Art

Bruce Johnson Art

Hi Jim, I have the Cobra 5550. It is a race car compared to my other stitchers. Good for boot tops. It runs 69, 46, and 33 thread fine. I have the servo and speed reducer and I don't have to ride the handwheel like on my old 31-15 (but it had a clutch). It sure is a lot tighter than the 31-15 too. It is invaluable for doing tight turns and intricate work, stuff I used to dread in the 618. Nice machine for flat work, you'd have a hard time getting it away from me now. Art

I don't do saddle making, so there are 4 of Ron's edgers that I don't have (obviously the cantle and horn ones). I also have a few Gomph, Osborne, and Douglas, and yes the obligatory Tandy edgers. I obviously liked Ron's so much I bought all of them. They hold an edge quite well with the occasional stropping. The small Montana edgers are really great for close and thin work. You can really edge a piece of 2oz. The French skivers are really great for doing butt joints. The Gomph edgers I have are really big for their numbers. I found a 1 or 2 worked for everything. Maybe that was because of sharpening over time, although to the eye they did not appear to have excessive sharpening. Osborne edgers are good, require sharpening often, but are more realistic in regard to numbers. The Douglas and King edgers are very good, I have used them a couple of times, but I have the Ron's so no need to collect them. You wouldn't go wrong with Douglas or King edgers either. I have never used JWs tools except for hammers. If you want old tools, get them from Bruce Johnson or Sheridan Leather Outfitters. SLO also has Douglas Tools, old and new. With Ron's edgers, Ron Edmonds has retired, but I just bought a rand knife from the new owners and the tools are as good or better. Art

It is hard to see it in the pics, but lets take it from the top. The thread groove in the needle goes on the other side from the hook. The scarf (place where the hook passes) goes on the hook side. The upper thread goes from the thread groove side through the eye to the scarf (hook) side. So your machine threads inside to outside. Check the hook for burrs/roughness and smooth it out. Hold both threads for the first couple of stitches. Art

Check the hook for burrs. Feel with your finger and if there are any burrs or rough spots, polish them out with crocus cloth or some similar sandpaper. Put paper under to catch any abrasive or filings/swarf. Sometimes when you are muscling a piece of leather, the needle will bend and strike the hook, this causes the burr and the thread will stick to the burr when trying to come off the hook. Thread should move through the needle hole effortlessly. Art

Aaron, You are taking the never ending path of bespoke shoemaking. Good Luck. +1 to Kayak's recommendation for J&V. You need to get their catalog and then measure your foot. You will need your measurements to match up to the J&V catalog. For instance, I wear a 11 1/2 D or E shoe, the J&V last for my foot is a 12C. Having a good set of measurements will allow you to pick the last that fits your foot closest a little under in some measurements or (hopefully) exactly, you can build up the last for any anomalies. Lisa Sorrell did a bunch of boot making videos on YouTube, one of them was about measuring the foot. Art

Ok then, Buy the knife Paul recommends (call him or Skype him) and see if he will let you swap for another if it doesn't fit you. I have seen guys with DDD hands that use the smallest knife they can find and ladies with small hands who use knives that are quite large. It is purely a matter of taste and style. Some folks push instead of pull, and again it is what works for them. You are not going to stop with one swivel knife. Some do, but changing blades is a hassle, so more than one may be in your future. I have 5 or 6 or 7 of the same swivel knife that I have bought over time (at least they all take the same blades), but others change them up and buy a different one every time. So it doesn't matter in the long run, get something and build from there, Bob Beard, Paul Zalesak, Barry King, and Henley are all good knives. Henley knives a great, but they give me too many choices. Art

Hi ?, Paul makes a very good swivel knife. If you go to one of the shows he is attending, he will let you carve all day with different ones and you can make a decision. Wickenburg is only a month and a half away (Feb 9-11) At least I think he as attending. Art

Papyrus is a link to it's wiki. There are a couple of Papyrus modified fonts out that look a little better. Cool font, way overused. Art

You got me there, I get it from Bob Beard or Weaver. Art

The quality of Tandy's tools are not the best. They are trying to keep the hobby costs down to a reasonable level. I know that their stamping tools are not up to the Bob Beard level, but they don't cost north of $50 apiece either. Their knives aren't up to the quality and hardness of the custom makers either. For stamping tools, start with the 15 piece 1013 set from Gomph-Hackbarth, you can build up with makers like Bob Beard, Barry King, Wayne Jueschke, Jeremiah Watt, Gomph-Hackbarth, and others, some newer to the business like Clay Miller that do fine work. For Leatherworking tools, Start with Weaver Leather, they carry many different makers of good basic tools. Springfield Leather also has good tools, and the hobby stuff too. The used tool market is a good place to go if you know what you want; buy from Sheridan Leather Outfitters or Bruce Johnson, they won't sell you bad tools unless you specify them (for collecting), always specify using tools. Ron's Tools makes great edging tools. Read the above links to get some idea of what you need. Art

I am going to +1 to Aaron's choice. If you are just starting out, Kevin at Springfield can sell to you in less than full sides which can be easy on the pocket. He has a leather shop on premises, so he can cut you belt blanks if that is what you need. Kevin and clan are always there for any questions if you need that, although don't talk to the dog unless you just need to vent, he isn't that good a leatherworker. Until you get to buying sides of leather, SLC is a good choice, and even after that, if you like Hermann Oak, SLC is still good as HO requires a 10 side minimum. Art

Those are shop knives, and the handles seldom look pretty. Some things I've seen: A piece of veg tan, usually some unused piece of shoulder or sole bend from the scrap bin, glued to the blade. A piece of lace (leather bootlaces) wrapped around the handle and glued down. Parachute cord wrapped around the handle. We tend to have spools of thread that we don't like (color, texture, or whatever), will never put in a machine, and have been hanging around for years, that we use to wrap a handle; cement the blade, wrap it, and finish the thread with glue. Like I said, these things are seldom pretty, but they could be made to be if desired. Art

Those brushless motors are all electronic nowadays, you must have pushed the secret sequence of buttons to get it in reverse. Make a figure eight out of your drive belt to see if that helps (poor mans reverse). The handwheel needs to be turning toward you from the top. Pictures would be helpful, but just for the halibut, try pressing both buttons at the same time till the little window says F (in my dreams). I mean hell, there's only two buttons on it. Art

Make a leather handle for the knife (shoemakers do this), this will provide a stopping detent so the tip won't work it's way through the bottom. Art

Are you sure the stitch length lever is in the down position? Art

That can be a very good price for that machine, hopefully on a stand with motor. You have to check every machine for tightness and overall operating condition. Take leather with you and sew on the machine. If it works for you and does what you want, then consider it. If there are problems, it takes a bit of experience to make the price decision, or even just to walk away. Art

I second that; the 1013 beginner set at around $160 is a lot for the money, $10 each is a good deal, and they are tools you will use. Art

There is quite some difference. While the 206 is a light to medium weight machine, the 255 is a medium to heavy weight machine, while that speaks to what it can sew, it also works in the lbs department. Like Gregg says, the hooks are different; in the 255 the hook has a vertical axis whereas the 206 is horizontal axis (top loader, bottom loader). For medium weight machines I like the vertical hook, for heavies I like horizontal shuttle. You might sacrifice a little speed with the vertical having to turn the corner, but leatherwork doesn't require speed anyway. Vertical axis hooks are easier for me to work on, I can reach right in and feel if there are any burrs, and can see the timing plain as day. Get the 255 if you can swing it, but the 206 is a great machine and should last a good long time. Art

I am a hard person for the family to shop for, and they really want to get me something nice. 3 or 4 years ago, I got a Tormek with every sharpening attachment in existence at the time, and every new one since. I haven't used many of them, but the sort and long knife blades and the planer blade attachments work very well. The only leather knives I have sharpened are some of the knives like CSO shoe knives like bevel, point, and sloyd; these are easily done to a fine edge. I like the water factor as the blades never overheat. But the cost is pretty high for what you get, might be more cost effective for a woodturner. We do have scary sharp kitchen knives though, thanks to Tormek. I thought of making a jig for doing swivel knife blades on the Tormek, but I currently do them on a steel lap with various diamond grits. The lap and diamond stones are what I use for carbide machine tools; that is how I justify the cost. I have the diamond stones, so they are kind of a natural for my head and skiving knives, and going above 8000 is a waste on those so I don't use the lap (lap is just a steel or ceramic plate you infuse with diamond grit of the desired size). Of course there are also the belt grinders down in the shop. To keep a head knife sharp, just a 1200, and 8000 diamond and a strop should be enough. If you have a buffer, sometimes just green chrome on a sewn wheel can slick things up very quickly, very useful for edgers. Art

Tippmann Industrial is a trustworthy company. Their website is safe (as any can be). Their products are dependable, and their service is superior. Only one thing; do NOT short stroke a Boss, short stroking it is the root of all Tippmann problems. Art

Hi Aaron, The journey is always more fun for me, but I like to use and watch others use my workproduct. Having been in the computer industry for a while, I like to see big systems or even small programs run, especially if I had a major hand in it. Now you got to have a lot of nerve asking if a guy who makes BDSM gear if he likes to make it or use it. It is more fun to make it? Naaaaaaaaaaa. Art

I've always done tip of buckle tongue to center hole. Just my way. Art

Montana Pitchblend Paste. It has a light Pine scent which won't bother game. It is made of pine pitch, beeswax, and pure mink oil (although I never met any mink that had a pure thought in their heads). I use it, it works. Art

Something is backwards, a 3/4 shaft on the motor equates to about 5 HP or there abouts. The ten inch pulley sounds like you need to invest in a fabric puller and a clutch from a 1948 Lincoln. You need a 2" pulley for your motor to replace the three inch it probably has now. Small on the motor, big on the machine head. Art