billymac814

I'm with ya, my Jeep is a 1996. I have no complaints with the way the pretty ones perform, everyone I've got works great, but I don't need them to be all fancy pants for an extra charge. I don't often see this in other trades for some reason, my guess is because the tool makers are usually also leatherworkers so they continue to make art through their tools. Now my thoughts are slightly hypocritical though because if someone wanted me to make a holster that was more utilitarian and they didn't care about how it looks I'd probably tell them to pound sand. I don't consider myself to be cheap, I just don't like to spend money on things that aren't important to me. Quality is important to me though and I'd rather be able to afford more quality tools rather than just a few that work the same but look pretty.

There were more tool makers that would either make or offer a more utilitarian tools that could be sold cheaper. Don't get me wrong I sure like looking at some of these very beautiful tools they produce but man they get expensive. I would gladly opt for an edger with a plain old handle that had an excellent cutting surface for less money than one made of some exotic wood with the same excellent cutting surface for a lot more money. I just want my stuff that performs well over top of anything else and not have to take out a business loan to get a few hand tools. Am I alone here or would there seriously be a market for a more utilitarian version of what they already offer. Or is there someone who makes what I'm after? Cs Osborne is pretty utilitarian by looks but the performance is so so on some of thier items.

Do they intend to send someone to read the manual to you and maybe an electrical engineer along with the wiring diagram to explain it to you? That's quite insane that any company would try to gouge someone like that. Sorry though I'm of no help but I hope you find one.

Very cool, I've done the the same technique a few times but I never thought of dyeing it a different color, I just left in natural. Thanks for sharing!

Its an Adler as Bob said, probably modified( this is what I got from Bob and Steve's post). I would think you'd be fine doing tack repairs with it as long as you don't need to sew beyond its capabilities. (1/2") Maybe one of the other guys will chime in and help you with cost, and more details on what would have been modified, I'd say alot will depend on condition and how well it sews. The best thing to do would be take the thickest and thinnest thing you'll need to stitch and go see it and try it out. You could also google The Model number that Bon gave a few posts ago and see what others have sold for. I know that doesn't give you much to go on, but hopefully someone else can chime in.

On a somewhat different but related topic It annoys me that when Tandy offers these sales that anyone can get them for the best price which is cheaper than the wholesale price. I'm a wholesale customer and sell a few of their basic tools and kits and if an item goes on sale I can't even match the price because unless I got it on sale its less than I paid for it. Half the time I wait until something goes on sale to buy it. That just doesn't seem right to me or those who pay for gold and elite memberships.

I would hope for the price it is that they would at least give decent leather. You would think it would be better than a 7 dollar cell phone case. If they would offer kits like that unpunched with decent leather I think it would be a viable option for certain projects. Sure you'd pay a little more than making the patterns yourself and cutting them but the time saved would be make up for it in the end if your selling it, especially if you're only making 1 of them, if you're making 10 I'd probably opt to cut them though.

I think that thread covered a single layer belt which generally dont get stitched unless its just for decoration. Pretty much any weight will work, it just depends on how thick you want it. My concealed carry belts are roughly 1/4" thick so I normally use two layers of 8 oz or somewhere close to that. Some make them with one layer thicker than the other. You could also do 2 layers of 5 oz for a lighter weight belt.

You'll get it. Do a couple belts, that'll give you some practice.

Here's a test piece that I did when I was deciding which way to go. I ended up going with the one on the right, they end up being spaced a little farther that way but I felt it seemed more secure and it allowed the back side to lay flatter so there wasn't a bulge after I put the liner on. You could also simply stitch it however that is the least secure way and I repaired several of those in my shop where the stitching starts to pull out. Lace up the loops while its damp so you can pull it pretty tight. I inserted a shell each time I made a loop and kept going.

Also flouresent lighting seems to work about as good as the sun. I can tell just when I let leather lay on my cutting table that it darkens up.

What he said.

Ill get volume 3 with my next order. That way ill have the set, I have most of his other books too, I buy them and then sell them in my shop, or at least they sit in my shop for sale. The only one I seem to ever sell is the handsewing one. Cj, good luck with the kit, be sure to post pictures when its done.

I agree that the Stohlman items are out of date in those books, the techniques are still good like you mentioned. But you never know when you need to make a case for a Poloroid Instamatic. I bought the first two, I should pick up the third, I didn't think it seemed pertinent to me but you never know. Its ashame that there really isn't anyone making these types of books anymore. Well none that I know of anyway, maybe there is??

A round awl won't cut through the leather easy, it'll just push the material out, that goes for hand stitching and machine stitching. You'll get the hang of the angle with practice, a stitching pony will make your life much easier. They are easy enough to make or they can be bought pretty cheap if you don't have the means to DIY. Also I'll occasionally stich my awl in a cake of beeswax, it makes going in and out a little easier. When you get the pony done you'll be able to see where the awl is coming through on the backside, if it isn't where you want it pull it back through and push it in again, if your pushing it into a poly board or something you can't see where its punching through.

What kind of cash are we talking for the machine plus shipping?

Isn't that a sole stitcher and not a patcher? If you were in the US I'd be interested.

Thanks, once in a while I'm even happy with my results! I'm a tough critic though.

I agree 100%. I used to constantly have problems with dye bleeding into my thread, now I use Pro oil dye and never have a problem no matter the color. Here are a few, and often times my dye is barely dry. I've tried leaving regular spirit dye dry for up to a week and it still bled during molding. I don't have the time to vinegaroon it all and I don't care for the smell, I k ow it goes away but still.

4" wide seems too wide to me too, I'd probably shoot for a tad wider than the length of the shells he'll be using. I don't know the average width but I'd say that would vary depending on the type of shell I'm not a bandolier maker so don't take my word for it. Here is the only thing I ever made with bullet loops. I do primarily modern gunleather so this was different than what I normally do.

I've sanded down stingray, you could do that so the edges are smooth and slide under easily. As far as glue goes I would normally say a contact cement however you'll probably need to be able to slide the stingray under the metal part so contact cement might be out . You'll need something that you can apply wet like wood glue (not saying to use wood glue, just something like it). Just don't use anything that expands when it dries like gorilla glue. Oh and sanding sting ray STINKS. It smells like burning dog toe nails. Where at least a dust mask

I figured if share my method of burnishing edges. I used to spend a ridiculous amount of time doing it with a bunch of different steps using saddle soap, water, dye, wax etc. now I do them much quicker and the results are pretty good. First I sand the edges smooth using about an 80 grit that's worn down a bit so its probably finer. I then bevel the edges. At this point I sometimes will hit the edge lightly with a sponge sanding pad, rarely though for most things. If its a black item Ill apply the die right now using Pro oil dye using a thick piece of felt(scraps from my ankle holsters). If its lighter colors ill usually apply a bit of water and hit it with the burnishing wheel for a little bit, this helps get a nice clean line. Next I use my wood burnisher that's mounted to a motor on the side of my bench, I have this controlled with a foot pedal. Ill usually use two different grooves, the first pass is a narrow one that does the edges, the next a wider one that hits the center, sometimes I get lucky and one groove fits perfect enough to do both. After that my edge is pretty good. Ill rub a little beeswax/paraffin wax mixture on it very lightly and now hit it on the felt pad wheel that's mounted below my cuck in the motor. This is simply about 3/4" of felt sandwiched in between two washers. This does a foot job at heating up the wax allowing it to penetrate a bit. If its a belt ill usually take a tee shirt and wipe down the edge to remove any residual wax which also polished it to a nice shine. I don't always bother to do this on certain things, it really depends on how much wax is on there, ideally if I put the right amount on I won't have to do this. That's it, later during the process I'll finish it off with some resolene. The pictures show a test piece. This was done in far less than a minute, I wasn't too worried about a crisp line here as you can tell since it was scrap. The other foot pedal you see in the picture controls my flex shaft grinder. As you can also see I watch directv while doing this. I was able to make a deal with a local company that sells directv to have a sign up in my shop and in return they out in Directv in my shop.

Its pretty cold right now in Altoona. Freezing cold actually. Luckily my shop is a balmy 70. Here's a picture of my set up. I cut the ram off and attached a 1/2" plate. It serves double duty as I use it for clicking and molding, I just replace the gum rubber with another 1/2" thick piece of steel. A foot control would be nice, unfortunately my hose isn't long enough so I'd have to switch that. Otherwise the control could easily be modified. I have a foot control for my burnisher and my grinder(dremal type but bigger with a flex shaft) As you can see a pair of vise grips makes releasing the pressure quite easy. I also have the button clamped to where its convenient.

Thanks, ill check them out.

You'll also spend less on the dies. If you need one die the mallet type might be a good choice. Otherwise you can get a small bench top press and use it, they are cheap at harbor freight.