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Wow this place is dead these days

Good evening, I am interested in the table. My plan is to use it for an adler 205 that I currently have on a flat table. If still available please message me back. Thanks, Ralph in NH i

While on the subject of glues i thought i should mention an observation i have made that would be totally irrelevant to almost the entire population of the world except a for a few cobblers .It concerns water based contact glue . I dread when Italian made shoes come in for repair . There is a common denominator . The leather sole comes unstuck from the upper . The shoes are usually about 5 years old or more . Most women will buy a pair of Italian shoes while visiting and think they have something special . Well they don't . Italian shoes are like their cars , They can be well designed but poorly engineered . In other words they look good but consistently fail because of poor construction . Italians are just as capable of making a crap shoe as the Chinese . In fact i would go further and say that a Chinese shoe is usually better constructed than your average Italian factory shoe . Why you ask ? The reason is the glue used to attach the soles . It's a low VOC ( volatile organic compound) glue usually water based . Some time in the early 2000's the EU in their infinite wisdom decided that thinner based glues are a bad idea so they put in place regulations for occupational health and safety reasons banning thinner based glues .In factories at least . The banned ingredient is toluene which can cause health issues in some people .I believe that the state of California also has restrictions of toluene . What happens with water based contacts is that after a period of time the glue breaks down and loses its performance , in other words it comes unstuck .In Australia we have no restrictions so we can still use the good stuff . Another factor affecting the performance of water based contact is heat . Australian pavements in summer get really hot and walking on them with thin soles glued with water based contact loosens the sole . To fix the problem i have to sand the original glue off both sole and upper and use a proper contact . The are a few brands which have consistent failure in hot weather , one of them is Birkenstock and Hugo boss and quite a few others but Italian women's shoes consistently fail . To give an analogy . 20 years ago car brake pads lasted about 3 times as long as they do now . Why ? Asbestos . Longer lasting and very little black brake dust over the rims .I make no judgments on what is good or bad for the environment but i have noticed a steep decline in performance and longevity of many products in many fields . As many will be familiar with there is a certain noticeable difference between the steel of an old knife to a new one . Most of my shoe making tools are very old and still perform better that anything new especially blades that can maintain an edge 3 times longer than a modern blade does . Having said that ,a shout out to Victor from Starko tools in Ukraine who still makes some impressive shoe tools and blades . Sorry for the rant but if its worth saying its worth saying good .

I bought a class three from Steve years and years ago when he was working with another company. I got transferred and so I sold my machine. I am just now moving yet again hopefully for the last time. I have found the table in my gear. If you want a class 3 table, I will send this to you if you cover postage. My Scottish side would hate to waste it!.

Looks like it will go anywhere IMG_1184.mov

Thank you all Many more projects to come I'm considering a flat bed adapter in either d3 printed plastic or stainless steel with tack grove I it to take a 90deg and 45deg sliding square edge to help me get accurate 45deg and across width stitches

You absolutly could add a back rigging, but why do you want to? Is your plan to work in it daily roping big critters or are you in steep rough country? From the pictures it looks like it is aleady rigged back at 3/4 or 5/8, could be wrong the picture angle is not the best. The back of the rigging probably wraps behind the cantle and it should pull pretty flat and not flip up in the back. Cost prohibitive? What is it worth to you to have the ability to have a rear cinch? I think you could probably have it done for $300-$500. It would alter and devalue the saddle some. Just my opinion, but I would ride it like it is or pass on this saddle and find one you like for the job you are going to do on it.

Regarding pliers, I use a pair that that have flat smooth jaws but more importantly have a mechanism that keeps the jaws parallel at all times. They work very nicely for pulling needles through leather.

Nothing wrong with the bog-standard contact cement, and as a bonus it keeps you happy while you work!

Very effective. While "traditional carving" is always nice, in this case the laser lets you get fine detail on what are small items, and also lets you produce them quicker. The Hotel California is very whimsical but I daresay the subtlety will be lost on many due to them being too young!

I like it!

Try rubbing in black shoe polish

With a nod to 'Ripley's Believe It or Not!' I thought a thread like this would be fun I'll start with; The B-52 has been in service longer than the period of time between its own first flight and that of the Wright Flyer. From earliest times up to the end of the Medieval period men carried their personal items in a shoulder bag called a Scrip and women carried their items in pockets under their dresses. At some time it all got reversed Belt loops on trousers were not invented until about 1896 So if you see a cowboy film set before this and they are wearing belts through trouser loops they've got it wrong Anyone who has seen the 'Back to the Future' trilogy has seen the scene where modern-era Marty has a gun-fight showdown with Western-era Biff. In that scene Marty wears an iron stove door under his jacket to stop being killed. Its a nod to a Clint Eastman film where the 'man with no name' does the same thing but the script writers of the Clint film were drawing on real life In 1893 to 1896 'Decon' Jim Miller, from Arkansas but living in Texas, some-time lawman, but mostly a cattle rustler and gunman wore a steel plate on his chest under his overcoat, which in a couple of gun-fights with his enemies confounded them on how he could survive a hail of bullets to his chest.

I attempted to make a stamp with my laser, Im going to try black antique gel with it, the brown doesn't stand out as much as I'd like. I called this one "pug life"

Been a while since I added anything to this topic . Here is my latest carving and shading attempt ..... brown is with oil and black is dye of course hair tool on 8/9 oz HO .

the Burb

Oh! Then everything I have is sharp enough. I have things going half way through my fingers all the time! Planning to buy share in a band aid company.😄 Seriously, That means really sharp. I will work on my awls.

I get mine from the thread exchange

I just had to repair a dog leash I made four years ago. It has been used hard on a daily basis. The Weldwood I used on it was still flexible and strong enough that the leather tore before the glue gave way. Glue is only as strong as the leather is, no matter the price you pay for it.

Hey Tastech, thanks for the reply. When compared to I.e. weldwood, barge, masters etc. the difference to Syntic Total, for example, isn’t as big as I thought. At least in Canada. Weldwood is $45,95 and Syntic is $59,95. Still a 14 bucks difference and if I used up a quart bi-weekly, or even less, it’s quite a bit. For me a quart would last me a couple to three months. That said, the likes of Weldwood and barge are easier to get on a regular basis up here. If there’s no real difference between them, for just leather, then they‘ll be my choice after all. Weldwood (red) is especially quick and easy to get for me. Would you say that’d be a good choice?

I've been looking around the net for sewing machine threads and needles but I'm not really finding anything too helpful. I'm guessing I'm using the wrong search names? Where are ya'll purchasing your leather threads and needles. I'm mostly looking for threads in the 277 and larger class.

oh man, I love lilacs. Ours just started blooming, they are all over town, so soon the whole town will smell like them for a few weeks.

From my experience as a shoe maker the Renia is over kill for what you are doing . Colle de colone is good for shoe repairs because it dries quick and can be used for many incompatible materials such as rubber to leather and rubber to PVC and rubber to polyurethane. It can get a bit stringy out of the pot and usually needs a bit of thinning using xylene . Not to mention the price . I generally use run of the mill contact cement for most jobs and renia when PVC or polyurethane are involved . Gluing leather to leather is easier and much cheaper using a regular contact . The shoe repair glue is the same formula only a thicker consistency than barge for example . Renia is not any stronger than the basic shoe contact i use but is 3 times the price . Its only advantage as i stated above is that it works on incompatible materials but even then when the correct primer is used.

Everything is starting to bloom here! My white lilac is gorgeous this year, but for some reason the purple ones are lagging behind. Flowering crabs are just about in full blossom, too. The scent when you go outside is amazing! Both the liac and the flowering crab trees are highly perfumed. I'd post photos, but we're having a thunderstorm with heavy rain at the moment.

SUP - I'm flattered that you think my reply would benefit others! But I don't know how to do that, other than typing & posting it all again. However I have no objection if the Moderators wish to do that My basic pliers serve me well enough, but the best pliers with smooth or plastic jaws in the UK are from https://www.maunindustries.com I don't know if they are available in the USA or if there is an American equivalent About sharpening an awl -- by chance, soon after I became interested in leatherwork I bumped into a retired traditional cobbler - in a pub, where else? - and asked him just how sharp should an awl be? His reply was - Aahhh - so it goes about halfway through your finger before you notice!