i'm looking for a store that sells leather, to make some... accoutriments. i also need a leather punch and some cord suitable for sewing leather. any ideas where to get leather and leather tools?

on a separate note, i need about 50 lbs of modeling clay to be purchased with a UMR purchase order. any ideas where to get that?

Best bet would be the Family Center on 72.

without telling me what kind of freaky stuff you & your woman are into, what weight/thickness/stiffness/quality/type of leather are you wanting? and how much?

for 50lbs, i would try a special order from a bigger hobby shop, or maybe a manufacturer. if it's to make a form for something, i have used foam or instant mashed potatoes before, and they worked for a lot less money.

well... the leather is for a holster (it needs to hold its shape well enough for one-handed reholstering) and the clay needs to stop a bullet and not run out of the hole. totally separate projects.

Who can see where this is going....

i don't know what size gun you have, but i have some buffalo i'll give you if it's big enough. it might be a little softer than ideal, but if you wet form it, it might stiffen up enough.

for the clay, it would help to know what round & load, and what the objective is. if you are trying to preserve the bullet, or stop it, or slow it...

whatever you're doing, it's piqued my interest. it sounds like i want to get a hand in this, call or e-mail if you want help.

well the leather is for a Kel-Tec P11, the smallest double stack 9mm that's ever been made. that's for personal use (ie, not school related, and not brought to school until they lift the ridiculous exception to the CCW law). i was planning on making a few kinds of holsters for different situations and dress codes (IWB, OWB, pocket, etc).

the clay is for ME242, we're doing the physics 23 problem where you shoot a hanging mass and calculate the bullet momentum with the angle the block swings up to.

we're using .22LR, 9mm Luger, .44 magnum, .30-30, 7.62x54R, and 12g slug. they will of course require different weights to get measurable angles.

for that gun, i personally would make a fiberglass or frame type click-lock holster. you could put a snap or similar kind of attachment on the back, and reuse the same holster with a different harness. i'll look & see what leather i have.

have they done this in physics before? using clay wouldn't be very accurate. you'd have to figure in tensile, static, thermal and probably numerous other factors of the clay that you don't have to get a good number. i think a counterweighted steel plate on a pivot would work better. (something similar to a match target) you could work with accurate weight, length, leverage ratio, and movement. but i doubt some mathematician butthole will change his class because of me.

anyway... back on topic... where to get clay... don't quite know, never tried. i'll let you know on that one, too.

clay ---> missouri dirt ----> dig hole

i think we are going to use instant mashed potatos, with sand mixed in.

we've got a frame that holds it, and it doesn't matter what happens to the bullet when it hits, as long as it stops in a relatively short time the momentum equation will be satisfied.

There are a number of large woman on campus. I recommend hunting one down with night vision gogles, throwing her in a pit until her skin gets nice and loose, then cut off what ever you need. Make sure it puts the lotion on the skin.

I too am looking for some leather to make indian regalia. Anyone have anything valuable to say?

There are a number of large woman on campus. I recommend hunting one down with night vision gogles, throwing her in a pit until her skin gets nice and loose, then cut off what ever you need. Make sure it puts the lotion on the skin.

Dork.... You suck.

Seriously though, I don't know what exacty you want... but I had a project involving fabrics and (small pieces of) leather. I went to good ol' Wal Mart. They have tools there too. There is also a hobby store on Pine St. that might have some tools. I haven't stopped in there.

Hope that helps,
Brandon