JLSleather

A 25 needle sounds purdy big fer a 207 thread (i like a 23) and What yu descrybe, I'd first check that the thread is coming off the spool freely. I've seen that when everything is set "jus fine" and the top thread binds (if only fer a secind er two) causing.. well.. what you said Might try pulling thread off the spool, let it 'hang' from yer thread stand. Just maybe a few feet (so it comes down 18" and back up). Keep an eye on it, and when it's about back to getting ready to pull from the spool (slack is used up) then pull some more and let it hang. It may be that your problem is gone, and then you know it's a 'sticky' in the spool. Sounds very simple, but I've seen it -- and it can be irritating.

That's a simple rifle sling, done with two shades of brown and an airbrush. Glad you like it, but honestly -- not that difficult

I would agree that a site where anyone can post any opinion about a given subject would be redundant. You need not search many posts to see that a simple question can result in 20 answers ... 2 right, 5 not even ballpark, 5 that have basically nothing to do with the original question, and 10 of those that basically conclude "yeah, what he said" Oh, and dont' forget 1.5 that are outright BS, by someone who wants to appear to know "topic x". Now, that's a light-hearted look at it, but the underlying idea is true. I knew leather BEFORE I found this site. But I could certainly see where the true "newby" could be genuinely confused by conflicting opinions, misinformation, with some outright BS mixed in. Yes, I know it's not politically correct to say... but fact is there are many people who are more interested in APPEARING right than actually BEING right. I'll be adding free informational downloads to my site as I'm able to get them up. There won't be any "discussion" pages, burying the information. Anyone who cares to can view or save these files - free of charge. Anyone else is welcome not to -- each his own. The only purpose for - and difference in - these files is 1). No charge - they aren't designed to sell you anything, and 2.) see #1

True that COULD be done with an airbrush (or a paint brush, for that matter). Still, takes a good while to get much effect, but handy if you just need ONE (not a whole side of it).

'Pulled the trigger' too late to pick up the LC9, but marking the thread to check again.

There certainly are many options for semi-auto pistols. For revolvers, I sometimes also check with Duncan's (aluminun molds) and Bunkhouse tools (some kind of composite plastic). I'll put the links below, so whoever that was going on about a reference "pinned" for the newcomer can copy them easily. duncansoutdoor.com www.shop.bunkhousetools.com

It's done with a machine. On the entire hide. Very much like silk screening t-shirts. When I say 'printed', I did not say embossed. That leather is printed, much like a newspaper is "printed". Apparently leather "suppliers" (standard retail people) have convinced LW folks that "printed" means "3-D) ...

There are a number of ways this could be done, but I think that one is a [relatively cheap] printed leather.

Keep in mind that if you run one speed all the time, the larger end will create more friction and heat than the smaller speed - though the "speed" is the same. No long speech -- try it, you'll see what I mean.

If the copier is good at it, offer him a job. If not, no worry ...

If you already have a motor you want to use, and already have that burnisher, then all you need is a sleeve that fits the 1/2" shaft and the shaft of that toy. Maybe go an inch down each one. Maybe git all smanky fancy and put a set screw through each end. Any machine shop kin make one in half an hour. Or, if a feller had a drill press, proper size reamers, and a small tap (maybe 1/4-20 or 5/16-18) you could make it yourself in that same half hour. Personally, I must be gittin lazy, cuz if I had a drill press I'd probably just stick the burnisher in it and use it like that But, you did say you wanted to use the bench thing .... Say, for instance, yer burnisher had a 3/8" shaft. Then a feller could take a piece of pipe with a hole LESS than 3/8". Drill one end out to just under 1/2", and then ream both ends (.376 and .501). Put a setscrew in each end as shown. Slip the 1/2" end on the motor and snug. If you wanna swap toys, you can slip it off the motor and leave it on the burnisher (wooden end). No slipping. No coming loose. Total investment, $30 at a shop / $2.38 if you do it yerself

OOPS Yep, 2.4T. Musta fat-fingered the '2' twice? I THOUT that sounded awfully high! Blanking is like cutting out. Generally involves a male and a female die, with some calculated clearance. Substance being "cut" actually fractures, not really "cutting". Think tin can lids being stamped out of sheet metal... The 40% I was talking about was the length of the cut (10" is a guess at his "fob" and safely no more than about 40% of 26", depending on actual meas.). "Shear" is just used to describe stuff being cut at right angle to it's surface. If it was being pulled from the ends, that's tensile strength (yes, I know that's over simplified). To illustrate how much change is involved, take a pair of shears you know to be sharp. Open it, press the blade down on a piece of paper. Now, try cutting as with shears normally. Much ess pressure needed, due to "shearing" action. Actually, this "shearing" action is often used to reduce the pressure when 'blanking', but that's another can o worms... And no, not all leathers have the same shear strength. Some leathers are more dense than others , or more hard than others, or tanned differently than others... but I'm figuring his question was what is "enough". I have a 20-ton press, only because it was the same price as a 10 and a 12 at harbor frieght when they had a local sale, so I had one picked up.

OH OH OH Had to dig a bit, but found this old one from about 5 years ago. This is a STohlman design (inverted leather carving book) that is NOT TOOLED at all. Airbrushed only. Red on the rose, and the leaves were green (not kelly green). The stems were the same green, with a bit of dark brown added directly to the green dye. Oh, and do let us know what you're going to paint, and I can recmmend a TYPE of brush (syphon / gravity, internal / external mix, cup or bottle, etc.) JUST CLICK THE PIC

This is good, common-sense, no-nonsense, actually USEFUL information (perhaps you meant to post it on some OTHER site?). My 2 cents, before i now must fish rest of the day ... I use mostly Paasche airbrushes. Parts are everywhere (including bottom of the hill at the hobby lobby). Easy to clean, and nearly indestructible. Plus, they're not high-dollar. I'll spend money when i need to, but I don't like spending money just so I can say I did. With leather dye, you'll want somewhere between 15 and 30 pounds of pressure (yeah, that's all you need). I have a separate one I use for finishes - which are a bit heavier - and there I often use more like 40 pounds. I second the thing about the compressors. I don't care for the little table-top things often called "airbrush compressors". They run MUCH too continuously, trying to keep up. The one I use is intended for nail guns - goes up to about 120 pounds, which would explode that airbrush. Set at about 22-25, it kicks on. Loud for a couple minutes, but then only kick on maybe every 20-30 minutes for a few seconds. Whichever you use, get yourself ... air regulator (pretty common they'll come with it) moisture trap (may be included with compressor) cleaner tips solvent for what you're spraying I din't watch al teh vids above, but at a glance, you can see that 1) he don't say much a bout airbrushing, for how long the video is and 2.) a few minutes after he starts, that litle air joke is kicking on again (meaning, it's trying to keep up enough pressure in the line). As for practice, I recommend using the dyes you use on the leather, to get used to them But, you can practice on like bristol paper, or even cardstock. I'm going to do some video stuff shortly (promised some others). And I'll show, and what you should do, try spraying frm 3 inches away, then same thing at 10 inches back. Try 15 pressure, then same thing but with 35 pounds pressure. Sorry, Iowa boy don't really know what that is in kg/cm3 Try spraying yellow , like even coat. Then darken it at the top with the same yellow. Then put in some red, do the same thing, but allow it to overlap. Where the colors blend, do it again on a piece of scrap leather, noting the difference in shades between the leather and the white paper.... Okay, I quit.. gone fishin' ......... Oh, the videos I'll try to add USEABLE info, instead of the standard U-tube FILLER you see these days 'cause they get paid to keep you watching longer.

Short answer -- yes. Those people telling stories about 12 and 20-ton presses perhaps are not understanding the meaning of TONS Officially, the pressure required to BLANK a die-cut part is calculated .. length of the cut times the shear strength of the material times the thickness of the material. So, cut a 9" x 4" rectangle. Perimeter (cut length) is 26". Thickness of say 6 oz (.093). S=~2000lb That's pounds, so divide by 2000 to get tons. Then (26 x .093 x 2000)/2000 = 4.8 tons FOR BLANKING But, you're not blanking - you're cutting. So "guestimate" roughly 1/3 the pressure. In the case of your "fob", your perimeter is more like 10", so you'd need like 40% of the pressure ...

Strange. Since that CAME from etsy.

Third pattern? That's ONE pattern - in two formats. One prints on your standard 8.5" xx 11" paper, the other is provided in case some have access to larger sheets that will print on one (larger) sheet. To be honest, though, the instructions are clear enough. Tell ya what, I'll just attach it here, and perhaps one of the people downloading can help you?

So, if that worked measuring YOUR belt, wouldn't a guy just measure HIS belt?

Just the facts ..... 1.) There is no "right" speed for a burnisher. Without a bunch of long-winded math, the 2" diameter stick is 'traveling" at 2.7 times as fast as the 3/4" burnisher -- though it's rotating (running) at the same speed. Yes, really. 2.) I've used a number of burnishers, from oak dowel rods to plastic to nylon to bone to cocobolo (which is certainly the purdiest of these). I can't tell where the name on it makes any difference at all.

Mr. Stohlman would be glad to see people still using those old designs. I've seen it done a number of ways, but you've made that design look good AGAIN.

Are you holding the thread when you start out? Those are great little machines.. should have held on to the one I had. GUESSing only here, but it looks like you have a thread loop wrapping around the post that rides the bobbin. This can happen on starting (the thread isn't held tightly for 3-4 stitches) or stopping (the spring steel "brake" isn't stopping the bobbin early enough). Like I said, they're good machines -- I never had an issue. I would: Clean out behind the bobbin case. Make sure there are no short threads or "boogers" in there. Then put the bobbin in the case, pull the thread out under the tension spring, and verify that the bobbin is spooling the correct rotation (I think it's clockwise on that machine?). Pull a couple inches, making sure you have some tension on the thread as it pulls. Replace the bobbin case, pull up bobbin thread, hold both top and bottom threads, and go on about your business as if I'd never bored you with all of this A tip about those machines: Bobbin cases are CHEAP. I kept at least one separate one for each weight of thread I plan to use with it. So, one bobbin case (and a few bobbins) had nothing but #69 thread. The bobbin case for #138 thread was a separate one, as were those for #42 and #207. This way, I didn't kill loads of time adjusting bobbin tensions. I could, for example, sew a wallet liner using $69 thread. Then pop out the bobbin and case, and pop in the one with #138 thread to sew the wallet liner to the wallet back. No tension adjusting. Off ya go ....

I don't know if anyone can give you a realistic answer without knowing what "tooling" you'd be doing. I don't have a problem with the IDEA, though. "SUBbing out" the tooling is no different than contracting someone to click out parts, or do the stitching. That said, it wouldn't make much sense for them to purchase leather, pay to have it shipped to them, and then pay again to ship it to you. Only way the leather would LEGITIMATELY come from them is if they have the dies and are going to click out (pre-cut) the parts for what they need (and then you tool) OR if they already have a substantial amount of leather they are wanting to use. Otherwise, it's both cost- and time-efficient to simply order the leather to ship to you. Which brings up another question. IF they are supplying the leather, does that influence your pricing? I would personally charge MORE to work with cheap leather than to craft the "good stuff". Particularly if my name is going on it anywhere. I NEVER pay anyone by the hour. Don't care who it is we're talking about. Basically, by the hour means that the SLOW guy - even if he means well - is paid more than the efficient guy. Which doesn't make sense. At all. If I'm buying leather goods, I pay for the PIECE, not the time. Granted, all of this is MY thoughts. You can do or not do what you like without me being either offended or impressed - either way. Just thinkin' out loud ......

Looks purdy good over all. Pros (if I can say that in public) are the blue --- good height, sweat shield, formed sight channel, plenty of room under the grip to GET a grip. Stitchin' looks consistent (pic a bit blurry, but looks promising). Not everyone does, but I happen to LIKE contrasting stitchin'. Only thing I would likely upgrade is the 'meat' you left around the rear slot. Not much there - and keep in mind that portion is going to 'come around' under tension. I would personally widen the yellow arrow areas a bit. Otherwise, lookin purdy solid.

It sounds almost TOO simple, but many of the questions a guy might have, been asked before. Doesn't work EVERY time, but I been known to google a "vs". You know, like, "walther PPK vs Bersa Thunder" Sometimes get specs. Sometimes get a picture showing the two together. Sometimes, it's a bust. Try it out. Or don't