Art

The surface needs to be hard, and by that I mean NOT squishy (a technical term), you do not want the surface to conform to the tip. So, cardboard, business card, piece of sole bend, piece of thin veg tan glued to a hard surface; anything like that will do. It should not be so slick that it won't hold the rouge. Art

Hi Marcel, White and Green Rouge (kind of a misnomer right there) are not Jeweler's Rouge but are aluminum based (in the case of White, Yellow, and Black Rouges) or Chromium Based (for Green Rouge Cr2O3), Jeweler's Rouge is finely ground Alpha Phase Iron Oxide and is a much less aggressive cutter than Aluminum or Chrome. Since we want to polish the blade and not cut it, we use the Jeweler's Rouge which is "less hard" and finer ground than the others. Stropping is not a particularly precise operation and we really don't want to cut metal. Jeweler's Rouge is also used by jewelers because it "yellows up" gold quite a bit. I have never studied the chemistry of that process, but it is what I am told. Art

Hi Marcel, Jeweler's Rouge (the real stuff used by jewelers not platers) is finely ground Ferric Oxide powder (iron oxide or commonly rust) Fe2O3. In bar form it is usually in some grease or wax binder. Art

Hi Ed, Whole machine once a day if using it all day. Oil it if I haven't used it for a week or two. The shuttle race, once every 4 to 8 hours with use, you can get too much oil there. The only machine I am religious about is the shuttle on the Campbell and I'll put a drop of oil on the races every couple hours if using it a lot. You don't have to have your machines dripping with oil as there aren't any wear areas where there are heavy loadings on bearings or bushings, and there are few gears in most leather oriented machines. On some of the older machines, the presser foot lift or jump lift definitely don't want much oil. The industrial machines that run at the speed of light and sometimes get used 24/7 do need oil once a day or shift even, but that is all and they last for years. Art

Alright, here goes; We could start-up an Events forum for these things if we start getting a thread for every show. Wifey (Rosemarie) and I are going to the 2007 IFoLG show in Ft. Worth October 18, 19, 20, and 21 via Gatlinburg TN for shopping and Memphis for BBQ (Commissary in Germantown). Whoall's going to be there? I also promised Johanna a steak if she made it, so who is interested in that expedition? I'll go anywhere for a steak or BBQ without much arm twistin' (just to keep it leather related), and there will probably be yard bird and fish for you low cholesterol types. No use always meeting in cyberspace. Art

Hi Ed, Just to start off, increase presser foot spring tension but also lower the foot a little. It looks like the foot might not be contacting the material well enough to get good spring compression and hold it still. Like I said before, sometimes the different feet are not the same length and you have to adjust the foot height. Compare the feet and see if one is a little longer than the other. Art

Just click the blank area where the map should be and it will pop right up. Art

Hi Ed, Yes, I can squeeze the outer feet together, but I'm a big dude, the wife can't. Chrome tan is much squishier (technical term) than veg tan, it makes sense the wider foot would cause less compression. Best thing I can say to do is back off the presser foot tension. The veg tan goes through like a brick while chrome tan goes through like fabric. I have a blanket foot set that is huge, so the squishier the material, the bigger footprint you need. If you do get additional feet, try to get them from the same vendor, like Artisan or Ferdco or whomever you got your machine from. I once tried to switch a foot from a Ferdco 2000 onto the Artisan 4000P and they fit, but the outer foot was shorter and the machine had to be adjusted to compensate for this, so yes they are 441 parts and they do interchange, just not always without adjustments. If you go to a show, Steve from Artisan usually has a box full of parts there to choose from, some not advertised. If you like the narrow foot, you might want to try using a right side foot (right side gets you close to something like on holsters, zippers, and bags, whereas left side gets you close to the edge or makes it easier to follow an edge guide). Could you post a couple of pics of the stitching? Art

Hi Everyone, I have just heard from Artisan Dave that Artisan is having a Linhanyl Thread Sale. The regular price is $18.50/ 1 lb. spool and they are selling it for a limited time for $12.00/lb. If you like nylon, this is the stuff to get now that Rice is gone. I have a spool of it in 138 which is an off-white that is pretty good. I don't know if it is a good as Rice, but it is pretty close. The cheapest I have found it is $16.50/lb and $12/lb is outrageous. It doesn't stretch like some, then neither did Rice. I don't know how long this will last, but nobody has been selling it this low. Their number is (888) 838-1408. If you have any questions, you can PM Artisan Dave. Art

Hi Jordan, I carried a Gold Cup for years, and that has a really aggressive front sight. It never even marked the holster, so obscessing over the front sight might be wasted. I wore mine about 4 o'clock so I was rotating the butt forward and the muzzle back during draw. Wheel guns were always that way because of the trigger guard retention systems used then. You could put a couple of belt loops with linge 24 snaps (one ways even), they even make SS hard action snaps, but they might be overkill, but those belt clips are not really secure in my opinion and experience, they tend to ride up over the belt with the detent resting on the belt with normal movement, whereas good snaps on loops stay put. It might just be me, but I like a retnetion strap on an auto (might just be the old cocked and locked days); I don't think I ever had one without it, inside or outside, I've seen a few without them, just not my cup of tea. Art

You could tin the heads with a little solder (use the non lead kind). Art

Hi Beez, Contact Steve Siegel and tell him exactly what you use and what you want and see if he can help you out. They don't handle HO, but they might have something to approximate it (may even be better). His email is: ceo@siegelofca.com It might take a day or two, but he will get back to you. Art

Hi Beez, I order manufactured and partially manufactured products (like belt blanks) from Weaver and the quality of the leather is quite good. Sometimes the manufacturing is screwed-up (they say something has been done and it hasn't or something is done I didn't ask for) but the leather is consistently good, even very good at times. However......., I do not buy leather from them (quite a few other things yes, but not leather sides). I worry that (and I don't know this at all but it makes sense) when those pallets of leather come in the door, there is a guy or gal that sorts them and the good ones go to the manufacturing plant and others go to leather sales. It just seems in my evil little mind that this is the way it would be done. I don't think they are cheating anyone, a particular type and grade has a variance, and I would not suspect they mess with the grade, but that the high side of the variance goes one way and the low side another. Then again, I don't know how much HO they use in their production work. I've only had one side of HO (direct from HO not Weaver) that was not right and they fixed that. It seems that the further the customer is removed from the manufacturer, the more the quality slips. Mind you, that side would have been perfectly acceptable for an import, however I hold US manufacturers to a higher standard. I cannot fault Weaver on their customer service though; if it is not right, they fix it, not quite a good as Siegel, but still pretty good. Art

Hi Ed, Laid (twisted) thread looks ok, is kind of light to medium yellow which looks pretty good and somewhat natural when sewn (looks a little radical when you look at the spool though). The monocord (like fishing line) doesn't look quite as good, however, the monocord is really the abrasion resistant one, especially the micro abrasion from the fine sand they have in the Middle East, which is so fine it gets down into the cords of the thread. There is also a expanded PFTE (Teflon®), but I have never seen it in sizes over 138 equivalent, about 16lb strength. It goes by Tenara® by Gore and Profilen® by Lenzing. That is some slippery stuff and you have to set the machine up specially to use it. Kevlar® is so strong that you could probably use the monocord sizes sucessfully. Art

Hi Just, Tandy -- You MUST go to the store and search for what you want and then tool a piece right there. There is some good leather in the stores, but a lot of times there isn't. I am not convinced they are committed to artisan quality leather yet, and maybe it is just because they don't hear us complaining. They are providing cheap Mexican leather more to bolster their margins than to provide quality material. I don't know where this mindset is coming from, but they need to change it. To me this is unfathomable because there are numerous leather companies offering quality imported hides at comparable prices. Hermann Oak -- Quality Leather 10 sides at a time although you can purchase HO through others without minimums. You can get drum dyeing and additional processing at reasonable up charges. Like anything there is good and bad and I got one of these once, it had quite a few hard spots and somehow it seemed to get through quality control, the only thing I can say good about that was that I didn't also get the other side. This happened once and has never happened again and I consider it an abberation. Stuff happens and they made up for it on the next order. Wickett & Craig -- What I have received from WC has been better tooling leather than the HO (in my very limited tooling experience). I have not been terribly happy with their dyeing (and I haven't checked it lately, last side I received was a little less than a year ago). I like my dyeing struck all the way through and that was not the case in my experience. Other than that a big OK and they have an outlet for small orders, no minimums. Siegel of California -- You can get darned near anything you want here and good service to boot. They have something they call TR skirting that is very very good and tools well. No custom work. Their latigos (both types) are excellent. Friday specials are good also. Special lining leathers also available. English leather available. Not the lowest prices, but they don't send crap unless I order it, and when I have had problems (not often) they were fixed to my pickey satisfaction. If I had to deal with only one leather supplier, Siegel would be it. Others -- There are many other fine providers, I have dealt with a couple, but no continuing experience. Art

Hi Ed, That depends on how often you move the lever from fwd to rev. When the lever is against the stop (the little click wheel) it won't move under normal conditions. When shifting, the stop could move if not in the little detent (click stop). With 346, I use 6 spi, with 207 and the correspondingly smaller needle, you could use 7 or even 8 spi, it's just what you like, just not so short that the holes touch. Art

Hi Johanna, Unlike some of the mass produced "upscale" bags, the Hermes bags are hand made one offs. The hardware is 18k Gold, Ruthenium, Platinum, or Palladium, hand stitching; a really quality bag that usually retails at around $5-$10k although gems can push that wayyy up, and our Dollar's demise against the Euro will be making new ones even higher. I don't see anything in THAT bag that should command that high a price as the saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) is farmed and redily available. Most of that price is probably the buy a brand new Birkin bag without the 2 or so year wait; there is a premium for EVERYTHING. These things are knocked off readily so if buying, one really has to be careful. The hardware is the most difficult thing to duplicate in that bag, the quality of materials and construction next. Nice bag but I like the Kellys much better, but I'm old school. Art

Hi Ed, The Brass rivets with burrs are really hard, it is way easier to cut them off with a Dremel than to nip them off with nippers, even compound leverage ones, you get a pretty clean cut on copper, but nippers on the brass can bugger up the cut pretty good. Might want to practice with one before you do it for real. Art

Hi Pat, This is a good motor: http://www.allbrands.com/products/abp10568.html If you get it, also get this smaller pully, and forget about a speed reducer: http://www.allbrands.com/products/abp13843.html Art

Hi Just, Great class of machine. I have one and it gets a lot of use on small stuff, but I have occasionally done a holster with it; it sews over the welts with not a lot of problems, however I occasionally break a needle (usually my fault, I'm in a hurry and sewing something I can barely get under the presser foot). I am not convinced that that machine needs a speed reducer with the servo motor. The way they put the SR on percludes tilting the machine without removing the belt. If you are going to get the SR, make them install it correctly; SR should be where the motor would go and the motor should be relocated to the front of the machine. Art

Hi (does anyone have a first name anymore?), 1541 is an ok machine for leather, adjustments should be made if that is it's main purpose, I would probably modify the needle plate and a few other things. Usually needle breaks happen when there is a sudden movement of the leather with the needle in it. Usually this happens when transitioning from thick to thinner and the foot slips causing the needle to bend and miss the hole in the needle plate and strike the needle plate and snap. Needles are usually pretty bendy and can take a lot of abuse (especially Organ brand which are real bendy), but strikes are not one of them. It is not uncommon to do this especially when doing heavy leather with a smaller 18-19 or so needle. So don't worry, be happy, but make sure you ALWAYS find both parts of the needle when this happens, even if you have to take the bobbin and shuttle/hook out. Art

Hi Welder, If you want to learn to carve and pound, take a Jim Linell class the next time he cycles around to your local Tandy. Jim is high up the chain in Tandy Store Operations but is also a great teacher and is on the road a lot. If you can make the IFoLG show, he is usually there teaching. If you can wait a year, I think the next IFoLG show is in your area (ask Johanna). Now if you want a video, pick something you want to make, like a knife sheath, or gunbelt, (I would start with the sheath) and get a video explicitly for that. Watch the video a few times and give it a try. You'll have questions and screw-up, we all did, but you have the local Tandy, a guild, and this forum to work you through it. All without cracking a book. Art

Hi Gun, Belts are one thing, and holsters are a completely different matter. You really do need a cylinder arm to do them well and comfortably, not saying you can't do them with a flat bed, the cylinder arm is just easier. Now $1,400 is a little thin for a new machine given the beating we have been taking on exchange rates, and if this is your first machine, new is probably the way to go. You can find something used out there like maybe a Singer 153 class, but if you have problems, you will be pretty much on your own. The Artisan 3000 as mentioned before is a great machine from a great company, but is hovering around the $2000 mark now, and if $1400 is all you got, see if they will take that and finance the rest, $50 a month for a year or whatever they can do. Your production will improve enough to handle that especially if you do a lot of lined belts. The next big show is boots and saddles at Wichita Falls in October and I guess a lot of the machine companies will be there, and I am pretty sure Steve will be at IFoLG in Ft. Worth a week later. If you really want a machine, they are out there. Art

Hi Steve, Yes, glue them together with contact cement or white glue. How you make them even depends on the leather. For veg tan, you can sand them or cut them with a sharp head, scalpel, utility, etc. knife. For the leathers with less body or stiffness, you will have to cut them. After that, you edge the veg tan as it will have sharp edges, if chrome tan it may not need it, depending. Art

What bike? Art