Ferg

You may need to turn the gloves wrong side out to repair them.

You may be referring to "Patent Leather", it is shiny but there are many different leathers with a shiny finish. I wouldn't necessarily call them glazed. Not unusual for clothing leather to be 1mm to 1.8mm. Available from many suppliers. Ask for polished finish in lieu of glazed. ferg

If you had just brought the machine in from the cold garage I would think that was part of the problem. If you are storing thread in the cold garage, only bringing into the warm area when you need to sew that can be a problem. You mentioned your bobbin thread is fairly loose, you need to adjust the bobbin thread so it has a little tension. You may be confused with tension in which direction the thread is pulled. Less tension on the bobbin will allow the top tension to pull the thread above the top surface of the leather. Try to adjust both top and bottom about the middle and then work from there. When you switch from one thickness of leather to another or change thread size, your machine will often need to be readjusted. That is why you often hear about having several machines for doing different types of sewing. ferg

Very nice design, good work. ferg

I agree with you, the archives have gotten "rather large". I think it is a good idea, why don't you make the list. LOL ferg

I believe every one of your points has been addressed a number of times. Folks need to use the Archives but then I also know few will exert the effort to research some important things on their own. That is not any kind of smart aleck remark, it is the honest to goodness truth. Few folks with the knowledge have time to write a dissertation about running a sewing machine, on the forum. You Tube has many very informative videos for the asking. ferg

SethJ, Don't get all fired up at me. You are the one putting the video on You Tube. Sorry I don't buy the explanation, you could have sent the vid to Bob. I am sure you were frustrated. Everyone of us that bought a machine with little knowledge of what to do with them has had some of the same experiences. There are folks on this board who have been stitching/sewing leather as long as I have been messing with it. I laced most things before buying the machines. Folks with good hands and fingers do some fabulous work with hand stitching, I simply cannot do it anymore. Hang in there, it gets more fun in the future. Wiz, I wasn't talking about the marks from types of metal. I was referring to the indented marks left by the feet etc. ferg

ditto ferg

I also have a 29-4 that I redone. It didn't need a lot of restoration when I bought it. I stripped the paint, repainted it the original black and built a modern stand for it along with a Digital Servo. Works nearly perfect. I don't expect machines built 100 years ago to be perfect, even when I go over them. ferg

I certainly agree with you on sewing "Wet/Damp Leather". With my couple years of sewing with two different machines I have no idea why you would want to unless the leather being sewn was/is very hard. The feet make marks on dry leather I can remember what it looks like when damp. If the OP's video was placed on You Tube, shame on you. Bob and Bobby do everything asked of them and then some, they know what they are doing. An individual not having sufficient expertise to run a new machine should not be trying to put someone out of business with the reputation of these folks. Hope everything is working for you. ferg

Comments I found about the Radiata Pine: Common Uses: Veneer, plywood, paper (pulpwood), boxes/crates, and construction lumber. Comments: In the southern hemisphere, where pines are to a large extent absent, Radiata Pine is the most commonly planted and cultivated pine. It is valued on plantations for its fast growth and utility as both a source of construction lumber as well as wood pulp in the paper industry. I would suppose it was readily available where ever the units were made while the Oak wasn't plus difference in cost of the material. ferg

They use a folding machine to do their rolled edges. It has a piece of metal with a semi-sharp edge. Pressure applied with the machine indents the leather. Same technique with the little decorative groove above and below the slots. Now for the simplistic way of doing this: If you do not do metal work, have a machine shop make a piece of stainless steel bar with a "V" formed on one edge. The point should be slightly rounded, you do not want to cut the leather. You can place this piece of metal onto the leather and strike with a heavy mallet. There are numerous other ways to do this, but this is the simplest. ferg

I think you are attempting to use the wrong product in the wrong way When using the oil it should be applied to the outside of the item. You will need to apply a "finish" product that seals as well as finishing the leather. You may have some problems with your selection of color product either way. Some testing on a piece of scrap would be well advised. ferg

Skiving machine is an invaluable unit in your shop. Fairly high learning curve in using them but well worth the time and effort to learn to use them properly. Buy the best machine you can afford. Just about every clone, made in China, is the same machine with a different name attached. Some have very poor machining on some very important surfaces. I have a top and bottom feed and wouldn't consider only bottom feed. My top feed mechanism leaves considerable to be desired. I intend to rebuild that myself making it an excellent piece of equipment. ferg

Almost sixty years ago I started tooling leather just as you are doing. I did watch a man tooling once or twice but the majority of my education has come from text and simply practicing what the photographs and text tell me. Al Stohlman books are some of the best available. You are striking the tools way too hard. Ease up a bit and try not making your impressions so deep. When you do some tooling on bodies of figures use the modeling tools and follow same procedure, light touch is better. ferg

Holes for your thread are too big. Thread looks "funky". Did you wax it? End stitching by "back stitching" in same holes. Don't make a "knot" of thread on top when you end a stitch line. Bevel edges of work and burnish. Use an edge tool to mark the groove for stitches, making the lines of the stitch nice and even. Cut your fingernails as short as you can stand, they make those "scratchy" marks on your work. Practice, practice, practice. You will hear that a lot. ferg

I will try to do this as discretely as possible. Your tooling needs a lot of work. Desiring rough is one thing but lets get to some basic procedures of tooling leather. You desperately need to buy some books or video tutorials. Beveling should be a smooth transition from one impression to another. Study Al Stohlman techniques for use of tools. Don't take my dialog as picking on you. I only convey what I see. ferg

We used a very large hot stamping machine in our business at one time. Air operated, automatic feed, with 8" x 6" stamping capacity. $6,000. Be aware that I have no experience with this company or the machine in any way. Draw a rectangle on a piece of paper 2 3/8" x 3 1/2". That is maximum outline of your stamping area. More than likely it would stamp an area at least 1/4" TO 3/8" LESS ALL THE WAY AROUND. Now you have a machine that will stamp less than 2" x 3". Also, I doubt you could do much book cover stamping since the throat of the machine is very shallow. Don't go by the photos they include in their web site. My most disconcerting aspect of this? They cannot translate to English very well which tells me it isn't much. I have seen machines similar in size that were essentially made in the USA for about the same money. Recommendation from myself would be, save your pennies and get one of much better quality. ferg

A follow up: The sign on the delivery door done the trick. The regular driver is a lady who has been driving for them quite awhile, she is very good. I would have given a $100 to see the look on the person's face when they read the sign. They have delivered several large packages since, all were brought into the building. LOL ferg

We normally have very little problem with FedEx or UPS delivery personnel, BUT! This year they have put items in the rain, (Cases of Copy Paper). Last couple weeks in the snow. Machinery repair parts, etc. We have a sign on the front most door, not delivery door, for them to take items to far door after the overhead doors. They haven't opened or attempted to open the door. Don't know if this is partly due to our "Fabulous" educational system or what! Decided to place an additional sign on the delivery door, it reads as follows. UPS AND FEDEX DELIVERY GRASP DOOR KNOB TURN IT OPEN DOOR PLACE ITEMS INSIDE I bet they don't even read it!!!!! ferg

Access Bob Park's burnishing technique in the archives of this forum. Follow to the letter, you will have no trouble with your edges. ferg

A lotta patience and NO beer is more like it. Read everything you can find about using the skiving machines. ferg

This is a reprint. I have suggested that I need a copy for Christmas. Have to wait and see if Mrs Santa agrees with me. ferg

Well number one, you don't have the edge guide down where it belongs. The edge guide allows you to skive different widths. Your feed roller may be out of adjustment. Do you have a manual with this machine. It will give you the method for adjusting the feed roller. You may have a feed roller that looks like stone/carbarundom, they get full of dust from the leather and need to be cleaned often. Some are metal and have grooves cut into them so they grab the leather. The grooves acquire dust also, not as bad. ferg

Your skiving machine was set at the factory for correct angle etc. You only need to touch the grinding wheel to the bell knife slightly after normal use. I seldom grind for more than 2 or 3 seconds. Take care with the hone to get rid of the burrs. Soft touch for sure. With Chrome tanned leather you should sharpen slightly after every major skiving job. Veg tanned is a little different. Slow your feed speed down if you can, knife turns at high speed. Skiving on the machines takes practice. Read everything you can find about using them. I posted some info on using them some time back. Probably search for Skiving or Skiving Machine. ferg