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

This is Edwardian: edwardianfont.pdf

I have been "messing" with computers for a long time. Your noise has a 90% chance of being the hard drive. If you aren't backed up, DO IT and go get another hard drive. ferg

Absolutely flawless ordering and delivery. If there is any question about the order they will call you to clarify. I order from the Net. ferg

I have never made either of the items you are considering but.... I think you are totally wrong wishing to make the product from the cheapest leather you can buy. FORGET THAT! If you want to contribute to a lot of the junk that comes from "over the pond" I guess that is your perogative but don't start out this way or you will likely wind up making no money because you won't have enough buyers to sustain you. Hit the middle of the road on the leather and take the best parts of the hide. Save the remainder for practice. I could list leather companies but I won't do that because I don't wish to miss anyone. Check the directory on this forum. ferg

Lemon juice, like most citric juices are natural bleaching agents. Vinegar is a stronger version and will clean absolutely anything but I wouldn't use it on leather, it may smell a little strange for awhile A number of folks have been a little afraid to use the Oxalic Acid crystals, dissolved in water, by the way. I have a plastic container with the Oxalic solution, I notice no smell or gas off and it doesn't burn my hands, I normally wear thin rubber gloves when handling it. I rinse the leather with clear water after the application. I can assure you, there is a lot of junk on that leather you don't see unless you are one of the few folks that have no "oil" in your skin. Packaging residue is another problem some times. Just clean it, you won't need to worry about it then ferg

I have a number of Tandy knives and one SK-3 from Paul at Leather Wranglers Inc. I like something about all of them but Paul's SK-3 is a true winner. I don't wish to have all the fancy "Knarly" decoration on the grip area. These are all comfortable to work with. If you are just starting out and want to step in easy on the pocket book try one of the Tandy cheaper knives. Sharpen them as soon as you receive it and strop often. ferg

Beautiful work. I have a question. What effect does the leather have on the quality of sound and would heavier leather have more effect? ferg

I think you have missed a point in your perusing the forum. Everyone in the leather business has preferences. It may be dyes, paint, whatever, that doesn't mean we are bashing a certain product, only that we might prefer one over the other. A lot of us old fashioned leather people prefer solvent based dyes. That doesn't mean that we think the "Eco" products should go away. Read the forum again and absorb the mountain of information available here. BTW: Welcome to the forum ferg

Steve, I noticed when I unrolled the leather it had the looks of at least part of the belly on one side in lieu of a straight side on both edges. Don't think it is a culatta. I would think Tandy would say so if that was fact. According to drawings I have of the different "cuts" of a hide it is definitely a single bend. ferg

No, I haven't. I suspect since it is definitely a soft leather it will take the stain with a "Rush" When I have time I will try it but my guess is, Slow and easy with a brush that has a small amount of stain in the bristles. ferg

If you want some that is reasonably priced and almost 100% free of defects, get a Single Bend from Tandy. ferg

I see no reason why it cannot be done. Any one of a number of folks on this forum could free hand the wording. ferg