice coat with braid on the edges a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately, it was on the street and I didn't get a closer look. But from what I saw, it looked outstanding. With matching braided buttons and button loops to boot. It's got me thinking. Regards, Arturo

Yeah, I can see that for loop edge lacing. I was thinking more along the lines of pages 298 and 299 where he addresses Round Braid Edge Lacing. Regards, Arturo

That's a good question. I've never done a basket weave in two tone but I think maybe I'd try something like a four thong approach. Do you think two times per thong would be enough to make it work? Regards, Arturo

Well, I generally punch a hole that's a little smaller than the lace. For example, if I'm using 1/8" lace for a Mexican basket weave, I use either a Number 0 (5/64" ~ 1.98mm) or Nummber 1 (7/64" ~ 2.78mm) punch. I prefer to fill my holes up. I'd recommend taking a few test drives around 3/16" or 7/32" for 1/4" lace. As to hole spacing, I'd start with holes 1/4" apart and 1/4" from the edge. Again, I''d test drive that and do some fine tuning if needed. I usually plan on about 7 to 7.5 times for lace, Regards, Arturo

Yeah, I think you're right. I would use a small round punch for holes for that. I saw some natural goatskin lace at 1/4" somewhere and one of the selling points was that it could be dyed. Can't find right now it but it's out there in the wild. Google turned this up: https://www.weaverleathersupply.com/catalog/item-detail/30-1810/kangaroo-lace-1-4/pr_55749 https://www.leathercordusa.com/category/C9-6MM.html Leathercordusa in particular has some items of interest. Regards, Arturo

A very interesting article: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/04/circular-economy-the-tannery-making-leather-from-billy-goats Regards, Arturo

Is there some kind of reference anywhere that lists shank sizes for different manufacturer's/supplier's swivel tool blades? I know Barry King and Leather Wranglers, for example, offer blades with different shank sizes but I find a lot of vendor's web sites don't seem to supply information on the shank sizes of either the swivel tools or blades they're offering. It'd be awfully nice to be able to do a quick check when looking to mix and match blades and tools. Regards, Arturo

LOL - It's not you, my friend. It's a barren, lawless wasteland of contradictory terminology out there when it comes to these tools. There's some stuff here: https://leatherworker.net/forum/topic/88881-stitching-chiselsirons-and-pricking-irons-reviews-and-information/?tab=comments#comment-607877 At that hole size/spacing you could get into some nice stuff with 1mm + thread. Regards, Arturo

When you say "4mm" I'm assuming that's the stitch spacing, correct? And when you say "pricking irons" I'm assuming that you're talking about a round dent type mark on the leather used as a spacing indicator and not a chisel that is punching all the way through the leather. Correct? If they are, indeed, pricking irons, it's no problem as your awl position can dictate the stitch. If they are chisels, I'd use them and enjoy them. I don't mind the look of stitching on round holes. (Obviously an aesthetic lowbrow.) And yes, there's always a hue and cry about how a "French hole" or "diamond hole" will offer better "structure" to the stitch line but unless the leather is paper thin I don't think it makes that big a difference. Either way, enjoy. Regards, Arturo

Thanks. Haven't dealt with them. I'm working offshore at the moment but I'll get in touch with them when I get home.

I'm looking at the Cambell-Randall Keystone and Weaver Heritage splitters. The frames of these machines look pretty similar and both have 8" blades. Does anyone know if blades from one will fit the other? Thanks, Arturo

Campbell-Randall but they're a little pricey. https://www.campbell-randall.com/shop/concho-tools Regards, Arturo

I lean hard on a metal pastry rolling pin for this kind of thing. Picked it up for about $5.00 in the housewares section of a local supermarket. Regards, Arturo

Copied that, punched it in and got a payday loan website. Regards, Arturo

That's a nice piece of work. The lines are real good and the decorative elements are excellent. I like the way you kept it tied together with that rope border motiff. Regards, Arturo

Bought one of the round knives Terry was offering in January. I'm very happy with it. Posted a little review of it yesterday in that thread, That first knife really has my attention. Regards, Arturo

Hey, Jimi, thanks. You're dead on. I decided to try a little spot test on the upper part of the kiltie using contact cement and the aforementioned Bag Stiffener. Prepped both surfaces, let the cement set up well and bonded the two pieces. Had a marginal bond that, as you observed, would have sufficed for holding things together for stitching but certainly wasn't going to hold long or hard. I lifted the Stiffener off the leather and the cement dis-bonded at the leather surface. A lot of it came off with the Bag Stiffener and it only took a couple of thumb rubs to lift the rest off the leather. I think stitching is going to be the way to go but if I do that I don't think I'll use the Bag Stiffener. I think a thin, firm leather will work better and I'll have the opportunity to dye it if I chose to. Yep, sound advice. But I don't think it would make much difference in this case, Tugadude. That leather is just loaded with wax and oil. Tried to put a bit of a polish on the boots themselves and they're not having any of it. I could buff for an awfully long time before I ever got a shiny gloss on this stuff. But I'm optimistic that it'll wear well. LOL Regards, Arturo