bran7347

That is some really nice braiding, you should post it over in the Braiding section. How many hours do you have in it?

Amanda, I think it's all up to preference. I bevel all four corners of any rawhide I use. I don't believe it is a must, but i like it that way. Learning when your rawhide has the proper moisture in it was the hardest thing for me to grasp. Brandon

Alan, I would like to attend if you still have any openings. I sent you a PM last week and never got a reply. Thanks in advance Brandon

If your deal doesn't work out, I have a set of Harwood's that i would trade you. Let me know

Runner, If you have access to a drill press take the awl out of the handle you have and place it in you drill press make your stitch groove and spacing marks. then take and place your work on the drill press table and use the press to punch your holes through. afterwards put your work back in your pony and stitch it up. I promise you will have better than machine results. The press makes sure that all your holes are perfectly perpendicular. You don't need to run the drill just use the press function of it. I drilled a small hole in the table of my drill press just big enough for the awl to pass through. You don't have to be strong.

Looks like you've got a pretty good handle on it to me!

I went up there Friday and saw most of the work, Those guys are amazing. I still think you would have been right in there with the best of them though. Troy told me that Don Butler won that class. Brandon

Thanks Hilly!

Thanks for the ideas guys!

So I was thinking, I use the regular tracing and vellum paper to transfer patterns for tooling, but I know there must be a better way, The paper always soaks up the moisture out of the leather and get soggy, and you can't see through it clearly. So I was thinking about the old projector film that teachers use to use before the age of computers. I was thinking you can run it through a laser copier/printer and boom you've got a pattern that is perfect forever. So I went over to Staples and they have it, about $50 bucks a pack though. So has anyone else thought of this and does it work as good as I think it would, or am I going to have to spend 50 to find out? Let me know.... Thanks Brandon

Here is a bible cover I completed this weekend, The girl who ordered it said I could do what I wanted, So having no artistic ability I copied one Troy West built me about 6 years ago. Very simple design, but I think it looks real classy. Its hand sewn, first project i got to use the stitching horse I built a while back. Man those things are handy. Let me know what you think. criticism welcome

Absolutely breathtaking work! You should have entered it up in Wichita Falls this past weekend.

I built me a stitching horse, Didn't have any plans, just looked at some google images I could find. Hopefully its not to far off. I used an old latigo strap as the pull, but it seems to have too much stretch to it. I was thinking of putting a nylon strap on it. Maybe one of you guys can help me out on ideas there. Let me know what you think. Thanks Brandon

Those are super nice, I wish I had those skills!

David it looks really good, I think belts are a great projects to start with, you get to do the same pattern over and over. You should be able to see your progress from one end to the other. I know I can always tell which end I started and finished at. Keep it up! Brandon

Thanks Tim, I intend to keep getting more highend tools, and replace the junk. All I need is time and money.....

Try ubraidit.com they have all the colors you could want.

Thanks Harvey, My shading in the leaves didn't turn out very well, so i pulled out antique so it wouldn't show up as bad. "my solution". And the Background has got some bad spots in it, I was using a 104, however i purchased a barry king bargrounder this weekend so hopefully my background work will inprove on my next piece. Thanks again Brandon

Thanks for the compliments guys.

Here is a photo album I just finished up. Hand stitched everything and finished it with RTC and sheridian brown antique, Didn't come out quite as dark as I would have liked. Tell me what you think.....

Looks great Ricky!

They look great, If you wanted a suggestion, I would experiement with a different flower center, the one you used left it open and void in the middle and so the flower looks unnatural. but if your a rookie your kickin' tail. hope this helps brandon

Jim I think you did a really good job. I don't have a stiching machine and also hand sew everything and get sick of it, but I was visiting with a guy the other day and he told me to take my awl shaft and put it in a drill press. Groove and run your stich wheel over your job just like normal, then take and chuck up the awl shaft and line it up and go to town punching your holes. I know thats not how Al Stolman says to do it but man it works. It seems like it took 75% of the work out of it, and your stiching looks just as straight on the back as it does the front. I don't know if you have access to a drill press, mine is just one of the little chinese peices of junk and the only modification I made to it is drilling a hole in the base just big enough for the awl to go through. Hope this helps and good luck Brandon

Great job Tim, Everything looks and goes together very well. I bet she'll be proud!

Super nice work! What did you use as a finish? the color is awesome