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Have you complained to the seller / vendor as they may not be aware of the rancid problem??? kgg

Hi, I have owned a couple pairs of cowboy boots for about a year and have been conditioning them with only neatsfoot oil. The boots I got have usually been offered to someone a few years ago, this person then wore them a couple times and let them sit in a shoebox for years. So technically they're almost unworn, but rather dry (not to the point of getting cracks however) (if you wonder why I choose that kind of boots its because I get them for about 30 bucks whereas Id have to pay hundreds otherwise wich I cant afford) winter is coming, and I dont want my boots to get dry because of wet-dry cycles, or to rot... they dont seem to ever get enough oil, whenever I apply some, they drink it up in seconds if not instantly. wich to me would seem to indicate that they are way too dry and need more oil. however im a newbie and im afraid of ruining a perfectly fine pair of boots because of my ignorance. how to know when there is enough oil? should I keep oiling until the oil stays on the surface for a few minutes? what happens if I over-use oil? ps: how the leather feels to the touch ; definitely not dry, but firm.

The blade is blunt. A good sharp blade will skive off a very thin amount By edge; I mean the surface, to thin an edge for sewing of gluing The second one takes the same blades as the first. A sharp blade will take of a very small amount. Change blades every time you start a new project. It makes life easier and blades are fairly cheap

I have never made a purse but just thinking about it, I think I would use neutral shoe polish. I use neutral shoe polish on my holsters. It's something that the end user could easily replenish and without damaging anything. I wouldn't use Resolene on dress shoes.

Love the sound! Looks like you're having trouble getting the machine to let go of your thread when you have finished a seam. Here is what I recommend: Before you start your seam, turn the handwheel so that the takeup lever is at its highest point. Otherwise, the takeup lever may try to snatch the thread out of your fingers. (You can do the opposite---takeup lever at lowest point---if you want to experience the snatch firsthand!) At the end of your seam, before you pull the material out from under the presser, turn the handwheel so the takeup lever is again at its highest point. This does two things. First, it locks your final stitch. Second, the top thread will not be wrapped around the bobbin when you go to take the material out. Since you ended your seam with the takeup lever at its highest point, it's already in position to start the next seam 😊

I have the first one and haven't had good results...it scraps instead of cutting. I assume the blade was sharp when I bought it. I have replacement blades. I have something that looks a lot like the second one, but it is different. Maybe I have a bad knock off of a better design? The third one is considered a French skiver? I thought that type was for thinning out the surfaces of leather...I didn't know if was for edges. My whole life I've lived by pushing blades away from me, so the French design might be better for me. The two razor blade models in the picture are pulling toward me which is awkward. It seems like my trouble with skiving is holding be back from doing the types of projects I'd like to work on. Maybe I'll break down and buy a machine and have no more excuses... So far, I've had my best luck with the wood handled knife that came in this value pack, but it's such an uncomfortable, unpleasant experience:

This?

It looks like the metal straps are what carry the weight. You could just construct a new basket out of whatever material you wished. I like it because it'll block light. The down side is it'll make it harder to rack it off, if you use a plastic siphon hose. I like conical fermenters for small scale stuff.

Definitely avoid the last one, it looks like it should work but doesn't!!!

Thanks to you all for your anwsers! I bought some other cans from another brand and im back genuine neatsfoot oil. I think the p.paulin maker puts lots of inferior products like lard and such wich go rancid and make for a product that isnt neatsfoot oil at all anymore. while it does nourish leather very very well it is barely liquid at room temperature, cloudy, and the smell does stay onto any piece of leather you put it on. it can only be found in france though so you wont have to worry about it

I sow a picture online for the Order of the Arrow arrow head impression in some leather but i can not find the stamp anywhere it looked really well and i want to try to make it. also looking for any BSA/CUBSCOUT stamps where is a good place to source them? I wish i could find the picture again but i cant

here is what works for me. I take a regular 5-gallon food-grade plastic bucket with a tight lid. Drill a hole to fit 1/4" tubing tight, then get a pint mason jar with a lid, drill a hole in that lid to fit the other end of the tubing into push it to the bottom of the jar fill the half full of water and you have your air lock and airtight fermenting barrel. you do your fermenting in this until it's complete. Then when its done press your mash and put the wine into the carboy with your clarifier. You're basically done now except for time. When it's clear, re-bottle it into your smaller vessels and enjoy it. you want your barrel and carboy as full as possible so there is little to no air, A hydrometer is what you needed for your water issue. You create your chosen alcohol content by the amount of sugar in your mash, if you want less alcohol more water type thing. You can add sugar to make stronger wine also. You do this at the start of your mash. And yes fix it!!!!

I watched your video and here is my two cents worth. i) When you started you did not hold the thread properly to prevent thread movement (Top and Bobbin) like you did at the 5:54 mark. ii) At the 3.10 mark you can see the top thread (black thread) gets pulled in slightly which is causing a slack in the top thread and causing a jam at the 3:20 mark. iii) You did not back stitch after three stitches to lock the thread before starting your seam. iv) When you finish the seam you are not back stitching to lock the thread. v) With a thin piece of material like what you are using in the video there is almost not space to bury the bobbin thread knot in the material particularly with thicker thread and vinyl is a sticky material as far as the thread is concerned and will want to catch on the sides of the hole the needle makes. Keep in mind for every hole of each stitch you have the thickness of three threads (top thread and the two halves of the bobbin loop). vi) When finishing the seam and after back stitching try hand wheeling the needle up to the point where the tension disc release before removing the material. What size of needle are you using???? What size of thread??? kgg

I just retired* a 20 year old belt. Thinner than Dwight's, about 3.5mm. Not used every day but often. The resolene finish coat was still alright * retired cos I wanted a change in pattern on the belt imo, leather items should show some wear and change in colouring over time. Its what makes leather so unique

Good point about the bags. I forgot about that. I use white paper bags with handles on them. They cost a fraction more than than plain brown bags but look so much better. Sometime in the future I'm going to get sticky labels with my brand printed on so I can stick them on to the bags

I presume you have one of these; Get one of these; Get a couple of these; for tidy skiving of edges I have several in 6mm, 8mm and 10mm widths Avoid this like the plague, sold as a 'skiver'. You'll waste your money

Have bags / pack out bags for after a sale. Plain brown bags sized for whatever you're selling. My very first sale I just handed it to them and they had to carry it around the rest of the show. Was something I didn't even think of and one of my "duh" moments cemented in my brain.

In medieval times leatherworkers who traveled about had rails to hang belts, scabbards, gloves and pouches and other items from. A clothes rail will work too but one made of wood suits leather better. I'm not a wood worker by any means but I made myself a wood one which could be knocked down into its parts for carrying in my car. Mine was an A frame spanned with two 4ft pieces each side, at different levels, between the end A's Have you got camp chairs? a couple spare for weary customers. A flask of hot water, to make coffee? This may be very different but you'll get some ideas; when I published a few magazines we bought an old caravan and converted it to a hospitality caravan. At shows we were after subscriptions and selling odd car related items. (like books) We had seats in the caravan and a kettle for tea & coffee on all the time. We always came away with plenty of paid up subs and far fewer books and such. You need to push yourselves to the front, far beyond your competitors. Then people will remember you; maybe not your name exactly but 'those nice people who had candy/coffee/a seat for us' Actually thats how most of the car enthusiast ppl remember me; 'didn't you have that blue caravan with tea and a seat?'. And it was 30 years ago!

Thank you so much!!!. If anybody has it and would like to share pictures of the proper position of needle and hook for the timing would be of tremendous help. I have seen several videos of cylinder machines...but none that I have come across are close. I more of a visual kind of person ti get things done. Thank you in advance!

I replaced it, thanks!!

@AlZilla here is a smaller version of the above video if you are able to replace it hemiyota-01_small.mp4

For me, the key was learning to get the knives really sharp with a ~15 deg bevel. I am mainly skiving veg tanned leathers. I place the leather on plate glass with a bit of beeswax rubbed on the glass to grip the leather because I am working on small pieces that are difficult to grip while skiving an edge. That cheap Chinese knife from Amazon does a reasonable job when kept sharp. I've been meaning to learn how to use a safety skiver and this Don Gonzales video has some tips. He also notes (in another video?) that the blade should move diagonally along the edge when skiving, not straight down the beveled edge.

Toxo: We’re in the American SW, in Arizona. Monsoon season is already petering out, and it should be sunny and perhaps a bit cool (by our standards at least). We will be set up in our 3m x 3m popup tent (good quality), and we do have enough tables to set however desired. Great idea for the vertical displays, and hey, it’ll give me another creative puzzle to solve with all of the random bits of salvaged wood and scrap in my yard! Thank you for the note to work with the promoter for table position, it honestly had skipped my mind. Thanks, AZR

Here's a video from last night. Surprisingly it didn't jam, but probably would have if I had sewn some more. The rats nest on the vinyl pieces were from when I was playing with the thread tension. I thought that it might be too tight and that was why it was pulling the top thread from the table. Not the problem. I'll post another video, like someone suggested, of hand sewing and having the bobbin rotate very slowly...... hemiyota-01_small.mp4.fccfab5cb49dca5dcbd57ba3f09f1fc3.mp4

I acquired a large carboy and a few demi-johns as well as the rest of the paraphernalia needed for this journey. I now have three mash bins full of de-stemmed grapes and water and yeast that was put in two days ago and the must is almost at the top of the bins. I haven't adhered strictly to the recipe due to lack of equipment at the right time. I'm told online that I shouldn't have added water despite the recipe calling for it. Time will tell. This post is about the large carboy. I bought it from my new French friend who brought it from France years ago. To say the basket is very fragile is a huge understatement. I know I don't really need the basket but I'd like to know you guys thoughts on how easy it would be to restore it. I will make a leather bottom and lace it to something around the top but I will oil it and look for some wicker? I think it's worth saving. Your thoughts guys?