TomG

Yup.. Keen edge is OK.. And $30 cheaper than the Amazon one. Essentially the same tool

Nice bands. I do have a couple of questions. I've only made a couple of 2 ply straps and wasn't real happy with my quality. Mainly the stitching. 1) Do you make it oversize and trim it down after gluing together and then sew? 2) Do you hand sew or are you using a machine? 3) What weight thread did you use? 4) is there any benefit or difference between sewing across the strap at the pin or not? Thanks in advance.

I've been using a heavy duty utility knife for most cuts. I have a couple of head knives but am working on sharpening them (struggling is a better word). I have recently begun using a Stohlman brand curved trim knife for cuts that require curves. I'm finding that I can keep it against the edge of my guide or follow a curved line easier with that curved tip, than the flatter bulkier utility blade. I do need to work on sharpening it as well. I've stropped the fire out of it, but it needs a bit of touchup to be better.

I think the wrench may be a bicycle wrench.

E. is a tool to punch the holes for spots and stuff. I have one I bought new about 3 years ago. The bits are soft and need to be ground to size and hardened..

I use denatured, but most pharmacies carry the 90% stuff which will work. Some people even dilute with plain old tap water, but I haven't tried that. Experiment on some scrap first

Cut them 10 to 50% with Alcohol. They are almost always too dark out of the bottle. Plus, they will lighten up quite a bit as they dry.

Dwight, I have been using a folded rag and then even dab the rag on a paper before applying to the leather. I'm trying to avoid putting it on too thick. But maybe I'm putting it on too thin? Does the brush hold a lot like it would with paint?

I use Resolene. 2 coats. 3 is better. Dry 24 hours. Apply dye quickly. Don't "scrub" the dye into the resist or it will get blOtchy. Results will vary. Or, if you have a steady hand, use the latex mask stuff. Do a search for it here. Tom

The mod will not slow it down lower than its lowest speed. It does make the control of that speed smoother and easier to sew slowly. As others said, 2" or smaller pulley and speed reducer, combined with the mod you found, is the way to go.

Do a search here or on YouTube. There are a number of threads on how to do this. You didn't say what make and model of servo motor, what size pullet you have now. Usually anything beyond using the smallest pulley involves making a modified interrupter paddle for the optical control.

I think the white is only good for touchup on things like white nurses shoes and such. I sure does stink though!

Just saw my post created 2 entries.. Weird. Just dyed 2 more straps and they still look blotchy. My dye tubs are in the garage and cold. Hmm.. I wonder how temp affects the dye. Cold dye - warm leather??

I love the results of using Mink Oil Paste on the back of my collars, leashes and bracelets. Makes them extremely soft and pliable. But I have been "chastised" for using that instead of NFO. I prefer the Kiwi CampDry over the Fiebings. It seems to work better. I'll try the resist method and see how it works. Thanks for the tip.

Hi Dwight. Yup. I learned early on not to hang a wet strap. You drag procedure sounds identical, except I have begun pulling through in about 2 seconds of submersion and then back the other way for 2 seconds....Then wipe off the excess as quickly as I can. I haven't done the belt flip. Will have to try that. I have coiled it loosely and gotten the one-way fade. what I have been doing now is using an 8 foot piece of wood moulding/trim left over from a remodel job. The back side has a shallow flat channel that holds up to a 1" or so wide strap perfectly flat. I have some Rubbermaid 1 quart rectangular tubs I found at Walmart that I use. I like them because they actually seal air-tight, so I can leave the dye in them all the time. I'll try a slower drag and see how that works.

I have been dip dyeing my collars, belts and leashes for a while now. But I sometimes have erratic results. I am using a "drag" technique because soaking seems to over-color the straps. But if I dilute the dye more, can I just do a short soak and a quick wipe down as I pull it out and get more even and consistent results. I guess the real questions are - How do you do it AND... will the leather reach a saturation in a given dilution of dye and not get darker past a certain point? Say.. Will Saddle Tan become a brown if I leave it in say 3 minutes? Thanks

I have been dip dyeing my collars, belts and leashes for a while now. But I sometimes have erratic results. I am using a "drag" technique because soaking seems to over-color the straps. But if I dilute the dye more, can I just do a short soak and a quick wipe down as I pull it out and get more even and consistent results. I guess the real questions are - How do you do it AND... will the leather reach a saturation in a given dilution of dye and not get darker past a certain point? Say.. Will Saddle Tan become a brown if I leave it in say 3 minutes? Thanks

So, Bob and Electrathon. What makes the SK-3 better than others? What makes a knife bad, good or great? I have large hands and some arthritis setting in. I have been thinking of the newer Tandy Pro with the large barrel.

You always dye first with either method. I dye, buff, balm/wax, burnish edges, paint, outline then resolene. You always dye first with either method. I dye, buff, balm/wax, burnish edges, paint, outline then resolene.

Wow. Almost 24 hours and no responses??? I'm sure there are may ways to do this. I've done it 2 ways. First, I use Leather Balm with Atom wax on the leather. 2 coats buffed between coats and dried.. First method is to use a thin brush and acrylic white paint to fill the outlines. I keep a damp rag in my hand and if I hav an "oops", I quickly wipe it off. You can get away with a couple of oops in the same spot before you possibly blemish the finish a bit. I can usually get it in 1 coat with this.. The new way I've gone to is to use a white Sharpie. I use the Extra Fine Point, Oil-Based Paint model. It fits the outline almost perfectly. I usually have to do at least 2 coats as the leather seems to absorb it more then the acrylic paint. You will want to practice both methods. The pen has a spring-loaded tip to release the ink and you can push too much and flood the letter grooves. The couple of times it happened to me, I was lucky and it stayed in the grooves. I was able to spread it out to the rest of the outline. But it could have easily overflowed and I don't the damp rag would have fixed it. Just go slow and careful.

I've been looking for a set of the old log letter sets if you have any of those. Tom

Much better <g>

This is not about your problem, but... Your "Interests" and Interested In.." sections in your profile are bleeding into your message. You might want to remove those "/" between the words, and use commas and spaces instead "Tooling/Dye/Stain/..." to Tooling, Dye, Stain...

Peter Main has an excellent and definitive book on coloring leather using dyes. I believe you can order directly from him. If I'm wrong, he can advise you on where to buy a copy. I'd start there and use it as your main guide.

What Howie said... You're only chance that I can see is if you put a copper rivet in and solder to the rivet. But you're going to have fumes out the wazoo probably. Solder melts at something like 750 degrees F. What are you trying to do?