Simple Briefcase

[WalterF]

Started work on a simple briefcase for myself. Thought it would be fun to share the journey. 

 

As a Vermonter (who moved) my love for covered bridges grew from a young age. It was so much fun photographing the bridges in different seasons. This particular tooling bears a striking resemblance to a bridge close to my house, it is uncanny,

Started this panel last night at 8 pm thinking it would be done by 1 am. I was wrong, the border was being done as the kids were getting on the bus. This led to a brain fart, the bushes on the left took a quick look at the pattern and carved the wrong side of the line! My lesson was learned, not to start something at night.

[Littlef]

I think it still looks really cool.  I dig it.

[TomE]

Beautiful work as always.  Looking forward to seeing the case come together.  I'm thinking bridges of Madison county...

[toxo]

That's the kind of tooling that I like. Nice.

[DieselTech]

That is really nice! Sweet work. I'm hoping I can be at that level of craftsmanship someday. Just stunning work. 

 

Thanks for sharing. Its beautiful.

[WalterF]

  On 12/5/2023 at 10:24 PM, Littlef said:

I think it still looks really cool.  I dig it.

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Thank you

  On 12/5/2023 at 10:32 PM, TomE said:

Beautiful work as always.  Looking forward to seeing the case come together.  I'm thinking bridges of Madison county...

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Thank you, I am excited for this one as it has special meaning to me. This was the easy side, but the other has meaning and will pair well. Possible, checked out my photo and they are different.

  On 12/5/2023 at 11:28 PM, toxo said:

That's the kind of tooling that I like. Nice.

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Thank you. I seem to have clicked with figure carving. I like western and still do it, but I can't draw so it limits my ability. With figure all that is needed is a photo.

  On 12/6/2023 at 12:02 AM, DieselTech said:

That is really nice! Sweet work. I'm hoping I can be at that level of craftsmanship someday. Just stunning work. 

 

Thanks for sharing. Its beautiful.

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Thank you. If you want I can share classes and places that have helped me.

[DieselTech]

  On 12/6/2023 at 1:23 AM, WalterF said:

Thank you

Thank you, I am excited for this one as it has special meaning to me. This was the easy side, but the other has meaning and will pair well. Possible, checked out my photo and they are different.

Thank you. I seem to have clicked with figure carving. I like western and still do it, but I can't draw so it limits my ability. With figure all that is needed is a photo.

Thank you. If you want I can share classes and places that have helped me.

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Thanks. Do you teach online leather classes? Or do you got some websites to check out?

I'm all up to learning some tips & tricks. I'm just now getting into carving. Been watching a lot of YouTube videos. Would you be willing to sell a carving like that? I would like to frame it & hang it on my wall in the house. 

Thanks & Just Beautiful work. 

[WalterF]

  On 12/6/2023 at 2:19 AM, DieselTech said:

Thanks. Do you teach online leather classes? Or do you got some websites to check out?

I'm all up to learning some tips & tricks. I'm just now getting into carving. Been watching a lot of YouTube videos. Would you be willing to sell a carving like that? I would like to frame it & hang it on my wall in the house. 

Thanks & Just Beautiful work. 

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I don't teach for pay, but I am willing to help if you have facetime or similar. Don Gonzalez has a youtube channel, he has good info on floral. Some are 3 or so years old. Jim Linnell has a site plus video classes you can buy and download to watch over again no time limit. He has lots of stuff from starting to advanced. If you are interested in people Annie Libertini has some great classes on it. Those are also on Jim's site. Aeron Heizer has a channel (Makers Leather Supply). I am not selling, still learning and pushing.

 

 

[DieselTech]

  On 12/6/2023 at 2:42 AM, WalterF said:

I don't teach for pay, but I am willing to help if you have facetime or similar. Don Gonzalez has a youtube channel, he has good info on floral. Some are 3 or so years old. Jim Linnell has a site plus video classes you can buy and download to watch over again no time limit. He has lots of stuff from starting to advanced. If you are interested in people Annie Libertini has some great classes on it. Those are also on Jim's site. Aeron Heizer has a channel (Makers Leather Supply). I am not selling, still learning and pushing.

 

 

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Thank you. You mentioned most of the people I watch & learn what I can from them. I will check out the couple I didnt know of & see what I can pick up from them. 

Also if you ever decide to start selling, I would love to have a carving of your covered bridge. Its soo nice & beautiful. 

I would consider that a piece of Art you carved. I'm really at a loss of words, it's just soo cool. 

Thanks for your time & knowledge.

[Gezzer]

Very very NICE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

All the different textures really make that pop 

[MarshalWill]

Beautiful! The bridge detail is outstanding. The overall layout is really balanced, too. Very, very nice work.

Looking forward to seeing the finished briefcase.

[WalterF]

Thought it would be nice to share the bridge photo I took that this bridge reminds me of. I loved BW because it distills the photo down to the subject without the intrusion of color. It is one of the reasons my preference is natural leather and antique instead of painting.

  On 12/6/2023 at 3:13 AM, Gezzer said:

Very very NICE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

All the different textures really make that pop 

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Thank you it was fun playing with different stamps.

  On 12/6/2023 at 2:57 PM, MarshalWill said:

Beautiful! The bridge detail is outstanding. The overall layout is really balanced, too. Very, very nice work.

Looking forward to seeing the finished briefcase.

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Thank you, agreed the artist rendered the pattern extremely well.

[MarshalWill]

Thanks for sharing the photo, too. It looks similar but the detail on your tooling shows a completely different bridge design. I like both but the layout on the briefcase is a bit better. I'm glad you're going to not put any color on it. I airbrushed a scenic carving one time and it took away drastically from the beauty of the natural leather. I never made that mistake again.

[YinTx]

There is a whole lot going on in that tooling.  So many different textures and techniques needed to get to the end result.  Excellent 3D rendering, down to the bowed boards.  I've always been a bit baffled about how to get a good rendering of an object like a 2x4, and you have those types of shapes all over the place.

Clouds, rocks/dirt, plants, framing with coverings, trees, on and on.  Nicely done, I can only imagine the amount of learning that had to go into the end result!

[WalterF]

  On 12/6/2023 at 4:35 PM, MarshalWill said:

Thanks for sharing the photo, too. It looks similar but the detail on your tooling shows a completely different bridge design. I like both but the layout on the briefcase is a bit better. I'm glad you're going to not put any color on it. I airbrushed a scenic carving one time and it took away drastically from the beauty of the natural leather. I never made that mistake again.

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Agreed

  On 12/6/2023 at 5:21 PM, YinTx said:

There is a whole lot going on in that tooling.  So many different textures and techniques needed to get to the end result.  Excellent 3D rendering, down to the bowed boards.  I've always been a bit baffled about how to get a good rendering of an object like a 2x4, and you have those types of shapes all over the place.

Clouds, rocks/dirt, plants, framing with coverings, trees, on and on.  Nicely done, I can only imagine the amount of learning that had to go into the end result!

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I am humbled, thank you. If you have facetime we could go over some of the ways. I am retired so trying to keep busy.

[YinTx]

  On 12/6/2023 at 8:12 PM, WalterF said:

I am humbled, thank you. If you have facetime we could go over some of the ways. I am retired so trying to keep busy.

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I may take you up on that, but will have to wait a few months.  I am too busy to be considered retired!

[Scoutmom103]

Beautiful

[Burkhardt]

  On 12/6/2023 at 3:42 PM, WalterF said:

bridge photo I took that this bridge reminds me of

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Help out the simpleton in me, why do they cover/enclose the bridges?  Is it mainly for wood bridges to keep the weather off?

[Gezzer]

  On 12/7/2023 at 3:19 AM, Burkhardt said:

Help out the simpleton in me, why do they cover/enclose the bridges?  Is it mainly for wood bridges to keep the weather off?

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My guess and it's just a guess , was to keep the horses and wagon from falling off when there is ice on the ground .

[WalterF]

  On 12/7/2023 at 12:06 AM, Scoutmom103 said:

Beautiful

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Thank you

  On 12/7/2023 at 3:19 AM, Burkhardt said:

Help out the simpleton in me, why do they cover/enclose the bridges?  Is it mainly for wood bridges to keep the weather off?

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It was to help preserve the bridges so they lasted longer.

  On 12/7/2023 at 4:17 AM, Gezzer said:

My guess and it's just a guess , was to keep the horses and wagon from falling off when there is ice on the ground .

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Back in the day not too long ago they rolled the snow to pack it and didn't plow. My ex father in law talked about it in Vermont back in the early 1900's. I have seen photos of it pretty wild horse drawn.

[MahaKhan]

Seems Good! 

[WalterF]

  On 12/7/2023 at 2:49 PM, MahaKhan said:

Seems Good! 

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Thanks

 

This was one days work, marking the leather, cutting and some tooling. This is the largest and most detailed piece I have attempted.

[RockRash]

Nice work! I can't wait to see the finished product. 

[MarshalWill]

That's coming along good. I made a briefcase one time. It was a lot of fun. I look forward to seeing what you do for a handle on it.

[WalterF]

  On 12/8/2023 at 7:13 AM, RockRash said:

Nice work! I can't wait to see the finished product. 

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Thank you, me too.

  On 12/8/2023 at 3:16 PM, MarshalWill said:

That's coming along good. I made a briefcase one time. It was a lot of fun. I look forward to seeing what you do for a handle on it.

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Thank you, this one is very simple. The handles were done first, Gini told me no purchasing hardware! 

Finished the Mill side today. Two days and 20 hours in the panel. Each one of the field stones had to be done one at a time with a tiny spoon.