I Think I'm In Love

This stuff was recommended to me highly.  I was curious, so when I happened across it at Michaels a few weeks ago I picked it up.  I didn't have time or a project to try it on at the time, but I tested it today.

I don't think I will EVER go back to sticky wax for boots.  This stuff is just as easy to find as sticky wax, and yeah, it's not reusable and you will have to reapply eventually, but the headaches it saves are SO worth it.  I threw some of it on the sport medicine boots I made this morning, and my eyes got big when I actually started tacking up.  It's amazing! The little tabs just stuck and I didn't have to worry about them popping off or anything.  Definitely worth the $4 or $5 a bottle, and I'll be using this stuff as often as possible.

Oh, here are the boots! They sit SO well with the Tack-It glue.


I've got a few other things I love, too, like my craft knives.  I use a small snap-blade knife for skiving and a regular exacto for everything else.  I can't imagine living without them.  The body of the snap-blade knife is old old old, from Walmart.  They no longer sell these knives or the blades, but you can pick them up near the paint/wall paper supplies at stores like Lowes and Home Depot.  I think the Exacto brand has one too, but I found the home improvement stores to be far less expensive than buying the name brand knife or blades at a craft store.

It's far easier to make your own buckles and most of your own bits when working in Stablemate scale.  I use 26g, 28g, and 32g wire.  26g is reserved for bits, western saddle rigging, or reinforcing various parts, like the swells and horn of a western saddle.  I also used it for stirrups, but less so now. 28g wire is often used for buckles or smaller D and O rings and as tongues for buckles made out of 26g wire.  32g is used to create the mouthpiece on bits (which is why I also have copper; it looks spiffy on western bits), and fixed buckles.  It's too thin to do anything else with, really.  Also in the photo is a spool of nylon upholstery & home decor thread.  It's thicker than the usual cotton stuff.  I use it in raise nose and brow bands, since wire can sometimes poke through the lower lining.  It can be very useful on english saddles, as you'll see when the english saddle tutorial is finished!
Back: 26g.  L to R middle: 28g, 32g silver, 32g copper. Front: upholstery thread. 

I only use two pairs of pliers, and one kind of snip.  I do have two pairs of the snips, though.  The tips get worn down and pitted eventually, so the worn pair is retired and used on rough stuff like straight pins.
If I could find a smaller tip on the round and needle nose pliers, I'd love it.  I haven't seen any at Hobby Lobby or Michaels, so I should probably do a little hunting online.  What I have works, though.


So, there's another look at the stuff I use.  Questions and comments, especially suggestions for walk-throughs and tutorials, are always welcome! 

Don't forget, everyone, 19 more days to enter the raffle! Every post is another entry into the raffle.


20 comments:

  1. Lovin' the boots. They look great, even better than most of the Trad ones I've seen.

    L.M.

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  2. Ditto on the boots - the colour's really unusual too!

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  3. I'ts really nice finding some helpful stuff at the hobby store! I allways enjoy exploring any hobby store in my area just to look around and maybe - finding some nice stuff... Thanks for the tipps! And I can't wait for that saddle tutorial! ;-)

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  4. Thanks so much for sharing! I am still working with 24g wire (I think) but I'm going to have to find some of this 28g stuff! And wow, that tack on looks amazing. It will be sooooo handy with SM size stuff! I really kind of hate sticky wax. Have you had any problem with it damaging the leather, or sticking to things during storage?

    Oh and as usual, those boots are just STUNNING.

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  5. I have always hated sticky wax. I had braces as a kid, and the orthodontist always tried to get me to use the stuff. But it would crumble in my mouth and be . . . blegh. Disgusting. Every time I try to use it on my horses, to hold a bit in or something, I flash back to the taste of sticky wax. Needless to say, I'm glad to hear there's a different way to do at least some attachment of model tack, especially if it works better than sticky wax.

    And those boots are just mind-boggling. But then again, I find all mini tack mind-boggling - there are so many tiny, tiny detailed parts. Great job!

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  6. @ Shoestring: I haven't had time to evaluate how it holds up. I left the boots on the model all day yesterday and overnight with no problems. The packaging DOES say that it's not recommended for leather, but who am I to listen to warnings? I want to try the tack-it glue for part of the breastplate, so I'm going to play around with some scrap leather and report back.

    To everyone else: thanks for the comments and feedback! To those who mentioned it, I don't think this tack-it glue can completely replace stickywax. I'm not sure how it would react with the finish of a customized model or resin, but I bet it would be okay on an OF.

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  7. That stuff looks interesting. Not sure if we get it in the Uk - sure it's here somewhere!

    What tool do you use for leather carving?

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  8. I use my exacto to lightly etch the pattern into damp leather, and then go over it with a blunt tool to press it down and give it shape. I have a plastic Sculpy scultping tool that I sharpened slightly, along with a metal sculpting tool that I use.

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  9. What section did you find that Tack It glue in? By the other glue I assume? It looks useful.

    Jessica Sneeringer

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  10. I am amazed at the amount of detail you put into your tack. Keep up the good work.

    ~DragonWing

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  11. Jessica: At Michaels it was with the other glue, sort of in the kid's craft area if I remember correctly.

    DragonWing: Thank you!

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  12. Lovely boots! I don't use that stuff, but can see how for your teeny tiny tack that it would work great.
    It does collect dirt over time and looses stick, so you have to reapply and reapply, but probably worth it to have boots look that good!

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  13. It does seem to lose it's stick quickly, especially during the tacking up process when fingers almost have to touch the sticky areas. I'm a little concerned about how the stuff will build up with reapplications.

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  14. Thanks - I've always wondered how people carve leather!

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  15. that Tack-It stuff looks really useful...i might have to see if i can find sme over here...not that i show performance, but if i can find some it'll be handy if i need some for something i make or whatever...

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  16. Thanks for the great tips!

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  17. Once upon a time,I was really enthused about the Tack It Over and Over glue. Unfortunately, the love affair was short lived. I just wasn't getting enough stick for what I needed so I've pretty much abandoned it altogether.

    :(

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  18. Thank you soooo much!!! I had discovered stuff like the Tack it Over and Over years ago but during so many moves it had disappeared. I had forgotten what it was called and have been trying to find it for some time now. Now that I know what it's called I can go get some again. Yippie!!!!!

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  19. I love the Tack it Over and Over. Not so much for the big guys, I have some Trad boots that don't always stay fastened with it but I wouldn't be without it for the minis. I scrape off the old and re-apply it before each show.

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  20. The Tack It looks really useful- maybe not for long periods of time, but one class at a show? And the rest of your tools very much mirror my own drawer... win!
    I'm off to find myself a bottle of that stuff! Thanks for the suggestion!!

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