Art

Glue and Stitch. Cut all the grooves you want in it, it ain't going anywhere. Assembly is also easier. Also you can hammer or slick your stitches down for a little extra protection. I used to groove for stitches when I started, but quickly changed over to pressing in a groove as opposed to cutting one in. When using a machine, keep in mind that it is easy to run out of a groove and it is obvious; if the groove isn't there, well it is creative license. Art

I don't quite understand. Are you trying to cut a channel in the insole for laying in a welt or is it another operation. I've always used a american channel tool (knife) and a flat bottomed french skiver (with or without the outside toe ground off, kind of like a straight version of a rand/welt knife tool) to carve out the actual channel. Like I said, I might not understand. Art

Yes, you can sew thin leathers with thread down to V-46 or V-69. These are walking foot, and needle, and drop (feed dog) machines and feed just about anything in their range. I know Bob at Toledo Industrial carries this type of motor. Art

Jhw, You don't prick THROUGH (your words) anything. Pricking is marking. With thinner leather, a pricking iron may, and probably will, go through. I looked at the fine leatherworking blog and indeed they were using thin leather. I suggest you watch Nigel Armitage video on using Blanchard Pricking Irons. Notice he does not drive them all the way through the leather. You might want to look at his whole series of stitching iron and pricking iron videos to get an idea how each type is used. Art

The finish on mine are about the same, however they do work pretty well. If you want them smoother, you can work on them some with jeweler's files, or I know I have some things for the Foredom that would polish them up. Any decent quality steel can be made better. Art

Pricking irons and stitching irons are different. Pricking irons are made to mark, then you do the work with an awl. Teeth on a pricking iron are more conical. Stitching irons are made to go all the way through the leather, and you don't even need an awl, the harness needles will do all the work. The sides of stitching iron teeth are parallel. Art

They are most likely NOT Seiwa. The unpainted part of a Seiwa tool stops right behind the prongs, it does not go all the way up to the handle. The Seiwa come dipped in plastic up to the start of the black part, the prongs are buffed smooth enough that the plastic will slide off in one piece. These things for all intents and purposes, look very similar. They are not. The Seiwa are worth what you pay for them. Art

The Cowboy 227R would work fine up to 1/4 or 3/8 inch. !/4 inch is 16 oz which is fine for a stock 227R, 3/8 inch is 24 oz and would take a little presser foot adjustment. Ditto any of the other medium duty machines. 24 oz is absolute tops for any of the medium duty machines and if I was sewing 24 oz all day I would certainly get a big stitcher like a 441 Clone such as the Cowboy CB3500 or Cowboy CB4500. The Cobra and Techsew machines would also do the job. I wouldn't get a 441 if you are sewing less than 1/4 in (16 oz) with lighter thread as they can take all the joy out of it IMO. Deal if at all possible with a dealer of leather sewing machines as these machines have to be set up for leather and should include a speed reducer and servo motor. Of late, I am finding the brush type motors easier to deal with; just one knob for speed control instead of flashing lights and buttons and Chinese directions. Art

For bags (and a lot of other stuff) a cylinder arm machine is a good selection. The Cowboy CB227R is a good machine in that category. Stick with the medium weight machines for your kind of work. Getting one of the big stitchers (like a 441 clone) to sew light material with small thread can be a nightmare (no matter what some dealers may tell you). You need to buy from one of the dealers who specialize in leather sewing. There is quite a bit of work setting up for leather, you need a speed reducer and a servo motor, I prefer the brush motors, they are easy to adjust, one dial, dead simple. Art

Do you want a flat bed or a cylinder arm machine? What kind of work do you do? Art

You might have had a little tear out when you turned the bag. You might want to try gluing and stitching to give a little more strength. I can't tell the stitch length, but I would stay in the 6 to 7 spi range, and should not be so tight as to pucker. Art

The Douglas Versa Groover is probably the most useful for stitch grooving work. The CSO and Jeremiah Watt Patent Leather Compass would be my second choice. If you can find an old Tandy stitch groover that is well made (the old ones were, new ones are crap IMO), then get it as that is probably all you need. Many of the free hand groovers work very well but require some practice to master. Ron's Tools, Jeremiah Watt, are the better ones. Art

The OTB printed catalog has retained a lot of the flavor of the "old time" trade catalogs. Often parts are pictured at their actual size, making it easier to select the correct size for a project. It is a whole lot easier to select a rivet or eyelet or whatever when you have it right in front of you and can try it out, the catalog is almost as good if pictures of the parts are actual size. It is a little hard to do this on a monitor. Art

Austyn, After dying, rub vigorously with a rag (t-shirt) then buff with a brush (shoe) then rub with t-shirt again again. After the resolene, I would say to put a coating or two of Leather Balm (with or without Atom Wax) on and buff again. Art

I have used it in one of the 441 clones. It used to be hard on thread guides and basically anything the thread ran over or through. Lately, that has not been a problem. I checked into this and found that they (A&E) put something on the thread to make it less abrasive and to eliminate a lot of the wear. It is also mechanically stronger compared to nylon or poly, and doesn't stretch much. If you are doing fire suits for auto-racing (or airplane racing) Nomex thread might be easier to certify, check first. Art

If you get them from Burce, they will be sharp too. Art

I use both punches. The Weaver Master end punches come sharp however I have had the Master punches fail, not an everyday thing, but a chunk falling out is a fail. The Weaver (oblong) bag punches are very good, and come sharp. The Master Belt Punches work fine, I pretty much use them all the time. CSO Arch Punches, strap end punches, and bag punches, are built like they have to last more than a hundred years. They do not come sharp. They are pretty rugged in the extreme. Learn to sharpen with professional tools, because even the sharpened Weaver tools get dull. Do not be suckered into buying any sets, except MAYBE belt punches, because you will never use 1/2 of what is in the set, and most probably one or two sizes. Buy what you need, when you need it (or a little before). Art

Your suspicions are correct Watson, they are not. Art

Try Ohio Travel Bag Catalog P214, page 19-20. Art

Any problem with the needle can cause just an endless variety of problems. If you let the machine set for a week or so, strip off some thread before doing a test piece. A little spray of silicone thread lube on the cone can help a bit. Last but not least, do not chase a problem when the machine was sewing fine the last time you used it. Lube the machine and strip off some thread, maybe change the needle. Winnie the Pooh says think, think, think. I've seen folks chase tensions for hours, and nothing changed. Art

Great Colt, Two and Three are close, but then four comes on strong. Thanks for the demo, Art

Excellent folks. I have used them. They have US made tools that are very good (the blue ones). If you don't like it, call or eMail them, they will make it right. Art

KJ, I like the BK awl haft as opposed to the stinger type. My hands are on the large side (9" span, 4"hand) and the medium is ok to a little small for me. I prefer the flat sided handle and I use the flat side for the contour of my thumb. The haft has 2 inserts that have different sizes on each end, so four different awl collet sizes. It'll fit practically anything. Art

I don't have a problem with all TLF tooling. Some of it that I have received is so shoddily made as to be unusable. Example in point is the stitch groovers. The hole in the end often so misplaced that it cannot form a cutting edge. This requires quite a bit of sharpening experience to correct, not to mention tools the beginner might not have. This is a simple quality control problem usually precipitated by pinching the manufacturer for a lower cost. The other foot is that some TLF stuff works well. Take the snap setters for instance. They do a reasonable job. So all TLF tools aren't bad, just some. It is enough that one can hope that complaining about it will fix it. I think what the goal would be that a newer leather worker will take a tool home and use it, and if he gets less than desired results, he would know that it is his skill level, not the tool that is at fault. You don't want someone with perfectly acceptable skills questioning them when the tool is really to fault. Art

My 18s also work fine with thinner thread. One is now setup for fabric and has v-46 in it. A lot more colors are available in that thread size. It also sews well with V-69 , 92, and 138, although that was before I turned it to fabric (timed for 135x17 round point or ball point), It has one of the brush motors on it so you just turn a knob to set speed. Wife has the machines with all the buttons and stitches but still uses the 18, and the Singer 222k. Only problem is no cylinder arm on the 18. Art