harnessman

Well, I for one kind of consider shipping a "customer service", not a "profit center" as the new owners of Weavers seem to think it is. I wish I could tripple my shipping cost, after I had marked up the items to cover all my cost already, but I really do not feel right about gouging my customers that way. Obviously does not bother Weavers a bit! Makes shipping a real profit center with a 200 or 300% profit doesn't it! Nice racket far as I am concerned. I also quit purchasing leather from Weavers earlier this year and went 100% with W&C. Takes a little longer to get here but the consistency is phenominal, and when you request something special you actually get it unlike the hit or mis from Weavers. In the last year I have returned two hides to Weavers, at their cost - after much bitching - and Vern even agreed on one of them that it should have never been shipped out. Jim - still disgruntled about the new Weavers shipping policy

Hi All Just wondering if anyone else has noticed that Weavers has changed their shipping policy and thereby increased their shipping cost tremendously! Normally I just file the paperwork from weavers but I took a look at the latest invoice for a buch of high priced lightweight tools, because it seemed to be a bit higher total than I had expected. I was shocked to see that Weavers had hit me for $25 for shipping a small box of tools! This is amost three times what I had been paying for the same type of shipment and adds up to about a 10% price hike on the items that I ordered. YIKES! I double checked and "back shipped" them through my UPS account, that is the way they came, and the same box would have only cost $9.85 to ship back to Weavers. This seems like a rather steep price hike! I Called weavers and got the run around "it's policy" routine. I even talked with one of the Weavers, I forget which one, and he said he would check into it and call me back, which he never did, and when I called him back he avoided my call, which rather pissed me off to say the least. Looks like I may be looking for another suplier if they keep this up. So, If you order stuff from WEavers take a look at the shipping, call them up and complain about it! Just blowing off steam Jim

Hi Here is a quick shot of my go to cutters that do 99% of what I need to cut in the shop. From left to right - 1-1/2" woodworker chisel mostly used for skiving strap ends. Frost Laminated woodcarver knife with 2-1/2" blade It takes a while to sharpen but stays that way a long time. Blade is a little thick for most uses so mostly it sharpens pencils or cuts and points linnen thread, which I do not use much anymore. Yellow handled bench knife - Home made out of a piece of home grown Mulberry wood and a used Milwaukee Saw blade. Takes an incredible edge and holds it forever! Much lighter than the lightest aluminum box cutter. I use this knife for almost all leather that I cut. Same as the last one but with a walnut handle and HD Lenox box cutter blade. Box cutter blades, even the best ones, are dull as hoes right out of the package and need sharpening and honing to get up to speed. I have found the Lenox HD blades to work about the best of this type of blade. I like the home made handles better than store bought box cutters because they hold the blade more securely and are much lighter and less fatiguing to use. Also I can make them to fit my hand. Next to last is a heavy duty X-Acto knife this is the one with the 1/2" dia handle. Mostly I use the pointy surgical blade shown to cut out inlays and such. Not used much but when you need it it is a got to have! Last, and mostly decorative, is a Weaver head knife. I got this a while back because you have to have a round knife if you are a leather worker, right? It was relatively inexpensive, does hold a wicked sharp edge, cuts well, but is awkward to use and does not cut as well as my homemade knives and you sure can not cut detail work like the X-acto. However it is what I go to when I have a customer in the shop who needs to know that he is dealing with a "real" harnessmaker. Jim

Hi All I am a total beginner when it comes to the entire fringe thing and I am wondering what the easiest/best way to cut the fringe so that it is evenly spaced and consistent width? My daughter wants to make a fringed cary bag for her nintendo out of 2-3oz upholstery leather and I have no clue how to easily cut the fringe work. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks Jim

Hi I am a total beginner when it comes to the entire fringe thing and I am wondering how you cut the fringe so that it is evenly spaced? My daughter wants to make a fringed cary bag for her nintendo out of upholstery leather and I have no clue how to easily cut the fringe work. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks Jim

Hi All I have a customer who has requested his name inlayed into the back of belt. I have never done any inlay work before so any tips would be appreciated. To start the ball rolling here are a couple of immediate questions that I have, Oh, the belt is made out of a double thickness of 8oz bridle leather stitched togeather and is 4 inches wide and the customers name is SANTA! Yep that is right, I am working for the big guy this summer! Do you glue the inlay leather to the front piece, and stitch it down, or do you glue to the back piece and then stitch through the entire thing? Any tips on cutting out, lettering will be a fat script? Other than patience and a very sharp knife? Inlay will be 2oz kid is this to thick? I do plan on skiving the edges so they blend into the belt Thank you in advance. Jim

Hi I have successfully hand saddle stitched up to 16 SPI, but what an incredible pain as it takes forever to get anywhere! Anyway, the higher the stitch count the smaller the awl and the thinner the thread needs to be. For fine work I go down to 92 or even 69 and use a twisted point #18 leather sewing machine needle, or smaller, for an awl. With this fine a thread it is also very VERY easy to pull a stitch right through the leather. Another consideration is that this fine a stitch should be limited to thin leather, maybe total thickness of not more than 4-6 oz. otherwise it is practically impossible to keep the back side holes from drifting into one another, at least it is for me! hope this helps and good luck with your project. I also pre-punch 6 or more holes at a time depending on wheather things are glued togeather before stitching and where the stitching is, straight runs, more holes, around tight corners, less holes. Jim

Hi\ I hate to say it but a head knife will give you more head aches (VBG) than it will solve trying to cut tight radiusses, especially inside ones. There is a huge learning curve with a head knife, to start with you have to learn how to sharpen the cussed things! That in itself will keep you bussy for a while. If you have a moderate number of repeat pieces to make first make a good outline pattern. I usually draft a pattern on my CAD program and then print it full size. Glue it to a piece of 1/8" lexan and CAREFULLY cut it out with a band saw or jig saw. Then use a scribe to lay out identical parts on your leather. I use a heavy box cutter (yea, I know, not any where near as sexy as a head knife) with a stropped blade to do most of my cutting. If you get the blade razor sharp, and they are not near sharp enough when you buy them, you can slice through 10oz like butter. When you cut tight corners you just move up to the tip, which is pointier than any part of any head knife I have ever used and a lot more controllable. With a little practice you can cut down to about 1/4" radius inside curves without much problem. Tighter curves than than I either pre-punch with a hole punch and then cut to the hole or use a industrial size X-acto knife. The craft store knives just are not big enough or strong enough to use on heavy leather. Hope this helps. JIm

Hi All I am having problems finding a source for #8 YKK brass zippers. #10's are to heavy and #5 are wimpy looking. I have tried google and got nothing. Ohio bag does not carry it, neither does Weaver. I could order from YKK but one order would be a couple of lifetimes supply for me! Any help would be appreciated. Thanks Jim

Hey Noah Yea, I thought I ZW carried them but I will be darned if I can find them. I must not be looking in the right place. Thanks JIm

Hi All I am looking for a source for a two prong hidden mechanics buckle blank. I know they are available but I will be darned if I can find them. Thanks Jim

Hi All I have a old Landis 6" splitter for sale on E-bay # 320518739404 - I am pretty sure it is a Model D, don't really know for sure and it does not make much difference, it works good! I can easily split a piece of 8 oz. bridle leather into 4 pieces, each being about 2oz thick. The only reason that I am selling this machine is that I picked up a newer Model 30 so I am upgrading. If you are looking for a good splitter, but can not afford a newer model 30 then bid away! Thanks Jim

Here are just some misc ramblings on your questions. Since you are talking "cord" Can I presume you are using linen thread? If yes, then the 6 cord is probably plenty strong and you will cut the leather before you get thread failure. Personally if you are concerned about strength I would use 277 Nylon or Poly thread, or larger if you are after the cosmetic effect, and the thread will be stronger than the leather that it is attached to, unless you are stitching heavy sole leather. Needle and awl hand saddle stitching the rings on will be a better lasting, though ultimately no stronger, than machine stitching. It is a time trade off thing. For the strongest connection hand saddle stitch and rivet with solid copper post and burr rivet through the center of each ring billet. Split or rose head type rivets, hollow rivets, pop rivets are all worthless and should be considered strictly cosmetic if you are concerned about strength. As to the SPI 6 is about all you are going to get with 6 cord without getting the holes to close together and risk ripping out between holes. finer stitching requires finer awl and finer thread. For strength it is a balancing act between cosmetics, durability and strength. Figure everytime you pierce the leather you are weakening it somewhat so more holes, higher SPI equals weaker leather. I have seen beautiful 16SPI stitching in fine harness work rip out right around the stitch line. Never, ever stitch across a strap is strength is a concern! With a really heavy duty bag you will find that the leather of the bag itself will probably give way before the ring billet does. For extra weight capacity wrap the strap completely around the bottom so you are carrying weight on the strap, not a stitched billet. That way you can also just replace the strap rather than having to restitch a torn billet or side panel. Good luck with your project Jim D.

Hi All Does anyone out there know what angle the blade of a Landis 30 is supposed to be sharpened at? I just picked one up with two blades, both dull, and there is quite a difference in the angle on the two blades. I also got an original book with it and it mentions that they are hollow ground, both of mine appear flat when checked with a good straight edge (machinest square) so does anyone have any insight as to the curve of the hollow grind? I have a local tool maker who can sharpen them but he, and I, would like to know what angle to sharpen them at. I did check with Landis International and while they sell the machines they disclaim any knowledge of how to grind the blades, which seems rather odd. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

Hi All Just a note to let everyone know that this machine is sold. Thanks to all that helped with information. Jim

Hi Great information! There is a whole world of attachments out there that I know nothing about. Wish I could justify spending the $$$$ on a Campbel. Maybe in a couple of years as my hobby must be self supporting or I might be looking for a new wife as well as a new sewing machine!

Hi I assume you have discovered the Singer Manuals at: http://parts.singerco.com/ Find your model and you can down load the parts book and work manuals for free! Worse comes to worse you can take the machine to a mechanic who specializes in industrial machines and he can probably put it back in working order. I just took a Singer 211 apart and if new parts are used you may have to hand lap them to fit. Work on sewing machines is, can be, finicky work and if you goof things up they break! Good luck Jim

Hi All Just a quick tickler in case anyone is interested in picking up a SINGER 144WSV33 INDUSTRIAL LONG ARM sewing machine. We have it listed on E-bay, item # 320489870770 . http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320489870770&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT One heck of a good deal on this great old machine! Thanks to all who helped identify it. Jim

HI Ron Make one yourself! If you have a spare foot it is a pretty simple mater to turn it in to a groover foot with a dremmel tool. Just grind away each side of the foot untill you have a center rib that sticks up about 1/16 inch, or higher if you wish. I have modified both top and bottom foot mon my machine so that it sets the thread just lower than the surface of the leather. Makes the thread last a lot longer on harness and is not as labor intensive as having to cut groves by hand. Jim

Hi All I recently picked up a old American Straight needle stitcher in pretty good condition. It came with a bunch of #7 needles and Awls. I purchased some new #5 needles and awls and found that there was a big difference in the awls and was wondering if anyone can shed a light on they why. The old awls that came with the machine are triangular in crossection, much like a hand stitching awl. The new awls are round with a ground wedge shaped (chisel?) end. Why the difference? On another note, I plan on building an attachment to sew boxes with this machine and I know I saw a tutorial somewhere for setting up a needle and awl machine for doing this where they ground the awl asymmetrically. Silly me did not book mark it and I can not find it again. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks Jim

Hi The best leather for reins is English bridle leather. That is what it is made for, though a lot of western riders seem to like the stiffer feel of harness leather, your, or their, choice. For riding reins I normally use 10-12 oz and only cut them out of the back and upper side, which is the strongest least streatchy part of the hide. Personally I would not use belly leather for any part of a bridle as it is too streatchy and weak. If you need really long reins you can lap skive them, about 2 to 3 inches back, and sew two togeather. This is what we do to produce driving reins that are as long as 30+ feet! If done carefully the thickness of the leather will be the same throuout and the splice will be at the center where it is between the hands so it is not really noticed anyway. If you need heavier reins, double them up and stitch them togeather! No, your lace cutter will not cut it (VBG) on bridle leather. Pick up one of the wood handle leather cutters that uses a razor blade, cheap and work well and no learning curve like the draw knives. No, cutting them out of a "round" like you would lace will not work and the leather will make a kinky rein that is unuseable. Hope this helps Jim

Thanks for the feedback. I googled Bluegrass Leather and got nothing pertinent. Do you have the contact information? Thanks Jim

HI all I have recently aquired a old American straight needle machine in pretty good condition and am looking for parts and information on it. Of course I need needles and awls. I would also like to find the harness attachmetns that were originally available for this machine. Finally some information on what thread to use with what needle and awl would be great! Oh, I also have the old owners manual for this machine and it states that you are supposed to use left twist thread on top and right twist on the bottom. Does this hold with modern nylon thread, or is it only for linnen? Any and all information on this great old machine will be appreciated. Thanks Jim

Hi Bob, Art Yep, you guys were right! That is one of the things I like the most about this forum, the tremendous amount of information that is freely shared makes it a phenominal asset! Anyway, the name plate has the numbers 144WSV33. The Clutch motor is a old Singer 1/2 horse 3500rpm 6amp unit. Regardless, it is still one big brute of a machine that will easily stitch through two pieces of 1/4" sole leather so If anyone is interested it is a very good, well maintained heavy duty machine and the owner is open to offers. Thanks Jim