Ferg

I wind my bobbins very fast, have servos on both of my machines. ferg

Arbalet, As I have said many times, You are a fine artist, sculptor, and leather aficionado. Your work simply cannot be listed as "Leather Craft". An old man I am. Have seen many pieces of art that are fabulous, I shall always remember your work as one of the very best I have witnessed. Good luck and please keep at it. ferg

Wrong side of the bed this morning? LOL ferg

Marlon, That is very nice, beautiful pattern. As you may know I would see something. I realize you probably done this on purpose but, I prefer the background to be more "blended" in lieu of the strict pattern of the backgrounder. Just my .02 ferg

May I suggest you type "Singer 251-12" in Google? Loads of info along with a You Tube video. ferg

Make a binding of matching or contrasting leather, preferably chrome tanned. Cut a strap of leather 1/2" plus the thickness of the leather edge you are going to cover. You will need to skive this binding to very little more than a 1/64" in thickness. Scribe a line 1/4" from the edge of the leather, glue with contact cement just to that line over the edge and onto the back side. Obviously glue the binding piece you have made. Allow to dry for 20 minutes or so before applying to the edge. Stitch the binding 1/8" from the edge that is next to the scribed line. Smooth edge that will last the life of the purse. ferg

Tandy and others carry a lining material specifically for wallets and other small articles that you can get with a bonded side. I like to use Kangaroo for lining or I have used some 2-3oz upholstery leather. ferg

Any particular reason you didn't burnish the edges? What finish did you apply? ferg

You certainly have no need to apologize for your English, it is great. We carried a little book of phrases in Portugese. Didn't help me much but we got along. ferg

Moody, This is off topic but I need to tell you I spent five fantastic days in your country some 57 years ago. Our carrier dropped anchor in the bay. I went on the "beach" every day. Lisbon was the port. We visited Nazarae, the seven hills area, many shops, ate in an outdoor cafe, bought a set of drawing instruments in a shop, I still use them all the time, visited the grounds of "The Miracle of Fatima". Have often wondered if Lisbon is as beautiful today as it was then. Thanks for bringing back some great memories to an old man. ferg

I am always interested in new items, to me any way. The clicker knives have piqued my interest ever since I watched a video of an Italian craftsman cutting leather with one. I sent an e-mail to an Italian company for some info on their knives but never heard back from them. I like the Solid brass idea, don't really care if it has a scribe on one end. Since I have an ample supply of different species of wood, thought I would just make a handle to my liking for an Osborne clicker blade I have. Bought the Osborne Clicker with the handle awhile back. Sorry, those of you that like the Osborne tools but this is a terrible handle for a cutting knife. Cheap Junk pretty much describes it. This is my handle, made of Cherry Wood and oiled for a finish. and another view. Not perfect, but it works and is comfortable in the hand. ferg

What type stamping machine are you using? We had one several years ago, moved to smaller shop with no place to put it. Sold the unit to a company that employs handicapped folks at half what we paid for it. Good cause but I wish we had it now.

Top and bottom feed? ferg

Bill, I have a aluminum drywall "T" square four foot long. I hook the "T" end over the edge of my cutting table end, move the leather under it, cut with the rotary cutter. Works real well most of the time. ferg

I want you to go to Peter Main website: http://petermain.com/ Prepare to be amazed and know that Peter's coloring/stain work is done with solvent based stain. ferg

Seen one on-line, supposedly in good working order for $590 ferg

If you wet the leather before sewing the feet will mark your leather pretty bad. It should dry I think, at least that is the way I do it. ferg

No, I am talking about the binding you put on the top edge of the purse. Shoe lace for a welt is a new one on me, never tried that. If you need some expertise on making a welt, check videos on You Tube or buy, if you don't already have, Al Stohlman's "Art of making Leather Cases" Volume Two. That said, I believe you may have been wanting to incorporate "Piping" into the purse. That is another story. This is what piping looks like: http://leatherimpact.com/495-4777/Piping_-_Half_Inch. Only an instance, it can be made from many types of material. Until upholstery and un-carved purses, wallets, etc. came into vogue the piping joint and welt were used a lot. Now the French seam has taken over and is much easier to do. To sew the top of your purse with a machine, you need one with a cylinder arm. You can attach a table to this type machine and use as a flat bed. ferg

Wiz or Bob will probably post the fix but..... It seems to me that you need to loosen the screw in the clamp on the foot, move the foot slightly so it can clear the needle, tighten clamp. I assume you have changed the needle, made sure the needle is installed correctly, etc. Slightly disfigured needles cause a multitude of problems. ferg

Did you ask for a critique? Your welts are pretty good, just need some practice. Binding is too wide and too thick. I assume you made your own. It needs to be skived to less than 1mm. That will help going around corners etc. The thin material bends and stretches, makes it easier to manipulate. When the binding is too wide it "bunches up" as yours did on inside cornering. Everything in leather work takes practice so just keep working at it. ferg

I think Johanna said something to do to speed up the loading of the LW site. I am sitting in front of any of my computers (5). I can go out to lunch while the site is loading. Don't have time for that. Thanks ferg Name: Marion Ferguson UserName: 50 years leather IP Address: 64.56.112.51 Email Address: marion@donet.com

We gave up on companies very far away from us including On-Line. Most every town of any size has at least one company that provides/makes boxes and has stock. Check your local listings first. ferg

I have two of them. One is nearing 60 years old the other is probably about 45. I file the anvil now and then, otherwise I have never done anything to them. Obviously cannot say that for the new ones but........ Don't bother with the cheapies. ferg

Mike, My plan of attack is based on what I have in my head. When I decide to design something I really get into it. My wife says,"next time will you please do something you can have fun with?" I usually make several designs on scrap even if the item isn't going to be carved. I am just finishing a purse for my wife. The design is very complicated for me. I have torn part of it out several times and started over. I don't sell much of what I do anymore, at almost eighty years young, I try to have as much fun as possible. :)Hands don't work as well as they once did but I have my mind and I see things in other folks work that need fixing. You have a good beginning, don't stop asking questions and as I said before, PRACTICE! ferg