Art

And THAT was the final word. Art Moderator

Try it.

I just use Pecard's, no resolene, I might consider resolene after plaiting if I needed a shiney finish, but that's not me. Art

Out West, and even here, they are solitary animals. Never experienced a pack of them; wolves yes coyotes no. We don't really have enough of them here to form a pack, even if they wanted to. In Maine, we could get a license to hunt them at night only, there too, was never able to call or bait more than one in at a time. You here this crap all the time about "assault weapons" bans, but an Ar-15 or such with a night vision scope is the best weapon for varmint hunting of any kind, and if you are encountering packs of them, then a doubled up 30 round clip wouldn't be such a bad idea either. Now, feral and disowned dogs do tend to run in packs around here, and no one in my family goes wandering the woods without a sidearm and/or shotgun. Art

It is a bell knife skiver because the knife is shaped like a bell. That and the $1000 machine is the same machine. It is easier to use the bottom feed bell knife skiver to do curved pieces, watch a few of the Campbell Bosworth videos on YouTube. Art 4

For really thinned down acrylics, 45psi. Less for spirit dyes, but start at 45 and work your way down. You need enough pressure to siphon whatever your spraying up through the tube. Art

Clean and deglaze the leather with isopropl alcohol or ethyl acetate before dying. Apply the dye. Allow the leather to dry thoroughly. Buff the piece vigorously to remove any residual dyestuffs before the Wyosheen. Buffing off the dyestuff is extremely important or the residual will bleed all over the place if you don't. Art

Hi Al, A 25 ton Schwabe DS uses either a 3hp or 5hp. I have seen more threes than fives. If I was running one up around the max all the time I would want the five. A ten ton press would probably run a 1 or 1.25 motor. Art

The Badger 250 is an external mix siphon feed airbrush. You will have to use higher pressures with the siphon feed. Keep the adjustment valve less than or at max equal to the halfway point on the air tip. Thin whatever you are going to blow with the solvent for that item, e.g. spirit dye will use denatured ethyl alcohol as a solvent (buy at Wally Worlf by the gallon). Make sure the vent hole for the bottle is clear because, on a siphon system, air has to get in for paint to get out. Practice dots, lines, and fades to start. To get straight non-wavy lines, lock your elbows into your body and move your body to the right or left to make the line. After you have become familiar, upgrade to a double action brush like an Iwata Eclipse CS or a Paasche VL. Keep the Badger for large areas and backgrounds. Art

A little warning here. The Chinese are still in the middle ages as far as motors go. Tiawan is better. Having said that, Baldor makes excellent modern technology motors which will not have any problems with a quality, properly sized VFD. GE made many very good motors for industry for a long time, which today would be available at scrap prices, they will just be 3 or more times bigger than a comparably sized motor today, you'll have to put oil in the shaft cups too. Personally, I'd never use a VFD or even an RPC on anything but a US made motor. Do not hesitate spending more on quality components in your drive systems, not if you want the assurance that it will run when you flick the switch. Art

There is a major problem with the rotary system in it is built for a particular load, and outside that load, the efficiency drops like a stone. Running the VFD on single phase derates the VFD, NOT the motor, this means you have to buy a bigger VFD for the motor hp when running on single phase. The only real problem with VFD is giving the operator the capacity to overspeed the motor. I have a clicker that comes from the factory (recently) with a VFD installed and warranted. They could have put a rotary in there, but the VFD was a cheaper solution. I have been using VFDs since they were far from a cheap solution (late '90s) without a motor or VFD failure. It doesn't matter what you use as both solutions are terribly inefficient. The best solutions are a motor generator, or simply a single phase motor of the correct size. Art

Yes, but make sure you match input and output voltages. Art

I am not a great braider, but dressing it with Pecard's or Montana Pitchblend paste seems to work ok. Art

In the harness industry, they use a dye (stain) that they put in the neatsfoot oil. I know Weaver sells it and most probably Beiler's. Art

We use VFDs (Variable Frequency Drives) on all our 3-phase equipment. These allow the motors to be run at variable speeds. Our clicker uses one at a fixed speed. VFDs are capable of running the motor at more than intended speed, so be careful, there are also other options like soft start that are helpful. Their price has been coming down in the past few years and options are going up. VFDs de-rate when going from single phase to 3 phase, for instance, we use 3hp VFDs on 2hp motors. Your distributor should have the proper de-rating charts for the VFDs they sell. Art

Hi Sean, Chuck Burrows made two fine videos on Western holster and Sheath making. They show the hand sewing process very well. Chuck uses the basic tools in his videos and shows you how to use them. Holster Video Sheath Video For basic tools like an overstitch wheel, contact Kevin at Springfield Leather Company, for the best quality handstitching awl (Douglas), contact Vandy at Sheridan Leather Outfitters, both are in the links at the top of the page. Art

Yes, I use the band saw, usually on sole leather and anything that got short changed in the tanning vat. Usually not for anything 6oz and down. Art

Let me 'splain it to you thus. The upper needle guide is a middle presser foot with a special hole (10 in patent), contoured to the shape of the needle with special notches cutout for the thread to pass (in the groove and on the other side). The lower needle guide is in effect a feed dog with the special notches (40 in patent) that may or may not be cut down to run under a needle plate (depending on if you want the lower guide to act as a dog too). While I don't question the theory or the practice in the case of the lower needle guide and a slot type needle plate, I do question the efficacy of the special hole contour, as generally the holes are large enough to provide for passing the largest needle AND thread without any trouble. As I said before, if you tune that hole vary narrowly to the needle size and you have a nice tight needle bar and assembly such that the holes limit any deflection, then ok, however in examples I have encountered this is not the case. Without limiting the hole size, there is really no advantage over the standard center presser and feed dog. I do think there is an advantage with the slotted needle plates, but not a lot more than cutting down a standard blanket feed dog. In the case of a 441 clone that has a smooth feed dog in the standard setup (e.g. Cobra 3 and 4), there is little to no difference. As far as the patents go, the shape of the hole has more to do with the patent than just a round hole which is covered by patents long since dead. While I am not sure this was all a marketing thing, it may have been a way to put patented parts into a machine for the sake of having them in there. Art

The earliest patent filing date is Oct 4, 1993, so they (upper and lower needle guides) run until 2013. Much of the efficacy depends on matching the guide holes to the needle size. I don't know if FERDCO marketed different sized guides for different size needles. Most factory machines run one size needle until death. In leatherworker discipline where we might run two or three sizes, the largest size would be practicle. Art

For the novice or amateur, goDaddy is very good, actually more excellent than very good. For pros who have to have a lot more one with the server zen, it is just better to get some hosting and roll your own. For really top shelf sites with just general direction, I usually recommend a couple of really good companies we have in the area. If you are going to roll your own, and have the time, goDaddy. As for the race car driver that they have for advertising; if I ever heard her say, "I didn't drive worth s#@t today", instead of blaming the car, the crew, the track, the weather, or the concession stand, I would have a lot more respect for her. Art

Hi Al, No, I run it bare bones. I made one, as I said, ground it down from a blanket dog, and it worked ok. I made it so it fit up into the slot, but kept it below or flush with the top of the plate. I'll look for it, it is around here "someplace". It became more trouble than it was worth because I was having to change it out when I used the bag plate, I probably could have modified it to work with the bag plate too, but I've never had troubles with the standard slotted plate or bag plates by themselves. I'll try and hunt it down and post some pics, or I'll just make another one. Do you know the patent number? Art

I am guessing you are talking about the welt, which would allow you to ease the trigger guard a bit. But no, you do not have to adjust the tension to pull the bobbin thread up further. Campbell doesn't recommend pulling the lock up any further than the point it disappears. Other than that, I've never seen anything that says the lock has to be in the middle of the leather. Most times this will not change when the thickness changes. Art

That thing should be pretty close to off patent now. It is really desirable for lightweight needles where you can do some bending. If you have a saw, grinder, and buffer, you can modify a dog from a blanket set or a smooth dog from one of the 441 clones to act as a lower guide. It was a good idea at the time as nobody made a dog for a slot plate machine. I've had a slot plate on mine since I had it and have never even wished for a (lower) needle guide. Art

I recommended Steve as there is a little 'O' ring that can be replaced if the winder isn't turning anymore. The winder is the same as on the Cobra 4. Art

After it thoroughly dries, I use Fiebing's Leather Balm with Atom Wax and buff up to a shine, however Kiwi would also work. Art