Brewerkel

Booth and Co. in the Boston Area seems to be a dealer of Dixon Tools. http://www.boothandco.com/handtools.html

It looks like a 29K4, right? Be happy its running well because many of the parts, especially the drive rail are entirely unavailable. It would cost $250 to have a new one machined if yours breaks. Unlike the 29K50 + series, most of the generally available drive parts are not interchangeable. The 29K4 was very popular in its day and its quite remarkable yours still runs. Its really old. That said, $450 isn't a bad price. Pack the head up really well if you ship it. Good luck with that!

There is plenty of info out there once you start searching 1812 sutler offerings. The term brogan is more commonly used for American Civil War re-enactment boots. That may be why you are having trouble. A solidly constructed shoe, usually buckled is appropriate for British and Canadian troops. Some low ankle boots were also made and issued in Canada. Finding patterns... well good luck. Unless you have the tools to make lasted footwear or want to learn to do that, you can buy well built shoes cheaper than the tools to make them. If you are that dedicated though, I strongly recommend a trip to the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto.

I think we had a box of those around in the 1990's. I haven't seen them since we moved the shop. Do you know what size your wheel is? They had numbers like 6,7 or 8 on them as I recall. If I can find them in the warehouse, you can have whatever is on hand for a couple bucks each plus postage. I recall they were really cheap cotton canvas. The stitching on them was worth more.

What is "quite a lot?" A few gallons a year? A few pails a year? Its an alcohol based dye so international shipping would be frightening for a small quantity. It would have to go sea freight.

Looks like a Morocco print. Could come from anywhere that supplies luggage and bag leathers.

Ohio Travel Bag has a number of decorative metal findings in their catalogue. I don't know that they will work out cheaper than Tandy but you can look. http://www.ohiotravelbag.com/ Most metal findings producers want massive orders and have very long wait times unless the product was recently run for someone else. Luggage manufacturers can handle that kind of volume but even busy professional craftsfolks frequently can't justify 50K pcs of a given finding, in each finish.

Clayton's in England is about the only source for true buff. Their distribution chain of whatever volume they produce in an annual or semi-annual run goes something like this: First pick of the batch : British Ministry of Defense for military uniform and parade equipment Second pick of the leavings: British Heritage departments around the country, for obvious reasons Third pick at the leavings: a couple of British leather wholesalers Fourth pick: overseas agents for Clayton - one of whom is in the Boston area That particular distributor has been unable to get good quality buff for a couple of years, according to a couple re-enactment vendors that supply North American equivalents to British Heritage. My shop in Toronto has been unable to get anything ordered from him since making contact in April of 2011. I think that he simply hasn't got anything worthy of the $20+ @sq foot he needs to get for it. But then, I have yet to receive the products I ordered so I can't comment on the quality of the buff he has on hand - only the comments of numerous people that have handled it. Sorry, that is probably not what you wanted to hear.

Is this thread still available? I would consider taking the lot.

Another source is Pilgrim Sewing Machine http://www.pilgrimshoemachine.com/shoe_repair_machines.html I've been a wholesaler to the shoe trade for over twenty years and never seen a 29K7s. What is it? A short arm, small bobbin machine?

Al, Roughly speaking the parts for small bobbin short arm patchers tend to be interchangeable after the 29K51. Not a hard and fast rule but a tendency. You cannot convert a short arm patcher into a long arm nor a small bobbin 29k to a large bobbin 29K. I recommend you get a manual for your model. The manual has a complete break-apart image of the model and all parts with numbers. Very important thing to have. Manuals and parts may be obtained from Pilgrim Sewing Machine : http://www.pilgrimshoemachine.com/shoe_repair_machines.html They don't charge for advice, either. Talk to them, they'll set you up. Kel

He probably doesn't want to bother with the export paperwork. Ask him if he will send it US Air mail. The "paperwork" is a couple lines on a sticker to attach to the parcel. If he sends it in a padded envelope instead of a box, it may not even attract the Border Services handling fee of $5-10. They often skip processing very low value shipments - like those valued less than $100 CAD. Its worth a shot.

The shop should take the time to read the directions on the bottle. Or they could look at the Fiebing website for more info, specifically http://fiebing.com/LeatherCare_Tips.aspx The only way to get all that oil out quickly is some type of solvent. This has the disadvantage of stripping dye with the excess oil. Definitely take it back to the shop and complain. Your relative won't have a job long if the shop tolerates this poor craftsmanship. BTW, I have distributed Fiebing products wholesale for nineteen years. This is a common mistake for amateur leather crafters, not for working shops.