Northmount

The appearance of this one is much improved in my opinion. You could sew around the bottom edge of the front flap (below the snap) as well. Looks like it was missed. (Looks lonesome) Practise sure makes a difference doesn't it. CTG

The metal bookshelf type frame material looks a little on the weak side, even though is is under tension rather than bending. Here is one that I think will stand up to heavier usage and still be low cost to build. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=22164&hl=%2Bholster+%2Bpress+%2Bjpg CTG

I likle my Techsew 2700. Does a great job. You can add a flat table adaptor to it so you have both the flat bed and cylinder arm. If you are going to work on the heavier end like 2 layers of 8 oz, I would add a speed reduction pulley as well. CTG

TurtleFeathers.net will get you farther than .com will. http://turtlefeather...ngelus/dye.html for dyes.

Carving gouges are better, shorter length, 4 to 8" long roughly. Lathe gouges (except for miniature work) are 24" or more long. Carving gouges should be a little lower priced too. CTG Here are a couple links to carving gouges: http://www.woodcarverswarehouse.com/_e/dept/04-001-001/Flexcut_Palm_Tools.htm http://www.chippingaway.com/Search.htm?q=gouge

See also http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=42706#entry267682 CTG

Read the whole thread. Alternate site, currency conversion. Alternate woodcarving tools. CTG

Bags and hand pump http://www.roarockit.com/proddetail.php?prod=01301 so nice and quiet! CTG

They will work great on inside corners too! Didn't need to buy my big punches! CTG

If you are handling just a small amount of dye at a time, a simple fan in the window sucking the fumes out will not get to an explosive mixture. Also if you pick a fan with no starting winding (no electrical switch contacts inside the motor), there will be no sparks to initiate combustion. So most box fans and window fans that start slowly and take time to get up to speed are none sparking. If you are handling large amounts of dye, or spraying, two windows would be nice, blow air in one and let if find its way out the other. Different inflamable fluids have differing lower explosive limits (LEL). You can look up and compare alcohols, naphtha, diesel fuel, gasoline, natural gas, propane, butane and see what the LEL for each happens to be. It will give you some idea of how much risk there is. Also look at the flash temperature to see what temperature a hot surface has to get to before it will cause ignition. Like if you have an electric heater in the room!. One of the worst fluids for a wide range from LEL to higher explosive limit is hydrogen. It is explosive from 5% to 98% in air. I have seen a 99% hydrogen atmosphere in a compressor house. I asked the supervisor if he wanted me to shut of the power to the building remotely at its source. He said no, we'll just ventillate it. The fire crew brought in water powered fans and placed in the doorways. They brought the concentration down from 99% to next to zero, safely passing through that explosive zone. Then they couldn't find the source of the leak! As you are doing, it is important to consider the the risks of explosion when handling inflammable fluids. I know of many instances where serious explosions and fires have occurred due to cleaning paint brushes near an open flame, trying to repair leaking gas tanks in an enclosed space (garage), etc. Buying drum dyed makes a lot of sense! CTG

Here is another interesting link. Shows you can get by without buying a lot of expensive tools http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=42981&hl= until you know what you really want. There are many things you can do to work around not having exactly the right tool. CTG

You can get hole punches of any size for inside corners. Just bought a 1/2", 5/8", 3/4" and 1". For outside corners, take a look at http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=42883&hl= CTG

I kind of thought there was some sarcasm here considereing your past work and non-Snap-On tools. But I just couldn't let it go by. I still use a lot of different and cheaper tools in the several hobbies I work with. Some tools obviously have to be replaced, and you soon find those ones. Like a $30 impact wrench that won't undo wheel nuts! CTG

Take a look at http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=40461&hl=starting#entry251728 and follow some of the threads. The advanced search function can be your new best friend too. CTG

Flour and sugar sacks that are sewen closed are done with a chain stitch. As a kid, I used to collect the string from them for other projects. If you start on the right end, you can "unzip" the whole thing with one good pull. So like on boots and shoes, the needle/thread has to be sized tight in the leather, and bees wax, etc. to lock it in place. And layers are usually glued, so if the surface thread is damaged, it doesn't fall apart. Like TwinOaks says, no machine does saddle stitch or anything close to it. CTG

Tools and toys don't make the man! Some tools definitely make the job easier, and that is one of the reasons we buy them, often starting out with the cheap ones until we see their short lifespan or other problems. What makes the man is what you do with them. And as you have done with other work, how you have done work-arounds to get the job done satisfactorily. Some people buy tools and toys just to show them off. Others really use them. CTG

Try Denise http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showuser=5669 Or their business site http://www.rodnikkel.com/content/index.php/contact-us/ CTG

Divide Korean price by 1000 to get approximate US/CAN $ price. Google translator will do some translation, but you need to sort of read between the lines. Single words translate different than sentences or phrases, but will give you some idea. CTG

Some of the stitching in your examples is pulled way too tight so it is cutting into the leather and causing puckers. Were some of these wet when they were stiched? On others, the taughtness of the thread seems to be random. Practise trying to pull up the same taughtness consistently. Thinner leather has to be treated a little more tenderly than thicker. If holes are too close together on thin leather, it is very easy to cut through the leather when pulling the thread tight. How are you punching your holes? If using an awl, the awl should be angled so the little slots aren't point to point. I can't see from you pictures will enough to be sure what your method is. There have been a number of stitching questions in the past couple weeks and some really good advice given by the Old Grump and others. Do a couple searches to see their comments and instructions. CTG

A piece of 1/4" hardboard will work in place of your marble/granite. (Obviously not as good, but will do for most beginners until they get serious.) You can laminate it to a piece of 3/4" plywood if you want to give it a little more substance and reduce the noise level. And I agree, get the kids to work on the floor. Fewer things to break and push around or tip over. CTG

Keep your bench area clean. Especially oils, dyes ... If your bench area is used for other work where you can also pick up contamination from sawing, filing, working on other stuff, clean the area well before you bring leather back to it. Vacuum up filings, dust, dirt, etc. And as mentioned above, keep your hands clean, use latex gloves, etc. to reduce chances of contamination. Also realize that some marks or what appears to be stains show up after the leather has been cased. If your water has high hardness and minerals, consider using demineralized or distilled water. CTG

Molding also affects the way the dye is absorbed. Forced drying in a cabinet stiffens/hardens the leather and will affect how it accepts dye. As already mentioned, slighly moist leather accepts dye better. From other threads here, if memory serves correct, some people are lightly oiling the leather before applying dye ... but you should search and see if I remember correctly. You can also do some test pieces to see what works the best. For your test pieces, if you are dyeing molded leather, do everything the same with your test pieces, including molding and using a piece from the same hide. CTG

Looks like a gouge used in wood carving. Looks like I didn't need to buy large hole punches for inside corners, should have brought in the carving and lathe tools. I will definitely use the gouge for the outside corners instead of making another similar tool! There are a number of woodworking tools that can be used for leather! Just need to wake up and see the possibilities. CTG

See attached http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?app=core&module=attach&section=attach&attach_rel_module=post&attach_id=66250 Very good book by Bob Park on designing your own patterns. CTG

Did a search for orange peel pipe layout and got this result, should be something in it you can use. https://www.google.ca/search?q=orange+peel+pipe+template&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a Was going to scan a page out of a pipe trades handbook, but decided to search instead. CTG