DwightT

Nice job. That looks fantastic. It's a great way to use some scraps. /dwight

Yep. We do that sometimes, but Farkle works better for road trips on the motorcycle. I just need to get around to making a dice tray that will roll up for transport. /dwight

Well thank you. The line drawing came from a couple of images. I started with a photo of a flag that I like, but the flag bearer in that one had bad posture. So I took a photo of myself in the same profile and holding a pole, then overlaid that on the original. So it's nice to know that I have "a resolute stout expression" and "a strong chin and good posture". But I agree with you completely on the carving. I may have to do a couple more practice pieces just around that area to see if I can improve the final result. /dwight

Now this is why I posted my thoughts here: so somebody could tell me when I've over-thought something. We were thinking that the bearer and pole might not be all that noticeable to the casual viewer, so in that case the flag would look like it was mounted on a wall backwards. But as you pointed out if I just flipped the image over then the bearer would be holding the pole on his left side which would be even worse. I'll just leave it as is then. Thanks Chuck! /dwight

And at the same time we talk about Stitches Per Inch. Nothing like having a little consistency. /dwight

Since the case will require a fairly large piece of leather, I didn't want to just jump in to tooling on it until I had tried this pattern on a practice piece first. I rooted around in my scrap bin and found a chunk that was big enough for the flag and most of the flag bearer, and started tooling. Needs some work there. First off, on the final I'll use a mirror image. This was how the flag was blowing in the original photo that I used as a starting point, but as my wife pointed out, the star field should be on the left. Not a big deal with the bearer, but since the flag will stand out much more than the flag bearer it should have the field on the left. That will be a simple fix. Second, I don't think I'll use the basket weave, or anything else in the background around this image. Maybe a band on the top and bottom of the case, but not right around the flag and flag bearer. It just makes the image too busy and distracts from the flag. Third, I'll need to look closer at the original photo and use my pear shaders to highlight the curls in the flag and enhance the waving motion. I did do a little bit here, but I think I need more definitive shade lines. Next I applied some antique stain (Eco-Flo gel antique). What I noticed here was that my stars are a bit inconsistent in depth. I think if I'm a little more consistent and don't make them too deep (so that they don't hold the stain as much), then it will be easier to paint them. Then finally I painted the flag and pole. What I got out of here is that I should paint the blue field first, then fill in the stars. Yes, I will slop some white paint onto the blue field, but it is easier to touch up the blue over white slop than it is to try to cover up any blue slop on the white stars. Other than those notes I think I'm ready to move on to the real thing. /dwight

When my wife and I first saw the meander stamp in the rack at Tandy, we could not figure out what it was for. We were only looking at the impression it made by itself and didn't consider the "negative space" that it left behind. Shortly after that somebody posted a project here where they had used the stamp and the proverbial light went on. That's one of the things that I love about this craft: forcing myself to look beyond the obvious both in tooling and in how to assemble a project. Might help to keep the brain somewhat limber in old age. And Chuck - you use of the stamp is simply genius, especially in combination with the seeder. /dwight

Welcome to the forum. I know you posted this a couple weeks ago, but I hope you have been able to find the answers to your questions. The people here really are a great bunch with a lot of good knowledge. /dwight

I've mentioned before that I want to build a case to carry my flag in for Patriot Guard missions. Now that Christmas gifts are out of the way I'm going to start working on it. The case itself will be fairly simple - just a tube with a cap and maybe a strap or handle for carrying. However I also want to have a design carved on it. With that in mind I took some photos from missions from last summer and used them to create this line-art: I'll scale the image as needed to make it fit on the case. My thinking is that the flag bearer will be basically just a natural leather color silhouette while the flag will be more detailed and painted with acrylic paint. I would love to hear any comments or suggestions that you all may have. /dwight

That looks fantastic. I'd love to see it on the bike. /dwight

My wife's first husband had a leather bomber jacket that had a pretty heavy smoke odor (he was a heavy smoker). Before I started to wear it we just hung it outside in the sun for a while. I think it took a couple weeks, but the odor eventually dissipated. But I think the charcoal idea will probably work even better. /dwight

Yes! A patchwork bag. I love it. That's a great way to make use of the scrap bin. My wife and I have done a couple bags doing that and they turned out almost as good as yours. Good job. /dwight

I agree with Chuck. It looks like just a basic double loop lace. Pretty standard stuff. In addition to the Stohlman books, I found a YT video from Tandy that you might find helpful: /dwight

Very nice, and a great idea. I've got a couple caps that could use a new bill. Another project added to the list. /dwight

What I found interesting was that the tannery uses only hides from beef cattle, and not dairy cattle. His explanation that hides from dairy cattle have been stretched out because of calving makes sense, but it's just not something that I ever thought about. I recently found a podcast called "This Job is History" where they talk about jobs that don't exist any more. I haven't listened to it yet, but it seems like it might be similar to this book. I may have to buy the Kindle version of the book just out of curiosity. Thanks for letting us know about it. /dwight

That is a truly gorgeous bag, and as mentioned the tooling is exquisite. I am in awe of the work. Side note: when my first wife passed away our daughter took her bag. She won't let me do one with the correct initials because she wants to keep that one for her mother. /dwight

Finished another bottle tote the other day. For this one my wife made the bag by going through my scrap bin and making a patchwork bag with a cloth liner and a top that can be cinched down on the bottle. I added the name band and the base and attached the handle. This one he'll be using to carry his bottle of Pendleton when he goes hunting or ice fishing. /dwight

The only foolish question is the one that isn't asked. Welcome to the group from Idaho. As you've already seen, there are lots of helpful people here. /dwight

Nice. I especially like how you did the cap for it. Most of the cylindrical cases that I've seen usually just have the cap as just a little larger than the main cylinder so that it just slips over the cylinder. I think having the cap be the same size as the main body looks better. Once I get a few other projects out of the way I plan on making a cylindrical case similar to this to carry a flag on the motorcycle, and I may use this style of cap. /dwight

Thanks all. The design of the bag and the pocket layout is all from my wife. I particularly like how she did the outside pockets. Instead of individual pieces of leather for each pocket, she instead cut one piece with the size and placement of the pockets predetermined, and stitched in between as needed. Less stitching, and fewer unfinished edges. /dwight

Judging by the size of the stitches in the photo, I would guess that your mark is small enough that it would be a stretch for somebody to think it is the name of the person holding the wallet or whatever. I think your "brand" looks just fine as it is. /dwight

My wife and I decided to make a tote bag for our daughter-in-law. She made the bag, lining, and pockets on her sewing machine, and I did the medallion and hand stitching of the top and attaching the straps. Never done a bag before, but I think it turned out pretty good. /dwight

Beautiful work. One of these days I'm going to have to learn how to mold leather like that. /dwight

I am far from any kind of expert at skiving, but currently I just use a round knife when I'm skiving. I only get a small amount on any given pass, but it gets the job done. /dwight

While I love the look of that (and the bag is gorgeous), my thought is how well does it hold up over time? My wife (quilter / seamstress extraordinaire) pointed out that cloth with that type of edge can curl up over time and generally look ratty unless it is glued down properly. Does a leather edge hold up better? /dwight