JLSleather
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Posts posted by JLSleather
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On 2/21/2022 at 10:21 AM, chuck123wapati said:how in the heck can they send you a machine tuned and ready for every single thread needle combo and gadget that you can think of? How do they know what you are sewing?
nobody can "guess" what you MIGHT do SOMEDAY. I'm pretty sure if you call Bob (Toledo) Kovar about a leather stitcher, among his FIRST questions will be WHAT do you want to sew and WHAT SIZE THREAD do you want to use. Now, if you don't know, I don't know how it would be possible for somebody else to know.
To continue the analogy of buying a car...
If you need a vehicle, you go to the guy selling vehicles. You say you don't know what you need. So the guy is going to ask... some place to START FROM. Do you want a vehicle that looks shiny 'cruising the strip", or do you need it to GO FAST and don't care about cosmetics, or do you need it to haul dirt and gravel for your landscaping business? You generally DONT buy a Porsche to go grocery shopping and generally don't use a dump truck to pick up your date (though you theoretically COULD do all of those things). Point being, it's up to YOU to tell them what you want. I KNOW Bob K is quite good at helping you match a machine (and accessories..) to your STATED GOAL. He's also very clear that ONE machine is unlikely to do EVERYTHING YOU EVER want to do. The dump truck hauls heavy stuff very well, but not much good in the quarter mile.
So, they know what you're sewing because you TELL THEM. If you tell them you're hauling big rocks, they'll likely quote you a price on the dump truck. Tell them you want to go fast and sporty, maybe they quote the Porsche.
But I CERTAINLY WOULD AGREE that if you order one, you can't complain that it wont do the other.
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8 hours ago, Dwight said:The only thing you may need to do is make a tunnel for it if he is a lefty
That's a great observation - one I'm sure many didnt consider
If he has the bodyguard 5-shot, it wont affect the holster at all (unless there's a thumb break, maybe)
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this machine is SOLD
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Oh, I have some pieces - black drum dyed, chestnut drum dyed from W/C, and natural from Hermann Oak - big enough for about anything but portfolios or handbags, mostly 7/8 oz, I'll sell for about $2.50 per foot. Let's be clear, this is BETTER LEATHER than what you're getting from "resellers", and better than what is shown here.
Seriously, $100 get you about 45 square feet. Firm leather, pieces would work great for holster or sheath makers. Even the stuff with "marks" is FIRM and SOLID, great for lining exotics - forms well. I laid it on the floor, covers about 9 feet x 5 feet. Come pick it up and skip the shipping
You know, just for reference. I CAN NOT GRASP why people pay $12 AND UP (often more $$) for leather that looks like the pic in the original post.
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8 minutes ago, WifesLeatherGuy said:Any advice would be great.
My advice is dump the ant-streak, clean out the jar, and use it as a pencil cup on your desk.
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1 hour ago, JayEhl said:when ordering in bulk hides, do they all have to be the same weights?
Unless they changed their 'policy' (I didn't ask), if ordering TEN sides (or in my case backs) they need to be the same weight. Order 20 or more you can "mix n match". Now, you might ask 'em, I don't know for a fact that's still the case.
As a rule, I buy 7/8 and 3/4, and if I need occasionally a piece of say 5/6 or 6/7 I can get ONE piece of great Hermann Oak from Cheryl / Carlos at Goliger Leather or as little as ONE hide from Wickett-Craig (the tannage is a little different, but not in a "bad" way
). NOTE that buying a single hide from Goliger DOES cost more per foot, plus you're paying shipping on ONE instead of spreading the shipping over multiple hides, BUT I've never got a piece of leather from there I wasn't happy with
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On 2/15/2022 at 4:51 AM, AzShooter said:doing a briefcase compared to finishing one of my holsters
These "cases" (full zipper) absolutely DO NOT get ant-streak of any kind. I just put the color where it goes (combination of airbrush and red sable hair brushes) and tan-kote applied with the palm of the hand (no sheep wool hairs in the finish).
Don Gonzales tools leather very nicely, then - in my opinion - makes the MISTAKE of putting that ant-streak stuff on it. Still looks nice, but not as nice as it did before he pooped on it
That stuff reminds me of the sediment left behind after it rains and the puddles dry up... mud in the low spots
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there was a class couple times a week at the tandy in Des Moines, IA - dont know if they're still doing that or not, new manager (which is good, that guy was a JERK).
but I has there in teh store when one class was going on, and honestly it looked like you could save time by just tearing up the registration fee in cash and going about your business. VERY remedial, clearly intended to sell the members some tandy stuff, like "oh, you'll need this and this and this for the class, but you don't have to buy it, it's included in your class fee" and then "by the way, if you want to REALLY do it you'll need this and this and this, sold separately"
And honestly I only paid any attention at all because that one gal in that class was CUTE, CUTE, CUTE. So I paid a little attention, only to find out that they might as well be playing Bingo, or could just move it over to the restaurant across the lot. Appeared to be more of a social gathering,.. something to do to meet people... than actually anything to do with leather.
But I'm apparently the dissenting opinion on those Y-tube videos (pronounced WHY-tube)... vast majority of it is useless refuse intended to gather "followers" and advertisers for people who seem to be better at TALKING leather than actually DOING leather. One effeminate little... uh, guy I guess... has a video that goes on FOREVER about the most basic stuff... I can't watch that. If I'm giong to spend an hour watching a video, NOT doing leather, gimme the girls in that Greg Allman video
Don Gonzales is one exception... good information presented in a very easy style. Mostly about TOOLING and COLORING leather. I can take most of what that guy talks about (I don't AGREE with all of it, but I think Don's opinion is worth seeing). And his work is quite good - just no point in listening to somebody droning on if they aren't producing GOOD WORK to back up their words.
Doesn't matter where it comes from though... pick up what you can use and leave the rest - no matter.
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1 hour ago, alpha2 said:"If it's a value-added (my favorite BS) feature, quote me some of the nasty stuff without the value being added".
yeah, he gits it
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12 hours ago, Wizcrafts said:I looked through the Moderation History for this topic and there is nothing about anybody's posts being deleted or hidden. Do you recall what the context was?
No matter. I typed it. Some people replied to it. Some folks REALLY REALLY didn't like it. That also is no matter.
Minutes later an entire section of that conversation was NO LONGER THERE. I asked out loud if people advertising on this site were BUYING A REPUTATION (yeah, used those words, so that would be the context). I didn't say anything slanderous or malicious, or anything that wasn't demonstrably true, so wasn't too worried about who liked it or didn't like it. Johanna popped in to say that nobody is "buying a reputation" (though to believe that would be naïve - of course they are).
I don't know where that conversation went, and I don't care - no worries.
I say stuff sometimes. If I KNOW it to be true, I say that. If i THINK IT MIGHT be true, I say THAT. Or if it's something I heard and haven't verified myself, I say THAT. Sometimes folks like it. Sometimes not.
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13 minutes ago, JayEhl said:I wished I knew a few guys in my area that would be willing to go in on something like that....
At the price some of these places are charging for BAD leather, a guy could buy the GOOD stuff, take his 3 sides, send the other 7 to a couple guys doing leather and STILL get BETTER LEATHER for LESS MONEY (H.O. GRADE A is about $8 per foot, NOT $12, NOT $14....)
Last time I did that, it cost $20 to ship ONE side, but only $50 to ship FIVE sides.
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2 hours ago, TomE said:In defense of using an awl and stitching horse, I don't see a way to punch through 2-3 layers of 9 oz veg tan without leaving an unsightly hole. I doubt it's faster to prepunch the holes since most of the time is spent pulling up the stitches and (re)positioning the work. I'd also say that Stohlman's books on sewing and case making are arguably better than most instructional videos.
Yeah. ALL of that.
9 hours ago, Spyros said:So I'm gonna go ahead and be the heretic in the room and I will say that I disagree with all those videos, and pretty much everything else I've seen on youtube
Keep in mind that the point of the video is NOT to teach, instruct, or inform. The video is to KEEP YOU THERE as long as possible, maximizing the number of ADS THEY SHOW YOU. I had a guy go on (and on and on) about hand sewing and point me to a video that was like hour and a half. After a couple minutes, I remembered that I can sew that - BY HAND - in far less than the length of the video. I didn't watch the rest.
But you make a good point about stitching clamps (whatever they call them these days). Absolutely beneficial where they can be used. But no different than a sewing machine ("stitcher" for the purists)... great until you have to sew on a saddle swell ..
I'm ALL FOR Stohlman's book, and that's largely the way I do it. Start and sew TOWARD me whenever possible (and it usually is).
I like a STRAIGHT stitch line.. I've always thought that angled look was a bit GIRLY, and I do not do it. Well, actually, last year I did.. ONCE... on a belt for a very nice lady ...
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LOTS of info around here. Jump on in
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22 minutes ago, Tequila said:If I want to shoot it at a greater distance well then I’m going to have to change the sight’s height, adjust the powder charge and change the bullet weight.
Yup. And somebody in TX buys the SAME new car model as I do in IA is going to set the heater differently than I do. This is not the same as saying it goes in reverse and drives back in teh same tracks, as long as you don't turn it, only to find that IT DOES NOT do that. I don't mind adjusting the heater and moving the mirrors - but I shouldn't have to hook up the exhaust before i can drive it.
Now, imagine that you bought a machine BECAUSE THEY CLAIMED that it sews back in the same holes, and that the machine has been tested and tried at the 'shop', all ready to go - in fact, there's a bit of leather still attached to it to "prove" that the machine is ready to go.
And suppose you went to get familiar with the machine and found it DOESNT sew back in the SAME HOLES, but rather wants to pierce the thread previously put there in "forward".
And maybe you call to ask if it's the machine, or if you're simply not doing something correctly.
- And you get a salesman asking you if the machine is plugged in.
- Yup.
- And is the needle in there ALL THE WAY UP in the needle bar?
- Uh, yeah, but what has that got to do with it?
- Is the needle 'scarf' to the right?
- Look, you gonna answer my question or not?!
Now suppose you called some other people who have that same machine. And they TEST what you're talking about, and find that THEIRS DOESNT DO IT either. And you call the 'dealer' and tell them that, at which time they STOP TAKING YOUR CALLS
I posted this on THIS site, and that conversation DISAPPEARED within minutes. Just DELETED (or maybe just 'hidden'). Now, WHY would that happen? I'm not making any accusations, since I'm quite good at distinguishing between what I KNOW and what I think MIGHT be the case (a skill that seems almost nonexistent these days).
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Pics? Did you BUFF the dried ant-streak?
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16 hours ago, JayEhl said:Thanks for sharing that picture. I only have Tandy stores near me and the wrinkle look is all they seem to have so I thought that was normal.
That is BENDS ... meaning a side but the shoulder and belly area is removed (hence the square cut on one end and the bottom). In teh right side pic, that's a "B" grade bend (belly and shoulder removed). Clamp marks on the right side identify that as the SPINE side of the hide. It's not MARK FREE, but purdy durn close. And this is a B... I think most "retailers" are selling you "B" but sending "D".
I have LONG told people it's best to order FROM HERMANN OAK OR WICKETT-CRAIG DIRECTLY. IF you don't want to buy the minimum 10 sides at H.O. then get together with a few guys in your area and SPLIT an order. If you order 10, then a BACK (I order with bellies already removed) runs about $185 after shipping. To be clear, $185-ish gets you that piece in the right side pic AND about 7-ish sq feet of the shoulder not in that pic.
FYI.. I didn't intend it, but I see in that pic ---- under the natural H.O. side is a Wickett-Craig "chestnut" drum dyed tooling leather. VERY nice.
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14 hours ago, 327fed said:It’s like steak. If you never had a ribeye a chuck wagon tastes OK.
And retailers PRAISE the rough cut, NEVER show you the ribeye. A couple of "retailers" HERE made a LOT of money by catering to those who DONT KNOW ANY BETTER.
Kinda simple business plan -- find a place where all the new guys are collected in one spot, and shoot the fish already in the barrel. In fact, they'll show up on here by the dozen proudly ANNOUNCING they don't know what they need or how to tell the good from the bad. Like, you see people come to the church for help when they can't pay the rent, or don't have food. Simple logic.. you go to where there are ALREADY PEOPLE GATHERED who WANT to help you. Easy pickin's ...
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2 hours ago, jrdunn said:I want my machine to work out of the box.
And you SHOULD EXPECT that.
SERIOUSLY folks, if you don't already know how, then LEARN to distinguish between what you HEARD and what you KNOW to be true. What you heard / read MIGHT be true, but just BECAUSE you heard it doesn't make it true. Like ...
Q: If you're wanting to lose a few pounds, which is better - low carb or low fat?
A: Depends on who is paying for the ad.
Seriously, I've 'shopped' with Bob at Toledo for a good while. I'm gonna say he's been more than patient, since he always gets down to what I need and sometimes has suggestions on what a guy might do or not do. He might get busy, depending on orders 'n' such - I'm not his ONLY shopper. But leave a message and he's ALWAYS called me back same day - usually within an hour. NOW- I'm telling you this is TRUE, but YOU should have it in your mind that its SOMETHING YOU HEARD, and continue to gather information until you're comfortable making YOUR OWN DECISION. That's a pretty good reference for Ryan Neel just back a bit here, but again - that's SOMETHING YOU HEARD (and MAY be true in SOME cases, or ALL cases, or maybe JUST THAT ONE TIME). Contact the guy and ask some questions.
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48 minutes ago, JayEhl said:e so I thought that was normal.
TOO COMMON these days, but not "normal" (desirable, or even acceptable).
NO cowhide is without a mark. It is then graded according to defects per square foot, "A" being the best (W/C calls it "standard" grade, and goes down from there). I've worked with some "B" hides that worked out just fine... those pics above are an A and a B from Hermann Oak (sadly, you have MANY "retailers" selling C and even D and labeling them "B" to those who don't know any better).
Fat wrinkles will be most prominent in the shoulder area, and run "up and down" on the cow. This puts them the "short" way on a side, and the "long" direction on a double shoulder. I've used many double shoulders over the years for belts and holsters, even portfolios and bags. Perfectly good leather if you get "the good stuff".
Some of the "retailers" (not a nice word around here) go on and on about how these DEFECTS add "charm and character" to your projects. But they are DEFECTS, which is why leather suppliers (MAKERS, not the resellers) CHARGE MORE for the hides without this war zone look. For those CON MEN calling themselves "retail outlets" (and such)... I prefer my leather LESS CHARMING, and since you claim it's beneficial, perhaps I can get a discount on the hides that DONT have that? Nah - didn't think so ...
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1 hour ago, BurkhillLeather said:do you need a Gun blank or can you wrap up the owners gun to fit the leather around
either way works fine. WIth the actual gun, just be sure to wipe it / let it dry and use some general maintenance oil when done.
SOMEWHERE around here is a BUNCH of pdfs about making holsters... I uploaded 'em, just don't know exactly whereta find em. And Jim Simmons has a great read in the holster section - it's showing revolvers but the idea works across the board.
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51 minutes ago, Daffy said:I don't buy a car with the expectation that a mechanic sits on standby for me waiting to work on it or offer free advice on how to fix it.
Uh... WHY would you need a mechanic for a NEW vehicle?
If a NEW vehicle is not running right, I wouldn't buy it.
If it's a USED vehicle, I would consider the possibility would have an issue or two, and I would EXPECT the price tag to reflect that.
If IT WAS ME that caused it to not run right, that would be different and that would be ON ME.
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10 minutes ago, JayEhl said:but I do have an expectation that when I buy ANYTHING new it should work out of the box.
THANK YOU -- finally SOME sanity in a pool of crazy.
If you're buying something USED, you might legitimately expect an issue (or even multiple issues). NEW means it DOES WHAT ITS SUPPOSED TO.
I'm always confused (but NOT impressed) by people's willingness to pay NEW / RETAIL / FULL price for goods that need to be worked on BEFORE you use them. Now, there ARE legit considerations ...
I helped a gal other day assemble some cheap furniture you get on Amazon and assemble yourself (or get the bald guy up the road to do it). It comes with a PRICE TAG that ALLOWS you to assemble yourself, and the FREELY OFFERED STATED POSITION that you WILL have to assemble it.
But I will not pay retail for stuff that i have to FIX or REWORK before I use it. I have bought a HANDFULL of sewing awls (not to mention other blades) that arrive DULL. which ended up RETURNED because they wouldn't cut. OH WAYTY .. I get to tell that old story AGAIN!~....
Went to local Tandy, St. Paul MN. Asked about their 9/10 oz double shoulder tooling cow and a sewing awl THAT WORKS. Found a nice looking, firm belt hide in that stack, good size for belts. Gal brought me the "premium" awl (or some such adjective, maybe "top shelf"). So I said I've bought too many that DONT cut, so how bout I TRY this one. Went to poke it thru the leather (an awl worth owning should easily pierce 9/10 veg tanned leather). Manager came ALMOST AT A RUN, wants to know what's going on. I said
ILL TAKE THE LEATHER, and IF this awl cuts like it should, I'll take that too.
If it doesn't work, I'll take the leather and you can KEEP the piece of metal you're calling an "awl".Wouldnt cut, and I mean I LEANED on it a bit and still wouldn't pierce. Left the awl there. Yeah, I COULD HAVE got out a stone and some oil and FIXED it, but WHY SHOULD I?
Same thing with oblong punches (think holster slots) from Weaver, which were JUNK. I GAVE THEM AWAY (BTW, the so-called Hermann Oak tooling leather I got from Weaver was also pathetic - I sold it at about 40¢ on the dollar to a guy making knife sheaths, who was able to cut smaller bits between the MANY imperfections, and marked it in my mind as a lesson learned - never been back there).
Rings Mfg (blue guns) has sent me quite a few very acceptable holster molds (dummy guns). The ones that weren't got returned. Yes, I could "rework", but I'm NOT in that line of work, nor should I need to since YOU CLAIMED it was an accurate representation of the "real" gun.
SLC advertised genuine python 39"x8". Price wasn't SO bad for python, and it seemed a good call to buy by the meter since I generally dont' like snake but had agreed to use it for a special request. I got a piece that was 17"x5-6", which for the math-challenged is NOT 39"x8". It's a belt, so I don't NEED it to be 8", but that IS what I paid for. Now, I "COULD" have cut in lengthwise and used 2 PIECES to inlay that belt. But WHY would I do that? How about just send me what I ordered and paid for?
I complained, and they DID replace it with a piece which CERTAINLY WAS acceptable. But that wasted DAYS on a project that HAD TO BE delivered on time (anniversary presents lose some of the punch when they're LATE). Had to push back some OTHER work to get that out on time. For those who don't follow stories well, I MEAN SENDING ME THE REPLACEMENT DOES NOT "MAKE IT RIGHT"... and does not FIX the situation.
Now, everybody I talked to and "rescheduled" was okay with it, so not earth-shattering destruction here. But I paid FULL / RETAIL price, allowed time in the schedule to get everything needed and time the work, fit in my work flow, and organize it all. Then - due to this simple FAILURE TO CONFIRM WHAT THEY SHIP OUT - I ended up killing the time on the phone and emails with customers who WERENT GOING TO get their projects quite when I had said. I'm okay with apologizing when I'm wrong, but I admit that I SUCK AT sucking up when I DIDNT CAUSE IT.Phew .....
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34 minutes ago, JayEhl said:I can only imagine much trouble I would be if I didn't answer an email in almost a week
Yup, indeed. OR send the wrong product. or the right product but substandard. or missing parts.
Folks around here actually ENCOURAGE this type of behavior, I think. I once posted here about a company (advertises here) I wasn't happy with at all, and I asked why so many seem to like the place. A SWARM of people who know little about leather and even less about business flooded on to tell me how happy they were with that place .. .so I ASKED what it was that caused them to think that. One poor guy said he was pretty new, and had only ordered there 4 times... one they sent partial order, one they sent the wrong items, one had some things backordered... etc... SO THEN I said.. wait.. you ordered FOUR times, they messed up EVERY order, and because they "made it right" he would continue to shop there. Which doesn't matter to me - not up to me where OTHERS shop. I just don't "get" why people would order something, get the WRONG thing (or a cheap IMITATION of the right thing), or get it LATE, and continue to shop there.
A flat tire could happen to anybody. You could be late for work, even though that's not your style. When it happens consistently, I'd be letting you go and hiring somebody who will do what I'm paying for.
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54 minutes ago, TomE said:Always tinkering.
fair enough - each his own. Personally, when I buy a car, I don't want to "tune" it, I want to DRIVE it.
I have no objection to REPAIRING a car, though I would EXPECT that if it needs repair it's because it's USED, and it should have a corresponding price tag. I don't pay NEW price, AND fix it.
OH WAIT>. you bring up a GOOD point. Now that you've made the machine do what it was SUPPOSED TO (but didn't) DO when you bought it. is it worth MORE, or LESS? I mean, is it now ADJUSTED CORRECTLY, or is it USED?
Is it always this difficult?
in Leather Sewing Machines
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Umm.. YEP!
Buy a car, you'll probably have to adjust the seat, the wheel, and the mirrors. But not the transmission