Tandy Shipping Costs

[JAZZMAN]

Hi i live in the uk and was wondering ,if you buy from tandy uk what are the postage costs, i can not seem to find them on the site, also how long does it normally take to get your order please.

Edited November 1, 2014 by JAZZMAN

[zuludog]

Aha Jazzman, we meet again!

Tandy UK are reliable and have a reasonably fast turnround. They are efficient and businesslike; they take your order, and your money of course, and send the goods, but that's about it

I asked them once if they had a bit of scrap leather to make a strop, and the reply was along the lines that the Northampton site was simply a warehouse, they didn't actually do any leatherwork there. On reflection, helping me to make my own strop would obviously affect the sale of their own item

They charge p&p, but I haven't been able to find out how they calculate it.

The Identity Store are agents for Tandy so sell everything that Tandy does, and also a business in their own right and have some of their own goods as well. I have found them more approachable and willing to give advice and help over the phone. I have started dealing with them instead of Tandy UK

They have their own workshop so might be able to sell you smaller, and therefore cheaper, pieces of leather, and to advise you, as a beginner, on what to choose

They also charge for p&p

www.theidentitystore.co.uk

You might also look at www.bostock.co.uk though I haven't had any dealings with them

So you've decided to go ahead with leatherwork? Good

.

Remember that as with any hobby there will be times when you buy something you find out later you don't like or need, or or miss a good offer, only to find it cheaper a few days later. Such is life.

Keep an eye out for old bags & belts, they will be useful for practicing or small items

[JAZZMAN]

Thank you zulu. yes i am going to go ahead with leathercraft, i have to say though in the uk it does seem quite hard to gather info and find suppliers,thanks for the info i will look into those suppliers and let you know how i get on. I am going to order some offcuts off ebay for messing around with and practicing that sort of thing. I am also tempted to buy some of the cheaper tools off ebay to see how i go on before buying the more expensive professional level tools. I cannot deny i find the lack of info and help a bit overwhelming so thank you for your guidance i really am struggling to get going.

[zuludog]

I don't understand why you can't find information - there's loads of it available for next to nothing. Here's a book list

Leatherwork - a Manual of techniques by Geoffrey West

Leatherwork - a practical guide by Chris Taylor

Leatherworking Handbook: a practical illustrated sourcebook of techniques by Valerie Michael

Leatherwork Tools by Al Stohlman

Complete Leatherwork by Katherine Pogson

The Art of Hand Sewing Leather by Al Stohlman

I found these by -

1) Looking on Tandy's website and taking the list of titles I wanted to my library

2) Asking my library if they had any books on leathercraft or leatherwork. Ask yours, they might have other titles besides these

3) Searching Google for books on leather craft or leatherwork and taking a list to my library

If your local library doesn't have the book in their district they can do an inter - library search of every library in Britain. There is a nominal fee for this, but you only pay it if they find the book

I've just done a brief search of YouTube for leatherwork. There are about 10 pages each with about 20 videos

Have you read every post, thread, reply, and blog on this forum? Or searched Google for similar websites & forums?

Under the different categories there are pinned threads covering just about every aspect of leatherwork

Note - Americans use 'pinned' for a permanent thread; in Britain we use 'sticky'

http://www.britishblades.com is a forum for knifemaking; it has a section on sheaths & leatherwork. Yes, mostly sheaths, but they illustrate various techniques like stitching, wet forming, tooling, colouring, and there are some really outstanding examples of work. There are also other things like bags, belts, pouches, dog collars, and wallets.

There are stickys on stitching, wet forming, carving a belt, and others

As with this forum there are lots of examples to admire & inspire

For tools, yes, there is Ebay, but there are local trading schemes as well, though I don't know much about them

There are newspapers like Loot, and cards in newsagents and supermarkets. Don't just look & wait, put wanted ads in all of these - you don't get if you don't ask

Visit the websites of leatherworking tool suppliers to see the sorts of things available, to get used to the jargon, and get a feel for the prices to help you assess secondhand items. Same sort of thing goes for the leather itself. Sometimes there are offers & sales

I'm not that proficient with computer, but I know there is a lot of information available as downloads - perhaps someone would like to advise us?

Tandy's website has a section on instructions, and Bowstock have some good tutorials on theirs

On my travels around Cyberspace I saw someone who'd made a round/scratch awl by sharpening & polishing a nail and mounting it in a piece of broom handle

Here's an example of Surfing The Net -

I hadn't heard of vergez-blanchard till I got on this forum. They are French, and expensive. They don't have a British supplier, but their website has an English translation. On it I found some advice on using a round awl

They offer a wooden edge creaser. I won't be buying one, but I might try making one sometime

I think that's enough for the moment! Off you go and see what you can find! Zuludog

[JAZZMAN]

Wow Zulu, thank you so much for taking so much time to help me with this i really do appreciate the help more than you realize, i think what i am struggling withis knowing where to start and which things to buy first, but before i take up any more of your time i promise to go through your fantastic list of ideas, thank you once again for your kindness , you are a good person with a big heart.

[camano ridge]

Jazzman, looks like Zuludog has given you a good bit of information to get you going with. Here are a few more tidbits that may be of help to you. THere are a couple of prolific video makers that have made may videos on leatherwork from the basics of stitching to detailed videos on making advanced projects. Two of the most notable are Niegel Armitage and Ian Atkinson Leodis Leather. They both have many videos on you tube. Here is Ians sight with a list of his videos. http://ianatkinson.net/leather/videos.htm below is one Niegels many videos.

.

Another supplier I did not see in zuludogs posts is Abbey of England http://www.abbeyengland.com/

Also if you do a search on these forums for UK suppliers you will find several listed as well as a number of people on these forums from the UK.

Edited November 5, 2014 by camano ridge

[zuludog]

Ah well, you see; I was in a similar position to yourself a few years ago. You don't need to know the details, but with the help of friends & family I have managed to pull myself into a reasonable state now.

A thought occurred to me. Probably like most of the people on this forum I have, since being a boy, pottered and tinkered, hoarded and collected. My Dad was a carpenter and I used to play with tools, then help him as I got older. I've always made the plastic model aeroplane kits, and then maintained my own cars, and decorated and maintained my house. Somehow I fancied knife making and so came to leatherwork to make the sheaths.

Thus I've always had a feel for making & mending things, and built up a collection of tools & materials. Several of them can be turned to leatherworking - it was just a natural progression

However I can see that if you come to this (or any similar practical hobby) 'cold', or completely from scratch it would be difficult. The gist of my advice is to read around the subject, as we were told at school & college, and start simple. For car mechanics I started by checking oil & water levels and the condition of the spark plugs; gradually progressing to things like changing a gearbox and rebuilding an engine

You could try making a strop, you'll need one soon anyway, All you need for that is a scrap of wood, a knife, and some glue & scruffy leather. There are enough instructions in books & the Net. For a polishing compound I use Autosol, the car chrome polish

An even simpler strop is to fix a strip of fine wet & dry abrasive paper to some stiff card with a few dabs of glue; but use it lying flat on the bench - the strop that is, not you.

Then do a key fob; or two; or more

Your interests include drawing and music. You could aim towards making a leather case or wallet for pencils; a larger case or cover for the paper & drawings ( stiff composition board covered in upholstery or garment leather?) A guitar strap if that's what you play, or make something for your friends & fellow musicians. Have a bottle of wine and use your imagination!

I think you're now at the stage where you just have to go and do it Best Wishes Zuludog

[JAZZMAN]

Thank you once again to camano ridge and zulu, i am not used to having people wanting to help me so selflesly, it truly is a pleasure to meet you both, as you said zulu coming to something like this cold is indeed a little daunting maybe more than it would be to someone else who maybe had experience of other crafts where there is some crossover. But i intend to stick this out, i think i might well just start with a keyring or two, at least then i will be making something i can use. I will do some reading i have ordered the Valerie Michael book that seems to be quite well thought of by most people. I will also watch some of the you tube videos and get back to you with some questions if i get stuck. So off i go into the land of leatherworking, see you soon and thanks again.

[zuludog]

If you're going to get an instruction book there's no need to get the Tandy starter sewing kit, especially as I was quite surprised to see that it is now £121!

Besides, the kit has a couple of disadvantages -

The 4-in-1 awl isn't very good, and you have to sharpen it yourself. Bowstock offer a sharpened, mounted awl for about £8, and Osborne for £6

You can manage quite well without the rotary stitch groover/pounce wheel on small projects. An edge groover will give you the line of the stitching; then mark the stitching holes with a stitching pricker/chisel.

This will give you deeper, more definite marks and so it will be easier to use the awl.

It will be slower, but that's not so important on small projects; the two prong-er will be easier to use on curved projects That's the technique I use on my sheaths

You can use a piece of board from an old kitchen cupboard, but it's easier to use a proper cutting mat as they're non - slip, and they're not expensive. most art & craft shops sell them. Might as well get the proper job from the start

Bowstock sell various needles, cheapest is 4 for £1.25p, and other packs at about £2.40

There are all kinds of thread available, Surf The Net and see! You're on your own with that!

However many people prefer linen to synthetic, and to wax their own thread.

You could sew key fobs and small wallets in your hands to start with

Here's my suggested starter kit, with some approximate prices. If you find something secondhand so much the better.

Large cutting mat £7

Snap blade knife 1

Bowstock awl 8

Bowstock needles 2

Adjustable stitching groover 16

Size 2 edge beveller 13

2-prong, 3mm, diamond pattern stitching chisel 11

Beeswax 1

Thread, say 5

Total £64

Exchange rate is about £1 = $1.6 $102.40

[kwelna]

When you go looking for a granite slab for tooling, find a place that sells custom kitchen granite countertops, do a bit of dumpster diving and you will be amazed at what you find......for free!.

Edited November 7, 2014 by kwelna

[carver]

if you are just getting started you cant beat the al stohlman books carried by tandy . they are inexpensive and well illustrated. I would recommend the titles- how to carve leather and leathercraft tools the carving leather is pretty basic but it explains it pretty well.It shows you some patterns and what tools to use to achieve the effect and and the tool one shows picture of the tools and how to maintain them and how to make a few such as a strop and awls. . the books might keep you from buying some tools you don't need to get started . its where I started 50 some years ago in cub scouts now I do it for a living. THe BEST tool you will have is your imagination . I see some people come up with some pretty cool techniques that they dreamed up. BUT you need the basics first

GOOD LUCK

[vwaltman]

Thanks for all the good posts here they have been very helpful to me

Vern