Northmount

You also need to identify to yourself what type of work you want to do. If you are including carving and tooling, that's a whole additional lot of tools beyond producing belts, bags, cases, etc. You can get along with very minimal tools if you aren't going to do tooling. There are a number of posts of what is needed for each type of work here. Here are a couple threads about getting started with sewing with minimal outlay for tools. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=31797&hl=%2Bsewing+%2Bsaddle+%2Bstitch+%2Bfork#entry198270 http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=49575&page=2&hl=%2Btable+%2Bfork+%2Bknife+%2Bawl#entry323766 Tom

Figure Carving Finesse and pattern pack are downloadable as eBooks from Tandy. Tom

The mechanical advantage (MA) of a class 2 lever is the length of the long arm divided by the short arm. The eccentric in this case is the short arm. So for example, if the lever is 24" long and the eccentric is 0.5", then the MA is 48. So if you are pushing down with 10 lb force, the force on the die will be 10 lbs x 48 = 480 lb. And yes, this would be easy to build and take up much less space than a hydraulic shop press modified for clicking. Other than the upper and lower plates, I likely have most of the parts required in my "junk box" (several bins). I have a 20 ton shop press, but it is an hour's drive away. Might have to think about this a bit more! Tom

The lever operates an eccentric, so substantially multiplies the force applied to the cutting die. For those that can remember some of the science they did in grade school, this is equivalent to a class 2 lever. Looks like a good idea. Would like to hear from anyone that has purchased it. Tom

Just looked at them. The 4th thumbnail didn't display correctly as a thumbnail size, but all photos loaded when I clicked on them. Including the 4th showing the barrette. Tom

You can raise the nap by using some sandpaper. Stay off the stitching. Tom

Consider charging for change orders when customers want to change from their agreed upon specifications. Many contractors make more money off the change orders than off the initial contract. Tom

Did you see this buckle assortment? http://www.ofrei.com/page1402.html. Doesn't state where manufactured, but not high end. Tom

Beautiful dog. Hope you have many great years together. Tom

From the previous post http://www.ofrei.com/page650.html. Definitely high end!

If you he vent started yet, 2-3 oz should be plenty Tom

Good to see you are getting back to leatherwork. Always great to make useful items for yourself and others. Welcome to the forum. Tom

Very nice job. Always like cats! Tom

Try this thread http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=49346&p=313477 Tom

Try this http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=53981&p=345531

Pictures?

Great work as usual! Tom

It's too easy to accidentally make changes on touch screens. I usually bump something on the right side in some apps and suddenly off to some other part of the app, then to find my way back again! That is a good pointer, to watch out for the rest of the check boxes/selections further down on the left side menu selections. Tom

It was used with minimal burnishing, no wax, edge dye, and sometimes gum trag. Tom

Wax (bees wax, paraffin,etc.) is a finish in and of itself. I don't add a finish on top of my waxed burnished edges. The burnishing should have helped to warm the wax so it gets worked into the fibers on the edge. I usually apply the finish to the face of the leather, then dye the edge (if I am using an edge dye), then burnish. The finish helps prevent messing up the face if I slip a little during the burnishing. Tom

I'm on an iPad right now and works fine! Using latest OS update, but is a an older version iPad 2. It has always worked for me, regardless of the LW server version. Tom

What browser are you using? This works on iPad, Firefox and IE 10. I would guess, and this is only a guess, that your browser or computer has something installed that is blocking or filtering it. Do you have AdBlock or something like that installed? Tom

This should be a great help, especially to those new to making wallets. Thanks. Tom

Have used mop & glo on the edges. Had no problems. I would be careful of how waxy the burnished edge is as most finishes don't like to stick to wax. Tom

When you want to add to and edit this post, PM me with the additions and I can put them into the original post, or we can put the info into PDF files and attach new updates for each section. PDFs might be the best route to go. Anyhow, just let me know which way you want to go and I can help with edits. Tom