Art

I almost always glue the alligator to a piece of veg tan for stability, it also will help with the wet molding. I use Renia for this kind of thing (green can, colle de cologne) with 5%-10% cross linker =C= mixed in, the cross linker is optional but I use it anyway. Don't use anything but contact cement, and only the kind with non water based solvent. If you use Renia Aquilim 315 (no smell, water based contact cement) you really must use a cross linker =300= at 5-10% or it won't hold well when you get the sandwich wet. In other words, glue it up dry (with cross linker), let it dry a few hours or overnight, then you can wet mold it. Take some scraps and practice first. Art

For a cheap motor, I like the FS-550S because it has a max speed dial, messing with leds and chicklet buttons is a real PIA on the Reliables. If you want a high quality motor contact Gregg at Keystone and get a Ho Hsing i90, but the price is a little steep on those. I Think Gregg also carries the FS-550S, I think the Consew SM-550 is the same motor. Art

Yep, same as the Seiko 8BL or the Consew 206RB Art

One of the primary causes of "strange stuff" appearing in a lot of solvents is the trapping of water laden air over top of the solvent. There can be all sorts of reactions take place especially when the solvent reaches the maximum amount of water it can hold. This can be exacerbated by raising the temperature of the solvent. In the alcohol industry, it was often called a "mother", although that was a long time ago as I remember. Industry is better today at keeping something inert over the solvent, they will use whatever gas is the cheapest that won't react with the solvent or carry water or something worse. Art

I once paid $20 to watch two porcupines screw, but I can't say I would ever do it again. Art

Parts Missing? Art

I think you need to dial back your requirements a bit, or continue hand sewing. There isn't a machine that at some time or the other will not mark the leather. You can minimize that a lot, but you have to work not only on the machine, but your technique. If you are doing bags, a cylinder arm will be helpful, but a bag or stirrup plate might be a bit much to find for a medium weight machine. I guess you can start looking with the Cowboy CB=227R or an Adler 669. Adler is a little pricey. I think the most important thing is to get a leather sewing machine dealer to adjust it so that it works the way you want. Art

Most all contact cements are made with real rubber, or neoprene. The rubber undergoes strain crystallization which makes the rubber impervious to ripping apart. This is opposed to rubber cement which is made usually with latex, which stays latex and can be pulled apart. Hitting the leather with a mallet or hammer on a hard surface will insure strain crystallization (for contact cement). So, if you can hit the leather (hopefully hot so hard as to break the plastic) it should aid in this crystallization. It never hurts to experiment before the real thing. Art

I agree that the Barry King and the Weaver Leather are the best for the money, being pretty much the same knife. However these things are very personal, what one person or the other likes, may not be your cup of tea, and the style you may like for one blade, may not be the same for another. I recommend that you go to one of the major shows (Sheridan, Wickenburg - back in the community center this year, IFoLG, Wichita Falls, Pendleton) and try out all the knives there. It is really a matter of what YOU like. Art

Don't believe anything a leather salesman tells you. With experience, there are those who will earn your trust. If your B.S. meter goes off, trust it. With Vegetable Tanned Leather, I really only trust the tannery, and then only Wickett & Craig, Hermann Oak, J&FJ Baker, and J Rendenbach. If you can get your hands on the leather, buy what looks good to you, in other words, trust your hands. Now that only covers less than 10% of the tanned leather produced. Chrome tanned and retanned is the other 95+%. Unless you buy in container loads, you almost never buy from factories as most chrome comes in the blue, and wet blue condition, this means just tanned, nothing else. Some factories also finish the leather, some other sellers and resellers buy the wet blue and refinish it themselves. There are other resellers that stock only finished product, which is what "we" are going to get. There is a mighty lot of superbly finished leather available, and there is a lot that wasn't worth all that trouble. To answer your question, you have to call the tanner and trust that he is not blowing smoke up your skirt. Saddle leather can be literally anything, but I would hope that it is leather. We often hear of saddle skirting, and we pretty much know what that is. But some of saddle work requires wet leather and I would think you would not want a lot of wax in something you have to get wet pretty much all the way through. I don't do a lot of that and we have folks on here that do and might answer that for you. Art

In my favorite order: • Robert Beard/Pro Series Tools 505-632-7039 • Henley Manufacturing 318-631-3545 • Barry King Tools 307-672-5657 • Weaver Leather 800-932-8371 • Lonnie Height/ Gomph-Hackbarth Tools 520-642-3891 • Paul Zalesak/Leather Wranglers 505-269-8563 • McMillen Tool Company 573-374-7880 • Chuck Smith Tools 760-749-5755 • C.S. Osborne 973-483-3232 • Tandy Leather Factory 817-872-3200 Art

Chuck, You will be trying to do something that machine was not designed to do. The smallest 794 system needle in a leather point is a 160/#23 and the smallest I know of in a round point is a 140/#22. The smaller the needle diameter, the farther away the hook is from the needle. This can be adjusted (with some work), but you really shouldn't go screwing around with those adjustments over and over. The good thing is that you will wear out before the machine. The 160/#23 needle will work fine with Z-138 and Z-207/Z138 for a tighter stitch. You could use Z-69 with the 160/#23 needle, but the holes will be huge. The best way to solve the problem is to purchase a CB-227R. Art

Great! He will love it. Art

Bob, I think everyone expects that you are checking this board daily. You are one of the premier machine suppliers, and this is the premier board. Just checking for new posts once a day will let you keep your finger on the pulse of leatherworker.net and the CowBoy crowd. Art

It all boils down to what you have and what you are handy with. If all you've got is a chainsaw, but you are handy with it, it will get the job done (however your sandpaper costs may increase dramatically). Experts are experts at using whatever they use; a $15 utility knife can outperform the best head knife in the right hands, and the inverse is also true. It just helps if whatever you have is sharp. Art

After you melt through the thread with whatever, press it down onto the stitched thread, it will adhere there if it is still still in a melted state. Art

Brand? Art

Who or what is the reputable source? If you include it then you should credit it. Art

You need a person who does planer blades and has a Makita 9820 sharpener. If you can tolerate a little bit of hollow ground edge, a Tormek has a jig that will work also. Of course you have to have the sharpeners and flat stones (for the back) to do this type of blade. I'm thinking maybe Campbell in Texas may be able to do it for you. It takes me 20 minutes setup and teardown to do this and another 10-15 minutes to do the job, so you can figure what you are going to be charged to do one of these. Shops that do a lot of planer and shaper blades stay setup all the time. Don't be too eager to tackle this job yourself unless you know what you are doing. If you really bugger-up a blade, it takes forever to regrind it. If you can't find someone to sharpen it, or can wait till after Christmas, I can do it for you, but in any case, buy a new blade so you will have something to use while your old blade is in the mail. Art

I just set a couple of #14 Tandy Rivets form the '90s. The burrs held fine. For #14, I used a 1/16 inch cutoff height. Set the burr till it is just tight to the leather and cutoff to 1/16. use a small hammer backed by an anvil. Tap on the peener or directly on the post to peen it over. Strive for flat and centered if you want to use the head rounder on the other side. Practice and a little finesse with the delicate (comparatively speaking) rivets. Art

Pecard's Art

For Italian Calf and some good lining leather, try Hardtke Leather. Art

Karina, Definitely +1 on getting a second band saw. I run one with knife edge blades and before I had the second saw, I had to change back and forth or try to cut something with the knife edge that should have been cut with a toothed blade. I used to look like I tried to take the Tomcat to the Vet after those blade changes. I now get into a full set of welding leathers before changing knife blades (and taking the Tom to the Vet). Art

It is easier to see (and hence follow) a line with a head knife. For really intricate "inside" cuts, the No. 11 scalpel or a sharp pointed clicker knife is good too. For tight curves, a big head knife is hard to turn, but those small ones with the shallow profile are better. Everything has to be bleedin' sharp. Art

Like I said, the head knife can be used for skiving and a whole bunch of other stuff too. Verlane could skive a straight or curved edge with a head knife and pare down a belt end too. So, it is all a matter of what you learn; just make sure it is screaming bloody sharp. Art