All Activity

I have seen many varying videos online and there's no consensus. Does the thread go over the pin or not? I typically do not have it over the pin, but it is in this photo.

Tension seems about the same as a PEZ dispenser which should be fine. I have never adjusted it. The location of the spring seems like its at about a 9 position in reference to a clock. A lot online seem to be more at at 9:30 position or higher. Should I reposition it?

A good friend wanted a cross draw for his 1911 . . . black . . . with a thumb break. My favorite suggestion for that is the slip-cake style . . . which I made for him. Added a concho to kind of dress it up a tad . . . thought about white stitches . . . makes it too conspicuous . . . Anyway . . . here's the finished product. May God bless, Dwight

This was in a box of stuff I bought at an auction thinking it was an antique bell yoke. Once I realized it was not for that, I contacted the CAMPBELL-RANDALL MACHINERY company directly and game them this same photos to help identify it. Here is their reply: ___________________________________________________________ Yep, that's from an early Randall & Co. Leather creaser. The basic design was patented in 1875, and the later improvements started being patented in 1887, so this one would have been made somewhere in that 12-year window. The 1861 patent was by another company for a different creasing machine, that Randall either bought or licensed the rights to, so 1875 would be the earliest. If you are looking to sell, its history is pretty cool and it is worth putting in the right hands. One of these creasers that is complete and working would be worth around $900. The creasing roll shafts are the expensive part. To sell it the arc, you would have to find someone who collects leather bench tools who might have a use for it. Maybe to replace one on an existing machine. It's sad because you see stuff like this on eBay where people pull the cool looking parts off of machines for art and scrap the rest. Short sighted industrial tomb raiders of the digital age. __________________________________________________________ Then they directed me here to where it may be more likely that I find someone needing this part. So here I am. I would like to find someone having a machine that needs this part so I don't see it go to waste. Willing to sell it for just $30. Buyer pays shipping via USPS from 62056.

I threw in towel about 22 years ago and the first thing I done was turned off the computer and threw out the cell phone (it "fell" out of the truck on the highway). Never touched either for 3 years. Done what we were planning for five years, move to another province, build a new house, opened a dog boarding kennel and showed our dogs. A far cry from my engineering background. Should have done it earlier. I do things that interest me, no deadlines, no boss except for the wife. The hardest part was figuring out my interests and how to combine them, like 3D printing, leather, sewing machines, metal welding, metal lathes etc. which are all interlinked. Remember working for the man is just a means to an end. One door closes and another opens. kgg

@Scoutmom Thanks, 🙂 @TomE Thanks for the very nice words 🙂 I also really would have liked to see the corresponding boots, but my customer bought the saddle second hand, so she was as puzzled as I. There was just ordinary light wear on the left side of the saddle, not even close to being worn through. I did do a bit of thinking about the shape, off course it had to cover the worn part, and after a couple of initial ideas, I ended up deciding that this shape at a quick glance could look a bit like something that was original to the saddle. And since you can't see a saddle from both sides really well when it is on a horse, I don't think anyone will ever notice. A thing that I am really happy about is that I actually timed myself doing it, and this Monday another customer asked me about a similar repair, but on a Prestige Versailles jumping saddle. So it felt really good to be able to give a ballpark figure on the time/price of such a repair job. (I just signed on yesterday, so I told her that she'd have to wait until I get back home again) I guess that repair will be a little less complicated since there isn't a lower reinforcement piece on that saddle. I'll just have to get my hands on some brown leather that matches the existing colour. All in all, a job like that almost feels like cheating: Getting paid to do something that I genuinely like to do, and being able to sit inside and have a cup of tea while doing it, all while I have two large dogs snoring away on the floor next to me. Brgds Jonas

I think the difference is that the folks you see mostly here on the forum are making belts for carrying pistols, lol. I don't see many belt maker threads for just everyday work, if that makes sense. I never wore thick belts either until I started carrying then it's just one ply 10 oz. with plenty of nfo to make it more flexable. They just aren't comfortable working in, especially if you're bending over a lot. And thick super stiff gun belts come from Hollywood or the internet, i dont quite know where.

lol that feeling only lasts about a month or two, then you wake up one day with more chores than you had while you were working. I burned out from a very high-stress management job, had the time in, 30 years, so one day I cashed out my sick time and vacation and just retired. My kids were in their teens, so we spent the summer raking lawns and such, then a fellow who was remodeling an apartment building hired us as help. I spent the rest of the summer just doing my thing. I could come and go as I pleased and work as long as I wanted, plumbing, painting, sheetrock, etc., and the guy even taught me how to cut and tile showers; he was a retired contractor. Having a job that required no critical thinking and set no limits was the best thing I could have done at the time; it reset me and got me into a routine, and reminded me that a much simpler and easy-going life was possible. I am still up by 4 and start the day with the forum and coffee.

Well done! That is a neat and serviceable repair. Your stitching is immaculate and a lot of thought went into the design of the patch. I guess we see the corresponding asymmetric wear in riding boots.

I know with brain-tanned hides, you get it wet again, then stretch and work it as it dries, but if it works on chrom tan, i dont know, you would have to test it if you have some scraps. Don't stretch it out of shape, but work it until completely dry, or maybe throw it in a dryer with NO heat

It's great to hear that you're on the mend and have returned to the forum. I really am not good at condolences, but as a one-time husband of 40 + years, I know there are no words. I can't even begin to fathom your loss and am so very, very sorry.

Sorry, friend. Hope you're finding ways to live a happy life. Best wishes.

A couple years ago I made a leather tote bag for a friend with some chrome tan leather in a beautiful shade of blue. Somehow a water bottle dumped a liter of water into the bag, soaked it, and when finally discovered, the lower left quarter of the bag was dried out hard as a rock. Unfortunately I don't have that blue anymore, so I can't rebuild the panels. So I have been trying to bring it back to life with conditioner. Someone recommended not using neatsfoot oil, fearing it would darken the leather, instead suggesting a product called "Leather Honey." So I bought a bottle of that. First attempt I just applied from the grain side and tried to rub it in. Achieved nothing after multiple coats. Next I was suggested to soak the bag in some warm water to re-loosen the leather fibers, then reapply. I did this, applied more coats, and still little/no improvement. I also tried warming the leather with a hair dryer as I rubbed in the conditioner. Also pointless. So I bit the bullet and tore into the liner, flipped the bag inside out, so that I could apply directly to the flesh side. So last weekend I rubbed quite a bit into the flesh side and let it sit for the week. I came back to the workshop this weekend, and there is little trace of the conditioner and I can't say that I notice a ton of difference in the "(not) suppleness" of the leather. So, enough asking AI and getting nowhere. I recovered my old password to leatherworker and though to ask real Flesh and Blood for advice on where to go from here. The leather is roughly 1.8mm thick (just under a 1/16").

You don't mention if you looked at the check spring, suggested earlier. Here's a recent treatise on all things Check Spring from Wizcrafts. Proper check spring function is critical:

A skipped stitch is a full miss. Guess what a half miss is......it's frayed thread. If the needle is too far away from the hook on that particular stitch, it will skip. If it's not quite that far away, the hook point will attempt to bisect the thread, resulting in a fray. Sometimes frays correct themselves (as is the case with UNbonded thread if the hook point gracefully catches one or two strands but not all three). Other times one or more strands break and you are left with a mess. Once you've tilted the head back and watched some skipped stitches (or frayed stitches) happen in slow motion, you will understand more of what's happening. And with thick material, the needle doesn't come down in the same place every time. The best defense against this phenomenon is to stuff the hook.

It's really going to depend on what you do the most. If you do a lot of tooling then your stamps and mauls should be easiest to access on your bench. I use drawers for storing supplies and things I don't often use. I have stations. I have a dedicated tooling bench where I do tooling and the occasional hand stitching. I have a large station where I can roll out a side to cut. My knives are usually sitting on my cutting board. I do most of my layouts and design work on here as well. I have a hardware area where I do things like rivets and anything that requires a little more aggressive work. I also have a dye area where I do any wet work.

Update...Okay, I ordered Amann TEX 90 Outdoor Pro Polyester Bonded thread and pre-wound bobbins from Wawak. Also, I ordered Schmetz Leather Needles: 135x16x20, 135x16x21, & 135x16x22. I threaded the machine and tried out all the needle sizes. The result was frayed polyester thread on top near the last thread guide and the needle. The poly snapped several times as well. Tension could have been too tight...or it could have been a burr...or a combination of them both??? Played with different tensions for about 2.5 hours. Never could get it right. Became super frustrated, put back on the 69# Nylon and tested with various needles (the leather needles as well as my existing 135x17 in size 18, 20, & 22). Eventually, the 135x17x18 worked best. It might be working better than before. The topstitching isn't skipping stitches like before. So, any idea on why my machine hates Poly?

Bob, the owner Toledo Industrial Sewing Machine, now goes by CowboyBob, not sewmun. Sorry for the blunder.

Thank you, I’ve been trying to step my game up on finishing techniques, but I need to learn more about this filler that you speak of. Always great to hear from pros (not knocking any amateur in the slightest, but when someone’s livelihood is dependent on the quality of their work…). AZR

Yeah, I'm trying to get at my sewing machines but a few other tasks are ahead. Apart from that, excess heat is my problem here in Australia LOL. Would a 5Kw Chinese diesel heater be big enough to heat your craft area. I love those little toys. Want to put one in my boat when I make the fabric cabin so I can go out in freezing winter and be toasty warm.

Thanks, wasn’t quite sure.

nice

I don't know of any other than what I could find via search engine. This search turned up a lot of places claiming to sell used industrial sewing machines. You'd have to do your usual due diligence when dealing with unknown sellers on the internet, of course. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=industrial+sewing+machine+dealer+used&t=brave&ia=web I would say that anybody who advertises here should be above average. Boss Lady is pretty picky about who she lets on board. The owner of Techsew USA is a long time member here (TechsewRon) and seems to be very helpful. I don't know if they sell used machines but it might be worth reaching out. Sorry I can't be more help.

Well, that's probably the best way then, until we see if if defaults can be changed for new users.

I found it easier & more efficient for me, to have my most used tools hanging on a tool board or in tool holders/racks on the back side of the bench. I keep the stuff i use the least amount in the drawers.