Northmount

Doin alright for just getting back into it. For the lacing, I would either use wider lace, or reduce the distance form the holes to the edge. Tom

Welcome to the forum! Tom

Moisten (water) the leather before you do tight folds. That should avoid the cracking. Looks pretty good to me. Tom

Hey, looks like you did a great job! Tom

Look for used books on the web. I have one that I bought in the 60s that is great for someone starting out, and would be a help to others with a medium level of experience. General Leathercraft by Raymond Cherry (1955). I have seen copies available on Amazon and at ABEBooks.com. Just had a look and there are a number of 1945-46 printings. Also look at FO Baird's books, especially for patterns. Watch Tandy's sales for Leather Secrets Tandy has promoted Al Stohlman's books so we see more of them. I have several and refer to them frequently. Tom

There are lots of leather machines around. You need to know the manufacture and the model number for anyone to be able to answer your question. Tell him you need the name and model and to provide photos of the front and back of the machine. Old Singers (domestic) are frequently listed on eBay and such as industrial strength capable of sewing 1/4" of leather. They are not. Industrial machines have the motor under the table, not on the back of the machine or inside the housing. Those that are "leather machines" have been modified to handle leather without damaging the surface of the leather. They are walking foot machines, so have two feet that operate in sequence with the needle to move the leather as it is being stitched. Tom Edit: See the banner ads at the top of the screen for various sewing machine dealers that support this site and provide excellent service to the community. Each time you refresh the page, you will see a new set of ads. Look at their machines and descriptions to see what a "leather machine" looks like.

There are several threads here on bleaching leather using oxalic acid, lemon juice and possibly vinegar. Use about a teaspoon to a pint of water. Bleaches out dark spots from iron fillings too. I have a book General Leathercraft by Raymond Cherry 4th ed. copyright 1955 that I used in the 60s that introduced me to it ... way back then. Has been very handy some days! Tom

Pictures and more description of the machines' condition would be helpful to your potential customers. Tom

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