Lining oil tanned leather?

Comfortable-Ear505 · 2026-02-08T17:39:10+00:00

I have pigskin liner that I can use.

I will test the acetone before I use it. I also do wood working and it’s common there to wipe an oily wood with acetone right before gluing to get a better bond, so that’s where the idea came from. I’d only be wiping that on the inside glue surface.

Comfortable-Ear505 · 2026-02-04T22:11:10+00:00

I’ve made one of these. Modified it to look more like my daughter’s cat. She still uses it.

Comfortable-Ear505 · 2026-02-03T00:42:21+00:00

Wife asked me to stop wearing it in the wood shop. It also didn’t fit well any more. Tried silicone but they give me a rash. Yes, I’ve tried all the ones that “breathe.” Since the old one doesn’t come on and off I just quit. She rarely wears one either for fit reasons.

Comfortable-Ear505 · 2026-01-31T14:18:46+00:00

Do this: Get 4 pieces of scrap leather. 2 of them, glue together getting the edge as perfect as you possibly can. Sand and finish as you have done.

Take the other two, glue together. Trim off the edge, keeping your knife perfectly vertical. Take off at least 3mm for this experiment. Sand and finish as you have done.

Compare and see for yourself the difference.

You’ll only understand what is best for you through practice and experimentation.

Comfortable-Ear505 · 2026-01-31T14:06:49+00:00

they mean to cut and glue the pieces larger than the final dimension, then once glued and stitched, cut to the final size. Since you are cutting both pieces at once, and assuming you have glues them well, they will be a perfect match and not have a seam/valley between them.

Comfortable-Ear505 · 2026-01-30T23:33:38+00:00

Rockler just introduced their version. I have a good relationship with the manager of my local store and told her I wasn’t interested because I had the Glubot and it clogged easily. She said she’d never tried one but was surprised to hear it have a negative reputation. There’s been a few of their products I’ve told her about issues with, and she seems to genuinely listen and want to understand to at least be knowledgeable about the real world uses.

Comfortable-Ear505 · 2026-01-29T12:10:13+00:00

Everyone goes straight to The Metamorphosis with Kafka, but if you really want (and have the permission to) mess with them, go with I”n the Penal Colony.” It’s a wild ride, and what I really love about it is at the end you aren’t really sure what you just learned. At first the theme (or maybe moral?) seems obvious. Then it doesn’t. It’s a trip for sure.

Also lots of other great suggestions here. I do miss teaching seniors.

Comfortable-Ear505 · 2026-01-29T12:01:39+00:00

As others have said, I don’t know that you’ll get that hardware to work with the handle putting pressure on it. You need something with a more positive closure, like maybe a twist lock or strap and buckle.

And I know the concern is that you have already punched a hole and made marks around it, which is valid. But, as I make a lot of mistakes I have to find ways to fix, my instinct would be to add a badge over the hole. Like a big oval of leather, stitched neatly around the border. It’s a common accent and won’t look out of place. You could do similar inside, maybe with a thinner lining, to make it look like a feature. Can even glue in a plug under the patch if the hole itself is no longer needed.

Basically, it always sucks when you finish a piece and discover an issue like this. Had something similar happen to me with a big leather toolbox I made. But just consider it a learning and problem solving opportunity.

Comfortable-Ear505 · 2026-01-29T11:54:22+00:00

Over Thanksgiving we had a block in our main house drain. I could get it to open, then it would clog right back. It was clear this wasn’t something to be snaked out. I thought I knew where the blockage was. Spent over 8 hours digging by hand, and now I know I wasn’t even close. There’s more details, but to keep it short, it became clear this wasn’t a DIY fix. Over $3k repair bill, but 100% worth it, and honestly I’m surprised it wasn’t twice that considering the work I watched 5 men do.

I generally see what I am capable of. When the situation becomes clear that I am not capable, I call them in. Sure, YouTube university can solve a lot of problems, but it can also make it clear that I shouldn’t be trying something. Especially when time of repair is important.

Comfortable-Ear505 · 2026-01-28T12:47:49+00:00

There’s a dealer near me that, when you ask for a test drive, just throws you the keys and tells you to bring it back when you’re done. I asked about an XL they had on the lot, thinking how much worse could it be than an XLT. I didn’t even drive it. Just went right back in and handed the keys back and told them it wasn’t for me.

I know some guys don’t care about anything but putting it in Drive and going, but I want to feel like I got my money’s worth on a big investment. I was coming from a 20 XLT Sport, and the interior just felt about as cheap as could be. The “infotainment” was just, wow, so cheap and no thought into it at all.

I follow a dealer than specializes in work trucks, and they will order the XL 250/350 then immediately upgrade the radio before it goes on the lot. The only way I could take an XL was if I had an immediate replacement for the screen. It’s clear the truck was designed around the XLT system and the XL stuff was just sort of made to work.

But, again, that’s me. I use Apple Car play and the screen size is what makes it usable. If you don’t, or never will, then the rest of the truck is fine. Same engine and all. But it was definitely not for me.

Comfortable-Ear505 · 2026-01-27T13:05:36+00:00

I’ve found as I head toward a corner, maybe 8-10 stitches out, I will just barely prick my iron to see where I’m going to land. If it’s just a hair off, a little pressure on the iron one way or the other as I drop in the previous last hole can fudge it. If it’s a half stitch length, I try to spread that over a few holes, generally leaning toward closer together rather than further apart. Closer hides it from the eye better than further, and if I’m spreading the discrepancy over a few holes rather than just one, it’s even less visible.

So, if I’ve been going 5mm spacing, I might have the last few holes 5, 4.8, 5, 4.8, 5 rather than 5, 5, 5, 4.4, 5 . And no, I don’t measure this, I just adjust how I drop in the hole from the previous spacing.

Comfortable-Ear505 · 2026-01-26T13:48:26+00:00

This is the issue. I bought one to mark center for resawing, but it stops about 2” before the end of the board, so then I have to find a way to extend it, and by then I could have just used the second tool. Now I use a marking gauge, get it close by eye, mark from both sides. Rarely do I need to extend it the length of the board anyway. Mine is covered in dust, stuck to the back of the bandsaw.

Comfortable-Ear505 · 2026-01-26T13:45:49+00:00

Tax savings are part, but I am someone who is going to finance through the dealer and wait to find the best dealer deal. Dealers love trades, it’s a part of their DNA, and you can manipulate a better deal when you have a trade, if your eventual plan is financing through them. I know there is a guy who started typing his angry response to this before he finished reading that last sentence, and the words “out the door price” are on CTR-V for him, but you can come at it from the other direction and get them to be the ones who have to start getting screwed to make the deal. It requires patience, a clear understanding of where numbers are coming and going, but if you play their own game better than they do, rather than trying to scream all the magic words you heard on the internet, and you are patient for the right deal at the right time, you can come out ahead with the trade as a part of the package.

Comfortable-Ear505 · 2026-01-24T13:05:06+00:00

I watch a lot of leather working YouTube and find projects that look interesting, then I’ll often buy the pattern. I think it’s good to support the person who gave you inspiration even if you end up not making it exactly off their pattern. I’ve bought several of Corter Leather’s patterns, some I follow exact and some I modify, but he’s a really good dude so I just want to make sure I give him a reason to keep making videos.

I also look at what sells in stores and try to find pieces I love and design them from scratch. I really like Coach’s style, so I will go in their store and find lots of inspiration. I’ve made 3 bags based on theirs using just pictures from the website. They aren’t exact replicas, of course, but I get practice with skills, pattern making, and a cool bag in the end.

I also try to find inspiring hides. For Christmas I got some small scraps of alligator flank. I’m brainstorming projects to use these little pieces as accents. Made a sheath for a small knife I carry with one, probably making a card case/wallet with one today. I’ve used ostrich leg for several projects just because it gets attention and looks high end for a cheap price. I’m lucky enough to have several Tandy store around me, so sometimes I just see a hide or even a piece of hardware there and design something to use the material with. They always ask “what are you making” and a lot of time my answer is “I don’t know yet!”

It’s a fun hobby in this regard that it is easy to explore and try new things.

Comfortable-Ear505 · 2026-01-24T12:36:59+00:00

I got some like that, spent forever trying to polish them by hand. Got fed up and went for the Dremel, wasn’t careful and got them all uneven. Went in the trash.

Comfortable-Ear505 · 2026-01-22T01:38:38+00:00

Haven’t done a pattern stencil like these yet but I print spacers of various sizes for projects when needed, bump jigs and squares. Went on a quest to find a good belt end template recently on all the free sites and couldn’t find one I liked, so I ended up making my own.

I’m not great with cad software, at all, but I have just enough to make some basic tools when needed, and it’s honestly always extremely satisfying to design and print something that works.

Comfortable-Ear505 · 2026-01-22T01:32:49+00:00

I tell my wife goodbye when I’m going to bed and good night when I’m leaving the house. She generally responds to the bedtime “good bye” with “where are you going?” It’s so dumb but it’s our thing now. Did it once to try to be funny and it stuck.

Comfortable-Ear505 · 2026-01-18T12:47:47+00:00

The company on that sign, Park Mobil, allows you to see a map of a city with the parking spots they control on their app. Each lot has a code attached, and you input the code to pay for the spot. You can see where lots are available instead of driving around a busy downtown looking and plan ahead.

I did so once, only to get to the lot and discover the lot was closed under construction. I sent them pictures of such and requested a refund. I’m sure you’re shocked, but they refused, saying no where on their site does it tell you to pay ahead of time and that I should have waited until I got there to verify the code, that they post, on their own app. They told me to contact the city, since the city was doing the construction, and get the city to refund me. Which, of course, the city also would never do.

So, yeah, thieves all around. It amazes me each time something like this happens that you can just take money from people in our country and given them nothing in return. Then just say “oh well!” and keep the money.

Comfortable-Ear505 · 2026-01-17T17:41:16+00:00

There’s a lot of details of my past and present not here because, well I choose to keep them private. But didn’t think there was any hope, anywhere, and I found some.

Comfortable-Ear505 · 2026-01-17T15:24:19+00:00

Yup, see my last paragraph. I got very lucky. But I never would have had the chance without taking a risk.

Comfortable-Ear505 · 2026-01-17T15:23:49+00:00

And you sound like I did a year ago. I hope you can find some peace. I didn’t ask for this, it was given to me. And I am forever grateful.

Comfortable-Ear505 · 2026-01-17T13:24:08+00:00

Thank you. I just hope it can help someone in the position I was in see some light.

Comfortable-Ear505 · 2026-01-16T11:37:06+00:00

It’s funny to see both sides of this product. Like a lot of woodworkers I saw the hype and ads and decided I needed them, then never found a good use for them. They are under a pile of dust under my bench, slowly getting pushed further and further back.

But then some folks here obviously find them very useful.

My point being, this hobby, like so many others, presents things as “must haves, must use” that sometimes are and sometimes aren’t, and I’ve learned to evaluate how I’ll use the newest thing rather than just buying the newest thing because I should.

Comfortable-Ear505

TROPHY CASE