Digit

Hi all, I've been lurking in these forums and occasionally replying for a few weeks now. Time for a proper introduction. I'm from a town near Antwerp, Belgium. In my day job I'm a software programmer and to compensate for the cerebral work I like to use my hands. I've been attending evening classes since 2005: four years of woodworking, two years of welding, two years of photography, four years of metal turning and milling, a four-year electrician's course, and past September I've started a four-year course of leatherwork. Some of the things I've made in school so far: First exercise: tassel (learning how to cut and glue leather) Next, a strap with small carabiner (gluing layers of leather and reinforcement, using the belt cutter, machine stitching, rivet press): A small round coin pouch (learning to cut round shapes): A small card holder (first use of the skiver): A small folding pouch (with pigskin liner glued to the leather): A pencil pouch (pigskin liner, skived edges, inside seams): A glasses case (reinforcement and liner glued in a curved form): And finally a small toiletry bag (inside seams, loose suede liner, zipper stitched in between outer leather and liner): It's been a steep learning curve so far, but I'm enjoying it a lot. All of these were school assignments; I've made some other stuff on my own as well, but that's for another post.

Could the number of posts per page be made configurable in the user profile? I rather liked to see all recent posts on the first page of any subforum (I'd probably even set it to 50 or so).

I was thinking more of some kind of antibacterial spray like https://www.dettol.co.uk/household-disinfection/multi-purpose-cleaning/dettol-mould-mildew-remover-spray-original-750-ml/ or https://www.dettol.co.uk/household-disinfection/everyday-cleaning/dettol-surface-cleanser-spray-500-ml/ Or you could try pouring some 60-90% isopropanol in a spray bottle and use that. Isopropanol is the active antibacterial ingredient in most alcohol gels; I wouldn't try smearing an actual gel on leather. Note that the first one seems to contain bleach; always test first to see if whatever you apply on leather doesn't cause discoloration.

You can use all sorts of reinforcements for chrome tan leather, depending on the sturdyness and thickness you want. Salpa (bonded leather) comes in several thicknesses (0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0mm), there's also Velodon, Texon, and you can use just about any type of woven textile cloth or canvas as well. Just glue it to the leather with PVA and make sure you sew around the edges to keep the layers from peeling. If you use some porous reinforcement (eg textile) it'll be a mess of glue of course. Any mess or ugly reinforcement you can hide with thin leather lining on the inside, such as pigskin.

I've heard of people using Dettol to combat mold on leather, which apparently worked. I haven't tried it myself.

I got taught to use contact adhesive, then sew with a left toe walking foot. The CA should keep the pieces aligned. Do use contact adhesive and not PVA/white glue or something. I haven't used double-sided tape for leather seams yet (I did get warned by my teacher to never sew through tape though), but from experience elsewhere I can imagine it would more easily come loose than CA while manipulating the leather when sewing.

When you're going to try machine stitching close around magnets or any other non-stichable material, the walking foot (or presser foot) will hit the magnet. If the magnet is not too thick this might work, otherwise you're in for bumpy ride. I'd suggest to cut your leather large enough (or choose your magnets small enough) so that they stay out of the way of the machine's feet. First glue the magnets inside the leather parts, then stitch around. Having magnetism around a sewing machine isn't much of a problem; there are magnetic edge guides you can stick to the plate to assist you. Unless the magnet is very strong, a triple transport machine shouldn't have much problems dragging it along; you might need to put in some extra effort in guiding the leather to accomplish a nice stitching line.

That's exactly the Chinese creaser I have. I guess the brand name in the display can be OEM'd. The detail photo of the creasing tip shows a horrible MIG spot weld btw; at least my tips have been grinded down and nickle-coated _after_ any welding was done :-) If you do want to save money, buy it straight from AliExpress I'd say instead of having it dropshipped by someone adding a margin. This is mine: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001298911899.html

About durability: I believe the Regad machines at school were bought 4 or 5 years ago when the course started up and they're running pretty much 6-8 hours per day, 5 days per week. It looks like they simply contain a transformer and some circuit to control the temperature (probably PWM). The Chinese unit I have does have electronics to power the display and provide a simple one-button menu system. It would likely fail earlier than a Regad, but at these prices I can consume a lot of Chinese units before reacing the cost of a Regad and that will talke some years I guess.

Yes it was the cost. I'm just a hobbyist and I only use it occasionally for edge finishing; I can't tax-write off such investments :-) A single-outlet machine costs around 380, a handle 170, tips between 160 and 180 depending on type. My Chinese model cost around 100 (machine, handle, three tips) and around 12 per extra tip. All prices Euro including tax, but you get the idea. Maybe when I start using it more often I could invest in a Regad in the future, but for now I'm still learning and building experience (both with leather working and with this machine). For edge burning it's definitely an improvement over the lighter gas soldering iron I used before :-)

We use the the Regad machines in school. They seem sturdy enough, with large massive brass heads heated by an external coil that glows red-hot. The driver units are sturdy steel boxes, but pretty basic in function: just an on/off switch and a knob to select power on a scale to 10; no feedback on the actually produced temperature. We use them on chrome tan and select power based on leather thickness (mostly around 1-2 mm ~ 2.5-5 oz) and creasing speed. For home use I bought a Chinese unit at a fraction of the price. It's heads are only a third to a quarter of the size the the Regad heads and seem to be nickle-plated something. The few times I used it, it did its job. The unit I have has a display with feedback on temperature and duty cycle (if temperature is reached but duty cycle is still 50% or higher, you know that the head hasn't fully reached temperature yet). It goes into sleep mode (lower temp, but not off) after a few minutes idling. The Chinese units all seem to have a threaded bolt to fix the head to, so switching out a hot head can be done easily with welding gloves. I have no idea how the Regad heads are switched (we have about 8 machines at school, all with a different head, so we never need to switch). I didn't find any Chinese units that look like a Regad, so I think Regad effectively builds these machines themselves.

That's comparing apples and bananas. Hermann Oak is a tannery; they start from hides, tan them to leather, then sell them (to wholesalers, retailers and/or individuals). Like any tannery they probably specialize in certain things and try to deliver constant quality leather. Tandy Leather is a retailer of, amongst other things, leather. Like any wholesaler or retailer, they source their leather from various tanneries to accommodate demand for different types of leather (veg tan, chrome tan, cattle, calf, sheep, kangaroo, aniline, nappa, harness, rawhide, pigmented/colored, ...). Retailers will not always disclose which tannery they got their leather from and they will not always try to supply a constant quality. Sometimes they'll sell lower quality leather from reputable tanneries that failed quality control for which the tannery itself has no market and/or doesn't wish their brand associated with. If you want constant quality or constant color in leather, try to find a retailer that either discloses a tannery and/or product name for their leather, or one that supplies sample cards with promises for constant quality/color.

I use a silver pen for marking leather. Works a treat on smooth chrome and veg tan and wipes off easily with a damp cloth. If you let it on for too long it dries out completely and it may be harder to get off. Don't use it on suede/velours/nubuck/etc as it won't come off at all.

Leatherhouse in Germany seems to have kangaroo lace in 3x1mm: https://www.lederhuis.com/stroken_koorden/vlechtriemen_nappa.php?l=e&action=warenkorb&L=Flechtriemen_nappa You have to order a full roll of 50 or 100m it seems.

I have a Dürkopp Adler 69-373 that I bought second-hand refurbished.