JLSleather
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Posts posted by JLSleather
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I'm in Iowa. Where you at?
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Better yet, stop by any Menards, HomeDepot, whatever, and spend 4 more $ for a caliper. Doesn't need to be 'fancy' - $13 for the one I picked up. Then you can measure leather -- and a lot of other things. The "guage" thing may actually work, though I suspect it reads different in the cold than it does in the heat. The caliper will let you measure the leather, or rivets, or distance to the edge of something, or how big that circle is .. yo get the idea.
THEN, just 'figger" the leather. Each 'ounce' is a 1/64". So, mathalizing'....
1 ounce 1/64 .0156
2/3 oz 2-3/64 .0312-.0468
4/5 oz 4-5/64 .0625-0781
8/9 oz 8-9/64 .1250-.1406
Glendon is correct, you should measure with SOMETHING tl you get used to 'seeing' what you have. I've seen leather "CALLED" 6/7 that was visibly thicker than leather "CALLED" 8/9.
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Yeah, that looks like that stuff I saw on the back of some dbl shoulders at Tandy store I was in. Pastin down the 'fuzzies'??????
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Thanks! I musta brain malfunctioned - or similar. I measured the same 10 1/4 for the .357, but when I cut the leather, just folding it up was pretty clear it wasn't going to work. Held it up a second time, -- yep, still too short
Not sure what I did, actually. I wrapped a piece of 8 oz cow, glued to a 2/3 liner, and got 10 1/4" ?? Oh, well ...
You're doing better n' me .. you ended up with a useable holster and a nice gift. My first cut went in the trash, so I'm battin .500
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Little help, please
I take it the two small holes are for a hammer thong?
And, seriously, how wide did your pattern end up being at the trigger? Using a 'standard' formula, I tried to do a pattern for the NewModel Blackhawk (.357Mag) but it was awful tight at the top. Widened it about half an inch (1/4" per side) and got away with it, but think I need to open it more.
Still not sure how that works .. the wife takes an order and I cut patterns ((%(#Y$@#H$T@~~!!!
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I have the 206RB-5. Pretty painless, and no problem with a couple layers of 5 oz. Runs good. Still, unless it's new, that price seems a bit severe.
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Nice sheen to the color. I like it! Oh, and the web site looks good too
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Chubby girls and their paint brush
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No, no accident. They'll cut you a piece. I think this piece was off a side -- they cut 'em down and sell backs n bends, so this is 'left'. But they'll cut for you. A while back, i had ''em sell me a side, then cut some strips off the side , then skive the strips thinner. Yikes, I paid for it! Still, saved me some jerkin around, so ....
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I just got a 2/3 single shoulder at Springfield. Not sure,but I think they cut it there. HO leather, and order says item # 911-4005, for what that's worth. This is purdy darn thin, really. I got the single shoulder - must be 5-6 feet - cuz I needed ONE piece this light (holster lining). Then decided with some mahogany stain some more of it could become that wallet that lady wants. Point is, this stuff is thin enough I'm INVENTING ways to use it
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The 16 is a chisel point. The 17 is a cone point. And yes, you want the 22.
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Yep, thread comes off the top, but I'll give that a shot. THANKS
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Ah, got it. Actually, I was just replying to HER post, and you had just commented so I used some of what you said. No offense intended - and no offense taken.
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That's a tough question. Supposedly, there's more 'control' in the so-called higher grades. But I don't know that anyone is testing - say - tensile strength of the fibers.
Short version, I've bought some Tandy leather over the years. Some of it was fine. The craftsman stuff tends to be dry, loose grained, and sometimes even had visible 'stuff' on the surface that Im pretty sure dye won't penetrate evenly. In the past - oh, say two years - I have purchased a few of the 'live oak' double shoulders when I needed a small piece of 8/9 or 9/10. Not SO bad, though it seems like their quality is NOT improving lately.
I'll give them this much, though. If you're talking about 'grades' or 'brands', their "Royal Meadow" seems pretty good (though I admit I don't buy any without going to the store and picking it out). The belly is spongey as any, but cut that off to use for linings, for testing dyes, and setting machine tensions, and the rest is fine
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Yep, didn't think about that one. I suppose I assumed that we all knew the difference between full grain leather and bonded leather. Point taken.
When I said "looks the same" I perhaps should have said IS the same. All things equal, 2 pieces of leather cut from the SAME hide, tooled and / or colored the same (looks same), should cost the same - regardless of how it was sewn (IF it was done properly).
What I dont care for is all the 'hype-ing'. You know, my stuff sucks but I'm on 3 or 5 or 6 "social networking" sites going on and on about it, so you should buy it anyway. Or the one about "doing leather for 10 years" (or 20, or ...). Here's a tip.. if you've been 'doing leather' for 10 years and your stuff sucks, then you sucked for 10 years (duh). But, I'm grown. If you want to sell it, and you can, then do that.
We all know people have paid good money for crap, and it won't be the last time. The "pet rock" made MILLIONS. It ws a rock. In a box. With air holes.People bought them for YEARS. Did the fact that people spent their money make them "better"?
Personally, I don't honestly care what someone charges or why. That's what "mine" means - if you own it you can do whatever you want with it. Even if you suck. Or if you're Chinese. Or if you're not.
BUT, sometimes posts take a turn. The gal originally asked about pricing her own belt DESIGN.
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Thanks, fellas! Yeah, thats the manual I have. Pretty much useless. And the first thread was black bonded nylon. Switched to a almost new spool of white bonded nylon, which got a little further before doing the same thing.
I switched needles, threads, backed off all tension cleaned disks, rethreaded, and then re-set the tension. Somewhere in there, stuff started working. Now, if I only knew which one or combination of those things was the trick.
It was a good lesson, though. Silly me for only having one machine (sold the other one over a year ago). I got orders to fill, and I can 't have something like this shutting the place down. Guess I can justify spending some money -- now if I just actually HAD some ...
Appreciate the responses, fellas!
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Ohhhhh... well, that explains it. I didn't realize that there was a "ACTUAL guitar strap - I was just using a "what if" scenario. Yikes, that explains the claws out reaction.
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Goliger has HO "A" grade at $8.32/ft, at least for the full sides
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Anyone know anything about these 206-rb5? I suppose i'm spoiled, cuz the thing has always ran without incident. The manual is useless.
Today, the thing is twisting the thread above the needle. Project ruined - fair enough. Now to get the thing back on the road.
Machine loaded with #22 and 138 thread.
What I tried:
Could be the needle (most delicate link and thus maybe most likely). Changed out the needle, still got issues.
So, changed out the thread spool, and just in case, another new needle (case I buggered it with step 1). Better, got down one side of a belt before I get the twist again.
The twist is appearing ABOVE the needle.
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You have enough pressure, that's not an issue. With the hardest of leather (except rawhide) that press should cut those rectangles easily. Shear strenght at just over half of that to blow a hole in 8-10 oz leather, but the knife action in a steel rule should further reduce the tonnage.
Obviously, you'd need plates heavy enough top and bottom to support the perimeter of your dies, and even the pressure. Some folks have modified these - if you havent tried the search already - but I don't know if they were punching that broad a piece. Not that the thing doesn't have the force, but you'd need to span quite a bit wider than that thing is (front to back).
Not to talk you into or out of anything, but if you are cutting straight lines, and only need 5 a day, I'd just use a long straight edge and a knife. Now, if you have other things to blank out ...
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I'd go for HO grade A or B sides or backs.
I've bought HO from just about everybody that sell it and have found what Springfield calls grade B looks like the cow ran through a mine field. Weaver sells tannery run HO but that’s a crap shoot as well.
From what I've found from actual purchasing experience is that Goliger has the best stuff there is in A & B grade HO unless you buy grade A's 10 at a time direct from HO.
Thank you. Finally, someone else who isn't afraid to say it. I've bought Tandy leather. And I've bought "B" grade HO from SLC (well, 'she' did). Some of the Springfield leather was actually pretty nice. Some of it, not so much. Yet, all marched "B".
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Hmmm.. I'm not trying to talk anybody into anything here. Just one more cynical thought (or maybe just realistic).
I've heard people say they charge more becuase they dont have a machine and therefore "have to" hand sew. True, it WILL take longer.
But, say I'm applying for a job. It pays what it pays. The "boss' isn't going to hear how I should be paid more becuase I dont have a car, and thus have to walk to and from work, which will take me an hour a day (or 3 times that if you're in St. Paul).
Oh, yeah, and the Picasso -- no row of people lined up to make another one just like it. Thus, in demand.
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Got it. Raymond called a bit ago (friendly fella, too).
Big Name Sewing Machines - Chinese Nutchells Or Us Made
in Leather Sewing Machines
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Most of the boys talking about these machines say good things about them and those who service them. Still, you have to admit there's some irony to a guy who uses an machine that's imported and then advertises that you should buy handmade and American. In the end, though, a good stitch is a good stitch.