Northmount

I like the idea of a video camera and projector so everyone gets to see close up. It does add a cost to the course provider, and may require an additional person to keep the camera focused on the work. Students also learn from other students. When a student or 2 are ahead of the others, the instructor can assign them to help someone else catch up. It helps the instructor keep up, helps the people that are slower or waiting, and helps the faster student learn how to impart his knowledge to others. Also, the faster student that is helping others will learn other ways to accomplish the intent. Lots of ways to present training courses. Different subjects require different approaches. The instructor needs to be flexible and able to addapt to his students. Not every student is going to be happy. That is something that both students and instructors need to recognize. If a student recongnizes he has a problem with the corse material or instructor during the first hour or so, he should withdraw from the class if he can get his tuition back. Then decide what kind of class or work he should be in next. And when an instructor gets tired of his job, it's time to get out and get another job. Don't make the students pay for his unhappy state. CTG

Try Kingsmere Crafts square braid There are loads of pages on this site for lacing and brainding ... and other leather realted stuff CTG

Denise ... My son is providing a remote assistance service. PC Help He has put a lot of sweat equity into building his business and has added this service to help provide the income that sweat equity doesn't provide. No fixed hourly rate, you contribute what you think is fair. Regards, CTG

Good work Ken. I think there will be a number of people happy to see this tutorial. I think I'm about to try Mexican Round Braid on a project soon. These videos are far from bad. Your video shooting has improved since the first set. Better lighting and contrast. When you have to take the project off the stitching pony (or don't want to use such a prop to force you to stay in the frame) try setting up a wire frame that will be just outside your camera frame. Then you will have a reference to help you stay in the frame. For a couple training videos I was involved in about 20 years ago, we decided not to spend a lot of time building a fancy script. Funds were in short supply. So we did 2 shoots. The first one, I walked through performing the 'operation' and describing what I was doing. Then we walked through again, using the first one as a script, got lighting and camera angles setup and did the second shoot (recording the plant background sounds, but no narration). Then they used a professional reader for voice over and cleaned up the video editing. You might be able to do something similar so you can narrate without having to struggle with the lacing at the same time. Describe what you are doing as you shoot, then go back and replace the sound with your new polished narration. You are picking up this video stuff quite quickly. Your previous experience with photography is probably a big help. Keep up the good work Ken. I much prefer seeing videos with narration that tells what a person is doing, rather than a loud or distracting music track. And for those of you that missed it before, here is a link to Ken's previous video Lacing Tips. CTG

You can do what is sometimes called a dry splice. The ends of the lace are buried inside the object being laced. May be between layers, or for a single layer where the back is not exposed, on the hidden side, trapped by the lace stitches. Chief has a tutorial where he illustrates this splicing method. lacing tutorial Off topic, he has a new tutorial for Mexican Round Braid lacing. round braid Lace 'em up CTG

With automatic white balance in cameras now, daylight bulbs aren't as important as in the days of film. If you need some color correction, use software like photoshop, or GIMP, or other. Just make sure to avoid glaring light sources by using any of the methods previously listed. You can make a simple light box frame out of PVC tubing (that you can disassemble) for storage. A king size flat white sheet will cover a fairly large box. I had a bunch of PVC tubing, but not the fittings, so cut and drilled some 2x4 scrap blocks for 3-way joints. 1/2" and 3/4" tubing is actual outside dimensions, so use a 1/2 or 3/4" Forstner bit to drill the holes. Nice firm fit, but does disassemble. You can take good photos in full shade without bright spots and very little shadow if you watch your positioning. Avoid using distracting backgrounds. A sheet of neutral colored poster board, set so it is flat on the floor and curves up against a wall or other support will give you a background without a horizon. Rolls of photo background paper are available in various colors and widths. I have a 4' wide roll that I hang in my photo frame tent on the back PVC upper tubing, pull it down so there is a nice curve to the floor, sit your object inside, lighted with a couple floods through the white sheet, and shoot away. Nice thing about digital cameras, you see your results right away and can make adjustments to get the best photo. CTG

Home page came up okay. I attempted to navigate to Products - Belts, no response, then a database error, then could not reconnect. Using Firefox 13.0.1. (Using a 25 Mbps connection.) Edit: It just came back up, looks great. CTG

If you are looking for more torque, especially at low starting speed, then you need a larger pulley. Belts are sold by width and length. The length (circumference) is usually measured at the top of the pulley, where the top of the belt rides. CTG

Tandy had a couple buckle sets on clearance last time I stopped in. They were missing the set screws, so I asked about them. Oh! That's the reason they are on sale! So I told them it's useless as a set without. So the clerk goes and asks someone more senior. Out comes a little bag of set screws! One of the problems with big box stores, most of the set/Allen screws are black and will rust or stain leather if it is wet. The correct screws are chrome plated, like the buckle set. So ask for them. I haven't found them listed separately on their website or in their catalog. CTG

I think it is great already, and if you re-read my comments, they are focused on things to consider as he completes it. Note the last line of my comment: Quote "Keep up the great work. Looking forward to seeing it completed." Best regards to all. CTG

Vansam ... Very fine detailed work. I have a couple comments, not that I am a great figure carver, so you can see what you think. The right ear looks like a leaf dropped onto the horse. It needs some additional work to show the inside leading to the ear canal. Needs to be deeper and darker. The left ear needs just a little more too. The left eye has too much eyelash or eyebrow. When you look at a picture of a horse, you don't see the eyelashes or eyebrow unless you are doing a close up macro shot. I would rework the beveling around the eye to reduce the prominence of the lash/eyebrow. The nostrils should be deeper and darker. An undercut beveled or petal lifter could be used. Is your leather too moist? I don't see much burnishing. I did a horse head in a horseshoe from a book of sketches by Al Stohlman published by Peter Main. I wasn't too happy with the first attempt. Then I had the opportunity to take some 200 plus photos of 14 horses at a nearby ranch. I figured out that the nostrils were too high, so moved them down a little and fixed a couple other details related to bone structure. So my second try turned out better. It helped to have a few photos of the same profile and angle. Now I'm doing it again. It has been a couple months since the last one, so I'll see if this one turns out better or not. I still need to work on the bone structure. Keep up the great work. Looking forward to seeing it completed. CTG

One comment about servo motors (any variable speed motor in fact), motor speed and motor torque are proportional. So low motor speed means low motor torque, and not enogh torque to punch through heavier leather. Gear or pulley speed reducers keep the motor speed up, and the gear or pulley speed reducer multiplies the torque by inverse speed ratio. So for heavy/thick leather projects, keep the motor speed up and use gear or pulley speed reducers. That is the reason you see a 3 to 4" pulley on machines that sew up to 3/8" thickness, and a much largeer pulley on the heavy stitchers ... about 9" or greater. Someone rejigged theirs with an 11" pully. CTG

Just got the can out to take a look at it. It is actually Lepage Pres-Tite Green contact cement. (Shows how good my memory is!) It lists the drying time as 30 to 40 minutes, or until the milky white turns to clear. I usually leave it only 10 to 15 minutes, then assemble. 475 mL (~ 1 pint) costs about $10. CTG

I have had good success with 3M water based contact cement. No fumes. Fumes from most solvent based glues that contain toululene and such give me an instant headache, so water based contact cement is great! I haven't tested how waterproof it is after setting, but water will not remove it if you let it set at all. Cleanup with water has to be fast for stuff like brushes. CTG

For the things you are interested in sewing, 3/8" should be good. That's 24 oz thickness, 3 layers of 8 oz. For many of these items you don't want a heavy thick seam anyhow. So for the most part, you should skive the edges to reduce the thickness of bulky seams. My 2700 does great. If you aren't building heavy harness tack, you don't need to go to larger machines. If you have researched LW, then you already know there aren't many 'one size fits all machines' out there. Pay attention to comments by Wiz, Steve, Ronnie, Sewmun and the other top notch sewing machine people that support us. You will probably settle in to using a couple different thread and needle sizes. And have to adjust tension for each and to accommodate different thicknesses. CTG

FoxChapel Publishing did a couple special issue magazines, one in 2012 and one in 2011. Both have some info on using leather. Seems to me they suggested not using chrome tanned leather due to the chemical fumes. Issues available here I found them both to be quite interesting. Lots of info on techniques, tools, and interesting history and examples/gallery. CTG

The soaking overnight was for old leather that had really dried out. Soak only as long as there are bubbles rising. Soaking too long will take much longer to return to normal color before you can start working with it. Bagging it overnight right after soaking lets the moisture penetrate to the core. If the leather is light weight, less than say 6 oz, it doesn't take very long to get saturated. Heavier leather of course takes longer to soak up the water. After sitting in a bag overnight, take the leather out and let it dry until its natural (original) color starts to return. Then it is ready to work with. Bag it between work sessions to keep it from drying out completely. For large pieces that you can't tool in one session, cover with plastic wrap or other except for the area you are working on. Then bag it till your next work session. If it is getting too dry so it doesn't burnish well (darken when you are stamping it), then mist lightly with water. If it gets too wet, the crisp tooling swells and you lose definition. Hotter climates need refrigerated between tooling sessions to stop mold and mildew. Listerine and other antibacterials can reduce the tendency to mold and mildew. I don't have that problem here except for a couple weeks in the summer. Since I do most of my work in my basement, the temperature doesn't get over 70 F most of the time. Hope this helps. Go back and re-read the thread now, keeping these points in mind. Happy tooling! CTG Edit: Just saw this post too. moistening while tooling

Faces are the hardest parts to do. The eyes make a huge difference too. I think you have done a really great job. Figure carving takes more of an artistic bent in my opinion. Much of the floral, steam punk and other types can be done with a mechanical approach by someone with little artistic skill if they are careful and follow an established pattern and routine. Figure carving needs someone with an artistic eye. CTG

What about trying something just a little different? Cut a number of rings (or ovals or rectangles) about 3 to 4" across with a hole about 1.5" in the middle. Sew alternating outside and inside layers to make an accordion. Flip alternate pieces so the grain side shows on the outside, flesh side hidden inside. You can make any number of layers, shift the size from large at the floor boards, to smaller at the top against the stick. Could start with rectangular at the bottom, to smaller and round at the top. Burnish all the outside edges, dye what ever color and show it off. Might start a new fad! CTG

This isn't needle, hook, shuttle timing. It is needle and foot, feed related. So don't fix what ain't broke. Look at what positions the feed. CTG

A recent post on another thread said to cut the post shorter and use a simple awl to reshape the post so it can be beaded properly with out bending. CTG

MarineThread seems to be a dead link for me, but I found Maine Thread CTG

I have heard the comment a number of times that if something isn't selling, raise the price. Seems to hold true for crafts, arts, antiques ... Try it and see. CTG

Great videos. I would definitely like to see additional ones on Mexican Round Braid and Two-Tone. I've been thnink of doing both one of these days. I was surprised by the number of photos people have posted where the lace was twisted, uneven and no attempt made to close the start and finish. I would have thought that it was obvious to keep the lace from twisting and showing the backside of the lace. I do realize it is hard for the first couple projects to figure out how to close. It is good practice to always pull out the first 3 to 6 loops from the start so the angle of the lace is consistent at the join. It may be obvious to you and I that you should always start the lacing in an area where the ends can be buried between layers of leather (as you have done). If you do some edits, maybe add that comment. I have been using the perma-loc lacing needle for 50 years (same one, never replaced, just misplaced a few times). I have a nice slim one, curved. I use it for both 3/32 and 1/8 lace. I wouldn't buy the larger diameter needle. It's too big. The ones Tandy has now may need the pointed end filed down and reshaped a little. In your video, the contrast and brightness ratios make it hard to see the difference in color of the dark brown lace and the lighter brown of the leather. Often they both look black so you can't see what you are trying to show us. So take your desk lamp (or other lamp with a reflector that you can position) and set it above left so the camera peeks inbetween your shoulder and the lamp. The brighter light on the subject will improve the contrast and brightness, and the color rendition as well. Since we are not concerned with exact color, you don't have to worry about special daylight lights. Fluorescent or tungsten will work fine. The auto color balance on the camera will take care of some of the color shift anyhow. Again ... great job. It will help a lot of people improve their lacing skills and their project quality. CTG

I think the strap looks great. Don't try to fix it, just do some testing for future work so you can figure out what exactly happened. CTG