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I got a small lot of this leather in, it's gotten stained around the edges during transport. It was originally used to line the back of belts for a major "heritage company" here in USA. The tag said "Toast Nubuck Lining (Anatolia). Although it's nubuck it does feel like it has a finish. As indicated by the name it's very suitable for lining belts and such. The temper is somewhat firm. $2 per foot price is low because of staining, hides pulled as is. Shipping from SC. Will discuss price reduction for 10 Hides or more.

@MelissaViarengo You have the stitch length adjuster way up high on the foot driving bars. That position gives the shortest stitches. Lower the adjuster by loosening the round thumbscrew. You can set it for its maximum stitch length by raising the foot lift lever and lowering the adjuster, aka regulator all the way until it just touches the top of the raised foot. After lowering the stitch regulator, tighten the lock screw to keep it there. You should be able to get almost 5 stitches per inch in about 5 ounces of shoe upper leather. Anything less indicates excessive wear in the foot driving cam that rides inside the big round ring on the bottom of the head. There is a stud shape sticking out of that cam that rides inside the round ring. When the ring moves down, it pushes on the dtud and that causes the foot to get pushed back to pull the material.

I moved it to saddle construction. Not really an accessory item in my opinion even though there are lots of stirrup and stirrup leather designs. @Gaitinggrl77 Keeping you in the loop so you know where your post has gone. Some experienced saddle makers should be along soon.

Hi! I tried to do as you told me and if I hold the foot by the legs it pulls backward but the same amount of space as when I try with a piece of leather. When I lower the foot lift lever the bottom of the foot if in contact with the throat plate. I'll post some pictures so you can tell me if something is wrong. I am thinking to take apart the head to see better the insides. WhatsApp Video 2025-08-27 at 16.47.17.mp4

Interesting reasons. I haven't seen either problem in holsters without a welt, but that doesn't mean much. It'll sure be stiff lol. Anyway cool build my friend.

I moved this to Saddle and Tack Accessory Items. @Northmount or somebody more knowledgeable than I may want to refine it further. But at least it's headed in the right direction. Welcome to the forum.

I was thinking, just 'Leather professional' sounds good. After that, it is the quality of work that defines the person. I, for one, would not call myself that unless I took it up as a profession and consider myself good enough to do so. Until then, I am fine with leatherworker or leather hobbyist. The word 'professional' might prevent that. It is used everywhere and means something specific. 'Worker' and crafter' mean something specific as well, Unfortunately, 'worker' is associated with workers that we find everywhere who do valuable work but are not experts as yet in that field. And 'crafters' is as you describe above, @BlackDragon But the word 'professional' still has some esteem, however long it remains.

Hi folks, I was hoping someone from the group might explain or show in pictures how to hang Buena Vista stirrup leathers. I thought it was pretty straightforward initially, but evidently it’s not.The way they are rigged is kind of backwards and upside down. Thank you.

have you tested this problem with some scrap material to see how it looks? Why would one side of your stitches look bad?

One problem with coming up with another name is eventually it'll become co-opted by someone that wants to seem like a professional. Leathercrafter was a professional name but now it sounds like you may do it like a hobby and make knick knacks. If I had a shop in an expensive area and wanted to bring in people that had plenty of money to spend I would probably call myself a Leather Artisan. I don't do anything different but it sounds more high end so it may attract more high end customers.

Thanks!

Thanks all. I add a welt because it allows for a snug fit without over stressing or warping the leather. There is also less stress on the stitching when drawing and reholstering.

Nice looking work !! yeah 12 oz is pretty thick unless it's a tool or work belt. your buckle isn't made for that thickness; you can see it doesn't have a big enough bend on the bar end. I'll add a longer buckle would also help the bend problem or a hook and loop type buckle might even get you back to the middle hole.

Cool build indeed, I've never used a welt on a holster myself and never understood the purpose?

Like that and a nice welt

Not sure if I understand your question. You can make the narrow end of the strap as a separate chape that wraps around the front and back of the wider part of the strap. The wider strap would be sandwiched between 2 layers of the chape with the grain side showing on both sides of the strap. The wider strap could be lined.

I agree with all you said. The way I see it is if you are in this country legally, making an honest living, you already have my respect. IMHO

I remember on the Jackie Gleason show, Jackie was trying to get a new job. He said to Norton I can't seem to get a job Norton said Let me see that application Norton looked at it and said, " No wonder you can't get a job. You put in that you're just a bus driver, Norton now said. I could get that job, Jackie said, you work in a sewer. Norton said Yeah, but I'm what you call a 'Subterraneal Sanitational Engineer', so it's all in your job title.

Very sharp. Great call on the color!!

That buckle has quite a bend where it comes out of the belt. That may be causing some of it.

This is a couple of photo's of the bobbin assembly from a fellow member who recently bought a 341 machine from them. Yours looks like a Juki style. kgg

The majority of the people here are experts and professionals. Professional leatherwork - there should be a proper noun for that. I mean, farmers call themselves 'agriculturists', I discovered some time ago. I don't blame them. When we say 'farmer' the layman sees someone in overalls standing in a field, but an agriculturist brings a different vision to mind. Farmers are as expert in their field as doctors in medicine. So they deserve that respect. As do leatherworkers. So a name that commands that respect is long overdue, maybe. In medicine, everyone is a doctor but individuals specialize - neurologist, surgeon, ophthalmologist etc. So a leather professional, who is a saddler, cordwainer, etc. That would command the respect that is deserved. My two bits.

Here you go dikman. Hope it helps. The anti cut gloves are recommended.

Two months ago I made another belt incorporating the advice given here. These photos are after two months of wear. Here I used strips of 6 oz leather cut from a half hide, starting from the back. The belt has a strip of 0.6 mm reinforcement sheet sandwiched in the middle with a margin of about 5mm from the edges. I hand stitched the belt (in addition to glueing). Overall I am not dissatisfied with the end result. It is, at the very least, a functional belt. There is none of the bunching up from my first post, only some deforming of the tongue where the buckle sits. Eventually I intend to make a simple belt single layer belt out of a piece of 8/9 oz side to see how that works out. The thickness seems to be the cause of me misjudging the belt's length a little. As you can see my standard wear hole is the second one instead of the (ideal) third out of five. For this buckle this 12 oz thickness is a bit too much I feel, so my next attempt will use two 4 oz strips.

Today's effort. Reinforced underneath and drilled two 1/2" holes through, then made another toolbit with a different piece of angle iron, this one has minimal radius inside. Made a knife edge to push into the corner and tried that. As expected, and like Toxo said, the inherent springiness of the band stops it from staying at 90*. I'll have to weld up a piece less than 90*, only a minor problem. I'm going to sharpen the toolbit in the second photo and try quenching it, I'm pretty sure it's from an old mower blade so should be hardenable. Overall though I'm pretty happy with it as it can bend the strap without much effort.