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welcome its funny when people talk/think about money. you have those in the mindset that whats mine is mine and whats yours is mine. you have people that think/feel, that my time is more valuable than anyone elses. That goes for money too. And the widget i have is worth more than yours even though its the same widget. Maybe if you were to spend alot of your time/sweat/life making something and didnt get paid for it, you may see things differently. And if you want, go out and work for free. you may see things differently. Especially if you want to put food on the table.

welcome fwiw. i have an older late 2013 imac 27 inch that i love. Its been great and more or less trouble free since then. I do love the all in one and less desktop clutter and i do have bootcamp and running windows to run my old inventor cad program. I was doing alot of game - both windows and mac back then, but stopped. So on a daily basis, im only web browsing for my travel reserarch/planning, buying off amazon or stuff and every so often using my inventor. My games would really tax the processor, but now that im not usign games, its all easy. So, the os isnt being updated anymore and i have upgraded to a mac min pro. I love the 27 inch real estate and dont want to downgrade to a 24 that is currently made/offered. I havent set it up yet and even though i dont do anything that may really tax its process, i maxed out the RAM and opted for a 2 TB HD. I could have gone bigger on my HD, but im trying not to gather too much stuff for HD and i can use my external HDs that i have now. im not sure how long you expect to use your laptop, but if all you need to do is some MS office apps and so forth, you can get by with the minimal or cheapest you can get. what it comes down to is how do you see you using it for future things, if you can see that far. Ive noticed in my life many old sayings are applicable,....for me...."its better to have and not need, then to need and not have"......"some people dont have the time or money to do it right the first time, but have the time & money to do it wrong many times over".....and others. in any case, if you find out the hard way in the future, you made the wrong decision, you will just have to open up your wallet again....and maybe again...or just do with what you have. also, spills and keyboards are nothing new. You may want to look at things like keyboards/laptop covers. I have one for my keyboard, but dont know about any laptop. Laptops are great for what they do, but i HATE using them. Small KB and small screen.

welcome some thoughts about this.. limitation in the thickness of a layer or layers you can sew. this will depend on your project. size of thread . size of project based off your machines throat. What to avoid? thats up to you. To me, since you are new and just starting,....Clint Eastwood in one of his movies had a quote...."A mans gots to know his limitations". This is about you too and your equipment or lack of it. Once you TRY to do a project and run up against a wall, you will be the first to know and the first to need to figure if you can do a work around or ? Sorry, but thats how OTJ training works and T&E. You will be doing both. Guess what? you didnt just invent leatherwork. So the many many others that have done this before you have hopefully figured things out. But you want to know everything before you even started and that wont happen until "we are the Borg". If you have any "street fairs/farmers markets" in your area, you may want to visit them and if there are any leathercrafts, look at them and see how they are made. Or if you have any goodwills/second hand stores/garage/estate sales, look for some leathercraft items you may want to build and then buy them and dissect/disassemble them to see how they are put together. Its called REVERSE ENGINEERING. If you want, look for some leather shops in yoru area where they sell leather. The ones i have where i live, i can buy "scrap" leather by the pound. I wouldnt buy some small envelope size piece, but something larger where i can have some leftover material to do some future testing. By doing this, you can do some practice sewing. try sewing 1 layer and then 2 then 3 and until your machine gives up or you hit that wall. You ever see those fabric swatches with various fabrics? you can make them for your leather/sewing. such as jot down the thickness of the leather sewn, the thread sized used and maybe the TPI and or number associated with the dial on your machine to get that TPI. If you decide to make up some glued layers, you may want to try sewing through them too. You may find that the glue may decide to do its job by sticking to your needle/thread. There is so much to learn and you will need to understand, you wont be able to do it all in 1 post. Having some extra SCRAP material where you can work out issues would help. If you can VISUALIZE things in your head, will help too. But not everyone has that. Do what you can/need to, to work it out. If you can draw, try it. If you have any scrap fabrics? that could work too. use your imagination and think outside the box. good luck

Welcome the velcro with glue sucks. heat, sweat, chemicals...ect will probably dissolve/weaken the glue. stitching will be somewhat better. just an fyi, if you decide to use velcro...either with glue or stitch, do your due diligence. From my understanding and buying alot of the stuff is that there are different grades? where they will last x many cycles of use. Usually the loop will give out and you have a fuzzball. If you have any shoes with the stuff, look at them and or anything else that may use the velcro. I would look at some method the use some leather thong/lace and maybe use that to fasten the ends.

welcome it would help if you had a location in your profile. many boards are GLOBAL now. If you are in the USA you can google for leathercraft shops. We have one nearby called TANDY. here is their link...but you can look for a shop near you. ours offere classes and such. I was chatting with them and they more or less offer some "easy"/"beginners" projects to get you started and or if you have a specific project/thing to make, they maybe able to do a "class" around that. https://tandyleather.com/ i would get some books on the subject. I know no one uses books anymore, but you can read it and it doesnt require power or USB/data connection. I never got into the "tooling/carving" since i didnt have an "eye" for it. I tried several times and in Jr. HS where i learned how to do this. But if you want to start with the "easy" things. I know what we did was to make some Key Fobs. They are simple. They did have some carving, but some were just leather tags with a hole and or some were teardrop shaped with a split ring riveted on the leather. I made and use coin pouches that slide over my belt. I dont know about you, but if you still use cash and receive change, the coins used to wear out my pockets. you can look at "kits" if you want and if there are no shops, mail order. at one time, tandy had a starter kit with some projects like the key fobs and some basic tools. I will let you do the fun part and start googling/reserching. another thing. IF you want and still use books, i would look for any bookshops in your area. Even used books and or goodwill. that is if you want to build up a reference library. I have been downsizing and selling my books back to my local indepandant bookseller. here are some photos...take or leave...

welcome if you are still around, do you know color/size...ect?

welcome if you are still around, try googling for "sewing machine" in your area. you can use google maps too. And if you are willing to drive? you can look at other places/cities/states. and if you want, try Craigslist or ebay. good luck

welcome if you have any shoe repair shops in your area you may want to visit and ask questions. at one time, they were common like pay phones, but now you dont see them as often. One of our local dying malls has one and was surprised how much equipment he had in it. But he was setup to resole shoes. and i am surprised people still do that in our throw away society. also, im not sure how you define "sneakers". there maybe a language difference across the boarders. but this is what i call a "sneaker". If you or any of your friends? have any old/trashed/no longer used "sneakers" you may want to grab some and dissect them to see how they are made. Or if you have any 2nd hand stores like Goodwill, you can find cheap/used ones to do the same. In any case, i would dissect some to see how they are made and if and what tools/equipment you may need. you may find that the sole is bonded/glued. Some shoes are done the same, but it will vary.

Northmount, thank you for the instructions. I know better but had a brain fart. I noticed he hasnt been on since then, but who knows now adays. again, thank you

Kenner, if you are still interested shoot me an IM. also i dont have any tooling tools. That wasnt my thing. Let me know what else you want too. R

for what its worth. Some thoughts.... how about the frame? you will need to come up with a motor mount too. if you are changing the height, i would make sure that you can do that 1st and if possible sometype of mechanical/pneumatic or? to do it easier. that also goes for the controls too. a thought. I dont know how much room you have to work in/around. But if you build your new table top to cantilever the right side of the HD bench and position the base of the machine over the legs, that could be enough support so all you need is some thicker/rigid table top. It would also give you more table top work/sewing space. good luck

Moderator - please feel free to change, move or modify as you see fit. Hi again. Still downsizing. Here is a used Heritage skiver. Weaver SKU # 65-6110 With spare blade SKU # 65-6111 Both go for 300 USD + shipping. First “I will take it” …..300 USD including + 23.00 Shipping via USPS Flat Rate Priority Mail box. I had both blades sharpened by someone in Montana? Years ago. I read some article about him and the quality of his work. In any case, I didn’t trust myself in doing so I paid to have it done. If you want it please post your reply with the “I will take it” so others will now you are interested and if for any reason, you cant/wont/don’t pay, I will contact the 2nd “I will take it” and so forth. Payment by USPS Money order if you want it shipped ASAP. If you want to pay by personal check, then I will need to make sure it clears before I ship, unless I did business with you previously. Sorry, no PayPal, credit cards, first born, appendages, or bit coin. I have it priced as it is in the hopes that someone will actually use it and not flip it. Note, that I also have Heritage Snap setter for sale. See other add. I made a wood storage/carry case to store/carry BOTH units. If you want to buy both tools and want the storage/carry case, let me know and I can ship BOTH units in the storage/case but I will pad the outside with some cardboard. If so, the shipping will be via ground for everything. If you want sticker shock, look at shipping ~ 44 lbs and a box 24.5x8x15.5 inches. Shipping via USPS ground isn’t cheap, but looking at Priority Mail is about 20 bucks more and less time in transit. The way I see it, the longer you spend in transit the more chances of something going wrong. If you want you can do your own research on shipping and see if you can find cheaper. The price different wont be alot in the end for the whole case and tools. By the way, I use some Baltic birch plywood for the case. Ever since reading about it and how much nicer it was to work with, I finally had the chance to buy and use. So the case is made with that and its has a coating of Polyurethane. Thanks for looking.

Moderator - feel free to move, edit or change if needed. Hi again. More downsizing… Here is a lightly used Heritage table top snap setter. Here is an Heritage mfg snap setter, Weaver SKU 65-6150 Included is 1 set for #20 Dot snaps. Im not sure what the other set if for, but chances are, its the next smaller size. First “I will take it” …..100 USD including + 77.00 Shipping via USPS Priority Mail. If you need to ask a question, sorry, but chances are someone wont need to ask a question and will want it before I can reply. But go for it. If you can post your reply with the “I will take it” so others will now you are interested and if for any reason, you cant/wont/don’t pay, I will contact the 2nd “I will take it” and so forth. Payment by USPS Money order if you want it shipped ASAP. If you want to pay by personal check, then I will need to make sure it clears before I ship, unless I did business with you previously. Sorry, no PayPal, credit cards, first born, appendages, or bit coin. I have it priced as it is in the hopes that someone will actually use it and not flip it. Note, that I also have Heritage Skiver for sale. See other add. I made a wood storage/carry case to store/carry BOTH units. If you want to buy both tools and want the storage/carry case, let me know and I can ship BOTH units in the storage/case but I will pad the outside with some cardboard. If so, the shipping will be via ground for everything. If you want sticker shock, look at shipping ~ 44 lbs and a box 24.5x8x15.5 inches. Shipping via USPS ground isn’t cheap, but looking at Priority Mail is about 20 bucks more and less time in transit. The way I see it, the longer you spend in transit the more chances of something going wrong. If you want you can do your own research on shipping and see if you can find cheaper. The price different wont be alot in the end for the whole case and tools. By the way, I use some Baltic birch plywood for the case. Ever since reading about it and how much nicer it was to work with, I finally had the chance to buy and use. So the case is made with that and its has a coating of Polyurethane. Thanks for looking.

Sold to JHLeatherwood good luck and thank you !

James, happy new year. IM on the way. thanks