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Was able to finish up 2 portraits this week. Next one is none other than Ozzy Osbourne. Granted, labeling the portrait is a little bit of cheating lol. This is my first time doing deep embossing (around the hands) to achieve more depth to the piece. I like the effect, but find I can't get the crisp detail out of the carving if I try to add tooling to the embossed section. The filler material (Renia 3D embossing filler) has a lot of give to it. I wonder if a hard setting epoxy or similar may be a better solution? Also maybe I should tool, emboss, then retool to establish the crispness that I lose by pushing out the embossed section? Not sure. I also used the black eco flo antique which I find I prefer the dark brown of the other portraits. The black is too much of a contrast for my taste. The brown seems to marry the leather undertones better, but just my opinion.

Most of my hand sewing is using #207 bonded nylon that I wax. If fact, I always re-wax waxed thread before use because the wax is usually dry and flaky. I use a cobbler's wax that is a mix of beeswax and pine resin. After waxing I burnish the thread with a piece of heavy brown wrapping paper to even out the wax.

it also works on wood screws, tap and die sets, your awls and needles. Just about anything that needs some help against friction, weird, isn't it?

I like that wallet, utilitarian design, simple I carry one very similar, and you're a front pocket carry, A' me to for the last 58 years. I have done some airbrushing, but I will definitely try your method on my next project. Thanks again.

you may have to bend it first too, or your stitches will look loose no matter what thread you use. Once bent it's a shorter distance between each hole than when straight. so does the copper still work under leather? I hate washing my wrists three times a day lol.

Woops, thanks for letting me know. I can't edit so will drop it here: I use Canada Post for national and international shipping. Shipping cost is generally between $15 and $25 for regular parcel in north america and $25 to $35 for regular parcel to EU. You also have faster more expensive options for shipping such as xpresspost international but it is about 2-3 x the cost of regular parcel

Nice !!!!

cooool i,m droolin , I love makin tools!!!!

That seat looks super comfortable. Nice work!

Hi John, That looks like quality buckle you made. Im interest in casting too. I bought a small propane furnace and just lined it. All set to try melting some of the scrap Aluminum I have to get some practice sand casting. Regards Paul (in Germany)

Welcome from Southern Germany. Good luck with your leather pursuits. Paul

Smaller stitching holes, these keep the thread tighter. Pull each stitch real tight Have you tried the pierced-thread way of putting your needle on?

Yes. I have a large block of wax that I can push the whole die into, at the start and about every 4 or 5 cuts

Who makes that one? I see the Singer table but where do you stand to use it???

Yep, I didn't have any more of the smaller channel iron, this one was about the same length (so I didn't have to cut it) but is considerably heavier (it's been sitting in my forge for years!). I sat down for some time staring at the handle/pivot area and came to the conclusion that the design isn't very efficient when it comes to applying force and transferring it to the slide. So I'm redoing it similar to the original, shouldn't be too difficult, just some more cutting/drilling/welding. Hey kgg, don't you ever sleep?

The only purpose of a roller foot is to reduce the drag on the top layer of a stack of material that's being pulled on the bottom by feed dogs with teeth. If the material is grabby, a flat presser foot will fight against the feeding and cause uneven stitches. They are often used on machines that are going to sew patterns on shoes and boots, or on machines that sew hats. The roller is adjustable to the left and right. The usual practice is to position the bottom inside edge so it just clears the needle on the up and down stroke. This closeness ensures that the material doesn't lift with the ascending, threaded needle, which would cause skipped stitches. A roller foot gives 100% visibility of the needle in three dimensions. As KGG already mentioned, they are not used on walking foot machines, which have not two, but three bars extending down. They are meant for bottom feed machines that only have one presser foot bar. Walking foot machines already solve the problem of drag with their motion sequence.

Hello! Previously I'd only hand-stitched stuff with waxed thread but decided to try bonded nylon. I like how this project turned out aesthetically, but I have two questions. 1) How do I keep the thread tight? I stitched the bracelet but when I bent it (copper core), the bottom thread appeared loose. Do I just need to try to sew with a lot more tension? Thicker thread, smaller stitch holes? (The thread I used is 277.) 2) Any suggestions for keeping the thread knot from unraveling from the needle? Because the thread is so slippery, it doesn't hold a knot very well, and I constantly have to re-tighten the knot.

I got my patcher . . . set up . . . and working . . . am very happy with it. May God bless, Dwight

Nicely done. I do like the rod drive verses the square tube drive. I am going to assume you made the base larger on the new one as you had the metal hanging around. kgg

Presser for wheels are generally used on bottom feed machines like post bed machines. An example would be the Techsew 810. They will not work on a walking foot or a compound feed machine, the Techsew 5100. kgg

I made another die bending jig. I had the idea to make one with a simpler linkage so just had to do it. Unfortunately while the linkage looks simpler it took a bit of messing around to get it to work, and the angle of the handle is too high which meant I had to put a hefty downward bend in it to get it to a comfortable height. I might re-make the handle linkage as my original idea seems to work better. The other difference is the push slide, the original square tube sliding in a square tube has a bit of slop in it, the rod version is quite a snug fit, but it meant attaching the fittings to it was more complicated. I now know how to make an even better one - but I won't as it will require too much machining and there's nothing to be gained.

You need to provide the following information. How much is shipping to various locations? Who do you use for national and international couriers?

Hi! Anyone know why you’d want a presser wheel vs a foot…and if you can get them for a Techsew 5100?

I decided to replace my current veg tan fold-over wallet. Not because it failed but didn't like how the copper rivets held up over the last 4 years. This was done over the last few days and will be my daily wallet which lives in my front pants pocket. I keep my wallet pretty basic, drivers licence, credit card, health card, dental card and cash. How I done it: i) Leather used was 4/5 oz natural veg tan. ii) The raw veg tan leather was airbrushed with 100% pure organic JOJOBA oil with no dilution at 34 psi on the exterior first and sat for 24 hours. iii) The oiled veg tan leather was airbrushed with OX Blood at a 50/50 dilution of dye at 34psi iv) The wallet pattern was cut, the cutout for the credit card was cutout and the fold over glued using LePages Heavy Duty Contact Cement. Let it sit for 24 hours under clamp compression. v) The wallet was cut to final dimensions, Chicago screws and corners were punched. vii) The interior was airbrushed with JoJoba oil let to sit for about an hour. viii) The interior was airbrushed with OX Blood at a 50/50 dilution of dye and sat for 24 hous. ix) The stitching in the credit card section was done with V138 bonded nylon using a Juki LS-341 clone with a 3D printed table top attachment x) The Chicago screws were installed in the credit card and the money clip. xi) The raw edges dyed I got to touch up a couple parts on the corners and add another coat of oil to exterior.

Impact drivers are great, but there is considerable risk of bending in the machine if you hit it hard enough to dislodge the screw. A good soaking with penetrating oil followed by heat with a propane torch combined with an appropriate sized slot and good-fitting screwdriver should work. You may end up removing everything but the threads of the stuck screw with your Dremel tool. Go slowly, and have good light and magnification. Then pick out the threads with a scribe or similar pointed instrument. Run a thread tap through the hole to clean it out, and replace the screw. much easier said than done.