Northmount

I don't soak the leather in the solution, just wipe it on, get even coverage over the whole surface first, then if need be add more to any spots that you see haven't bleached enough. A little gentle scrubbing brings fresh acid to the surface to help with the tougher spots if any. Quick rinse after to stop further action. Thin leather will probably be saturated fairly quickly, heavier leather won't be saturated as easily and doesn't need to be. Rinse is just quick, not to soak the hide. If you are uncomfortable with this, try some scraps first to see how it behaves. To get some dark spots, just rub newspaper on it. I've learned to keep newspaper away from leather. Used to lay the leather on a newspaper to dye or apply finish. Gets the leather dirty! Tom

Looks pretty nice to me, even if it did give you some problems. Tom

Learn to slip the clutch. Takes some patience and practise. You can also do a search here for speed reducers and see what others have done to build there own ... If you are the handyman type. There are lots of posts here about various servo motors to. Look at comments by Wizcrafts. Tom

Good place to be Chief ... Grandkids are a lot of fun. Have three of them overnight last night and tonight too. See what trouble we can get into! Tom

That would be "Jonah" rather than Job. And yes, very interesting cover theme. Great idea. +1 on the Chief's lacing comments. He has some videos about lacing that would be good for you to watch. Tom

Try a new needle and recheck your top thread and tension. Tom

Don't buy cheap rotary hole punches made of pressed metal. They squash in your hand. You could buy drive punches, just the size you need, or a set. Tandy has sets that have interchangeable tubes. Then you aren't limited to the depth of the jaws when you are trying to punch a hole further from the edge of your project. Tom

Where are you located? And yes, a picture would really help to determine the extent of the work required. Tom

Looking great! Tom

Are you keeping the belt flat so the needle is always perpendicular to the surface of the leather? It looks like you may have tipped the belt to one side now and then while feeding it. Tom

A number of posts here describe how to set copper rivets. Do a quick search and you'll find a number of good hints. Tom

Copper rivets are simple and easy to do. Tom

I'd give it another coat of dye, let dry overnight, the buff it well. You may or may not need to oil it slightly afterwards. Depends on how heavy the oiling was. Tom

Mine is a lighter machine, so the top thread path is quite different. But the principles should still hold. Check to see if you have any bobbin tension by pulling on the bottom thread. Should feel some resistance, but not a lot. Check there is nothing holding the bobbin tension spring open. Check the direction the bobbin is inserted. You might have to eliminate some wraps in your top thread path to get the tension low enough to let you re-sew the belt. (Or do it with a jiffy sewing awl instead of your machine. Then you can manually adjust the thread tensions to suit. Might be a faster fix than messing around with your machine.) Since you haven't changed the bobbin tension, you should be able to get the top back to normal fairly easily by doing several test runs on scrap like you will be sewing, by increasing the top tension a bit at a time. Start with a new needle too, size you will be using, and the thread you will be using. You might increase a quarter turn at a time until you get close, then take smaller steps as needed. The presser foot pressure just needs to be high enough to stop the leather lifting as the needle rises. Good luck, Tom

Try ebooks from Tandy https://www.leathercraftlibrary.com/c-79-ebooks.aspx Also google for free books, Gutenberg press, etc. can find some good old out of print books. Search this site for posts about free books or ebooks. Tom

I tried using a spray bottle to apply some finish. I doesn't go on evenly, splatters big drops frequently ... So I would not attempt to use with dye. At least with the finish, I was able to use some sheep's wool to even it out. You can try trial runs of different spray applicators on a sheet of cardboard. Doesn't mess up good leather. Let's you see how even the results are. Also good for practising and adjusting your spray pattern before you hit the leather. Tom

Airbrush is the easiest way. Oil dye is alcohol based, and includes some amount of oil. There are lots of examples on this site. Try searching for dye and airbrush, then figure out how to limit the results to be what you are looking for. Look for work done by AndyL1, Blackthorn Leather. Has really nice work. Tom

Nice work! Tom

The cardboard papery stuff is just a filler. No strength so thicker leather can look after that. And like you have found, the ends need to be skived to reduce their thickness a little. Dampen the bends before you bend them. If you are using vegetable tanned leather, and thicker leather, you don't need to fold the edges of the leather over like the originals. The edges should be beveled with an edge beveller and then you can burnish them. See http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=18101&hl=+burnish%20+hidepounder&page=1 for how to. Tom

Yes a servo motor should make it easier for you to control the speed. Make sure you get one with a small - about 2" - pulley. SewPro are good, have built-in gear reduction so have more punching power at low speeds. You will find a number of comments on them from Wiz if you do a little searching. Good luck. Tom

When you resew using existing holes, you have to reduce the top tension a lot to keep the knot from rising to the top. I've had to do the same a few times. Tom

Often takes several applications to build up the color and cover the streaks. Make sure the leather is clean first, might need a deglazer if the leather has any contaminants on the surface. Oxalic acid or lemon juice will bleach the leather and remove some contaminants. Use overlapping circular motion whether you are using a dauber, sponge, or what ever. If you want a very light color change, dilute the dye first. Build up in layers, let it dry for a couple hours between applications. Some dampen the leather slightly before applying dye. Takes lots of experimentation to develop what works best for you, then practise and be consistent. There are lots of threads here about dyes and stains, take a few hours to see what others are doing, as well as reviewing questions asked and problems. Tom

There are a few different types of rubber cement around. Use the cheap stuff from the stationery store. Tom

Perhaps you could share your findings so others could benefit as well? Tom

A lot depends on how your knees behave, and how often you have get up and down for things you left on the counter or where ever. Need to of course protect the floor if it is a finished floor, else you may have another job that will have you on your knees fixing it. Knee pads help with the knees but are a bother too. Also want to watch for splashes on the front of any cabinets, but that is really nothing new! Tom