Ferg

You will need a company that writes business/manufacturing insurance. As you found out they don't all want to do that. ferg

I am going to assume you do not have a mini lathe in your residence I have all kinds and sizes of motors in my shop so that wasn't a problem. I believe a washing machine motor would suffice and they are quiet. I am going to include a photo of my burnisher. I won't include a lot of commentary at this time, If you are interested in the particulars I will give you more explanation. ferg

All of the mice we use now are optical. They don't seem to be as "persnickity" as the first ones were. That said: Why don't you place a logo to one corner or off to the side? You are definitely going to need a decent flat, unobstructed area for the mouse. A carved area under the mouse is going to obstruct the entire idea of an optical mouse and I agree, don't bother with a non-optical unit. Just my .02 ferg

I have done a lot of transfer work. Everything from water slide decals to sophisticated sublimation transfers and OEM Laser Printer transfers. Think seriously about what it is you are considering. Transferring the image/line drawing will be Ink or Laser "Powder". If you carve the line perfectly you will still have the fragmented line of ink, probably on both sides of the knife cut. There is a reason we use a stylus to transfer a design. Of course, if you are a very good artist you can freehand the design work with your swivel knife. ferg

Luke, I noticed in the shot of that machine, you have a lot of "shoe lasts" (correct nomenclature ?) Curious, do you do a lot shoes or mostly moc types. ferg

You would be surprised at what "dumb" things folks do. They may not put the leather in their mouths but it will touch their skin at some point in time. Be prepared because they will try anything to get a fast buck. Years ago we made rocking horses until the young couple received a gift Rocking Horse from Grandma. They decided they wanted the money. Went to court. The Judge told them he would be happy to have one for his grandkids. Told us to give them the money. We got the last laugh, he made them pay the court costs. LOL Visit more than one Insurance outfit. If you are not familiar with any of them do your homework and a forum is not the only place to get info. There is a world of information on the World Wide Web, access it. ferg

Bob, I choke up every time I see another of your creations. I sit and study your work and cannot believe the attention to detail. I shall not live long enough to become the Leather artist you have become. Thanks again for your kindness when answering my many questions. ferg

They will dye well but you have to work at it harder than when using that old cowhide. I bought some Burgundy colored Shell Cordovan last week. I'm hoping I will get it this week. Shoe manufacturers make $500 to $1000 pairs of shoes from this and will take them back after forty years of wear and redo them. ferg

I think your choice of leather is great. Your designs are great. Work on your dry molding a little but it is not bad. One Caveat, you need to burnish the edges. ferg

Bob, There are many good suppliers on the forum. Check out several of them. Weavers have a way they wish to do business and that is fine but it is a choice everyone has. ferg

I agree with all you said, Kings X. Now my turn, this will be my last post on this also. By the way Mr Siegle, you can remove all connection on your site with me, thank you. Although I doubt if you can find it. Steven, Ever since the first day I tried to order something from your company it was a hassle. You like to "Talk Big", spouting your superior intelligence and station in life. Some folks like doing business with you and that is fine I have no quarrel with anyone but you. I don't like your manner Steven! Thank the Lord, there are many other suppliers to deal with. That's it folks. I love this forum. I am sorry Johanna and Kate. This is simply the way at least two of us feel. ferg

You have the touch. Keep at it. ferg

We have a little different scenario than you would have. Our home based business (now) has been in business for over 30 years. We do children's products. Our liability insurance is $2,000,000, yes you read that correctly. It costs us $1500 per year and is roughly based on your gross receipts. We are now a sole proprietor with no employees. We also have had our products tested in a government approved lab for any and all possible contaminants, passed with no defects. Another $800.00. ferg

I have used the horse butts also. They are stiff because of the tight grain they have. I doubt you would have any problem with backing up with a thinner liner. If you are stitching with a machine.... the horse hide is "tough" it makes the machine work! Also, if you are stitching by hand you want a very sharp awl. ferg

#1 If you use suede for the liner it will not burnish with the veg tanned cover. #2 This is a little vague to me but.... sew all the parts, pockets, etc. onto the liner before attaching to the cover. I don't like the "slot" for the pad holder. I think a corner pocket looks better and makes the piece easier to make. You will need to apply the liner with contact cement beginning at the fold of the cover and work outward. You selected suede which is hard to do with this plus you selected a rather difficult project for your first large project ferg

Thanks Dwight. ferg

I finally have some time to play with my sewing machine. Several questions: 1) Does everyone stitching with a machine groove the front side for the stitches? I tried with the groove and without. Like the stitch down level with the surface of the finish leather. 2) Any notes of importance on stitching around the shaped end of a belt? I find it difficult to keep the stitches consistent in length. Stitching manually but haven't determined how I should move the leather in reference to the needle. I assume the needle should be into the leather before you move it going around the end. 3) I had obtained a smooth needle plate before Christmas. The "dogs" won't adjust down far enough to keep from hitting the bottom of the plate without removing the entire mechanism and I am not going to do that. My Son-in-Law has a mill so he is going to machine the back of the plate for me so the dogs don't hit. 4) I have adjusted the pressure on the presser feet so they have just enough down pressure to keep the leather moving. Unfortunately they still make marks in the finish leather. I should add that my presser feet are smooth. When using a factory dyed leather the marks are very troublesome, the large modeling spoon will not remove the marks to my satisfaction. I will continue to work on that problem but I am certainly open for any and all suggestions. BTW: I am on a Consew 206RB5. Have spent some time seeing what parts do what. LOL ferg

Are you sure that isn't a Mallet, not a maul. What did you use a four pounder for? Just curious ferg

Nice design. Practice will improve your tooling and swivel knife work. Keep at it, I think you are heading in the right direction. ferg

Ray, I very well may not have old "Arther" as bad as you but it is creeping into my fingers and hands whether I like it or not. One of my reasons for getting into the leather again was to see if it would limber-up the joints a little. Oh yes, they hurt. Some times I have to stop and rub my fingers to just get my mind off the pain. I definitely do believe the tooling and swivel knife work is helping, it is tough, everything worthwhile is, part of the time. ferg

I assume you are on a Windows machine, I know there are automatic backup programs for you. Some programs charge you for the storage, I personally don't like that method. I have a two terrabyte external hard drive for my back up. Automatically backs up once every hour if anything has changed, if nothing changed in that hour it does nothing. I can restore my entire hard drive to another if the original dies. I usually get about 3 to 5 years out of my hard drives but that can change as with anything electroinc. The "back up drive" records everything. When it gets full the oldest info is discarded so the new info has somewhere to go. ferg

I think we need to know what kind of camera you have. Digital covers a lot of territory. Does it have "White Balance"? Use a tripod, those light bulbs aren't going to do you a lot of good. If you can change the white balance on the camera move your item to the outside on a sunny day if you can find one. Do not photograph with the sun shining directly on the object, use the brightness of the natural light. Set the WB to sunlight. Slab stone makes a good background as well as wood. Place the object with another item that it is compatible with. Wallet? a purse or key fob. Everything doesn't have to be made by you. Use props. DO NOT hold the item in your hand while taking a pic. Most of your problems I believe, are because you haven't practiced with your camera ferg