Spence

I had to laugh at that, John. I was the same way about my ropework back a thousand years ago. My attitude pissed off a lot of people, but others were knocking at the door. I even got some museum restoration work because of my "attitude." I'm not nearly as good - yet - with my leatherwork, but "whatchout!" lol.

Had a girlfriend that had them on her bra straps. Gawd, I miss that girl.

Get a new roommate. You were asked why you needed a muzzle and you answered. That invited more comment. Here's another one....a muzzle should NEVER be left on an unsupervised dog for any length of time. Period.

You can't expect to keep the muzzle on the dog 24/7. I'd recommend looking at various online suppliers to see what is available to thwart this behavior. I have used "Bitter Apple" (liquid spray) with great success in the past. I've also had just as much success with just watching the dog and stopping the chewing as it is about to start. I suspect it is a young dog and if so, it will grow out of it, but someone has to take control. A muzzle is not the answer. On the other hand, if you want to look at muzzles, go here: http://www.rayallen.com/category/Muzzles Also go here for a sizing chart (scroll down past the bite suit): http://www.rayallen.com/downloads/RAM_SizeChart.pdf But, give the dog a break and train it.

Go to the "Dyes, Antiques, etc" forum. Put in your search terms, i.e. "dyes" or "spirit dyes". I entered "spirit dyes" and came up with 3 pages of closely related posts. No search engine is perfect, but this one is about as good as they get. G'luck and have fun.

Outstanding work, as usual. I sure would like to know how far north you had to go to take those photos though, unless that's astro-turf. lol

That's fantastic, Ray. I'd never seen, nor heard of Steampunk before. Never liked working with metal, but that could change my mind.

Copyright Laws With respect, Tina I recently had to do some research for a friend of mine, concerning her artwork. Just putting the "Circle C" on a piece of work or mailing it to oneself, does not constitute a legal copyright. An application has to be submitted to the US Copyright Office and a fee (?) paid. From what I could learn, it can take years for your copyright to come back approved. What my friend does now, and I seem to remember you doing it, is to place your name across the print, to interrupt the pattern in such a way as to make it difficult to trace or copy.

Can someone put up a link or phone #? I'd like to see what everyone is raving about before I call them. Even with the cadillacs removed, I have trouble doing close in work at night.

Anthony Yes, braiding does make a unit stronger, but that refers to leather lace or rope, using multiple strands and braided around a strong core. Backbraided or spliced properly, you have a stronger unit. But taking a straight strip/strap and cutting multiple slits and then spreading them with the width of that strap/strip creates undue stress on each and every slit. A hole at each end of each slit will only delay the inevitable. Also, many people use chrome tanned leather for these leashes because it is a softer product. Chrome tanning destroys the cells and adds to the weakened state of the leash. I do have some of those leashes, made out of well oiled leather for all-weather work. I keep them strategically posted throughout the kennel and training areas in case of an emergency. I will never use them off my property. If I have a decoy/helper working with me on bite work, I will not use those leads either. Granted, they are a nice-looking piece of work though. Just my $0.04 worth.

I'm happy he's back with his family and that he can pass his expertise down the line. Johanna, you should revive this thread every 3 - 6 months. I'm sure the newer folks would be interested. I know I was right away. I can't wait to get started. Thanks

I braid 2 and 3 ft show leads for Rotties, GSDs and the like. I use kangaroo lace, 6 plait with a core (1) of braided nylon with a 2 strand core within it. (3/8" diameter) I backbraid each end through 4 plaits - minimum. I also bring the core back through the main(standing) part of the lead. I cover them with a long turkshead. I've tested about a dozen of them by attaching them between my two vehicles, towing my pickup truck, from a stop, around a paved parking lot. No stretching or breakage. It's hard to convince an owner of the strength of the roo lace and nylon core(s) used for these leads. The strength is magnified in the number of plaits you backbraid through. I've seen roo showleads (first hand) come apart before a gentle GSD completely exited his crate. The backbraid went through only 2 plaits. and the core was not brought through the main (standing) part of the lead. I think the braided nylon that I use is about 20 years old and is now called para cord or 450/550 stuff. g'luck

I appreciate folks needing to get their websites up and running, but they shouldn't go live until all the the problems are fleshed out. I wouldn't let my site go live (dogs) until I had about 5 friends just get in there and try to make it fail. They succeeded many times, but at the end of 2 or 3 months, it went live and hasn't had a problem in 5 years. Honest. I'd recommend they take the site down and let the "bad press" die down. As we can see, they may be losing current and future customers with a faulty site.

I've heard, recently, that emails are now considered legal and binding for purchases, as long as the order is detailed. I would also demand a 50% non-refundable deposit. Just show them what you've done for others and if that's not enough, they need to his the yard sales.

LOL. I have always kept away from that form of "braiding" for that reason, but I couldn't get anyone to agree with me. When you're hauling around a working dog that just knows he's not supposed to be in a showring, every part of that lead is a "stressed area." lol Thank you, Johanna

If you are making them for working dogs, I'd recommend a clip that has a flat swivel eye vs. round. There will be less wear on the edges that way. Don't want a PPD breaking a lead in the showring. I've got 16 working line GSDs and I've shown 12 of them with a 24"-6 str braided kangaroo lead with a paracord core. It's all in the training. I like your ideas though. Good luck.

Good luck with your ecommerce site, Ray. I've given up of eBay for the same reasons stated here. I am starting up again on Auctiva and HiBidder. They're both upstarts, but loaded with disenchanted eBayers. HiBidder has free stores and the fees are very low. They even started me out with a $500 credit towards fees.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, YOUNG'UN

Ahhh, Spanish Hitching. I can feel the blisters now!!! A thousand years ago - or more like 50, I was "tasked" with putting Spanish Hitch fenders on the stanchions in the mess hall of a ship I was stationed on. I vividly remember doing 8 of them. The diameter of the stanchion was 8", I believe, and the length of the fender was 3'. Then came the 4 coats of shellac and 2 coats of paint (battleship grey, of course) Two weeks later, I was transferred.

How Sweet It Is !! That is coming along just fine. Absolutely great transition work. I can't wait to see your join/back braid. Mainly 'cause I'm working on an 8 strand right now. Don't ask me why, but I normally start with the handle in a U1O1 pattern and then go to a herring bone for the body and back to the U1O1 for the clip end. After seeing your clip end, I can see I've got some rethinking to do. I love that.

CDW has them. Mom n Pop business, free shipping, small quantities, great prices http://www.cdwplus.com/singleSRB.html

Tim You may need to rethink the Med. Equip. repair thingy. Having worked in hospitals for years, there's a lot of equipment mounted on walls, ceilings and even on high shelves. Talk to your Voc Rehab people and see if there's anything in their training options for leatherwork? Bring in some of your work and see what they can come up with. It might be a related or similar field that could add to your knowledge bank when you're doing your leatherwork. G'luck and don't let it wear at you. It's just another chapter in your young life.

I use a fair amount of webbing of different sizes and the folks that have the best selection and customer service are: http://www.strapworks.com/Flat_Nylon_s/61.htm They've got the 3/8" @ $.20/ft.

Here's my 2 cents. Forgive the looks of my Drover, but it's a qualified work hat. It's bad luck to wash a work hat or a coffee mug. I work German Shepherds in protection and tracking and although they've come close, they haven't knocked it off or taken it off, nor have I clotheslined in the woods. Winds here in Texas can come screaming in at over 50 mph with gusts to almost knock you off your feet. The Drover has stayed put. The cord came with it and since I also wear the cord around the back of my head, I saw no reason to change it. My Sunday hat is also a Drover (black) and I've gussied it up with a nice hatband and stampede strap. If the wind comes up, I don't have a problem bringing the strap down and around the back of my head. Most folks don't even notice it. On the strap you'll notice the small piece of doubled-over leather. The holes are a bit smaller than the chord and it's worked to draw the strap up tight for quite a few years now. I've never tried to upload pics so hope it works...

I'd recommend just starting out with U1, O1 until you get your fingers to work with your brain. Then go to U2, O2, etc. It's been said many times, but practice, practice, practice. That's really the only way. The books you are using are good for getting started. g'luck