Recent content by Jamesbeat

Thanks. The jacket actually had a hole in it so I had to pass on it. I did however get a similar one (also a three-button) that has double vents. I also got some houndstooth trousers and a midnight blue velvet jacket. Not a bad haul, especially as the whole lot cost under $15!

Not really a suit, but close enough that I hope I'm posting in the right place. I'm trying to put together a stroller on the cheap. Single-breasted peak-lapel jackets are like hen's teeth, but I'm happy enough with notch lapels, as there is some historic precedent for this. I've seen a...

Yes I know, I was just agreeing with the sentiment. If I hadn't been at least 90% sure the dye would work I would have done it and then made a thread about it if it worked :D

Yes indeed! I would have kept this quiet until I had finished had I not been sure of the outcome of the dye job :D Of course, I scuppered myself somewhat with the whole mink oil problem, but it turned out alright in the end, so no egg on my face :)

Funnily enough, I don't really like brown shoes either! It is for that reason that I never bought a pair of brown shoes and probably never would have at full price. Before the 'acetone incident', they were in very good condition and they fit me well, so I didn't want to pass them up...

That would be cool, I had fun doing this and I'm going to keep my eye open for other bargain shoes to mess around with. I bet there are a good few pairs of white cap toes and wingtips languishing in thrift stores that nobody wants because of the color... The hard part for me was not the...

Thanks :) The heel plate is not as neat as I would have liked, and the photo exacerbates the problem, but they work, they're secure, and they sound great! I ised the epoxy mainly to hold the things in place while I nailed them. It's a flexible epoxy though, so it may provide some strength, but...

I'm from the UK, but moved here to the States three years ago. I too say 'jumper', but only when I'm not concentrating. I try to use the American terms so that people can understand what I'm talking about, and also so that my two-year-old daughter doesn't get confused while she's learning to...

Thanks, I tried dishwashing liquid as you suggested, and it did seem to help with the mink oil. The problem was that I heated the leather after applying the mink oil to help it soak in :D It's ok though, I know now not to do it in future, and the texture difference is a good contrast with the...

Did I mention that I used to collect fountain pens? Believe me, it doesn't take much heat! Touch the stuff with a flame, and it goes up. I lost a very nice pen to this when I was new to collecting, in fact that's how I knew about the risk with straight razor scales :( Good to know that the...

You probably already know this, but I'll say it anyway just in case it prevents you or someone else having an accident: A lot of these old shirt collars were made of celluloid, which is extremely flammable, in fact it is chemically related to smokeless propellant used in modern firearms...

Success! Sort of. Using a mixture of isopropanol, ethanol, acetone and MEK, combined with an agressive wool pad, I finally managed to take back the dye to brown rather than black. Because of this, the colors go together better, so even though the tan parts are darker than I intended, they...

Thanks for the advice! Actually, conditioner is my problem... The dye job turned out great except for being a little too dark, but my problem is keeping the light parts light. I wanted them to be tan, but everything I put on the leather turns it dark brown when it soaks in. I made the...

I could so long as I could get all of the conditioner out. The conditioner will prevent the dye from penetrating properly. I managed to even the color out. It turns out that although I believed that I had removed all of the surface finish from the leather, there was a thin tenacious coating...

Well I did it, and it was a success. Sort of. The leather dye was dark brown, but it was quite a bit darker than I expected, almost black in fact. It looks good though, because it increases the contrast with the undyed leather, so while it didn't turn out looking like I thought it would...