Ferg

We buy finished logs and finished timber from an amish gentleman in Ohio. His shop runs on belts connected to a long shaft in the floor that has a V-8 Ford truck motor at the end. I love the Amish folks and have never had a bad experience dealing with them. BTW: The telephones are usually located off their property for the businesses and they ride in small buses that mostly German Baptist folks drive. They have had to change their ways a little along the way to be able to survive. Fewer of them are farmers these days but most are very astute business people and I absolutely love their food. Excellent craftsmen. ferg

Extremely beautiful when finished. Very tight grain and texture. You can carve it but it needs extra casing time. I like it best with no carving. Just something real special about the leather and where it came from. ferg

Call Bob Kovar at Toledo Industrial Machinery. He has lots of them. ferg

I may as well dive in here first. You have this on your pdf: To me that means we can download free but if we wish to use a pattern for commercial use we would need to pay for it. Is that correct? If so, they are not free. That said: Most of the patterns are actually leather patterns, yes they could be used otherwise. There are many patterns available from multiple places/books close to these. That is not to say you couldn't sell/give them away if you like. I am simply thinking of the Copyright that may be attached to these. I am no lawyer but many of us have been down this road before. Just trying to cover the bases. Nice drawings. ferg Hi everyone; Recently I inherited a box full of leather, and a few leather working tools. Not really knowing anything about leather working, I surfed the web, and eventually found leatherworker.net. I also discovered the artistic side of leather working, and decided that was what I wanted to do, although I quickly realized I needed to learn the basics of tooling leather. While looking at some of the projects, and patterns I saw on leatherworker.net, I thought I had some drawings that might easily be modified to leather working patterns. (I was a draftsman for over thirty years) Since I am using leatherworker.net, and other sources to learn leather work, I'd like to give something back. I hope this is the place where I can do this. I have tried to create some leather crafting patterns that can be downloaded free. I need someone with more leather working experience than I to let me know if these patterns are usable. If they are, please let me know if there is anything I could do to make them better, or more useful. (I have many more drawings I can work on, if I know I'm on the right track for leather crafting patterns.) You can see these patterns at http://www.otbpatter...ft-patterns.php

Never used white glue on leather. My experience with Elmer's white glue would not give a nod for leather. I like Barge cement but I have been using Weldwood Contact Gel lately. Trick is to allow to "set" until both pieces you are joining are dry enough to be tacky. After I put the pieces together I hammer them with a leather hammer. I have some items that have never been sewn that you would be hard pressed to pull apart. I have often wondered what the glue is that is shown in some of the European leather goods factories. It might be a white contact cement I don't know. There are some instances in purse and wallet liners that have no stitching. I would think Fiebings would be a good place to try the white glue. ferg

i don't have one yet but I will shortly from Bob at Toledo Industrial. Fortuna with top and bottom feed. To handle both thin and heavy leather it needs to be top and bottom feed. I believe the Cobra is this type. ferg

Leather in the store is sorted through either by the shoppers or employees. Light doesn't affect chrome tanned for the most part. Much of the veg tanned is rolled and on a shelf. ferg

Did you change needle size to conform to the extra size of the thread? ferg

I notice you have your leather stock hanging over a rod. Two things: You probably have light on the leather, either natural and/or artificial. Get some Kraft packaging paper and hang over the leather as a shield. Second: if you wish to have your leather hanging, use spring clamps so you can hang from the edge. Inside a dark room or closet is very good but not always possible. ferg

Sounds as tho- you need to readjust your tensions. Loosen top tension a little each time you test. If two or three changes doesn't appear to help, you will need to increase tension on the bobbin. If you do not know how to do that someone on here will help. ferg

Something to check knowing it may not have anything to do with your problem. You didn't say what size thread you are using. These machines prefer 138 and lower. They will sew with 207 but not generally very well. Double check needle size in regards to thread size. Toledo Industrial Machine has a chart for needle to thread size. ferg

I too have been using the Kangaroo leather. Very nice to work with and it is beautiful. Nice job by the way. ferg

As usual your work is out of this world! Thanks for sharing. ferg

I have had a wood shop for most of my 78 years, not a newcomer/beginner. I have many pieces of machinery including a two head CNC Router. I have sold many pieces also. None ever leave my shop without a do-over to make them like new. Professionals from all walks of life have been in our shops and wonder if we use the machinery because it is so pristine. Fine machinery, just like fine quality product, has made our company a lot of money. Am I proud of that? You bet and the machinery I buy will look as near to brand new when I sell it as it can be. BTW: Even though we are retired, the shop operates 12 to 14 hours a day 7 days a week from July to February. What do I do the remainder of my time? Pound leather and enjoy life. That is my .02 ferg

Call Bob Kovar at Toledo Industrial Machines. 866-362-7397 ferg

Ken, I don't think I have ever cut Neat Lac/Clearlac. Simply apply to the soft cloth, old "T" shirt, lightly and rub it on in light coats. The more you apply the glossier it becomes. ferg

Excellent idea and very good work. You didn't ask for a critique but, Ease the pressure on your sewing machine top foot, it is making an impression in your leather. You can use a modeling tool also. ferg

Leave it to me, I will find something. LOL Your design is great BUT, When you do the pattern stamping, soften the edge of the tool that is next to the border. Your border is "chomped" by the field stamp. ferg

I would have a liner covering the front, on the inside of the paper money space so there would need to be stitching. I agree with Aaron, I would stitch it anyway. ferg

Whatever floats your boat. LOL I like to use them when I get them. ferg

Randy, Clean it up a little. Get the rust off, extra grease, etc. You can get $600 for it when it looks real nice:) ferg

My comment was not intended to get your "dander" up. When you post info pertaining to a new site you should have it more finished than you have at this point. You should state the date/dates your upgrades will be active. Sunday and/or Monday can be misconstrued. All of us get excited about doing new things or setting up a new web site. You just jumped the gun a little. ferg

If that is your site it needs some serious work. ferg

Goodsjapan is a great company to work with. I have not tried the block planes for skiving. I can see several problems. The blade would need to be extremely sharp and kept that way of course. Holding the piece of leather would present a problem I believe. Angle of blade would be critical also. If you decide to try it, make sure you let the rest of us know how it worked. ferg