Art

You have most of what you need to accomplish edging. A good #1 or #2 edger will help. Resist the temptation to buy any tool you don't really need. Buy fewer excellent quality tools that you need to finish a task. I think you can get bags full of scrap leather from Springfield Leather to practice on, sewing, edging, gluing, riveting, you name it. Art

The D (Diamond) and TRI points tend to give a straight stitch line. The LR stitches have a little "cant" to resemble hand stitching. Art

7x3 are for sewing canvas tents. I like Schmetz and Grös-Beckert. I like the D or Diamond point or the TRI, and sometimes the LR. The Japanese needles (Organ) are bendy as far as I am concerned, but I have yet to try the Ti coated ones I have friends that use Organ needles exclusively and love them. I use whatever I have (poly or nylon) in the color and size I want. I run Barbour's linen in my Campbell. Unless made of unobtanium, the price differences are not a factor for me. Art

Springfield Leather can also be a great source if you get on their programs. I get the 16oz size of Fiebing's for $7.25 and usually buy enough to get free shipping. Art

Master All Purpose is very good if a bit smelly (it goes away) and can have an affect on pregnant females (honestly, I don't know how it would affect pregnant males). Master Max-Bond is Toluene free (it is actually the Renia Colle de Cologne formulation) and works very well. Renia Colle de Cologne is excellent also and tolerated having pregnant females in the shop. Renia Aquilim 315 is a water based contact cement that I have been using that works very well although a little differently. Renia also has cross-linkers and hardeners for the Aquilim for special solutions. I am getting to really like the Aquilim for all but wet leather (wet when glued). The nice thing about the Aquilim is the no smell factor. Art

The 900-b is a little different animal. It is not walking foot but jump foot; they both have needle feed. It's just a little different way of doing things and is really useful on stiff leather. Art

I would recommend you only use size #8 or #9 rivets, especially if you riveting something thick. I have #12 rivets, but they require a lighter hand. Peening #14 rivets requires a light hand and the patience of Job. They are practically useless, they will bend inside the leather before they peen over satisfactorly. I can make them work ok, but go lightly. I have found that of all the tools I have for rivets (including Douglas sets) the only tools I use are Todd's #3 Blacksmith's end nippers, the proper setting tool for rivet size, and an Osborne Shoe Hammer (face not quite good enough for banging on leather). If you use a good solid anvil (Record 30 lb), moderate tapping will peen the post over with little trouble. Art

The antique that has dyed the leather will be there forever. I have the chemicals, so I would go with striping the neat-lac. This may or may not work so a test piece is important. Nothing is going to be quick or foolproof. After you get it stripped, even up the color (make it symmetrical) by hand or just Antique the hell out of it. Just be prepared for problems, there is no easy fix for this. Art

Cleaning off the Foot oil, leather oil, essence of old feet, and shoe shop deterius, will take all the character out of it. I have a few shoe anvils on stands and a couple of unique ones that fit on the bench that I never cleaned up due to the history etc. I like having stuff that is a hundred or more years old and still gets the job done, and yes, I will hammer on or with a 100 year old piece of history any day. Art

I don't know why you have trouble getting Fiebing's. Antique paste doesn't have any of the really nasty stuff in it. Nevertheless, Neat-Lac is a resist to the antique. You put it on where you don't want the antique to take. To chemically remove the antique that is there, you will need to clean it the best you can remembering that where the antique hit bare leather, it will probably remain for a long time. Once the antique is removed from the Neat-Lac, you can use a combination of Toluene and Ethyl Acetate (sometimes called leather prep or finish stripper) to dissolve the neat-lac. Of course, make up a test piece like the target one to test your cleaning solution on before taking on your work, I'm not really familiar with the eco-flow stuff, some swear by it, some swear at it. You have a day and a half till Christmas, even making the test piece, there may be enough hours to do this, but make-up a little leather card to give until you get it finished. Good Luck, Art

I use Cerakote, which I find better for firearms than powdercoating. Learn to do one thing well as opposed to two things halfass. I think if I was having something big done, I would send it out and have it powdercoated. For the shoe anvil, I would just walnut or bead blast it and then coat it, or send it out to chrome plate it, Naaaaaaaaaa. Art

You can fill in the grooves with JB Weld and avoid grinding. Adding metal~ is sometimes ok, removing it can cause a host of other problems. Art

Contact cement is usually natural rubber (or maybe Neoprene) that has undergone strain crystallization. This will be pretty much impervious to most things if coverage is complete. I am not sure what 3M 77 uses. Art

Use what you got. Ploy and Nylon have been used together since someone bought two different spools of thread. Might not be Mil-spec, but I'm not the Rock Island Arsenal. For shelf life, modern thread will last forever if you leave it out of the sun. Even if in the sun for a long time, strip off a layer of thread and spray it with silicone lube. Art

You cannot spray something "hot" over something "cold". "Hot" is something with very volatile solvents. "Cold" is anything with less volatile solvents than the "hot" you are mixing it with. When the "hot" is on the bottom, you can let the solvents evaporate completely. just like they are supposed to. Then you can apply 'cold" to the top without it redissolving the "hot" bottom coat. When you put "cold" resolene (water based) on the bottom, even letting it dry for days, a "hot" top coat with aggressive solvents will start to attack it. It might not happen right away, but the process starts immediately, and will eventually effect the "cold" bottom coat. Anyone who does automotive finishing has figured out what happens with enamel and lacquer, well, it is kind of the same with the leather finishes and is now creeping into the glues we use. If you want to countermand this basic principle, you have to get into mixing in things that harden (hardener maybe, or a cross-linker) the "cold" product. This gets even more complicated in the shoe repair industry, where some of the sole material is "cold" compared to the "hotter" glues. Art

Greywolf, Look at a new Starrett Micrometer and notice the Made in China on it. Oh tool god, say it isn't so, but it is. Tony, Barry King uses a machining center and a CNC Lathe. When making detailed tools, you can't take much of a cut, so it takes a while, hence they are $40 a tool when you add in marketing costs etc. Still a bargain when a Bob Beard basket or geometric can go North of $100. It is a little hard finding good pre-'63 basketweave or geometric stamps. There are also precious few pre-'63 tool lots going for $2-$3 apiece, I know, I watch those carefully. Still, if you take your time and fill out your collection slowly, even if a basketweave stamp will cost you $15-$20 for a good pre-'63, it is money well spent. Art

If it was a 5 in 1, more than a few shoe or boot makers would pay good money for it. Personally, I wouldn't pay a lot for it, you might be able to find a good one for what it would cost to fix it. For what you need to do, a skiving knife, a piece of glass (tempered and edged, or a rear window of an old chevy pick-up), and an afternoon of practice will accomplish the same thing. Art

When in doubt, go to McMaster-Carr Catalog, and have one made-up. Art

Dye to DEA 3 to 1 most times, 4:1 often. Some colors like the yellowish ones even more. Remember, if it isn't dark enough, you can dye it again and again and again till you get what you want. Spraying does not penetrate as deeply as flooding (dipping) with dye. Remember, you can't make it lighter, only darker. Art

I don't have any experience with it as a "grade" or type of leather. Everything the defense department buys is usually to some "spec" or another, so I assume what you bought is to some mil-spec to be "military grade leather". There is veg tanned, chrome tanned, vegetable re-tanned, and a host of lesser varieties. Chrome tanned makes up more than 90% of leather tanned, vegetable tanned the rest. There are maybe 10 or so sub-types of veg tanned such as Harness, Bridle, skirting, tooling, and a few other sales related classifications. With chrome tanned, it runs a definitive and marketing gamut with each producer or finisher adding something to the mix with Wikipedia providing a reasonable definition . Art

Keep in mind that you have to upload the pics, and then in a separate step post them into your reply (they will go in at the cursor location. The first time is always fun, but don't worry, you can't break anything. Art

Hermann Goering was from Dad's shop, WWII was his war. I learned about Hermann in dad's shop, so it was natural for me to inherit him (sounds better than Ho too). After my son got a little too close and got bitten on the foot, he named Edgar after his favorite author. Art

Ohio Travel Bag, OTB around here. Catalog page 196 or so. http://www.ohiotravelbag.com/PDF/P-214_Hardware-Finished_Goods_Catalog-web.pdf Art

Like I said on some of them the nut was captured in the shaft, there is a hole for it. The only way I accidently found out about one was when I was almost done unscrewing the bolt, I hit it with the screwdriver hard and the nut popped out the other side. The universe isn't messing with you, in my shop the infamous denizen Hermann (named after the infamous German) who transferred from my Dad's shop long ago, is responsible for all sabotage, theft, and whatever suits my fancy. He has stolen all sorts of nuts and screws, not to mention messing-up numerous projects when I wasn't looking (or paying attention), and moving tools and parts. My wife allows him to stay, as long as he stays out of sight. Once she had found out about him, any complaint no matter how relevant, is met with the response, "Hermann did it". We also have a big black racer named Edgar, who owns the shop. He takes care of rats and mice as we never see them, and the occasional copperhead which I wouldn't have believed if I hadn't seen the last half of one sticking out of Edgar's mouth. However, his primary function is to keep the wife out of the shop. He's a daytime snake as we see him on patrol quite often. Art

Veda airbrushes out of Hong Kong work just fine. Also the Badger 250 works good for spraying finishes and is what I would use if I was only spraying finishes like Resolene. They both are cheap, so you're not out a lot if things don't work. Thin Resolene with water till it sprays well. Use thin light coats and allow to dry between them. Practice before you do the real thing. Art