Northmount

Bob Parks aka Hidepounder has a real good reference for developing and drawing designs. Book. It's for western floral designs. It will be money well spent. I would do a quick read of it, then go back and study and take time to try out building a new design using his methodology. CTG

I know this is an old thread. I have used super glue to glue self stick Velcro to leather. You can use magnets on smart phones. Need to experiment with placement versus the phone itself. Some phones such as blackberry use a magnet in the front and backside of the pouch to turn off the screen while the BB is in the pouch, and turn it back on when the BB is removed. It's in both front and back so the BB can face either direction. The magnetic reed switch is in the back side of the model I made a holder for. If you play with the phone and magnet, you'll find where the switch is. Then keep the closure strap magnet away from the switch position if you don't want to trigger the switch. The iPad has a switch on the right side when holding it in the portrait position with the home button bottom center. Solid state memory used in these devices today is not sensitive to magnetic fields, so poses no problem around magnets. CTG

You can finish this one by hand and redesign the next one for the sewing machine. Then you will still have a nice purse with the proportions you started with. CTG

A few things you can do with your clutch motor 1. Switch to a smaller pulley 2" 2. Adjust the pedal to clutch linkage so the pedal has to move further for full stroke 3. Put a speed reducer pulley set between the motor and head 4. Practice slipping the clutch And like Ferg said, press the pedal a little to release the brake so you can hand wheel it. CTG

Here is a link for instructions on bookbinding, especially for magazines. Bookbinding It's a great way to protect your magazines. CTG

For leather thickness conversion, 1 ounce = 1/64". Some info located here might be helpful to you. Leather guide info Have fun! CTG

Love the machine shop this post links to! line shaft shop

With very soft thin leathers, they are more a reference point. Same as if you were sewing cloth. So you have to, in general, keep watching and adjusting your feed to keep the edge stitching even. The guide won't push the soft leather over. For long straight runs, a long guide can help more than a short guide. CTG

I think a video could be very useful. It could show what the various parts of a "typical" machine are, how the top thread is controlled, how the loop is formed under the feed dogs/ plate, how the hook comes around and grabs the loop to pull it over the bobbin, how the top thread is pulled back up, how to adjust the tension, how to start a stitch, how to back tack, how to turn corners, follow curves, etc. Comments could be made about timing, walking foot versus not, how to adjust presser foot pressure. For specific brand names threading, timing, and that sort of stuff, viewer should be referred to the machines manual. More could be added to following segments on using edge guides, a little about routine maintenance, oiling, etc. One of the first things in the video should be how to correctly install a new needle. Charts don't need to be in the video, but reference locations (urls) should be given. Some good and bad examples of sewing should be included. Wrong tension, wrong needle and thread size combination. We could start off with an outline, followed by a text write up with photos. That could be followed up using it as the basis for a script to do video segments. There are a number of photos in various posts that can be used for illustrative purposes, both in a text document, and later for video either as direct insertion or guide for action in the video. What do you think? Will it get support and input, enough to make it worthwhile, or a good idea that goes off the rails and never gets finished. Some of the vendors here have done nice shorts promoting their machines and showing how to thread. Would they be interested in formally supporting, or taking over the actual video production? CTG

Take a look at this post. How to mix. I would start with the suggested amount. If it is not working, then mix it stronger and go again. I did some once about 4X this ratio, makes instantaneous visible change. You may need to treat the whole braid so it all looks the same after, not lighter only where treated. Good luck with the clean up, and don't shoot the dog, just the person that left the braid where the dog could get to it. CTG

As long as you are using their product, re-purposing what they have sold, there isn't much they can do about it, even if they don't like it. The only caution I (not a lawyer) see is not to make something that defames the company. Heck, they probably want you to buy more so you can make more art! CTG

Leather and Wood vol 2 has a magazine rack that might give you some ideas. Is available as an ebook from Tandy. CTG

A really great piece of work. I'll never be that good, but I appreciate the beautiful work that you and others here do. I shouldn't have shown my wife the lizard. She loves lizards, so guess what? Now have to learn to make nice looking lizards! CTG

Nice bit of research. Now "line" makes a little more sense to me. I've always had a selection of snaps, so just grabbed the one that looked the best for the article I was fixing or making. There are some other posts in the last couple months about setting snaps and how long the post should be so it doesn't bend over and collapse, making a crooked mess. Do a search, should be easy to find if you limit the search to a couple months. CTG

On many machines, raising the foot releases the top tension, so raise it just enough to allow you to turn the leather following your curve. Raising too far will mess up the stitch appearance and position of the lock. CTG

There are several photos in this thread. Edge guides CTG

You can make a leather strop very easily when you want. There are posts here with instructions and how to use. Some people use cardboard, poster board, and even newspaper to strop knives. Probably takes a little longer than when using jewellers rouge. But the main idea is to polish the blade so all those little rough stirations are gone. CTG

Needle in right? Top thread not threaded correctly, can't pull thread through so needle cuts thread as it goes down? Rats nest under plate? Follow the thread path to make sure nothing is hanging up. CTG

Try Bob Kova,Toledo Industrial Sewing Machine Sales Ltd. 419-380-8540. He is another LW supporter. Provides bonded pre-lubricated thread in black, white, straw, light brown and dark brown. Thread (and good prices) CTG

Try a heated box, hair dryer, heat lamp, just don't burn it to a crisp. Kitchen range ovens may not be able to set the temperature low enough. Do some searching here for how people are drying their projects. I have seen lots of posts. CTG

There is a set of 3 booklets by Al Stohlman - "The Art of Making Leather Cases". They are available in print from a Tandy store books, or as ebook downloads at eBooks. There is also a booklet on Handsewing Leather by Al Stohlman. sewing leather And as mentioned, there is loads of info here. Use the advanced search feature at the top right of the page here. I suspect you are not interested in tooling yet, so these books are a good place to start learning what tools and techniques are needed, and some simple to advanced projects. When you are doing searches here, search for "wet forming" as well. Enjoy CTG

Try Wikipedia, they have a good article. CTG

There are some liners that are basically 3 pieces, the two ends, and a central piece that floats in slots in the end pieces. The central section is not glued or sewen to the wallet back. There is a pattern posted here that I noticed a while ago that could be adapted to the style of interior you want. Then it can open flat and fold without bunching up. You will need to search for it. I would say it came up within tha past month or 2. Try wallet pattern. CTG Edited: found it. Pattern

There are lots of posts on vinegaroon under several spellings. Search for vinegar and you will be more successful. Lots of comments, lots of examples, lots of testing has been done by several posters here. CTG

I'm not sewing biothane, but 2 different machines, if I get a rats nest on the bottom, I have to increase the top tension so it pulls the loop back up through the material. Works for me on leather and on canvass. CTG