Ferg

Doeskin, baby calf, goat, and I use Kangaroo for everything. ferg

Robert, I am not interested in your leather. You might have a problem with this since some of the pieces you have cut the best parts from the hide. Nothing wrong with that, you just might have a problem getting $120 for them. My .02 ferg

Change your routing of the thread after the post on top of machine. From right to left through the top hole, left to right in middle hole,(don't wrap thread around this),the right to left through the bottom hole. I don't know how you have your thread coming off this three hole piece for sure, this is the way it should be. From the bottom of the three holes go over the top of the adjusting discs, pull the thread between the discs and out the right side of same then down under the bottom adjuster, between the discs up on left side. When you pull the thread up to go into the top "Uptake" make sure the thread hooks over the little pointed piece on the back disc. The remainder of your thread route looks okay. After doing this do not change any tension before trying to sew. If the thread is still pulled out to the bottom you need to loosen the tension screw on the bobbin. One/eighth of a turn each time before testing again. If you need to do this more than 3 or 4 times you have your top tension messed up or the wrong "Bee Hive" spring on your top adjuster. ferg

Bought some skins from Pergamena. They were okay. My biggest concern was how "floppy" the Goat skin is. Would be okay for lining but not much else. ferg

Monica, Hide House has the American Bison. I believe that is where I bought my last hide. Seems they have Baby Bison also.Both are great leathers. If you google "American Bison Leather" you get a whole list of dealers. ferg

Save your money a little longer and get a cylinder arm. You can do a "Fast Attach" for a table. You then have two machines for the price of one. This scenario isn't so great if you have lots of business. If you get busy later you can get another machine that doesn't require you to go to the bank for loan to acquire repair parts. Just my .02 ferg

I do not join any of the social sights. I cannot view this without becoming a member. ferg

Looks like it could be an 1873 year model. Gosh that is something older than I. ferg

I had the piece of conduit. I really only needed a hole for my iPhone. lol Most of those shapes on e-bay can be made for next to nothing from readily available material. Too old to buy much on e-bay I guess. ferg

Plus I am about ready to disconnect the bank, Safari, Office Supply store, Walmart, etc. from anything on my cell. The spam and advertisements are getting way out of hand. ferg

I don't think I am the only one needing to cut the hole for camera and flash in leather cases for Cell phones. Didn't have much luck finding any stock Hole Punch that would work and I am sure, to have one custom made would be too expensive. Decided to make one. I used a piece of 1/2" metal thin wall conduit. You could clamp the end of the tube in a bench vise, I used a special type of Vise Grip, to slowly clamp the end close to the dimensions you need. I then inserted a piece of 5/16" x 1/2" solid brass into the crimped end. Using a flat headed steel hammer I continued to shape the tube to what I need for a Cell Phone. Ground a bevel at about 60 degrees on the outside of the crimped end to almost sharp then continued sharpening with a stone. Finished the edge on my leather strop. Cuts perfect. My first attempt at making one of these isn't exactly right on one side, will make another and correct that. Enclosed photos: ferg

needlesYou can accomplish the same thing with the Fenice Brand. They even have a kit of all basic colors plus clear to use for over 100 different colors. ferg

As many of you know, Tandy is distributing the Italian edge paint from FENICE. I bought some dark brown and some red the other day and have been experimenting. A few things I have found about using the product: The little steel bladed tool Tandy is selling is great for doing the edges. They have a short tutorial showing how to use the tool, if you try this product, view the tutorial. I wouldn't want to use a "Dauber". Too messy. You need to have the edges of the leather cut as near perfectly vertical as you can. Glue completely to the edge of both or many pieces and roll them down and then using a flat faced hammer, pound them down as tight as possible. It takes many coats of the paint to fill the joints if this is not followed. When I cut straight lines/edges of leather I find I can use a roller blade and get a very good edge on the leather. I tried two pieces of thin Kangaroo, two pieces of 3-4 Oz. veg tan cowhide, one piece of Kangaroo glued to one of kidskin, and a piece of upholstery leather glued to some veg tan cowhide. I read somewhere, you cannot use the edge paint on soft chrome tanned leather. That is not exactly true. You need to apply more coats to fill the pores but it still works. None of these pieces have been done long enough to see how they perform when bending or roughing them up etc. After cutting the leather I sanded with 600 grit sandpaper. Not sure if that is necessary when the edges of the leather are tightly glued. I did not stitch any of the trial pieces I done before applying the edge paint. I would definitely do that on a finished piece, after I get more experience at application. Too much paint on the metal wand can make a mess. It will run over the edge and onto the face or back side. I love to do rolled edges. They are time consuming if you want them to look good. The edge paint is time consuming if you want them to look good. I am sure the edges painted with Fenice is going to be something I am going to work with and learn to use properly. The edges are beautiful, especially since we can use quite a few colors. When the paint is dry I will take some photos and post them. BTW: When you hold the metal wand correctly you will have a nice rounded edge. I glued two pieces of upholstery leather together, rounded the edges with a tool, painted it. The paint will go to the rounded spot on the leather but not over the edge as you might expect. ferg

Don't know if any of you are getting this one or not. We are getting Phone calls from Lord knows who, saying they received our e-mail and wanted to get more information. They know our names and I can only guess what else they know. BE CAREFUL FOLKS, WE DO NOT LIVE IN THE SOCIETY SOME OF US GREW UP IN. ferg

When you come up with a price figure send me a PM. I may be interested. ferg

The work is great. The green Taupe reminds me of my youngest daughter and her brunette hair died Red. Neat, well stitched and you obviously done a good job on your blanks, ferg

I received an E-Mail to my personal account this morning from someone named John. Supposedly lived in USA but now in Japan. He said I had tools for sale at some time, I don't and didn't, wanted me to contact him with ANY FURTHER INFO. Sounded "fishy" to me. Just wanted to give you folks a heads up. BTW: I didn't answer him. ferg

If you type the model number into Google you will get numerous sites offering parts manuals among other things. Wiz can tell you most if not all the information regarding what this machine is capable of. ferg

The Watco is a varnish is it not? I have sprayed thousands of gallons of Nitrocellulose Lacquer on just about everything imaginable. One of them was not Leather. ferg

Ohio Bag would be a place to look. Check page 42 of the Ohio Travel Bag catalog on-line. (ohiotravelbag.com) Some pretty close to what you are wanting. ferg

If I understand your photo correctly, your are actually sewing the raised front to a flat back, right? I do this all the time. There are feet with an 1/8" side, either left or right, and those can be modified so you do not have any foot on one of the sides. My experience shows me that if you have no foot on one of the sides of the needle it is more difficult for the machine to pull the item being sewn straight. You don't want to get so close that the machine will mark your finish and I do not sew closer to an edge than 1/8" on bags or most wallets. Watch straps are something else. ferg

Zack White ferg

I answered this once but it didn't stay. I believe your best method would be to make a tube of your leather, stitching lengthwise as well as the end/butt joints you may have. The tube will need to be as snug as you can make it and still pull it onto the rail. If the rail is semi-round this should be no problem, fancy rails would be a bigger problem. Finish with Olive Oil. Apply semi dry applications until you get the look you wish. Use an old T-shirt to buff and wipe excess oil from the leather. I would apply the oil after you attach to the rail. You will need to clean the leather before applying the oil. Use some brass tacks to secure the leather to the rail. Recess the tacks slightly below leather surface so you don't catch your hands on them. If you do not wish to stitch the leather you can simply wrap the rail and attach to the bottom with tacks. You may want to glue the joint with this method but don't glue the leather to the rail other than a slight bit on the wood at the joint. The leather and the wood rail are two very different materials and will react to temperature and humidity differently. ferg

Nice work! One comment: Most folks making their first several wallets use too thick leather for the "innards". ferg

Ditto what Bob said. My 29-4 loves 69 thread but does very well with 92. ferg