Tandy Leather Expedition Briefcase Kit

[WScott]

I agree that it is pricey, even on sale. The best place to get patterns for a case like that is Al Stohlmans "the art of making cases vol 2 & 3" you can get them at Tandy or online at the leathercraft library. The books are great and have similar type cases.

I have all three of these books and they are awesome for technique tips BUT IMHO the projects are kind of out of date....the style of the items and such.

They will teach you to make practically anything under the sun from up to the '80s, but you will be doing your own design and pattern making for modern stuff.

There are patterns that you will have to enlarge and modify to use. Again this is JMHO, and the books are of amazing teaching value don't get me wrong.

For a rookie, hacking up some Tandy leather in an all inclusive kit isn't a bad idea as a starting point in bag making...it's not that much $

Let us know what you decide to do!

Edited January 24, 2013 by WScott

[billymac814]

I agree that the Stohlman items are out of date in those books, the techniques are still good like you mentioned. But you never know when you need to make a case for a Poloroid Instamatic.

I bought the first two, I should pick up the third, I didn't think it seemed pertinent to me but you never know.

Its ashame that there really isn't anyone making these types of books anymore. Well none that I know of anyway, maybe there is??

[WScott]

Get the third so you have the full set....you might need to make a cowboy golf bag!!

The techniques that the Stohlman's show in the books are priceless and applicable to someone with creativity.

Apparently their Lazy A ranch was a stone's throw to the town where I grew up....never knew until last year.

[Jax]

I gotta admit, Im a Tandy kit junkie....but I mainly buy them for making patterns from & only when they are on sale!!! Some of the new kits look really nice & whats more up to date fashion wise, but even on sale they are way outa my price range, I intend to sit down at some point, study the pics & dimensions given then try to work out my own patterns for some of them. Good luck with whichever way you choose to do your project

[cjdevito]

Last fall I did my first entirely from scratch project using the Dispatch Rider briefcase pattern Tandy has up in leathercraftlibrary.com and it came out okay, but lots of things about it I wasn't happy with. Thought it was a good learning experience though and was planning to do another in a few weeks to see if I could improve upon it now that I'd made it once.

But I ordered this kit when it came on sale the other night. It's basically the dispatch rider bag updated and modernized, and I really want to see where and how exactly they've changed the design. I mostly want to use it to make templates off the pieces and use it as another learning experience. I do have Stohlman's case books and had considered trying to use what I've learned from them to lay out a briefcase design of my own, but I'd be lying if I said I'd rather do that than just try making adjustments to an existing pattern.

I'm sure this kit will have all the usual shortfalls of Tandy's kits - crap leather, large holes, etc - but for me looking at it as a physical lesson in design & pattern making instead of as just a briefcase, the price they want for it is acceptable.

[billymac814]

Ill get volume 3 with my next order. That way ill have the set, I have most of his other books too, I buy them and then sell them in my shop, or at least they sit in my shop for sale. The only one I seem to ever sell is the handsewing one.

Cj, good luck with the kit, be sure to post pictures when its done.

[cjdevito]

Funny enough, the package arrived tonight. Haven't had a chance to do much more than glance at it yet, but the kit parts are probably the nicest leather I've seen from tandy. Which still doesn't make them anything to write home about, but nothing like some of the really awful pieces I've gotten in some of their other kits. Of course it could just be my luck... next person to get one might end up with the typical lower quality they're known for.

[billymac814]

I would hope for the price it is that they would at least give decent leather. You would think it would be better than a 7 dollar cell phone case. If they would offer kits like that unpunched with decent leather I think it would be a viable option for certain projects. Sure you'd pay a little more than making the patterns yourself and cutting them but the time saved would be make up for it in the end if your selling it, especially if you're only making 1 of them, if you're making 10 I'd probably opt to cut them though.

[billymac814]

On a somewhat different but related topic It annoys me that when Tandy offers these sales that anyone can get them for the best price which is cheaper than the wholesale price. I'm a wholesale customer and sell a few of their basic tools and kits and if an item goes on sale I can't even match the price because unless I got it on sale its less than I paid for it. Half the time I wait until something goes on sale to buy it. That just doesn't seem right to me or those who pay for gold and elite memberships.

[WScott]

Funny enough, the package arrived tonight. Haven't had a chance to do much more than glance at it yet, but the kit parts are probably the nicest leather I've seen from tandy. Which still doesn't make them anything to write home about, but nothing like some of the really awful pieces I've gotten in some of their other kits. Of course it could just be my luck... next person to get one might end up with the typical lower quality they're known for.

Make that sucker up and take some pics while you're doing it for us to see

I would like to see their gusset design and hear your opinions on the overall kit

Scott

Edited January 26, 2013 by WScott