TomG

Try 10% and 25% dilutions. I think I settled on 25% but don't remember

Actually, for the money, the GoldStar is not a bad little press. I do up to 200 double caps a month and it had been a real time-saver. You just have to be aware of the little things like using 9mm dies for Tandy medium double caps instead of the 8mm that Tandy claims their rivets are. And their Line 20 dies don't fit Tandy Line 20 snaps without modifying the dies. But those are really Tandy issues and not GoldStar. But, if I was going to be setting caps for hours a day, I'd definitely go with a better quality press and die set, for the durability, if nothing else.

Did almost the exact search years ago when they were discontinued and all I got back were references to Tandy and it's various distributors. Good job finding them

I have a guy who wants a custom holster made like the one in the photo below. I haven't found a similar one that leans like this. Plus, I really have not done molded holsters and don't have time to start now. Is anyone interested in taking it on? He is in the Atlanta area Thanks

They look like the old Tandy Star rivets. They discontinued them a number of years ago. I've never found a replacement for them either. Let us know if you do!

I think they are all the same for that series of machines, but I could be wrong. Wiz and others can confirm that though. I had a similar issue a few years back on my Singer 111W155. There is a pin the behind it that pushed the tension discs apart when the pressor foot is lifted. It was stuck in the out position and that removed all tension. Something to check.

Fiebings had discontinued all shades of their leather balm and are only producing the Neutral. While this works, I liked the brown and black as I've found it helps smooth and blend out any irregularities in the dye job. Has anyone tried to color the Neutral with dyes? I spoke to the Fiebings guy and he didn't have a clue as to how to do it. I'm going to try it myself, but figured I'd check here first before trying to reinvent the wheel <g>

Dave, Can you post pictures of the 10M set - I'm assuming that they are double cap sets? I have the same press and I have the 8mm and 9mm sets. It presses double cap rivets fine. That being said, I DO have to put the cap end down and the post end up to get good, consistent results. But mine look identical to the ones you show. But, both have a very shallow curvature on the bottom die. You have to look closely, but it's there. One point with these dies -- The double caps they fit are everyone's product, except Tandy. Goldstars rivets have 8mm caps They claim other vendors "mediums" are 8mm as well. Tandy states their medium is 8mm as well, but it measures 9mm. Tandy has a very nice-looking press now and feels good. But I have a real problem paying $60 to $120 for dies. If I were running a production line, I could maybe justify it based on them appearing to be more heavy duty. But not for some 200 or so rivets a month. Of. The Goldstar Line 20 die set will not set the socket part (I think) of the Tandy line 20's. I've got some line 20's from Zack White and one other vendor and they fit fine. If I start doing a lot of Line 20's I'll buy another set, chuck the socket die into a lathe or drill press and knock the diameter down about 2mm or so. Will probably take all of 3 minutes. I also had a few phone and email conversations with the owner (Dave?). He was OK to deal with. Not overly friendly, but not at all hostile. He was cooperative when I had to exchange my first set of dies due to that size issue. But I have read threeads here where folks have had issues with him like yours. No telling <g> Appreciate any pictures of those 10mm dies.

On carpet but I could lay some cardboard down. I don't even think it's in there now. Of course, it IS small. I've used a very bright light and laid under the machine, in back, front, top etc. I've used a dental probe to see if anything shifts as I poke around and had my wife turn the wheel as I looked and nothing moves. When I pulled that bottom case cover off, the cover sort of snapped off suddenly, so if it was in the bottom of that, there is no telling where it went. Turning the head upside down and shaking will have to wait until I get some help. I had surgery on my wrist last week and am still in a cast. And dikman... that is my worry as well. It would be just my luck...

Well, this may be the stupidest question ever posted, but I have to share my pain. I am sewing down each side of 3/4" straps. Done many of them, so it should be a drop-kick. I have a pretty new Consew 227R that began giving me erratic bottom stitches last night. I get a few lines that look pretty good. Then I get one where the entire line has the top thread being pulled down to the bottom. Now, to get the "good" lines, I had to adjust the top tension to almost max to pull them up. Bobbin tension felt relatively light and adjusting it in 1/4th turn increments didn't seem to help. Threaded, re-threaded, re-threaded, etc. (Using 138 nylon). Bobbin in correctly. No snags, thread pulls through smoothly on top and bottom. I stopped by my local dealer and his tech said I might have a damaged bobbin tension spring or trash in it. I took it off to check it. Dropped the tension screw down by the hook and it disappeared. I took off the cover under the hook but I can not find that stinking screw. So -- the stupid question is --- Is there some little nook or cranny under there that these screws like to hide . There's ALWAYS some oddball place that lost screws hide <g>... Hopefully, my dealers service shop has some spares tomorrow. End of Pain Sharing !!!!

I never even thought of the silicone parchment. I just happened to see this during a trip and since I had a bunch of strap ends to glue up, thought it might work. It works well, but it's time consuming to rub the glue off. A couple of spots would be no problem. But I have streaks all over it. But, I do like that it's reusable and folds up to store easily. I've got a couple of ideas I'm going to try tomorrow <g>...

Have any of you treied that red glue mat Tandy carries now? I just bought one to try and it seems OK, but could be larger. But I'm trying to figure an easier way to clean the dried glue off than finger rubs, which is what was suggested. It works but it's slower than hell.

Check the needle. Possibly worn out. Check the feeder plate for burrs. But first, check your tension and make sure nothing is snagged or threaded wrong. Have you ever used 46#? I don't know about your machine, but I seem to recall 69# is the smallest my machines will handle (111W155 and 227R). There is also left and right twist threads. You said it was just purchased, so maybe the wrong twist? Post what you find. Helps us all <g>

What would you use a 19mm button stud for? In fact, is there any rule of thumb for what size to use where?

Water. It helps prevent cracking when the leather is flexed

So you guys are saying that you can dip dye using the Pro Waterstains? I thought you had to rub it into slightly damp leather. How long do you dip it? My oil dyes only take seconds to dip.

I use Leather Balm with Atom Wax and after well dried, top it with a very light coat of 50/50 Resolene or acrylic floor wax. Right after the Leather Balm, I flex the leather a bit and it limbers right up. Of course, 80% of my stuff is straps of some sort, so that part is easy <g>. Works well for me. Someone else I know uses the floor wax first and the Leather Balm on top. Works for them as well.

I did not know a lot of this. I wondered about the Ligne/Line designations but never took the time to learn the history. Thanks for the education!

I'll do that. I have generally been using a 12 oz rawhide maul. I put the cap holder on my slab and hammer until the sound changes from soft to sort of a "tink". Hard to explain unless you're listening as you hammer... But I still have to fiddle with the female socket. I have never figured out what I have, as far as setters go. I have 2 setters for these but they are slightly different. I know there are Line 14's out there, but the difference is not enough for that to be the answer. Both appear to be Tandy setters. So, what I wind up doing. is setting as above using the slightly smaller setter and then testing the fit. I then use the slightly larger setter and gently tap the socket until I get a good snap, I then snap them together and tap the cap on an anvil to "set it". If I just set with the smaller setter, I can set the on the anvil but can't get them apart without prying them. If I use the larger setter, they don't hold well. I placed an order for some buckles and D-Rings from OTB today and they are sending me a few samples of their Segmas to try. BUT... They have Size 21 and Size 22. I have not seen those sizes anywhere else and Google couldn't find them either. Has anyone heard of these sizes?

As Gary said. It's a surgical staple remover. Still widely used by Vets.

When I first started leatherwork, I used them almost exclusively for a time. I found them to be temperamental and pretty fussy about factors like the leather thickness, how hard I set them and whether the setter was perfectly vertical. Same as you have found. I also had a couple of setters of vaious ages and found differences in which one I was using. Although I got fairly good a developing a routine, I still had way too high of a redo rate. Now, in all fairness. I was using them on 2/3 and 3/4 oz leather. This is actually too thin for what they are intended for. On 5/6 to 7/8, they worked much better. So, a large part of it was "wrong tool for the job". But even with the correct thickness, I was still experiencing too much waste. I also was using Tandy snaps, and the female socket was kind of flimsy. I bought a small package of them recently for a custom request, and found that I could actually move the "ears" with my thumbnail after setting them. So, now I use glove snaps for the thinner stuff and line 20 or 24 for the thicker stuff. Finally, I have heard that using a press and dies reduces the error rate significantly. But I don't have those dies and am not spending $100 to find out So, check out the glove snaps if you are using the thinner leather and see if they fit the bill for you. Later

I had this happen once when I had the bobbin installed the wrong way. Check it like MikeSC said.

I saw some of these at the Ren-Fair here in Atlanta. The leather felt like upholstery leather. Soft, and a bit pliable. I assumed it was glued together. I actually introduced myself and tried to discuss the technique (I have no shame ), but I really am not interested in make these for sale. Too many other irons in the fire. But the gal at the booth said she was just an employee and had no idea of how they were made. But I do like the white leather glue idea. It "feels" right. It stays flexible, yet will hold the leather together. I'd use the plastic clips they sell to hold cloth together for sewing the seams. Expensive, but nice. About #0 for a box of 50, but with a coupon from JoAnns it drops it can drop in half...

Found out today that this press will take the Tandy dies. Thanks for all of the input

I did actually think of the inserts, but haven't had time to follow up on it. Wish I still had my metal lathe