DwightT

When I got back into leatherwork a few months ago, my wife felt threatened because she thought family and friends would like my stuff more than her quilting (poppycock). So we came up with a way to collaborate by combining her quilting with my leather and including our mutual interest in wine: quilted wine totes with a tooled leather base. It's been a lot of fun working with her on the design and fabrication. /dwight

Thanks a lot. Now my wife wants me to make a couple for the Barby doll collection that she keeps for the grandkids. /dwight

Welcome from Idaho. You'll find lots of good info here, often just from digging through the archives. Lots of friendly people ready to answer questions and give advice too. Looking forward to seeing your work. /dwight

I have to confess - when I got back into leather a few months ago, I sorted my scraps into veg tan and chrome tan bins. That was the chrome tan bin and since I haven't really done much with chrome tan... Most of that is from the bag of scraps that I inherited from my grandfather. My veg tan bin has a bit more in it. And I can't believe that I'm really in a discussion comparing the size of scrap bins. Seriously? /dwight

I'm going to have to try one (or two, or three) of those and play with it, but I would think you would do a "faded" bevel where you start heavy at one end of the line and fade out towards the middle. Then you fade in on the other side, ending heavy at the other end of the line. But I think Handstitched is right: most of the effect will come from proper coloring & shading - which is something that I personally am horrible at. /dwight

That's not too bad then. I've had some hats where things like that added significant weight and by the end of the day my neck was screaming in pain from holding it all up. Regardless the hat stilllooks great. /dwight

Hello from western Idaho. As has been stated, lots of good info here. It's pretty amazing what you can learn from the people here. Welcome to the forum. /dwight

That looks awesome. Have to ask though how heavy it is. Seems like all those antler tips would add a fairly noticeable weight. /dwight

That was exactly my point. Half the time I'm not looking for a specific piece of leather. I'm usually looking for inspiration for the next project. /dwight

I should have known better. My wife wanted some leather for one of her projects, so I handed her my scrap bin. Next thing I know she has sorted my scraps by type and size. This completely goes against how I look for scraps. /dwight

Absolutely stunning!

I can agree with that. I would like to see a simple list of the person, their location, and the tool/service that they offer. Beyond that prices and other specifics can be negotiated at the time of order. No need to have multiple posts showcasing every tool that you may offer. I think just a single entry in the list should suffice. But that's just my opinion. /dwight

Welcome from Meridian Idaho. I'm also an old Coastie (ETN2 on WMEC 627 Vigorous out of New London back in the late 70s). I've also recently returned to leatherwork after a long hiatus and it's amazing how much I've forgotten. Your work looks like you have been able to at least maintain your skills. Nice looking work. Welcome to the group. /dwight

Welcome from Idaho. Leather work can be a fun hobby, but you'll find that you always need one more tool. This forum can be a great place to learn new techniques and for problem solving to cure those headaches. As for wasted leather, well there is always another way to use that bit of leather when the project goes wrong. /dwight

I think I'm insulted. I don't see any Coast Guard in that collection. Guess I'll have to start building some of those myself. /dwight

That's awesome. I have a couple drawers full of bits and pieces that I need to find a use for. Something like this would be great. /dwight

Yeah, but IMO it's so much more satisfying when you are done and you can give your hands a rest. Case looks great. /dwight

Congratulations. They look awesome. /dwight

Well, I figure I should add to this. I was making a strap with a name as part of a project for my daughter. While stamping the name, somehow I managed to transpose two letters. Nothing like turning a project into scrap right from the beginning. Rather than just throw the whole strap out I decided to go ahead and finish it as originally planned. Gave me chance to try a couple new techniques that I've learned on the forum, as was as an opportunity to test run a new leaf pattern. Doing that let me see what I needed to do differently for the final strap. I'm giving her the screw-up strap along with the finished project. Maybe she can use it as a name-plate at work and see if anybody notices. /dwight

Personally I think that's a great idea. I usually wear a hat with a Coast Guard emblem and it's always a conversation starter when I run across another Coastie. I may have to steal your pattern. /dwight

Well, as I said I've never really worked with CT before, so I'm probably just over-thinking the problem, which isn't really a problem at all. It does seem to scuff, but then the scuff marks can be rubbed out fairly easily. For where we are planning on using it, the scuffs won't really be an issue anyway. BTW: I love your hats. Yeah, I still have about 6oz or so of the old Neat Lac left. Until it was mentioned here I didn't even realize that the Neat Lac that is now available isn't the same stuff. Was there an issue with the old formula? /dwight

Looks great. Must have taken a while to do those 3000 stitches by hand. My hands probably would have cramped up multiple times over. /dwight

I actually came across these bits originally when I needed to do some work on some printed circuit boards. But then I figured they would work with leather too. As has been mentioned, drilling the hole first makes it easier to push the awl through. Just keep in mind that because the bits are small and brittle they can break easily. Instead of drilling through the leather and into a wood backing, I made a backer using aluminum flat stock. I drilled a 1/8" hole in the flat stock, then screwed it to a piece of particle board that had a 1/4" hole. I clamp that board to my drill platform with the hole aligned with the bit. Supports the leather and gives me a fairly clean hole. /dwight

Thanks. It just seemed "wrong" to not do something to seal the leather like I've always done with veg-tan, but I think we'll take your advise and just leave it be. The scuff marks don't really seem to hurt anything, so we just won't worry about them. /dwight