Art

Hey Dink, You have to look at the insurance thing by comparable sales, because in case of claim, you want to replace the equipment, not the depreciated value. Look at what it would cost to replace equipment from someone like Melanie Machine or in the case of hand tools, the new value. Replacing something costs more than what the insurance companies will want to pay you for used or older equipment even if it was in perfect shape. Get a replacement value policy. Art

I have used Rice nylon in the campbell, no problem, most of the quality polys are good as they have less stretch than most of the nylons. Linen has no stretch and works great also, although not as durable as the synthetics. If you keep having trouble, send me a bobbin and I will wind it on the winder (I'm just guessing the landis bobbin is the same as the Campbell), I have most of the sizes and common colors. Art

Hi Mule, I have seen this only once with a Campbell and I attribute it to hand winding the bobbins. The Campbell winder is really expensive for what it is but it came with the machine and winds them pretty even. Sometimes if you use the new wax lubes they can dry out and cause sticking. I use linen and do not use any lube on the bobbin but you might consider this if you are getting sticking. The paraffin based wax from Campbell is what you want to use. Are you using linen or poly? With poly especially you don't want to use old bobbins (meaning the cord has been on the bobbin a long time). On the last thrid of the bobbin, the radius decreases quite a bit and if the cord sets to that radius even a little it can cause handups. Try winding just a third of a bobbin of new cord and then sewing with that and see if that is the problem. Art

Heh, well, nobody buys tools from Siegel unless they are on sale, you buy Leather from Siegel. Dixon tools when on sale at Siegel are usually priced well however. When you deal with a supplier, you will find there are ways to buy product, even certain times of the year when items are cheaper. Siegel has big Sales that are very good. Friday Specials give excellent pricing. However, don't cherry pick too much, that is a reputation you don't want. If I buy something on special, I usually try to buy something regular priced that I need at the same time. We actually WANT these suppliers to stay in business and compete with each other to keep prices somewhat under control. As far as the cost of tools, every time you pick up and use the tool it is paying you back and mitigating it's cost. If you paid what you consider too high a price, you are not using the tool enough. This all applies to any of the suppliers, Tandy, Siegel, Hidecrafters, Montana, Midwest, Weaver, just to name a few. Buying conservatively is all well and good, but those great prices tend to work their way into your retail prices, and when you can't get those low prices anymore you might not realize it immediately and adjust your retail upward fast enough. You have to look at a sale as an opportunity to make a little more margin and not let it get into your overall pricing structure. Art

Hi Trevor, Period work often requires or even demands linen, there wasn't a lot of Nylon in the 1800s although there were sewing machines commonly in use (for leatherwork) from about the 1870s on, even in the West. Linen (flax based) thread takes dye much better than Nylon or any of the ester based threads. Linen is also easier on older sewing machines than synthetics although few of us sew enough to make a lot of difference there. Art

Haven't seen that. Price vs. quality I think their leathers are usually a good deal. If they aren't, just wait for them to go on special. If you are really off on a price, ask for a better one. Their case prices on Lexol ore very good. Can you suggest a supplier who has better prices/quality? Art

Hi Tex, We have a few (underestimate) of them around here, but they even think leather is evil so there is no talking to them about people rights. There is no way to reason with that stuff, you just have to tell them we disagree and to get out of my face. Art

No more so than jumping off a big dumb animal who is trying to catch a slightly smaller dumb animal with horns who has just been hit in the butt with a cattle prod, grabbing said smaller animal by the head and horns, planting your heels in the ground and flipping you and the aforementioned animal on your backs, all in 2-3 seconds. And we're worried about leather breaking? Good thing the cows and the boys are both young. Art

Hi Nut, I would recommend Pecards Leather Dressin or Dr. Jackson's Hide Rejuvenator. Stay away from anything that will leave residue in the tooling. The cracking is a problem that can't be repaired easily and if minor and not a structural thing leave it alone. Pecard's or Dr. J's will do quite a bit and you can see where to go from there. Art

Hi PJ, I use linen in my Campbell, you can hand stitch with it too. I get it from Campbell Bosworth Machinery Co. http://www.campbell-bosworth.com/ Others carry it but Campbell is about the least expensive I've found, none of it is cheap. I would try to get the newest product as sometimes (depending on how it is stored I think) the older stuff has some breaking problems. Art

Hi Don, You obviously haven't heard my family sing. The kids inherited their talent from their mother who. by the way, was actually asked not to participate in singing at church. Not only are they tone deaf, but they are LOUD. When you can't hear yourself singing, your can't maintain pitch, and when the whole family was at mass NOBODY could hear themselves singing. Real problem is they think they are really good. Art

Hi Johanna, Sometimes this works for a few hours rest. Get a chicken, on the hoof (foot). Tell the kids to go out and catch him, you'll give a dollar to the one who catches him alive. If a chicken knows you are trying to catch him, nothing short of a firearm or archery set will do. After a couple of hours call the kids, the chicken will need a rest, the kids will too. If they catch the bird then you need to take him back to the farmer where you got him and tell the farmer what you are using her for, he should be able to get you one they won't catch. If the kids catch that one then they have learned teamwork and you are surely in for trouble. Art Art

Ok, Is this Ryan? How do we get 4 layers of 16oz under a presser foot that only lifts 7/8 inch? Can you give us a list of shows you will have your machines at for demo. Can you give us a list of saddlemakers who have your machine? Art

Hi Ronny, You need an oil with a fungicide in it, natural or otherwise. Bee natural has a saddle oil with fungicide that works well for me, it gets pretty humid here in Summer. Montana Pitchblend is made with pine pitch and beeswax, both antibacterial, but not sure if antifungal. Art

Stopped counting yet? Happy Birthday, Art

Hi All, Mikey has a good point but I will go him one better. Get yourself a tax number and with that, set-up a resellers account with Tandy. Just go to your nearest store with your tax number and set it up, it doesn't cost anything. That $799 kit that Mikey bought for $639 (which is a good deal) will now cost you $450 (sorry Mikey). Now why as a Tandy stockholder would I be telling you this as opposed to just letting you go along with buying at retail or using the $30 (thank you very much) membership prices? Simple, you will buy more product this way and it will get you into leather deeper. You will find that with a reseller account, you don't have to shop around as much for prices because you are getting pretty much the lowest price and if you have a local store and pick-up your order, there isn't any shipping. Once you are setup with a reseller account, it is good at any Tandy and if you log in, your prices show up on the internet too. This is just a win/win situation with the only drawback maybe being a little reseller paperwork at the end of the year, but if you are selling at local fairs etc. you already have to do that. Another thing, our own Clay Miller is now the store manager of the new Tandy in downtown (really, right at 7th and Main, 514 Seventh Street) Rapid City SD, 57701. The telephone is 605-342-2221. If you order by phone, order through Clay so he can get his new store started fast. If you order through the website, it will go to your local store. Clay has worked for TLF for more than three years at the stores in Albuquerque and Colorado Springs. Congratulations Clay! Art

Hi Azmal, From what you are describing, you want a hammer. Go to Sears or the hardware store and get one of the double ended ones with replacable (though you won't wear them out soon) plastic, composite, or even metal tips. You don't have to have a fancy maul to whack a punch and if the hammer surface is softer than the punch, you won't mushroom the top. Now for mauls, I use a 16oz for stamping, a 22 oz sometimes, and a big four pounder for persuading stuff to move. Don't get a dead blow hammer (the ones with shot in them), I just haven't found them to work better than a regular one at lighter weights. As far as mallet/maul, I can use either but for lighter weights (16oz or so) the maul seems to work better for me when stamping. Art

Hi Johanna, Isn't that Stohlman's first law of leatherdynamics? A tear in motion tends to stay in motion but a tear or cut doesn't start from a cut edge? Works very well for loops on Mexican loop holsters too. Art

Hi Ron, I used to work with Tippmann quite a bit, primarily in the paintball area. Their equipment was always robust and functioned well, and they have a very good guarantee. I was going to purchase a used 25 ton clicker (I don't think they make them anymore) for a remarkable price, but moving it had to be my problem and with Tippmann, weight grows expotentially with size, it weighed more than my first car. The only problem I have with the Tippmann is that the top does not swing out of the way. This is not a Big problem, just a PIA, takes more time to line-up. The Atom hydraulics are better but more expensive (not unreasonably so) and heavier, they are stand alone and don't need a table. Steel Rule dies are quite the standard now and work for anything we would cut. There is a die from hell that has a thickness of about .2 that I have seen in manufacturing, but don't know who makes them; way overkill for what we do. The steel rule dies are usually less than 1/8 inch in thickness and you can get round or slot tubes in them (great for ranger belt billets). Make sure they paint them (not the edge) because they rust overnight. Good dies usually run in the $100-$150 range unless they are really complex with a lot of tubes or inside shapes. They pay for themselves pretty quickly if you do a lot of the same thing. Weaver, Tippmann, Texas, Big Sky, or Schroeder for good dies. Send any of those guys a drawing and ask for a quote. I've seen used Atom clickers in excellent shape going for around $2500. Art

Hi L'Bum, The Bee Natural Leather Hues are an "all in one" type of product, stain and finish. They are water based. I have found color to be very good and quite even even for hand application, penetration is not the greatest and durability is less than spirit dyes. Comparing to All in One from Tandy, Hues are easier to apply and give an even color, not so with all in one. The tandy all in one was however much more durable. The tandy goes on much darker than one would expect, especially with prepped leather (deglazed). Still goes on too heavy (or dark) even with non-deglazed. Durability test was to put the piece up to a 10" 3600rpm loose wheel buffer, they both took a bit of abuse but the tandy lasted longer. I did not try spraying these products which might have given different results. With Bee Natural, call them for pricing and to order, I always get better pricing than on the website and would not buy their products at those prices as there are other alternatives from dyo and fiebing. Their products, especially finishes, are nonetheless very good. Art

Hi Barra, In Oz, the Tandy conglomerate was run by InterTan and was later sold to Dick Smith Electronics (DSE). Tandy in the US sold off the Electronics Business before the PC came in to make Radio Shack what it was. However Tandy continued on and at one time had about 350 stores, I mean Leather Stores, wow. I have seen studies that the US can support maybe 100-120 stores and it becomes obvious from that Tandy would fail. At one time Tandy comprised of Tandy Leather, Radio Shack, Bombay, Pier 1, Color Tile, and who knows what else. Imagine running that animal. Leather Factory is a wholesale operation selling to Michaels, A.C. Moore, Jo Ann, Hobby Lobby, and some to Wal-Mart. The philosophy at Leather Factory is to build slow to a target of 100 or so stores, I think they have 60 or so now and plans to open 10 or so a year. They only paid $3MM for Tandy so they are not burdened by large capitalization. They run their stores on a 60% gross margin and net out 10%-15% margin. It takes 9-12 months to overcome startup on a new store and start turning a profit so a slow growth is required, however the stores stay constant during economic fluctuations. It looks like they are growing 8% to 10% on the top and 20% to 25% on the bottom; good numbers. If your goal in life is to manage a TLF store, Managers make 28K base (more in California) and 25% of store profits. Art (who owns a few hundred shares)

Hi Skip, That is something you should discuss with Jim Linnel as that store manager possibly has a screw loose. Using his store as a meeting place would definately produce sales and he does work on commission. You might offer to meet after the store closes or make arrangments for Tandy's convienance but unless they are under the impression that they already have your business or you would in some way decrease their sales (not likely), you need to try again or go higher up the food chain. Art

Hi, I have Weaver's master series of Bag Punches and Belt tip punches (not all of them, I have 3 or so of each). Also their Oval Strap Punches. These are all very good tools not better than the few gomph and early CSO punches I have but very good nonetheless. I would recommend them. The problem with buying older tools (especially cutting tools) is the monkey who had them before you. It is easy to overheat the steel with a grinder and hard to see if that has happened when it is on a table for sale. The ONLY one I trust for old tools is Douglas. CSO tools are very good however must be sharpened out of the box, just a fact of life, if you are going to own and use a tool, you should learn to sharpen it. Head knives are a special case and the philosophy of the maker has to fit your using personality. This is important in the way the blade tapers to the edge. Cook knives are thick and have a pretty serious taper as they approach the edge. Buchman knives are thin and don't have this serious taper. CSO are in between somewhere. Marlins look to be on the thinner side but I haven't used one a lot, I just like the Buchman (I have 4 or 5) and use them not exclusively but a lot. But keep in mind that a thin knife can be broken, just keep it in mind and you won't do it. I used the CSO knifes for years and have even ruined the temper on one with a grinder, but I called CSO and found out the steel was 1065 which I can heat treat myself and I did. This is a way big plus if you are buying older tools as the new ones have exotic steels which again I can heat treat but you have to find out exactly what it is before you can do that and THAT is the problem. The one Danny Marlin tool I didn't like was the grooving tool which cut a swath big enough for 1/8 inch rope it seemed, maybe I exaggerate but it was a big groove for stitches. Marlin tools are decent quality though. With knives, it is more what YOU like than what anyone else likes. Art

And that is why The Leather Factory bought them for really what was a fire sale price about a year after that. Their business concept is quite good now and void of stupid mistakes; they will be around for a while. Their leather is all imported (their CFO made a claim recently that there are no tanners left in the US) and is a very important part of that business (also VERY high margin); it is not IMAO of the quality that they had before the closures, still, if you go and pick it out, you should be ok. Today they are very particular where they put stores and who they get to run them, and they do run them very much like a business. The Tandy of the late 90s was much like the Radio Shacks of today, in a bleeding death spiral. The Tandy of today is a much more solid, visionary, and well piloted company. Tandy (the person) built the Radio Shack business up from ashes with the profits he made from the Leather Stores, however without his vision at the wheel, the company did not have the ability to change to meet economic and retail conditions that changed rapidly in the 90s. Tandy today (well really the Leather Factory because that's who it really is) is building their stores one by one based on the profits from the other stores which is just all around good practice and will insure that there are more solid Tandy stores in the future. Good Company, but Tandy in name only. Art

Hi Pat, Good to see you here. The Pfaff 545 is a medium weight industrial machine that has been used in the sail and canvas industry for a long time. It is an older machine that they don't make anymore. It has a forward and reverse lever that also adjusts the stitch length. Good machine that was popular so make sure it is not worn out. There should be very little play in the needle bar and not too much play when you turn the crankwheel forward and backward, you are looking for "play" and that machine should not have a lot of it. That machine should go for $600-$900 depending on the condition, and for $900 it should be darned near brand new. Add $100 for a speed reducer if it has one. Most of the ones I have seen do not have the speed reducer (it is a part of the table/stand and is a wheel that bolts to the bottom of the table and a belt goes from the motor to it and another belt from the reducer to the machine head). Most that I have seen have a 1750 rpm 1/2hp clutch motor. some have a 3450 rpm clutch motor also. You want the slowest you can get. You can replace that with a servo motor for $150 and it is pretty much an unbolt and rebolt job. Remember that the slower it goes, the more torque you have, and that is what you want in a leather machine. This is why a lot of leather machines have speed reducers, they multiply torque. You do not want a Bernina 950, good machine but not for what you are doing, you won't be able to make it work well. If things don't pan out on the Pfaff, the Consew is a good machine that you can find plenty of new and used. Models used would be the 206 RB3 or the 225, 226, or 227. The older Consews were made in Japan, the newer ones are make in China, just info not saying the Chinese ones are no good because a lot of them are very good, but a lot of them aren't. Old singers are also good, the 111 is a great machine as is the 153 if you want something a little heavier. Today, Tacony makes the Tacsew 111 which is functionally identical to the Singer 111s. What you want is a tight, medium size industrial leather sewing machine, which means it will have at a minimum, Walking foot needle feed drop feed industrial stand 1/2 hp motor (that's 400 watts for youall in Yoba Linda) in your voltage (add $150 if you have to replace motor) Speed reducer, but not absolutely necessary V-Belt drive usually 135x16 or 135x17 needle system (although older machines are sometimes different) but most importantly, it sews what you sew with the thread you sew with, this is important, if it doesn't sew your stuff for an hour, walk away, or make them fix it till it does. Spare parts availability. You are lucky to live near LA as they still have some semblance of a garment industry and there are mechanics left to help you with an old machine. Like I told you before, contact Melanie, that guy knows more about leather machinery than most. Art