TomG

Oh yeah.. He's paying for the change. Damn near as much as new leashes. But, if I can remove the screws relatively quickly, it will be the easier method for me.

Tried that. It gets so hot it starts to burn the leather. But.. I think I found a solution, but haven't tried it in the shop yet. I clamped the screw as tight as I could get it in the Weaver tool, held a heavy flat blade screwdriver between my legs and engaged the screw head. Used a 5/16" drill bit in my small cordless and was able to drill through he smooth side and it popped off. Now to rig a table vise to hold the bit, And use the drill press. I don't like a spinning drill that close to the jewels or femoral artery.... Thought of that, but it's a proprietary design, complete with a gold logo, so I'd still have to unscrew one end at least to modify it away from his design.

I have made a half dozen specialized leashes for a customer and they decided that they now want nickle hardware instead of brass. Unfortunately, I used Red Loctite instead of blue because on a couple of previous orders, he had "claimed" that some of the screws came loose. I personally find this a but hard to believe because they all had the blue Loctite and were installed using a Weaver screw clamp and a power screwdriver. So my question is how do I remove the brass screws? I've tried using a 3/8 drill in my drill press, but part way into the head, it spins. I tried a cutting chisel, but the leather layers(3) are so tight I can't get the chisel in and even if I did, the bottom edge of the leather would probably cushion it so much the chisel would not work. My next attempt is using a dremel grinder, but that seems sort of doomed to fail, but what do I have to loose. Oh, yeah... No, I can't just cut the ends off and redo it. The leash would be way too short.

I make these all the time. Go on eBay and look for this: slotted straight flat tip punch. They are Chinese made tools. you'll probably have to sharpen and stop them, but they do the job Tom

Thanks all. I expected as much. And Wiz, I know you are one of the sewing Gurus, so I was hoping that you'd chime in I'm very happy with the 227 and I don;t have a whole lot of call for the 207 and up sizes, but it would be nice to do it once in a while. I had a job recently restitching some leather furniture, and it used 386, I think, and I had to hand stitch everything. Took about 20 hours. LOTS of stitching... Anyway, thanks for the input. Later

I'm sorry if this has been covered (probably has ) and I just couldn't find it. What determines the largest thread a particular machine can handle? I have a Consew 227R-2 and 138 top and bottom is about it. I'd like to be able to sew 207 or 277 but not sure if there is a trick or a mod that will allow it. Thanks

This is a 24" US Robotics Laserpoint 1. The blue tape is great for all kinds of stuff. I've never had it leave any residue either. The only problem I've ever had using it on leather is if I apply it to the flesh side to say, keep antiquing off the back, when I pull i off it really fluffs up the flesh side fibers on a lot of pieces. I also am using a thin plastic sheet with the spray adhesive. But since the cutter uses a pretty good amount of force as it cuts and the vinyl cutter is designed for the vinyl to drape over the cutting bed, the leather tends to peel loose unless it's taped down. and cut Sloooooooooowwwwwwww

Denatured Alcohol. About $10 a gallon at the hardware store

I've cut a couple of things with a vinyl cutter. 1) You're limited to thin leather.. about 3oz max. 2) You cut very slowly 3) You need to make multiple passes 4) Leather need to be securely attached to a carrier sheet. 5) Blade needs to be extended to slightly longer than the thickness of the leather Here's a link to my video of the cut.

I bought some leather and tools as part of an estate and everything was exposed to mold and mildew. I took the shearling, veg-tan and upholstery hides and used a brush to get the loose stuff off. I then used a 50-50 lemon juice/water mix and a sponge to wash the leather, front and back, followed by a sponge rinse (except the shearling which was the back only). I didn't soak it, just lightly to kill the loose stuff that might be left. After they had dried very well, I laid them all out so air could get to both sides and turned on an Ozone generator for about 3-4 hours. 6 months later I still can not see or smell any mildew. Be very careful to do all of this except the ozzone treatment, outside and wear gloves and a mask.

That was it, Wild Bill. Thanks...

Nope.. It's not a Mystery Braid. I've heard it called a Slotted Plait, Slotted Braid and a few others. But nothing shows up on any of those search phrases

I am trying to do a flat braid, plait or whatever. I really don't know the proper name for it. I need some instructions or direction please. I've tried a bunch of different slot and connector length combinations, but just can't seem to get the proper combination to make it look right. Thanks in advance

Do you have a cut pattern or directions for this? I've been looking all over for it.

None of the above... Always cut the dye 50/50 with alcohol. Denatured is preferred but 90% rubbing alcohol will work too. Tom

Does the stamp have more than 1 curly at a time? I looked at the photo again and it still looks like the shape of the curves are different. Good luck in finding it. I suspect it might be a custom 1-of-a-kind

Are you sure it's a stamp? Some of the swirls look different.

I am resewing 2 leather chairs. The stitching is around the perimeter of each piece. The arms took me about 3 hours each. And a day or 2 to.let my hands recover. I bandaid my fingers and wear Gorilla Grip gloves from home depot. That helps a whole lot. Still have the backs to see and then I'll be done

I recently bought some leather supplies from an estate. One of the items was about a dozen bottles of Dr. Jackson's Leather Conditioner. I opened one tonight to try it on some stuff and it looks like it might have been frozen. I've shaken it until my arm is ready to fall off and it still looks clumpy with a clear fluid and blobs of what appears to be wax floating in it. Does anyone know of a way to reconsitiute this stuff?

Thanks. I got it. And it was pretty close to the figures cowboycolonel gave. Now to the tedious job of sewing all this stuff up. Hope the arthritis holds out <g>

I haven't sewn by hand in forever. I need to resew some leather armchairs but can't find my reference on how long to cut my thread for a strap. 3X the length, 4X? Thanks

Understand that! He sent me a 3D hand drawing.. pretty good visual... What I'm planning is to make a full sized pattern from his drawing and dimensions and make a paper copy first for his approval. I'll just leave the type of stitching up to him. Still struggling with a price range. I'm not sure how long it will take to make. But, I'll figure something out <g>

I have a customer who wants me to make him an “authentic” 1810 era Sequoyan carry bag. He is supplying the leather. He has sent a pretty detailed drawing of what he wants. No modern threads or machine sewing. All hand punched holes and rawhide lacing. It’s a pretty big bag, with gussets. I don’t have any real problems doing it, per se, but I have no idea of what a 19th century Indian bag would look like and Google has not been my friend. I have 2 questions, if anyone can answer either or both <g> 11) Do you think the stitching should be inside or just butting the edges together and whip stitching it. I doubt that the early Indians had saddle stitching or anything fancy, but I could be wrong. 2 2) How do I price something like this? Having never made one, I can’t even begin to know how long it will take..

Are you sure they are all strap end punches? the 3/4" and the 1-1/2" ones almost look like Oblong for slot punches. How much are you asking fo them?

What all of the previous posters said. There is a TON of information on this subject here. Not sure why you didn;t find much. What you will find is there are a number of ways to finish. You should try several on test pieces and use whichever one suits you best. Personally, I almost never use NFO. Maybe I should but I go a different route. I case and do my impressions/stamping. Then I apply resist if needed. Then I dye. Next I apply Leather Balm with Atom Wax. Followed by Antiquing gel if needed. Finally, a coat or 2 of Resolene or Acrylic Floor Wax, diluted 50/50 with water. Works for me.