JLSleather

Are you emotionally attached to it? Is it "special" leather? Instead of spending money and time on things that "might" or "could" work, I'd personally likely sell that leather for what i can reasonably get. Do what you're going to do. Buy more leather when you're ready for it. Cash travels (and stores) quite well.

My latest machine was a bit north of $2500, one before that was about half that (not the same model). Do I think the price is inflated for what it is? Yup. But i paid it because I figured the benefit was worth it at the time. I have no idea what the "dealer" paid for it, or any taxes or duties involved. Nor do I care. That one machine, girl wanted $1200 and I paid. If she said $1500 she'd still own it. But WHY she set the price the way she did is neither my business nor my concern. She could tell me long stories about "overhead" and "all the work that goes into making the video about it"... NEITHER of which is my issue. Truth is, you pay that stuff every day. Stop and get coffee, and you're paying for the new parking lot, the lights, that girl behind the counter, (even the day she calls in sick), her insurance,.... and on and on. Now, NONE of that is my problem - and I could just go make my own coffee. SOMETIMES, I like to just pay a bit for the stuff that's already done. I do try to steer away from the coffee girls who say stupid things (i mean, I do shop selectively). NOW THEN... I return you to the regularly scheduled (originally asked) question: WHICH is the best machine, which I will leave to people more knowledgeable than myself. Maybe I'll go make a video about picking sewing machines... making a video "about" something obviously requires no actual knowledge of the subject ....

No, hey -- I 'get' it. Good while back I saw this one.... didn't order it, though. I see now says not available. Looks JUST like that cobra thing, don't it?@! When I saw it available, it was priced about 40% of what that cobra sells for, making that some VERY expensive paint job. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2019484089.html?spm=2114.01020208.3.9.tLdJ5p&ws_ab_test=searchweb201556_1_71_72_73_74_75,searchweb201527_1,searchweb201560_9 Even the "add-ons"... drop down edge guide was like $30 (not 90).. with no minimum order required and if they charged me a "tariff" it was so small I didn't catch it Like ya say, guy has to shop just a bit (or should anyway). Other day I looked ebay for some "dummy" guns I couldn't find... and what i found was there are many 'dummy guns" available at many retailers in the $50-60 range... now offered on ebay (same brand, same gun) at $60-100. I don't know why anybody would be uninformed enough to pay that, but it must happen or they wouldn't be there, right?

Don't think I would do an acrylic. You can change out the word "acrylic" of the word "paint", generally. Acrylics, like paint, sit on top of the leather rather than penetrate it. They may discolor ("stain") the leather but they are not a permanent solution for any item that sees actual use. If you're making something like a wall hanging that just gets viewed, then acrylics are likely fine. For something that will actually see USE, I'd certainly lean toward a dye or, alternately, a stain. I have used their stains in walnut, black, and mahogany with good results, but -- down side, I don't know that FIebing's has a BLUE stain. I'd opt for the DYE. Depending on the shade you want, you might THIN IT and then THIN IT AGAIN. The navy is nearly black if applied full strength, but it can be thinned to transparent or anywhere between.

Yeah, it's a TWO 38 , but 'preciate the effort. Well, @wayner apparently not coughing up the design, so I guess I'm going to rework that one. Not a problem.. there was maybe something I could have done better than that version anyway

You'll see people selling Hermann Oak leather, in B and C (and worse) grades, for TWICE what Hermann Oak charges for A grade. Hermann Oak is NOT in China. Tariffs my backside But that will continue as long as people are willing to pay it. I pay $2 for a simple coffee at teh "convenience" store. I know I could make my own coffee for like a quarter, so the markup is insane. But, The $1.75 extra is for not having to go to where my coffee pot is, pour the stuff... etc. In the end, I don't really care to hear the long-winded stories some tell about WHY the cost is the cost (usually just a line of BS marketing spew anyway). Just give me the total, and I'll pay it or I won't.

Yup. Guy might think that for $3k it would come with instructions

Yeah. Should. But...

Welcome. Studying? Whatcha studying? Maybe I can learn sumthin from it too! Can't find my Sig 238 pocket holster pattern. Anybody got a copy? I know of a couple places I could buy one, but they aint 'clean' as mine (stitch line fit), so .... still lookin' fer mine. @wayner

Well, it's Christmas after all Fits Glock 26 and 27 (and some say 33, though I have not personally witnessed that). Gk26_P0.pdf

Fair enough I "turned things on a lathe" for enough years I don't really care ta do it no mo if I kin help it.

That looks very nice But my wife AINT gittin one o those.. she'll just think it's reason to go back to the store and shop AGAIN... and will 'somehow' be "my fault" Humor aside, though, I like it.

We haven't really had that problem. A simple post "free leather patterns" got half a million downloads, and still brings people long after it was removed. When we trimmed trees, a mention of "free fire wood" had people arguing in the front street over who got there first. And when we gave away a box of jeans that don't fit the boys, we really didn't anticipate that the girl who got them would stalk us to see if we offered something else

You boys might be overthinkin it a bit. Not that there's anything wrong with thinking.... usually find a SHORTAGE of thought with most folks Back to the lift thingie.... I unscrewed that cheap little lever that came with it, threw it in a drawer. Then,... well, then nothing. If you need the presser foot lifted there's a PEDAL for that. Somebody now will say, "but i want it to STAY up" (for whatever reason - I'm not sure what that would be). Fair enough. There are many ways of doing that, TWO are quite obvious. If you step on the pedal, the pressure is taken off the top (lever) lift, allowing you to rotate it up - without a handle - as effortlessly as turning up your stereo volume. It will stay up until you release it. or, Get a girl whose sole job is to stand beside the machine. Get one who understands both "put your foot right there" and "take your foot off that". Try not to obsess about dress codes 'n' such.. again, that overthinking thing, right? But if you get stuck on this, the first option WILL work.

Man, that's a harsh review on these when they're free and still no takers I'm gonna pass on it too, but i did have one question -- these actually measure 9" long? Just askin' for display for the next feller. When I make this style of liner, I make the liner 9" long and the outer carving back 9 1/4" long.

Well, guess it's good not to be the only one - I ordered leather from Weaver once. And never again since. I could have saved money and aggravation had I treated other retailers the same.

Yup, that was my first thought too. Purdy close for 18 oz leather. I once had a 'loop' in the thread that caused it to go through the takeup but then caught AGAIN on teh lower tension.... causing a BIG tension gain (and it DID change teh stitch length) ... but I saw it before i got that far.

Check out this free download. https://www.leathercraftlibrary.com/product/1500/craftsman-instruction-book or this one https://www.leathercraftlibrary.com/product/1727/ideas-for-leather-projects-vol-1-1923 or this one https://www.leathercraftlibrary.com/product/1759/ideas-for-leather-projects-vol-2-1934

That's not the same design. If you look closely (the original post picture is quite dark) it does look as if a rectangle has been "cut out" of the main piece. The top strip (with the stitching showing) and the larger pockets appear to be cut from one piece.

Then you'll have no trouble following this. Not that "smankey", but sometimes it's nice not to have to reinvent the wheel when somebody already did. ETA Oh, those ' thingies' below were all done in PS

I just upgraded or updated or whatever .. some other software for designing - not PS. That button that looked like that in the top right of the screen now does exactly teh same thing it did before, but the button looks different and its in the top left of the screen. You have to wonder what the point was ... It'll be fine... just a bit of a time killer

That speaks volumes in itself. We wouldn't use it for holsters (generally 1/4" thick) but for wallets (most likely around 8 oz total).

!#%$!!@#! Software "upgrades"! Everything seems to work just as it did before, but now the "button" you need to click looks different and is in a different spot. What was the point of that.. try to irritate the customer into using some OTHER software?@! I assure you.. making regular changes to your $3-digit software is NOT an incentive to get me to buy your $4-digit software.