Northmount

Same sort of thing happened to me. Have to keep the object you are sewing flat, perpendicular to the needle. If you lift the left edge, stitching on the back moves closer to the edge. I built a flat table adapter, problem gone. Tom

You can add a flat bed adapter to a cylinder arm machine to use it as a flat bed. But you can't convert a flatbed to a cylinder arm. Nice to be able to reach inside to do purses, bags, etc. Domestics are just that. For leather, get an industrial machine that has been setup for leather. Tom

Motors lose torque at low speeds. So if you are trying to punch through thick or hard temper leather a stitch at a time going around a tight curve, the motor is going too slow to produce the torque needed. The addition of a speed reduce set of pulleys gets the motor speed back up, and increases the torque available to your machine. If a speed reduce is 4:1 speed reduction, it will give you a 4x torque amplification besides the increased available motor torque due to its higher speed. Tom

In addition to the comments above, servo motors normally have a brake. When the pedal is completely released, the servo motor's brake is on, so yes it is even harder to turn against the brake. Press the pedal slightly to release the brake. There is another thread of posts about disconnecting or removing the brake if it is not needed. Typically for most of us, we go slow so don't really need the brake. Tom

Great stuff! Tom

Have you tried changing the needle? Tom

I try to always stitch the ends down instead of using the end stops. But it depends on your project. I have also found that when making a zippered folder, measure and start attaching the zipper in the middle on both covers, and working both directions to avoid having a twisted folder when finished. Use double sided tape or lots of clips to keep it all in place while doing the final assembly and stitching. Tom

I tested three different types of contact cement. Tanners came out the best, and even developed greater strength as it cured over several more days. I have 2 BB playbook cases with Kydex clips I fabricated that have been in use for about a year now. No indication of anything coming apart yet. Don't forget to rough up the plastic and the grain side of the leather it is being attached to. Tom

I've made clips out of Kydex and glued them in place. So that is another option. Tom

Rough up the back of the hard shell plastic case, glue it to the leather using a high quality contact cement like Tanners Bond. Tom

The way the thread is finished off around the outside edge of the strap, I would say the example you posted is hand sewen. Tom

Beautiful! Nothing more I can say. Tom

If think it is too smooth and shiny, just add more rouge to roughen up the surface slightly. That nice smooth shinny look still does the job, but maybe a little slower. Does more polishing, less cutting. Tom

Depends somewhat on the type of dye (solvent) you use. Slightly dampening the leather seems to help with both spirit and water based dyes. Since the leather is slightly damp, there is less wicking action. Another alternative is to apply a finish ... Like an acrylic and use a spirit based dye that will penetrate into the finish, but not bleed into the leather. It is a little harder to get a nice even colour, but if you build it up slowly with diluted dye, you can even it out fairly well. If you are going to do it this way, you need to practice on scrap to get the colour and feel that you want. Tom

Yes, larger patterns are easier to work with. When they are small, it's harder to fit into the tiny spaces, sometimes need smaller stamps to fit the scale. Tom

Looks like your outline swivel knife cuts may not be deep enough. Caused some problems for you following the cuts while beveling. Make sure to keep the toe of the beveler in the cuts. Practice keeping the beveled smooth, can go back over it, or use a spoon to smooth out any choppy sections. Backgrounding needs some practice to keep the depth consistent and to make a consistent pattern. Have you reviewed how to case your leather prior to stamping? I can't tell for sure, but the floral pattern may have been too wet. Takes practice to stay in that zone of not too wet and not too dry. Looks similar to some of my first pieces. So I can't say it's bad work for the first couple carvings. They are pretty fair for where you are at experience wise. So now what comes next? More practice. Redo these same carvings about 4 more times and see the magic change start to come about. Tom

To make straps with the edges folded (rolled) in, you need to skive all the long edges so they are thin (1/2 thickness for double plus a little more than your seam width), dampen slightly (depending on the leather), fold the edges over to make nice straight edges, press down tight with a bone folder, glue in place, do the same for the other layer, glue the stack together, and stitch the edges. If you don't skive the edges down, then the strap is 4 full thickness layers on the edges, and 2 layers in the middle. Not pretty. Now if I just had a nice power skiver!!! Then I'd be set. I'm not very precise at skiving by hand, so I don't make straps this way. And of course, they don't look as nice. Tom

Need to control the moisture where the chaps are stored. If you are storing in a plastic bag, then you need a desiccant to absorb the moisture. The desiccant will need to be renewed each time you remove them from the bag. If you can keep some air flow around the chaps, and the relative humidity is low, that will reduce the risk of mold. Storing in a damp cold closet on an outside wall during cold weather is a good way to generate lots of mold, so don't do that! Listerine (as mentioned above) or Lysol in your water when cleaning up the mold will retard mold/mildew growth. Keep the mold away from all other leather, it spreads the spores and you will therefore spread the mold. Keeping the leather dry is key, but also need to ensure the leather doesn't lose its natural oils. You will need to oil it occasionally to restore the oils. Note also that air conditioned spaces have a higher relative humidity level. Tom

CA normally refers to cyanoacrylate glue, super glue. So be careful using shorthand like CA for contact adhesive. I had to re-read the previous post a couple times to understand what was being said. Tom

The stuff I have is not acrylic dye. Acrylics are water based, thinned with water. Not the extremely harsh solvents like in this stuff. But I agree with getting a pro to do the job. Tom

I was going to say spray dye, but you have already tried that before. There is a leather garment shop near here, and they use the spray dyes to rejuvenate worn jackets. The dye they used didn't seem to leave a build up layer, nor become really shiny. I have a can of stuff called "Tana Leather Magic Renew Dye". I bought it several years ago, I think from the same shop as above. Haven't used it. It has all kinds of solvents in it. Acetone, toluene, propylene glycol methyl ether acetate, 2-butanone, diacetone alcohol, xylene and of course propane and butane as a propellant. Note that acrylics will not behave the same as leather. Acrylics don't really absorb the dye. Leather is absorbent as long as you have removed any surface treatment containing waxes, etc. Open up the lining seam at the bottom of the back so you can experiment with a bit of leather that will be hidden if it doesn't work right. Then try your selection of dyes and see what happens. Then the one that works, use that to treat the whole jacket. Be careful with these dangerous and flammable chemicals. Work safe. Tom

See this chart Tom

Your email should have contained a link to your PM as well. But WinterBear is right on for getting back to it later! Tom

Prospective buyers would like to know your location. Tom

Try oxalic acid or lemon juice Tom