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I was recently asked to make a 32 plait 3 tone bull whip for a customer. The commission was that the body of the whip had to look like a coral snake colours yellow,red,yellow black. The main thing and the most difficult was to make sure that the strips of colour went around the whip in one ring and not all over the place. Might look easy but it took a bit of working out. The handle design was left up to me.This is the photo I was given to work off.http://snakesfb.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/coral-snake.html

So, I started lurking here a few days ago and I am amazed by how good all the work is and moreso by how cool and generous with knowledge you all are. I jumped right in with a couple bracelets!! I used a 1 1/2 bracelet from Tandy’s. I Stamped, stained, burnished, painted and sealed. VERY AMATEURISH! But what a blast, I’m very excited to learn and develop!!!

Just finished a solo seat.

I just posted this to my "Always Be Carving" thread (in the Critique forum) where I'm seeking continuous feedback on my carving skill, but I realized that I really am proud of this so I really am going to show it off. Attention Fellow Newbies: I am about to brag about something that really sucks! Critiques are certainly welcome, even if the only critique you can think of is "suck less.". This tool roll works well but looks awful because it's made entirely from scraps and I've built it over the past 4 months--and I started in leather just 5 months ago. So the quality does actually improve as the tool roll grows in size. Any tips or advice are most welcome. I just want to sort of prepare you for what you are about to see, which is that this roll is all about "function over form". I know it's ugly. Here's the post: I don't think this should go in "Show Off!" but I don't see a "No, Dave, Noooo!" thread, so here you go. I saw George Hurst mention a tool roll project in one of the Tandy Premium videos and thought "Heyyyy, I know how to do that already." I grabbed some spare upholstery vinyl and made a tidy little bundle: the brown/gray/black panels in the lower left. Then I bought 15 more tools all at once. Liz suggested instead of lengthening the roll, I should make it a "double decker". So the upper left black panel was added, also out of upholstery vinyl. Then I bought more tools. And more. And more. By this time I was doing dyeing experiments on entire pieces of 8.5"x11" alligator-embossed leather, and waste not want not, right? So I added the center panel (with gray tool slots), and then about a month later added the rightmost panel (with black tool slots). I ripped off the "legend" from the center panel when I added the rightmost panel because the steampunk gears needed to be moved down to the bottom row to balance the top/bottom roll diameters. Organization? HAH! They're basically in the order I bought them. Some day when my tool-itis slows down I'll go back and make myself a"nice" tool roll, and I'll organize the cams and the shaders and the bevelers each with their own kind, but until then... well, I sort of know where everything is. In this thread (The "Always Be Carving" in the Critique My Work forum--Ed.) I have done all my carving practice with JUST the tools in the lower left GRAY PANEL ONLY. That's the Tandy "Magic 6" plus a Mulefoot. (Well, plus the swivel knife and stylus on either side of that panel. Oh, plus the V707 veiner stop, that's second in from the the very top right.) So yeah. Lots of tools in there, so lonely, calling out to me... but I want to get my technique down first. I'll probably "play" with other tools soon but I don't want to branch out into other tools until I'm sure I'll learn more by doing so, rather than develop bad habits by using a tool that covers my mistakes. Confession: I am inordinately proud of this tool roll. It's ugly as hell and I know it but it's mine and I made it and it works perfectly. Pragmatically speaking it is perfectly adequate. It's so ugly that only a mother father could love it, but I do. P.S. Not that anybody cares besides me, but I do so shut up: Rolled up tight, in its current size and loadout, it's almost exactly 12" long and 4" in diameter, and weighs 5lb 10.6oz. Unrolled length is 27.5". This gives it a density of 2637kg/m3, so it will sink in molten aluminum (right before it catches fire), though it will float in aluminum bromide (without catching fire, though the vinyl might melt). It will also sink in molten Cesium (or it would, if you could get enough of it together and melt it without it exploding upon contact with moisture in the air, so you know what let's skip the Cesium). In fact, about the only reasonable molten solid to sink this in might be molten sulfur. At 115°C the vinyl might melt, but if, hypothetically, you were carrying this tool roll near a brimstone vent by an active volcano, and you dropped it into the molten brimstone, it would sink, but it would be just fine. I would still understand if you chose to leave it there and get yourself to safety though. I mean seriously what are you even doing trying to tool leather next to an active volcano? Priorities, people, priorities! P.P.S. My favorite 2 things about this tool roll are 1) everything fits snugly enough that I can sling the unrolled slab over my shoulder and carry it from my office to my workbench, and 2) the glove snaps along the top. They force the top flap to tuck and crimp instead of flop out as I'm rolling the bundle. They were my wife's idea just a few days ago and they're already my favorite thing.

So I thought I'd take the opportunity... I'm brand new to this, decided to make my own belt after drunkenly leaving my old one in a hotel room. Here is my first go around. Used a pre-dyed, semi-pre-punched belt blank and some hardware from Springfield Leather. Used an exacto knife to bevel the edges and (I think) quite a bit too much resolene/water 50/50. Version 2.0. Used just a pre-dyed strap this time, a template I designed on some CAD software to layout all the holes and slot, a proper edge beveler, and just one quick light coat of 100% Resolene. Feel like I'm on the right track. My question though is the final sealant. Resolene seems like it's letting nothing through, but do I really need that much of a seal? I'm feeling like it gives too much of a shiny plasticy look to the leather. I need some opinions on whether Acrylic Leather Sheen from Fiebings would give me a less shiny look, but still keep the dye in and water out?

Just finished these 11 torch pouches for the Airport security Services. Thought Id lay them out a little differently. Cheers Merry Xmas Trevor "Way Down Under"