Ferg

My first thought is that you didn't "case" wet the leather. If you no nothing about preparing leather for tooling please access Bob Park's "Casing Leather". Second thought: If you did wet the leather, you tried to tool with the knife when the leather was too wet. ferg

Fortuna machines are over $4000 new. New and better clones can be had for about $1800 to $2300. There are a few that sell for around $1300. From what I have gathered they aren't much plus they are normally only bottom feed. ferg

I fiddled with my moms old treadle Singer sewing machine when a kid, have been fascinated and aggravated by them ever since. Have wanted a Skiving Machine ever since I bought the last sewing machine. A very useful and fascinating machine as well. Bob Kovar had a new Cowboy 802, top and bottom feed, which is a clone of a Fortuna. We picked it up the 22nd of January. Being 165 miles from Bob's shop makes the trip a necessary one. No manual available for the machine as far as I know. About 8 pages of necessary information but nothing on lubrication or much about what different knobs and screws affect functions. Operation of the machine is a lot easier if you visit every web site you can find that has anything about the machines, all makes and types. There are a number of videos on You Tube that are helpful, some not so much. The machine came with a clutch motor, a very fast clutch motor. Being old and more than a little slow I like to sew and skive slooooow. I should have had Bob exchange the motor while I was there but I wasn't thinking much about anything except, I finally had my skiver. Two weeks later I returned to Toledo with the entire machine, table, legs and motor. There was a problem with the adjustment of the bell knife mechanism, I wanted Bobby, Bob's son to look at it. Thought he might be able to fix it while I waited. Swapped the clutch motor for a digital brushless servo which they installed on my table. Bobby determined the machine would need to be torn down to fix it so we left with everything but the head. When we got home I called them about something else, they had fixed the machine about 15 minutes after we left but didn't have our Cell number. Bobby brought the machine to us the following evening and carried it up the stairs for me. That is service with a smile!!!! I spent about six or eight hours over several days playing with this machine. Adjusting different knobs, grinding the edge on the bell knife, and slicing about 5 pounds of leather scrap. Unit is available with three different shapes of top feed rollers. Straight, tapered, and a concave roller that is equal to the radius of the knife. That one is being ordered for me. I can skive to paper thin on the edge with gradual skive back to bout 1/2" from edge with the tapered roller. This makes a skive you can fold over itself, "rolled edge", that equals the thickness of the body of the leather. This feature makes it possible to accurately skive a small amount of thickness of the edge of purse parts so a seam is not so thick where more than one comes together. Wallet backs skived to make rolled edges. Wallet interiors thinned at edges. I even took a piece of 1 1/2 - 2 oz leather and shaved the "fuzz" off the back side. I have read these machines scrape the leather. This is not so with this one or any others with a bell knife, it cuts the layer. Was informed you needed the speed of the clutch motor to properly skive. That is not true. I can slow the servo to where the knife is turning very slow and the feed roller (steel) is turning even slower. Viewed professionals getting the beginning edge of leather caught under knife or other part of machine as it exited the knife. Slow feed eliminates this entirely plus I can change direction of feed if I wish without mutilating half the piece. Keep the knife sharp. You only need to barely touch the grinding wheel to the knife to sharpen it. A sharp knife cuts any of the leather like soft butter with the remnants falling through a whole under the head, down a chute and into a waste receptacle. Some have vacuum attachments. I viewed a number of these machines. Many are exactly the same with different names on them. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if most are made in the same factory in China or Formosa. Construction of this model appears to be well done. No noisy bearings or vibrating parts. The head weighs 100 pounds so decide where you wish to place it in your shop area. I need bright light and lots of it to see what I am doing. My leather shop is what was my youngest daughter's bedroom. Big windows to the south and east. Lamps and fluorescents a must. Am enclosing a few photos of my leather shop, the wood shop is considerably larger but not as cozy. Don't laugh at the wall paper. Remember it was my daughter's bedroom and I cannot make myself change it. I am very much a novice with this equipment as well as my sewing machines but if I can help with answers to some questions about any of them just let me know. ferg I have a double door closet with shelves where I store my leather. No sunlight exposure. Cylinder arm is a Seiko, flatbed a Consew. gear reduction motor on the Seiko, a Consew servo on the flatbed with a speed reducer. Workbench has a large granite slab in the center level with top. Stamping tools in their own holes in a block of pine timber left when building the house. Most edge tools behind leather straps on board behind the bench. Have more to put up there when the spirit moves me. Cutting table is an unused computer table with a second top that also has a slab of Corian laying on it for cutting. In case any of you are wondering about the weight on the floor that is the ceiling of our Master Bedroom. The floor joist are 4 x 10 timber 2' on center with 2 x 6 tongue and groove for a subfloor, 1/4" underlayment and the carpet. Wife can't even hear the machines running downstairs.

She is delighted with the purse. She is the very most special person in my life, never complains, works hard, and is my best friend. How can you beat that? ferg

Natural colored leather is all Veg Tanned Cowhide 5 to 6 oz. Lined with 3-4 oz brown upholstery leather. Gusset is also Upholstery 4-5 oz. All trim is Kangaroo, love that stuff. Strap is Kangaroo with cowhide on back. Decided not to stitch the strap, we will see how that wears. Can always make another strap since they are put together with Chicago Screws. The brass chain is connected to the gusset with kangaroo. Actually two layers of the upholstery leather and two thicknesses of the "Roo. My wife can get more "stuff" in her purse than I have in my shop so we will see how this one holds up. If I was making this now it would have "Rolled" edges instead of the binding. Thanks for the kind words, I appreciate it. ferg

Everything you do is interesting. I love the attention to detail. ferg

I seldom show anything I have done, this is only the third since 2010. There are many folks doing better work than I and I enjoy looking at theirs while trying to do better after all these years. I bought my wife Dooney & Bourke purses for years, they have gone way out on their designs so I told my wife I would make her one. Saw a photo of a purse similar to this. It is actually two purses in one with three separate sections. The blue piece is a Checkbook, card holder, etc. so she would hopefully throw her old one away. More Brass than I usually do. ferg

I have never seen it in black, never had any use for other than the white/cream color. ferg

Boris, You obviously have at least two areas of accomplishment. Your shoe making is definitely not rudimentary and your video skills are to be admired. Nice work. The shoes look very comfortable and again very nice work. ferg

You can get Chrome tanned leather with an aged look. Oiled leather comes to mind. You can actually make the lettering you wish to use with lead, don't anyone give me the "Lead Poisoning" bit, letter sets that are available on e-bay. Fake gold leaf is available at Craft Stores or you can get real Gold Leaf. Press the letter set into the Chrome tanned leather with the foil between, voila!! you have a beautiful imprint. You can actually press the letters with a simple clamp if you just wish to experiment. The leather comes in various shades of brown and black if you wish the aged look. Chrome tanned leather is available in a multitude of colors. ferg

You done a nice job. Next time make your stitches closer together. ferg

"Buckram" from JoAnn fabrics or probably any of other fabric shops. Sales person may look at you funny when you ask for Buckram but they do have it. Also tell them it is used to stiffen other material. I glue it on with a single coat of Solvent based contact cement applied to the leather, allow to dry for a bit until tacky, lay the Buckram on it and roll down with a paper hangars roller. BTW: It comes in various levels of "Stiff". ferg

Ditto on the knife cuts. You are using too large blade width for the carving you are doing. A wide blade will lift the outer edges and make them look like a bad piece of rubber. Let the knife cut "die out" towards the tip of the leaf lobes. Some cuts you simply started at the wrong end. ferg

Johanna, I believe the video is on sewing machines. ferg

Seems there is an old saying,"Know what you need before you buy." ferg

My Consew 206RB5 has a Consew Servo Model CSM550. Absolutely no problems ferg

A fellow Ohioan. Only real fault I have with your products? Too shiny. You are good enough to try some larger products. Good luck ferg

I buy at Grainger also but O'Reilly's Auto parts usually has the 3/8" ferg

Am enclosing photos of set-up with a speed reducer and a gear reduction servo motor. Speed reducer on a Servo motor with a dial to set speed. Gear reduction servo motor from Toledo Sewing Machine. No speed reducer pulleys required. Also has speed setting dial. This servo may have slightly more power. You can see the speed dial on end of motor as well as label telling you it is a SEWPRO Gear reduction servo motor. The speed reducer pulley is on my Consew flatbed, have no problems with it. Gear reduction motor is on a Seiko Cylinder arm. Hope this helps. ferg

Hi Fred, I visited your web site, you done a nice job there. Your talent, ingenuity, artistic abilities are very obvious in your works. I enjoyed reading what you had to say of yourself, confidence, reality, and a deep sense of giving back what you have learned. A salute to a valuable addition to the Art of Leather from an old man that values the almost lifelong friendship with an American Indian of the Santee Nation. ferg

pamelabronk I tried the Ward and Kennedy site but I could find nothing whatsoever about the Fortuna machines. Sent an e-mail requesting info on top feed rollers. ferg

Best..... Tools: 75% of my stamping tools are mid-fifties. Remainder are of the high priced variety. My SK3 swivel knife and the Knipers round knife will never leave my bench. Machinery: Consew and Seiko, pretty much the same company, are my sewing machines. Flatbed and cylinder arm. Cloned Fortuna Skiving Machine. My Wife: The best any man could ever have. She seldom complains about all the machinery I have bought over the years and I receive at least one kiss and a big hug every day. Worst: Some will hate me, I see little use for most so-called "Green" products. Unfortunately that includes most of the stains and finishes Tandy sells now. Buying leather from companies I know nothing about.. Hardware I have that is so outdated it is pathetic but still made. At least 50% of current Tandy tools are junk. I bought several. ferg

Not a cheap alternative but..... I just happened to have a piece of Corian Solid Surface material left from a cabinet job. My table was one of the first Computer workstation units which we didn't use anymore. I cut a piece of 3/4" X 4' X 8' MDF and attached it to the table top. The Corian was about 3' X 8'. I simply laid it on top. Since this material is quite dense it doesn't move around and makes a fabulous cutting surface plus when it gets too scarred I can sand it and have a new surface. Area the Corian does not cover on the table kakes a great place to lay the various metal rulers etc. ferg

I have two sewing machines, flatbed and cylinder arm. Both have the same Servo Motor and speed reducer. The speed reducer enables the servo to maintain a more stable degree of power at whatever speed you desire to use. I love it. Have used mine enough that I increase the speed considerably on straight runs but I still like to sew fairly slow, makes it a lot easier for us old men to know where the needle is going. ferg

A couple photos to show you how I do this. Keep in mind that this is just done with some scraps using my new Skiving Machine. May illustrate a little better than trying to explain. The edges are skived to as near half the thickness of the leather piece you are using so when you fold the edge back and glue it down the edge is the same thickness as original. This method can be used to roll the edges of purses, wallets, belts, dog collars, watch bands, etc. ferg