Northmount

Really great to have you back. As many of us are finding out, aging is no friend! Take care. Tom

I am carrying a wallet laced with goat lace. 1/8" in 3/32" slits. Has been in my back pocket everyday for over 20 years. Lace still looks great. And when the corners start to wear out, I'll re-lace it, If I'm still around! Tom

Copper and brass both corode when in a moist environment and don't have a protective coating. Called verdigris. There is another thread here about the process if you want to do a search for it. Also look at copper roofs. I have some old harness where some of the copper rivets are green and others that are just dull. Depends on the amount of moisture each is subject to. Tom

The type of leather you use should be determined by its application. Not by your sewing machine. "I" would get a replacement middle presser foot spring and try it. If little or no improvement, then I would take one of the springs and cut a 1/4" off of it and try again. Keep removing a 1/4" until you get the adjustment range that you want. Make it work for you. Tom

See this post Tom

Always used to wear a wool knitted mitten inside my leather mitts. Can take them out to clean or dry if necessary. Tom

Since it has too much oil, try burying it in either cornstarch, or kitty litter, or floor-dry to absorb the oil. Mix it up a couple times a day and see what happens after a week. It may or may not work to reduce the color, but will absorb oil. Tom

Ordinary white PVA glue. It remains flexible. If you use yellow glue, it doesn't stay flexible, and every time you flex the item, you will hear it crack. Still holds, but the cracking is annoying and may bother your clients. Tom

No. That is the inside foot spring. The outside foot is about half way along the arm towards the back. It contacts a flat spring that is the spring for the outside foot. You can see the spring from the back of the machine. If you follow it, you will see it connects to the linkage for the outside presser foot. You really need to get the manuals for this machine so you can see what the parts are, and how they are used or adjusted. I downloaded the manuals from keystone some time in the past, but can't find them on his site anymore. Consew used to have a good site too, but I looked there as well, but didn't find the right link. Gregg's is a clean copy, easier to read than the others I've found. Tom

Ask Gregg at Keystone for a link to his parts list and manual. Both are identified in the parts list. Tom

Does it dim the lights only on one circuit, or in the whole house? If the whole house, you have a problem with your electrical supply from your breaker panel out to the utility. If it is only one one circuit, you may have too many items on that circuit, even though running less than 15 A. Though another possibility is a poor connection anywhere from your breaker (either side of it) to your receptacle you are plugged into. I have seen poor connections on the breaker to the bus bar it is attached to. I have also seen loose connections/terminals in receptacles in the string between the one you are using and the breaker. Fun to trace when you can't see the cabling! Another possibility is aluminum wiring improperly installed, or mismatched with the receptacle terminal screws or the breaker terminal screw. Sometime you will hear buzzing or a crackling sound. The poor quality joint heats up and may cause a fire. I was wondering about the motor capacitor, but the motor runs so may be is okay. Tom

I think you will have less mess or fewer accidents if you do one join at a time. You won't be rushing and mis-position one or the other. Plus, I'm not a fan of having wet glue (if you are using contact cement) on both sides of the stiffener at the same time. Where to you lay it to set to a slight tack with cement on both sides. If you can do things in steps, without rushing, you will do a better overall job. Tom

Pull both threads through to the back. If the back is normally not visible, I put a drop of super glue on it, and cut close. Some tie the thread on the back, some melt it with a hot iron, or a lighter flame. I've started leaving the threads long at the start and finish, then using the saddle stitch to back stitch. Works a little nicer IMO. Also nice if you can hide the threads between layers. Tom

Thanks for the repost. I'm sure many people appreciate it. Now I can see the work, must say it is very good. Tom

Picture 3 loads, the others just have the busy loading icon, forever. Even on a 30 Mbps connection. Server connection must be too slow when I try it. 800 x 600 resolution is adequate resolution for LW. Helps out people on slow connections, especially out in the fringes. Tom

Dye doesn't soak right through in most cases. Most of the pigment is in the surface. Do all your cutting and trimming before you dye it, else go back and touch it up after. In most cases, the touch up will not be a perfect match. Tom

Getting off to a very good start. Beveling is choppy. Need to smooth it out. Practice will help with that until you get the rhythm you need. You can find lots of tips here on how to smooth out your beveling. Do a search, use google, restrict the search to leatherworker.net like this - "site:leatherworker.net beveling smooth" Basket weave looks precise. Need to tilt your tool a little more to avoid marking the border. Tom

All very well done. The desert scene really catches my attention! Tom

Looked nice from what I could see. Pictures wouldn't load for me. Dogs will do that. Kids have to learn to keep their wallet safe. One of my kids did the same thing around 1982. I wasn't too happy after the work I had put into it. Wallet was nicely tooled. I was able to cut the damaged corner off, make a skived join, and re-lace the damaged section. Hardly shows. He is still using it. If they don't learn to keep it safe, in their pocket, they'll loose it and what ever is in it one day. Tom

Two steps to uploading pictures, assuming you found the button "More reply options". First step is to choose the photos, then to attach the files to the post. Photos will be inserted wherever your cursor is in the text box. Tom

You can grind out the front toe so you can see the needle as it approaches the leather. Get a couple extra feet and modify to suit your sewing preferences. Tom

Jimdad, You have people interested in helping you. Let us know if you are still interested.

Hand or machine stitching? Tom

Company names and logos are trademarks and are normally registered by the owner. There are interesting cases like Apple and Apple Corp. Apple had to license the use of Apple Corp's logo that they use. Copyright is different than registered trademarks. But you can get in trouble for misappropriation of either. Tom

The first pic is the backside or more commonly called the flesh side. It's against the muscle/meat of the animal. The top side is the second pic. Commonly called the grain or hair or finished side. The show side normally, but depends on what appearance is wanted. The smooth grain or finished side needs to be roughened up to give the cement something to stick to. Coarse sandpaper works well. For glueing almost any material together, smooth surfaces need to be roughened up. Tom