Northmount

That is a really great job. Very smooth, precise. Selling price $600 or more? Direct competition against the high end fashion purses. Tom

RavenAus is right. There are several posts about this type of card slot. Try a search for "wallet card slot" (no quotes) and I think you will be able to find them. Tom

There are lots of cases of people starving to death that have boiled and eaten their shoes to try to get some nourishment. Miners trapped underground have chewed on their shoes too in an effort to survive. Mice like to eat harness and other tack that is left where they have access. So I don't think it is too serious of a problem. Acrylic finishes become inert for the most part. Alcohol has all evaporated from the dyes. The solvents used are the dangerous part of the MSDS, so they are gone after a day or two. Having said all this, leather can't be good for the dog's (or people's) diet, at least not my diet! Tom

Leather needs to be cased before stamping. Otherwise you will need a press to be able to stamp it and have the impression stay. I also find that if the leather is very slightly damp, I don't get as much bleed when dying with a brush. Sharper lines. Tom

Nice to see another Canuk here. Welcome. Tom

Use double sided tape so you don't have to iron on heat activated material. It is available in the "notions" department. There is also leather tape available from wawak.com Heat dries out the leather, makes it hard, shrinks into an ugly mess if it gets too hot. And as you found, also discolours it. No fix for damaged leather. You can double up leather where you need reinforcing. Glue it together with weldwood or other good contact cement. Follow the directions, let dry before sticking it together. Good luck, and have a great Christmas. Tom

Wow, you are coming right along. Keep it up. Tom

Bury the leather in cornstarch or kitty litter for a few days to absorb the excess oil. Tom

I notice rivets in the straps, but not on the handle. The straps only support half the weight of the handle (since the back supports the other half of the weight). I think I would add rivets to the handle too. I like the bag. Pretty nice job. Tom

Updated with additional info from Joe.

It could be due to a little burnishing while working with the leather while shaping it. Tom

You have put a lot of work into this tutorial It should help many people that are wanting to do the same. Thanks Joe from everyone here at leatherworker.net. I'm going to "pin" it. Tom

Aluminum is soft, easy to cut and file. Clogs up your grindstone if you are using a grinder. Tends to clog files too, but is easy to clean up. Aluminum deforms easily. If you accidentally hit the stamp you worked on against the granite or something hard, it will damage the profile. SS is fairly nice to work with (depends on the various grades) and is harder than aluminum. If you do a little searching here, you will find others making some of their own stamps. Some start with SS bolts from the hardware store. CS (carbon steel) works too, but will rust if it gets wet. If not cleaned and polished well, can leave CS particles in the leather, and you know what happens with iron and tannin. You get blue/black spots due to the chemical reaction. Tom

I wonder if a new tension spring would make any difference? Tom

Take the bobbin basket out and examine it for any stuck pieces of thread, or other type of damage that prevents increasing the bobbin tension. Sounds like something must be holding the spring open somehow, or bent. I'm not using the same machine as you are, but increasing my bobbin tension makes a huge difference (requires more) in the top tension required to pull the bobbin thread up. It sounds like you have little bobbin tension. Tom

Where you have to decrease the top tension to just about nothing, try increasing the bottom tension so you have more range to play with. Tom

Do a test with a number 23 and a 25 needle and see if either makes a difference. Chart I use recommends a 25 for 207 thread, which would make it easier to pull the thread up, which would mean reducing the top tension even further. 23 would make it harder to pull the thread up so would require more top tension. As to whether one or the other might work, only a test will prove it. Tom

I would do the sides of the box individually, back-stitching each end. Then I would go around the bottom in one continuous run. Similar on top if the top is stitched closed. Tom

5/16" is 7.9 mm. 12 mm is a hair under 1/2". That is quite a difference when looking at how well it will sew leather. Tom

It will open up cuts some. However with that radius, I don't think it should be a major problem unless you are using thin leather. I would make sure the final finish is well worked in to make sure the cuts are well sealed. But DON'T lay on the finish in heavy coats. I've done pencil cups that are 3.25" ID with 8/9 oz leather. Have no problem with the cuts opening up any amount. Tom

You could look at methods of wet forming to "mold" the top layer, then fill the back with foam or a paste like material. If you are into making any of your own jigs or tools, you could make a 2 part mold out of wood (or other convenient materials) long enough for the longest belt you are going to make. Moisten the leather, clamp it in place for an hour or two, then take it out and let it finish drying before you start working with it. The leather needs to be veg tan so it can be wet molded. Tom

Great idea. You can also use a stapler for seams on your mockup. Even use them on leather for keeping things lined up as long as the staple holes will be hidden. Tom

Really nice job! Making me jealous. Tom

Instead of a lap seam, you could try turning the gusset edge out, so both the front and the gusset edges are together, sticking out. The gusset will then naturally curl inwards instead of outwards. Depends on the style and appearance you are looking for. Tom

Most of the shiny button magnets are rare earth. Some better than others. To get good holding power, magnet to magnet works best. I have used a strip of steel, but it does not hold well. The more leather between the magnet and "keeper", the poorer the holding power. So now I default to magnet to magnet. Tom