Black River Laser Is Awesome

[Sylvia]

I ordered a template or two from them and I must say they are the best folks to work with. Both Joyce and Jerry are fun, willing to work with you, and they turn out a great product. If you can draw it... they can make it.

They traditionally make plaques and memorial items but they've recently branched out to making templates for us leather workers. Their prices are great.

I suggested they make a template that is the Golden Spiral so important in Sheridan and Western carving and they whipped one right out. It's available on their website as an 8 pieces set at a great price! ($17.95 plus $1.50 s&h) I should be receiving mine soon.

I hear that they can even create maker's mark stamps...

http://www.blackrive.../leather-craft/

If you order from them please be sure to mention that "Sylvia" sent you.

S

Edited April 22, 2012 by Sylvia

[Kustom]

Thanks Sylvia. Their belt end templates look great. My poster board ones don't hold up.

[Sylvia]

Thanks Sylvia. Their belt end templates look great. My poster board ones don't hold up.

You are welcome. I don't think you can beat that deal for the set. Definitely worth the money.

[Bluesman]

WOW, I need to call them. I can Email Autocad files of my designs and they can mke me the templates. No more poster board................................................ SYLVIA

[Sylvia]

here's their number. (440) 709-4980

If you email you'll likely get a response from Joyce. If you need to talk technical stuff, dimensions, ideas, etc..., call and talk to Jerry... he's an engineer.

[Glendon]

How are they set up for ordering? It looks like from their website that they're used to face to face custom stuff. I may just have to give them a call and ask. Those do look like some nice template sets.

[Sylvia]

How are they set up for ordering? It looks like from their website that they're used to face to face custom stuff. I may just have to give them a call and ask. Those do look like some nice template sets.

My first order was via email they sent me a Paypal invoice. My second one I called.

It is really worth while to call, if you can. They really know how to talk to a customer... no nasty attitudes at all... a genuinely positive experience.

[Cyberthrasher]

ooh, I might have to get a set of those belt templates.

[Sylvia]

ooh, I might have to get a set of those belt templates.

They sure make life much easier.

[Sylvia]

I got my package today and I love these golden spirals and my new guitar strap template.

They even sent me a piece of leather with "Sylvia's Leather Shop" laser engraved into it... with a hand written note on the back. How sweet is that?

I'm telling you... I LOVE these people.

[pete]

here's their number. (440) 709-4980

If you email you'll likely get a response from Joyce. If you need to talk technical stuff, dimensions, ideas, etc..., call and talk to Jerry... he's an engineer.

can you show the spiral template?!!!!!!!!!!

pete

[Sylvia]

can you show the spiral template?!!!!!!!!!!

pete

I'm having issues with swelling in my feet and legs at the moment so I can't take a pic for you.

But if you go here http://www.blackrive...er-craft-tools/

There are a couple pictures of the set. You get the positive form and the negative forms with the set. in sizes 1", 2", 3" and 4"

I played with mine for a while today. They work great!

Well, hell... I'm sure they won't mind me posting their pictures here.

Edited April 25, 2012 by Sylvia

[Chavez]

Thanks for sharing the link, Sylvia.

How useful are the strap end templates? Has anyone used them?

[Cyberthrasher]

Thanks for sharing the link, Sylvia.

How useful are the strap end templates? Has anyone used them?

I haven't used them since Sylvia just brought this to our attention the other day. But, I'm definitely going to be buying some. It's pretty much got all the strap sizes I would need between belts and cuff straps and I can tell by the pictures that all the holes are very well lined out. Since I don't have any strap punches, that part can easily take a lot of time to line up right (I'm really OCD), so I can see them saving me a lot of time.

[Sylvia]

Thanks for sharing the link, Sylvia.

How useful are the strap end templates? Has anyone used them?

Chavez.

I'm probably the only one who has these templates since Black River just started making them.

They are the perfect solution for someone that can't afford sets of expensive end punches and doesn't like the "multi-size" punch The set has 7 sizes for straps 3/8" wide up to 2"... one end is the English point... the other is the round point. The other set of strap templates have a "long point" I think most of us would use the English point. However, I have used the long point ones for making a tapered point on a strap end that was being sewn to another. That worked perfectly and refined the look of the attachment. )

To me the best part is they have holes to poke through to mark the places to punch for holes. ) It doesn't completely solve my personal issue with punching belt holes but it does speed up my process. The holes on the templates are every 1/2" (13mm) so 1/2" and 1" and up can be marked easily. The material it's made from is about 1/16" (2mm) thick so they will hold up well.

I used the English point and the long point set on the guitar strap I just shipped. Easy peazy.... lay the template on the leather strap, mark the end with the stylus. follow the cut with your knife. I do intend to try cutting while holding the template on some scrap... I've not done that yet. I think clamping it to the table is my best bet to accomplish that... we'll see.

I had previously made my own template but being cut by hand from aluminum, it wasn't perfect. This is a ton better. )

Be sure to ask them if they even ship to the UK Chavez.... I have no idea if they are willing to do that. (I bet they are though)

S

[Art]

For those that do a lot of template work, contact Jeff Mosby at Grey Ghost Graphics.

http://www.greyghostgraphics.com/

In addition to templates, he makes maker stamps or for that matter any stamps. He will also make you tap-offs and other stuff. Jeff is a premier guitar strap maker and does some really sought-after guitar neck inlay work. He stocks some templates for guitar straps, a complete set that contains everything, with instructions.

Good guy and great artist.

Art

[Chavez]

Thanks Sylvia!

I was thinking of cutting straight from the template (instead of transferring it onto leather with a pen/stylus. Let me know if it works=)

I understand that the holes in the template only allow you to mark the center of the hole on the strap, so you have to center the hole yourself later? or can you just "punch through" the template?

Oh, and pardon my lack of knowledge (i'm only a newbie here:)) , but what's the difference between an english end and a regular pointed end? As far as I know, english end is a bit longer and a bit sharper?

Is there any practical difference in cutting & grooving them or is it just a matter of how they look ?

Edited April 26, 2012 by Chavez

[Sylvia]

Can you just "punch through" the template?

Oh, and pardon my lack of knowledge (i'm only a newbie here:)) , but what's the difference between an english end and a regular pointed end? As far as I know, english end is a bit longer and a bit sharper?

Is there any practical difference in cutting & grooving them or is it just a matter of how they look ?

Hi Chavez:

As they are now, you mark through the template, then center the punch. However, if you consistently use the same size belt punch I see no reason why Jerry couldn't adjust the template holes to accommodate the punch at least on the normal belt size ones. That is something you would want to talk to him about though.

The "traditional" English point is shorter.... normally it is laid out with your wing dividers. On a 1 inch strap you measure up 1 inch from the end to be cut... then set your wind dividers to the width of the strap (1 inch) then drag the wing divider point of one side to the other side across the leather, pivoting on the other point. Reset and drag in the other direction. The result is a short point formed where the scribed arcs meet. The set that Black River has identified as an English point is not exactly correct. That's why I refer to it as a Long Point. You want the "strap end template set" if you are looking for the traditional pointed belt look. There is nothing wrong with the "engish point template set" excepting that it's points are too long. I've used mine a few times in various ways.... especially when I want to point off a strap that I want to sew to another strap. The longer more graceful curve works nicely for that.

Practical difference? I think it's more of a preference... I prefer the points but some people prefer the round ends. I may be wrong but I think that the points would be easier to slide under a belt loop.

S

[Sylvia]

For those that do a lot of template work, contact Jeff Mosby at Grey Ghost Graphics.

http://www.greyghostgraphics.com/

Art

Thank you, Art! I was aware of Grey Ghost Graphics... but my necessary frugal nature kept me from buying from him. I just do not have $95 for a belt template set... and holy smokes $145 for the guitar strap set is way way out of my budget. I do covet his petal lifters though... but again $100... out of my budget at least for now. <sigh>

This is exactly why I like Black River.... everything they have thus far is under $20 a set. That is something that even us "church mouses" can afford.

[Chavez]

Thanks sylvia! Very interesting to learn about the english point .

The prices seems great: had they been $5 higher, they would have attracted a $30 tax+fees for us UK buyers =)

[CodyG]

I ordered 3 of sets of templates from Black River Laser, and had them make me 2 custom sets based on paper templates I use all the time. I couldn't be happier with Jerry & Joyce!!

Both of my maker's stamps are from Jeff at Grey Ghost,, and he's such a great guy to work with. I really wanted his guitar strap template too, but there's no way I'll pay $100+ for a template. I'm very happy with what I found at Black River.

[Kustom]

Jeff at Grey Ghost is a good guy. I've taken a carving class from him and was very happy I did. I've also had him make some maker's stamps for me. The thing about his $145 guitar strap templates is they actually make three different style of straps. If you make straps for country western players this is the one to get.

[Glendon]

Just received my Black River Laser order in the mail. First off, they look great.

I ordered 4 templates from them. The buckle end templates, shield and tab templates, and two new templates they just released. The new strap end templates they offer include both the standard strap point, and the English strap point. The final template I got was their radius strap end set. Buying the new dual strap end set and the radius set is actually cheaper then buying the standard and English point strap end sets. Since bought a few sets in this order, they were nice enough to include a handy little leather thickness gauge, Much quicker and easier then the calipers I was using for that job.

Shipping was a snap. I placed my order though their eBay store and the templates were in my hand 4 days later. I'm completely happy with the quality. I haven't had a chance to play with them yet, but I'm sure they are going to get a lot of use. Service as also great. When i had e-mailed them about placing an order, they had not yet lined the eBay store off their website. So I wanted to ask them about the order process and to discuss a custom template I was thinking about. I had a phone call from Jerry that day. He walked me though the ordering options and gave me a quote right then off of the sketch I had e-mailed.

If you're thinking about one or two of their template sets, I'd absolutely say go ahead and get in touch with them.

[Sylvia]

Just received my Black River Laser order in the mail. First off, they look great.

Service as also great. When i had e-mailed them about placing an order, they had not yet lined the eBay store off their website. So I wanted to ask them about the order process and to discuss a custom template I was thinking about. I had a phone call from Jerry that day. He walked me though the ordering options and gave me a quote right then off of the sketch I had e-mailed.

If you're thinking about one or two of their template sets, I'd absolutely say go ahead and get in touch with them.

I'm glad you like them too. That leather gauge is a neat little doodad isn't it? What I like about it is the size... with it being close to a credit card in size but a lot thicker it would be an easy thing to slip in the pocket on the way to the leather store. Sure did make me realize that I've been using a lot thicker leather than I though. :D

I can't wait to see what you think of the templates when you use them. I'm really liking mine!

[Glendon]

Yes, the leather gauge is a handy little thing. At least for us newbies who haven't been around long enough to eyeball it yet.

I used one of the tab end template to make a belt loop for a pocket knife sheath yesterday. They do work great.

If I have one complaint about them, is that they are just on the edge of being too thin. They should hold up fine, but they are just flexible enough that I feel like I need to be careful with them. When place the order for my custom template, I think I'll pay for it to be made 1/8" instead of the 3/32" acrylic that's the default. Other then that, I'm quite happy with them. I'll be doing a belt from scratch next weekend, so they'll be put to the test then.