All Activity

Yeah, that was pretty dumb of me! If I found my exact truck in a junkyard, we wouldn't be having this conversation. Lmao 🤣

I haven't made any cuffs yet, but I have bought a set without any padding twenty years ago. It was pretty decent and if asked I'd probably base my own design off off those. The only improvement I'd make would be to ensure the edges of the cuff that touch the skin of the wrist would be smooth (instead of a square cut leather strip). Whether to pad or not probably depends on what you want to achieve: if it's for some soft kinkyness or as a fashion item, padding can make it more comfortable to wear. If it's intended for restriction, do know that padding can be compressed so that the wearer of the cuffs could wriggle out. Tightening the cuff would prevent that, but that could also potentially restrict blood flow.

You don't need thick leather for books, but you can use whatever you want to. I've made a few sketch books, bible covers, and vow books for weddings. There is a lot of info on the forum, i would search bible covers, book covers, vow books and such. you will also want to get info on bookbinding in general. Good Luck!!!!

They also don't glance off as easily as a hatchet or a small axe, and one of the main reasons I started carrying them instead. They are much safer around kids; for that reason, I have half a dozen hatchets or so, too Yeah, it will outlast me by far, I'm sure. It's going to Elk camp in a couple of weeks for its break-in by the fire pit. I got a great temper on it. I quenched just the cutting edge and left the spine soft, so it should be a good, strong, springy blade. It sure took a nice edge; it's scary sharp. I understand that completely and agree, I'll just quote our Pres. on our immigration problem, then leave it at that. "Turns out all we needed was a new President." I pray you folks at some point can also do what we were able to pull off. And yes, I taught my kids how to use sharp tools !! Thanks, man.

You just might check with local veteran groups . . . there are people who help veterans with "problems" . . . they find leatherworking as a resource to help them work thru their "problems". If you are not a veteran . . . they may welcome you anyway as someone who brings another group of ideas that may spark a better interest than key fobs, wallets, and belts. Plus . . . you may find someone there with your same interests . . . the help could go both ways. Columbus Ohio Tandy has a really great one . . . and I know the instructor . . . he's a cool dude . . . and apparently it is really helping some of the guys. May God bless, Dwight

If I were making it for you . . . I would do "PARAMEDIC" in larger letters . . . Your job is outstanding . . . so your "title" should be too . . . unless of course the unit has certain limitations. Plus . . . just before you quit on the shield . . . go over the back with 2 or 3 or 4 more coats of 50 / 50 resolene and water . . . that valley between the shield and helmet will allow lots of water to hit the back of it . . . and you don't want water to go in the back and ruin the rest of it. Resolene in several coats on a product that does not flex . . . is the next thing to waterproofing . . . good stuff. May God bless, Dwight

The KC carving was my first project piece, GB is my second. I have done some practice pieces on scrap but these are actually intended to be full pieces. I started using a regular cheap swivel knife and could not get the hang of swiveling with the barrel. I went ahead and got a DW yokeless and it has helped immensely. All of my knife work has improved as I go and I like seeing the progress with the same pattern.

If you want a 3D printed Colt 1911 dummy gun, you can download the STL files from Thingiverse for free and print it yourself.

One of the first ones I did was an old Bible. I used 5/6 oz. leather for it. I did some tooling on it as well. It is somewhere between a soft and hard cover.

To All, thank you so much for your help. I asked a manual from Hightex EU and they sent me the attached leaflet (CB7243 is the other name of CB243)... Also, I took pictures and made videos of my machine, I hope it will cover all the pics you asked for, but in case not, I will take some more ! In order to ease overview of the machine, I did an album : https://photos.app.goo.gl/zaPGY3vKViruLiBZ9 7243.pdf

"That makes sense about dyeing the shield for black. I did burnish the edges to make it clean and last longer one thing I’m curious about is for other shields that are white or red for painting if there is ways to protect it better. " You could use Saddle-Lac spray lacquer. It's pricey, but lasts a long time.

Beautiful design and execution.

That's a good find. I screenshotted the page so when it goes away, people have some idea what we were talking about way back in '25. And lament the good old days.

This is the one I bought https://www.ebay.com/itm/396977964819 I haven't started on the holster yet, so I can't say how it does wet forming, but just looking it's really well made. No "flash" or seams to contend with. Ready to use as is for our purpose. When I need another dummy gun I'll definitely look up this brand.

@BigBore your holsters/rigs look amazing. I am looking for custom chest rig and belt slide for hunting with my Smith & Wesson 350 Legend X-frame revolver. I have a Trijicon RMR optic mounted to the firearm using a Jack WEIGAND Smith Wesson K,L,N,X Frame Revolver Direct Attachment MINI MICRO Red Dot Mount. Is this something you are interesting in making and, if so, how can I contact you? Best regards, Mike L

That looks sharp chuck!!

You'll need to decide what thread size you want, and then get needles big enough for the thread and material. See AlZilla's links:

Ta, I'll give it a try.

Wipe some vaseline on the screw threads, a fairly heavy coat. That'll stop the cap sticking

I suspect most (if not all) solvent contact cements are pretty much the same formulation. I have started adding a bit of Xylene to mine occasionally if it starts thickening in the can, seems to work ok. I'm currently using Sika brand but I have a can of Selley's for when that runs out. I was going to pour it into a smaller container but haven't bothered, instead I glued one of those cheap "acid brushes" into the lid to use as an applicator, it's working ok so far. The down side to the Sika is it has a screw cap and a couple of times it got stuck!

I don't want this to seem political or racist but it's the truth and the only way to answer Chuck's question - immigration is out-of-control here and there are certain demographics that are the problem (primarily from Africa), the kids form gangs and their weapon of choice is the machete. There have been deaths and injuries as a result and attacks in shopping centres. The government answer is to ban machetes and swords and carrying a pocket knife without a valid reason is also an offense (has been for a while). Axes aren't banned - yet - give them time. So, back to the post, a machete is actually a very useful tool in the garden, handier than an axe due to it's light weight and thin blade. I had to replace the handle on mine and it looks very much like Chuck's. That should serve you well for many years.

I popped the end off my 441 clone and it's pretty easy to see which part is pushing the shuttle just by jiggling the hand wheel. The diagrams above make it look like an easy adjustment.

Howdy, folks. I am looking to re-bind some books: replace old covers with tilled leather covers. I see lots of info on thin leathers (1-2 oz) either as a soft cover or turning it into a hardback book using billboards. Has anyone had success in using tooled leather (4-5 oz)?any advise is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I haven't found many parts on a sewing machine that bend. That is, most parts on my sewing machines seem to be a very hard material that is likely to have fracture as its failure mechanism, not plastic deformation.

An internet search for juki 243 parts manual led to this: https://www.jukisewingmachines.co.uk/pub/media/productfileupload/j/u/juki_tnu243_parts_book.pdf On pages 11 and 12 shows the hook driving shaft (part #10), the left end of which is the shuttle driver.