Northmount

You are just getting started! Like others have already mentioned, take a step back and do something else you enjoy. Get out and do a few things with family and or friends. Change of scenery is almost as good as a rest. If you are a perfectionist, you need to back off and not be so hard on yourself. Depression and discouragement are linked pretty close together. Steps you can take to reduce depression are to get enough exercise. Going for a half hour walk each day gets some of those brain chemicals we need working. Get up in good time each day. Go to bed before you are worn out and exhausted. There is an old saying, early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. There is a lot of truth in it. For your leather work ... Is there someone near your location that can be a mentor? Books, video, forums, etc. are all good sources of help, but watching someone work and working with them can be a bigger help. Take a class or two if you are in an area where they are available. Another option is to get a friend interested in leather work so you can work together and share ideas and help each other. If critiques are hard to take (which is true for many people), don't ask for critique. I have heard the comment from various counsellors and advisors that there is no such thing as constructive criticism. We do need to learn what we need to do to improve, but be careful with how you ask and who you ask for critiques. I come from a family of perfectionists. So know how it can affect a person. A simple example is how we take something a child has done and show them what they should have done. After a few times, the child won't show off their work, become depressed, and may even quit trying. If you have problems in this area, go get some counseling from church or other counsellors you trust. It is good to talk about your problems, but don't focus on them. If you have trouble talking about your problems, you need to find a person you can trust to talk to. Someone that recognizes they mostly need to be a listening ear, and that they can't fix you. You make your own changes when you decide to. I hope there is something in my rambling that you can use and are able to go onward and upward. Now go for a walk. CTG

About the same thing as Chicago rivets.

I think the experts here could use a few photos of what is happening. Start with how you have the machine threaded. Cycle the machine by hand taking a sequence of photos. Sew along the edge of the leather with the bobin cover off so the bobin and hook are visible as the hook tries to grab the loop by the needle. Get in close and well focused. Resize your photos to about 800x600 pixels so you can get them in your post. Also check the direction the thread comes off the bobin spool and through the tension spring and compare it to the manual. Correct direction may not seem logical to you. It got me before! Lots of ordinary household machines get thrown in the junk because of this. CTG

I'm not a saddle maker, but I have what I hope is a clarifying question/comment. I know there are at least 2 types of rubber cement out there. The stationery store type that peels off very easily, and more durable stuff that really sticks and holds like Tanner's Bond Barge Rubber Cement. I have to (want to) assume that you are refering to the Tanner's Bond or equivalent rather than the stuff people use to mount photos in a scrap book. CTG

It's osteo-arthritis in c4/c5/c6 and probably also in the shoulders, elbows, knees. No cures, just pain management. Also keep moving or it will get to the point I can't move. So I'm what you might call a real pain in the neck! I thought someone might suggest a noose around the neck to support it. Thanks anyhow. Proper ergonomics does help, and getting up to do something else every so often helps too. Just as well my work area is spread out in 2 rooms in the house plus in the garage ... and stairs in between. CTG

Or try this make your own from another current thread in case you haven't seen it.

You can also get 1/4" and even smaller tubing as well, so you aren't stuck with large diameter rivets/grommets if you want smaller. CTG

No troubles hanging onto the stamp. Just need a sling or something for my neck and shoulders. They're killing me! Even with my shaky hands, since I rest my hand against the leather, I can still line up the stamps just fine. For you younger folk, enjoy your youth and good health while you have it. Age and the problems that come with it are all down hill, sooner than what you want.

Check this thread tools

Anything you use to seal the leather is just on the surface, not inside the leather. So unless you can stitch without puncturing the surface seal, I don't see sealing the leather as being a solution. You have to leave it long enough after dyeing it that it won't weep into the thread as you pull it through (machine or hand). The thicker the leather, and how much it was saturated with dye will change the required drying time. I think it is time to do a couple tests to see if 24 or 48 hours is enough, or more. The tests need to be the same material, same thickness, same dyeing process. I think I recall something in another thread here some time ago about some thread types being more sensitive to picking up dye, but can't recall just what it was. Maybe a search for thread and dye would find something useful. CTG

The heavy spinning rotor in the clutch motor provides the inertia to get started (punch) through heavier leather without stalling. If it does what you want it to do now, and you can "feather" the clutch okay to run at low speeds as needed, I don't see a need to change. Some more practice and testing should prove for sure one way or the other. I took a clutch motor off a flatbed Singer 20-33 because it tended to grab once in a while. Even with a smaller 2" pulley it was too fast for me. Since it is only used for light weight material like wallet liners, it doesn't need a lot of starting torque and the servo does a good job for me. Might have been fine for others with better muscle coordination! CTG

Nice. At least there is still hair left on the purse ... or was that your hair? CTG

Are you lifting the presser foot when making turns? Lifting too high will release the top tension disks on many sewing machines. So if you are lifting the presser foot, do just enough to relieve some of the pressure on the leather so you can make the turn. CTG

Look for some patterns or make some For bags and such with no tooling: Steel straight edge / square Good sharp knife (trim knife or utility knife) Fine Hard Sharpening Stone or diamond sharpening set Jewellers rouge and leather to make a strop Poly board or such to cut on (later a self healing mat) Overstich wheel (set would be nice) or dividers to measure out stiching Awl - get a good one and sharpen it really well. There have been a few posts about awls in the past month, so do a search limited to 1 or 2 months for recommendations Waxed linen thread - suitable size. There have been posts recently as well about what do I need for leather stitching Needles to suit thread size The Art of Hand Sewing Leather by Al Stohlman Art of Making Cases (Vol 1, 2, 3) would be nice Add as needed: Some rivets and setting tool to match the leather thickness you want to work with Heavy Poly Mallet Plastic bone folder Round punch set For Tooling: Add to the above Low cost references for the beginner: Basic Leatherwork by Paul Burnett - also check out his website The Leather Craft Handbook by Tony & Kay Laier General Leathercraft by Raymond Cherry - old book available on www.Amzon.com or www.abebooks.com Youtube videos - some very good stuff, some so-so, but even the so-so videos may have tips or tricks to help get past a problem area This forum - lots of examples, lots of tutorials Patterns Sylus Tracing Film or Velum or Transparency Film Modeling spoon Smooth Beveler like B-203 Smooth Pear Shader like P-206 Camouflage C-709 Mules Foot U-855 Seeder S-706 Backgrounders A-104 and A-105, or A-888 and A-889 (can start with just the pointed one, but really nice to have both to fill the background faster and easier) Veiner V-708 or other Swivel Knife with blade - spend the time to really sharpen it. A honing guide is nice to have to help keep the angle correct and speed up sharpening and honing. Nice to add when you figure out where you are going and have some money: Checkered Bevelers Lined Pear Shaders Additional sizes of Camouflage, Mules Foot, Seeders, Bevelers Matting Tools like M-881/882/884 or others Pointed/Triangular Beveler Rawhide Mallet or a nice Maul Basket Weave Edge Beveler Stitching Groover Adjustable Creaser Snaps and setting tools Lacing: (decide on lace width) Thonging Chisels, straight or angled, single prong and 3 or 4 prong (add other sizes later) Lace Needles How to Lace also http://kingsmerecrafts.com Finishing: You will need to experiment a little to determine what is most suitable for your work, so buy small size and play. Oil / wax based Acrylic Use Mop-n-Glow acrylic floor treatment for lowest cost - search for "mop" here, limit search to last 2 months.) Lacquer Dyes (Spirit or Pro-Oil - which is still spirit) (Some like Tandy EcoFlow, others hate it with a passion) (Cova colors are acrylic paint - lots of sources for acrylic paint) Antiques This is just a short list. If addicted, it will turn into a very long list ... So look for a couple small projects to do, then determine which tools you need to be able to complete those projects. Then go buy those tools. You can always add more later as you start new projects. Any money you spend on reference material will serve you many times over, but don't buy all of them at oncs, safe a little for the tools. Don't forget to keep up with your schoolwork! CTG

First thing is to narrow down the field you are most interested in working with today. I know that field will expand later. ArmorBags without tooling, plain leather, sewen, maybe dyedWet formed / shaped bagsCarving and tooling (stamping) designs on belts, wallets, book coversSewing versus lacing for assemblyTack, harness, saddles And the list could go on for several pages, but I think you get the idea. Narrowing the field will help to get you the right information and tools. Will save you some hard earned cash right now and get you started down the path to your new addiction. Specialists in your chosen field can then guide you. CTG

Two things: 1. I assume you know that the Tippmann Aerostich needs compressed air and that you have the compressor to run it as part of your purchase. 2. Your pictures are 1MB each and as you see when you try to upload more than one at a time, you exceed the quota allocated for your post (1.4 MB). If you want to upload multiple pictures, reduce the size to 800x600 or 1024x768 pixels to reduce the file size. It will then fit most peoples' screens without having to adjust their browser's zoom. Hopes this helps you. CTG

How does pulling the snap strap pull up the next card? CTG

I think there is some confusion about casing. Casing for carving and stamping leather is not the same as used for molding. For molding, the leather does not need to dry back to its natural color before you start molding. As you can tell, it is easier to stretch when wet. As it dries, it begins to hold / retain its molded shape better. CTG

I was thinking that all that hardware at the back of your neck could be quite uncomfortable. Would have to wear it lower to have it stay off your neck and upper back. I think I would attach the shoulder straps where the attachments for the handle are. Of course since I have arthritis in my neck, I have become much more sensitized (pun intended) to this issue. It's got my shoulders too so I'll never wear one, but would like my clients to be comfortable. CTG

I just did a simple experiment printing color graphics on leather with the Canon Pro9000 inkjet printer. There was no leather prepartion, just grabbed a low quality piece about 3 oz, already cut to about 12" square. Set the printer up to feed straight through from the front tray (the paper path is flat, no bends). Took a few trials to get the settings correct to feed. Leather needs to be flat. Edges that curl up catch and jamb. First picture is of the leather right after printing. 2nd is after applying an acrylic finish using a wool dauber very gently. So the acrylic finish pulled some of the ink up and smeared it around a bit, as I expected it would with a dauber. So it needs to be sprayed on. (Need to try out that Preval stuff I bought a couple years ago.) The paper path on this printer is limited to 57 mils (thousandths of an inch). That just happened to match this piece of leather. Not too bad for a first try. Might have to do some more. I was going to make a double photo frame for this photo and a log house for the owners. Might just print the photos directly on light leather for the inside and tool some 7/8 oz for the outside of the folder and sew it together. CTG

It looks somewhat like the finish lifted off the leather. Did it stick to the buckle? Any residue on the buckle? Not fully dry? Not left long enough to dry between applications of dye, resist, antique and finish? Lots of questions for you. CTG

No photo! Also there are a few threads about hats here, a couple fairly recent. Do a search, meet your new best friend. And welcome to LW. CTG

Canon Pro 9000 Mark II is not a $15k printer. Current US price is $500. They come on sale occasionally for as low as $300. I need to test mine to see what it can do on leather. CTG

Don't need a bandsaw, any fine toothed saw will work, even a hacksaw. The coarser the teeth, the rougher the cut. Then you'll spend more time sanding the edges. Can use a coping saw if you want any fancy curves. Low cost if you don't have one already. CTG

I missed seeing this post earlier. Welcome aboard. There are a few Albertans here. Good to see you putting your inheritance to work! Where are you located? CTG