bootsmt

You can use mild soap and warm water to clean it. Don't soak it, rinse off all the soap by whiping off with a damp cloth. Let it dry and redress it. Murphy's oil soap should work.

Just search the internet for arts and crafts shows and some will come up and you pick. Try the source book, it may come up when you do your search. The book has hand made shows around the country. type in source book and it should come up.

It is twisted right and left because of the way the machine shuttle wraps the main thread around the bobbin thread for the lock stitch

I use all leather weight lifting gloves, works fine and if I am pulling needles I put a pair of latex gloves on first under the gloves and can grip the needles. The length of the fingers of the gloves cover where the string wraps around my hand. Frank

The 31-15 is a great machine, I have 2 of them. Yes it is worth fixing up and if it is set to sew you will be very happy with it. You can still get all the parts you ever need. This machine is one that many boot makers prefer and look for. If you need parts you can call the following places; Ralph's power Sewing machine Company, 1 800-525-0330 in Denver, Co. or Gateway 1800-752-7897 in Illinois. There is one more but my brain just froze up. Frank

The tool on the right is called a welt knife but is not used to cut welts on boots and shoes. It is used to trim the heel rand . The rand is the top layer of the heel on a shoe or boot. It lays on the leather about 90 degrees out from the boot and it has a lip or fence that allows the blade to reach only so far. Lay it on the rand and with pressure go around the heel to trim, level, it. Frank.

I have a new address and phone number, 406-260-1179 Polson, Montana.

It is true a 2 week class is not enough time to learn to make quality boots. It takes over 25 pairs of boots made by you to start building boots that are of good quality. As of yet I have not met anyone who has the time for at least 4 weeks of class time or who wants to spend that amount of time to learn this craft. Apprenticeships aren't that available with a boot maker. The time and energy to work with someone and get your own work out is hard to fit into the work days. So it comes down to the two weeks to get a gist of things and to practice on your own with calls back and forth with the person who instructed you to help you along. If anyone would be interested in and has the time for a longer class let me know, I would prefer it for my classes I conduct. Making boots is not as simple as people think it is. I had someone ask how many pairs do I make in a day, 3 or 4? Well it comes down to 2 or maybe 3 in a month if I am making boots for a repeat order and the boots aren't very ornamental. I don't take short cuts and I don't like to rush. I don't know how other makers go about their work, I am only speaking about myself. The cost of the class, tools , meals, and lodging is not inexpensive and is also a reason why people can't take a longer class. There are some people out there who will do what it takes when they have a desire to learn something. If anyone has a desire to learn boot making or whatever, listen and take in what you are being taught and don't try to come up with a better way, LEARN FIRST. After you have the basics and you think you have a better way of doing it , go for it and you might be surprised what you learn from it, MY TWO CENTS WORTH1 Frank English Frank English Custom Boots Ronan, Montana 406-260-1179 fnecustomboots@netzero.net

Keith go to ---- customcowboybootandshoeforum.com I think that is correct. You could just search for the Custom Cowboy Boot And Shoe Forum I haven't bought any last for a while. Email me at fnecustomboots@netzero.net and I will send you some sources. There are sources on that forum also. Frank

I'll tell you why you didn't win. First place wasn't grand enough for these boots and they felt embarrased not to have a worthy award. LOVE RED! Frank

People should decorate their homes with these. When I save up some money .

I corrected the web address. Sorry

A whole lot of people today don't even know what quality is, so why would they want to pay you for a quality item when they can buy a cheaper one ? They have no concept of anything lasting tomorrow. It was cheap enough in the fist place and still cheaper than your price,sooo they repeat their habits. I make boots and I had people tell me their boots hurt their feet and thought that was how they were suppose to feel.