Art

Hi Kevin, Even though they are faster, the abrasives are 10 times longer and stay a lot cooler. You need to develop a lighter touch when sanding leather, but a good sharp 24 or 36 grit rarely gets real hot. OTOH, a 120 or 240 belt will get hot if you get over rambunctious with it, you need a gentle touch, it is for smoothing not grinding. Get it all profiled with the 36 grit and then pretty it up with a 120 or 240. You work with what you got, unless like the other Kevin (KAYAK45), you have both. Art

Hey Steve, The other two ingredients are plastic and glue. New Equations: Plastic/Composite + Paper/Cardboard + Glue == Shoe (Inexpensive, maybe) > 95% Leather + Gemming + Cork + Thread + Nails (Heels) + Glue == Shoe (Expensive) < 4% Leather + Thread + Pegs + Glue + Brass Nails(Optional) == Shoe (Priceless) < 1% And the only reason the Expensive shoes are repairable is because the Factory provides that service, if they didn't have to repair them, they would never be made that way. With the emphasis on price, the propensity of the public to buy new kicks regularly (they really have to the things they are selling are crap), and this bullcrud about the new world order, they moved a huge industry to the third world never to return. I guess you get what you pay for. Art

Hi Al, The Campbell and Randal machines including Union Locks i have worked on had SAE threads (some of them probably before there was an SAE). Singers are a whole different story. If your holes were tapped with a Whitworth tap, then you can chuck up an SAE screw in the lathe and just clip the peaks off the threads. An alternative is to run the SAE screw into a Whitworth die. I don't like the idea of retapping a Whitworth to SAE, and have never attempted it, modifying a screw to the Whitworth spec is a lot easier than the other way around. Art

I have a set for my Landis 12s, they are the ones that came with them. You can get replacements at Shoe Systems Plus/Landis Canada. Also, the Union Locks have square head bolts so Dan Neagle at Campbell-Bosworth could maybe give you a lead. Art

Hi Al, Excellent tutorial. Good to see you didn't go into the Stockholm Tar recipe, I did it once for some reason I can't fathom, but never again. I have a little over 3/4 gallon (or more) of Stockholm tar if anyone is interested. Again, best tutorial I have seen. Thanks, Art

There is a difference in rosin color. The lighter colored resin is harder (collected in Winter/Spring) as opposed to the darker or Black (collected in Summer/Fall). The Black can be quite sticky and melts at a considerably lower temperature than the Amber. I don't know anything about Violin Rosin, but I suspect they enhance it somewhat for function, but Black is Black and will be softer and stickier and will crumble a bit. Bull Riders rosin costs about $7-$10 a pound and is pretty much unadulterated rosin (from pine or fur tree resin). Everybody used to use Black, but it gets on everything and is hard to clean, so most riders use Amber. Rosin can be in powder or chunks (or both?). You can make powder by crushing chunks, and chunks by melting powder. Art

I use the rosin that pro rodeo guys use for bull riding. The old shoemakers used to use a mix of Stockholm Tar/Rosin/Beeswax and sometimes a very little Whale Oil (they make that synthetically now), it comes out pretty coffee colored, but if you pull it a lot it gets lighter to an amber or dark tan. The Stockholm Tar was used as an antimicrobial/antifungal to keep the linen from rotting. Since the only person who will see the inseaming thread in one of my shoes is me or a shoe repair guy after I am gone, I use 130 lb test IFGA braided Dacron fishing line; won't rot, doesn't mind salt water, doesn't stretch, isn't sharp, I've never broken it, and is relatively inexpensive. I use the rosin/beeswax which seems to stick just fine. I also have this 40 lb block of beeswax that I haven't even made a dent in. There are so many differences in components that you just have to work with the formula. Taking the Stockholm Tar out of the equation sure makes it a lot easier though. That was probably more than you wanted to know, but I don't have a blog and don't want one. Art

I was kind of expecting to see the Champion 55. Like I say, give us the particulars of your business. Art

I guess so, that looks like a Singer 7 Class to me. What is your Company, and Where are you located, do you have a website? Art

Tony Luberto if you can find him. Possibly Ron at Ferdco. Art

Yes it is worth buying, however not for $1200. You can get an excellent one from Bruce Johnson for about $375 here. Art

Ok, Enough said, I'm closing this one down. Art Moderator ************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************ When this thread was originally posted, I notified Tandy headquarters and was pleased to see the problem resolved promptly and satisfactorily. I have no idea why the additional flaming began, but Art was right to put a stop to it. Johanna

Kevdbry, You should be using the Tandy in Tucker (aka Atlanta). Much shorter drive than New Orleans. We like to hear when someone has difficulties so we can try and turn it around. Some folks are too shy to call TLF in Ft. Worth and complain, but there are those of us who will let the powers to be know that someone is having problems. That's why Leatherworker.net is here. It is hard enough keeping your own family towing the straight and narrow, imagine trying to keep track of 100 stores all over the country. Believe me, everyone on the train wants to know when you have a wheel off the tracks. Art

Honestly, the 66 or like machine won't last for long. The motor will go first and soon, you can handwheel it, but it will never sew larger thread well if at all. The singer and others of early/mid century were very good machines, built for the homestead, later they put a very wimpy motor on them good for fabric and maybe denim. Also, when sewing leather, you need to run tensions that just aren't what those little machines were designed for. You need to look for a used 111 class machine. Art

Hi, There are many threads in this section on finishing. Basically the finish depends on the intended use. There are finishes that seal up the leather and there are finishes that allow the leather to breathe. Probably the simplest finish is Neatsfoot Oil, which will let the leather breathe, but doesn't do a lot to waterproof it, it is basic leather care. Other breathable finishes are Bag-Kote, Tan-Kote and a host of others like them, and Pecard's, Montana Pitchblend, and maybe Fiebing's Aussie that provide fairly good outdoors protection; some of them come in oils and pastes, the pastes are usually better as a final coat. Then there are top coats that seal up the leather, LCI's Clear Lac, Bee Natural RTC, Fiebing's Saddle Lac, Springfield Leather's Pro Clear, that is a lot like Tandy's Super Shene. Last but not least are the wax types like Leather Balm with Atom wax and Carnauba type waxes and creams. That's not all of them by any means, just what I've used over time. I probably use more Bag-Kote, Tan-Kote, Pecard's and Montana Pitchblend, with Leather Balm with Atom Wax on top of those then all of the others. Art

As long as the holes are the same in each strap, you could stagger them. Or maybe tack weld (or braze) two of the Conways together so they would be one unit. Art

Hi Josh, I don't think anyone makes them as a standard item. You seldom see someone needing a 3 inch wide set of reins or hip drops or even pole tugs for that matter. I have seen 1 1/2 inch as about the biggest. Is it possible to split the 3 inch strap and use two 1 1/2 buckles? I don't know if that was a stupid question as I am not familiar with your application. If you are handy, you could braze two of them together, that would look nifty (did I just say nifty?). Art

Paul, The book is indeed very good. I paid $1500 for the book and video. I have every right to critique it. There is no use explaining a technique when the video is firmly framed in a wide shot of the presenter instead of a closeup of the technique. This happened constantly in the videos. The constant references to suppliers that are out of business is a little hard to fathom. This is NOT MTV, you don't pay $1500 for MTV. No disrespect to DW, I wish he had looked for a little professional advice before he made the video. MTV is about who is in the video, instructional videos are about technique and information. For my $1500, I expected a professional instructional video. Art

$1495.00 Art

That is a home machine, not made by the same company that makes (or made) the industrial Pfaff machines. Lotta plastic in there. Small little motor. Bad choice for leatherwork. Art

Nothing wrong with a 450, except it's 11 feet long, but they run forever and are easy to fix. The T2s always bring a good price, but they are a sweet machine and worth it, and only 3 feet wide. Good luck with the Landis. Art

It is a shame these guys don't know squat about video production. They get a friend who maybe does wedding videos or worse yet try and do it themselves. No runthrough to give the cameraman any idea of what is going to happen just shoot once and let the camera cover it the best it can. If they would demand the same quality of video that they demand of their boots, it would be nice. Well, rant off. I still liked the video. It makes the book a hell of a lot clearer. BTW, did you ever get your compact finisher? There was a good looking Sutton T2 up on eBay for $3800. Somebody in Louisiana had 2 Landis 400s for $500 for both. Art

Ho Ho Ho and welcome to the board, Are the boots three piece, like a western boot or are they Wellingtons? Either way it can be done, if they are expensive custom boots, then you should have a pro do it. It may be easier to deconstruct the boots just enough to decorate the tops, but you should take some pictures and then let Paul advise you on what you are up against. You might want to include your skill level also. Art

Hi T, Check with Bob Kovar, he has needles that came out of Egypt with the Israelites. Art

Please get a machine from one of the dealers on here like Cobra. Call them and talk to them and see what they think. Generally only dealers on here are leather sewing machine dealers, their machines are setup to do leather. This is not the case otherwise. Art