Art

Hi Yan, The castover when starting and stopping isn't used much anymore, except in traditional harnesswork, but everything else is ok. I'm not good enough to eyeball stitch length, I use a wheel. The thing about these videos is that they take the time to do them, and often you can learn something, or refresh a concept. I've seen some on the use of the head knife that make me shudder, but most of the ones I've watched are informative to some degree. Art

Pretty much, takes a little adjusting of the PF pressure. It helps the foot ride over seams also, which the walking foot does famously. The 31 is a great little machine for boot tops and chaps, and I've seen them go for around $100 to $300 depending on condition and accouterments, even the $100 ones were pretty darned good. Art

No the 31 is a spring loaded presser foot, adjustable by the thumb screw on the top. This is why folks use a roller or Teflon foot. Art

Not in my experience, I use it in my Campbell. I have used both Linen (Barbour's) and Polyester (Eddington) with it. Art

The 31-15 is pretty lightweight for holster work. Bob and/or Steve (click on Cobra ad at top of page) both have the servos with reduction and/or speed reducers to fit it. The little 300w servos with the reduction gear are a little wimpy for thick work but will work occasionally. Like I said, the whole setup is too light for serious holster work. Art

Sometimes it takes a day or so for someone to answer general open-ended type questions, and an introduction never hurts. But if no one answers, a moderator or ambassador will eventually chime in. So, you really needing to get started. Tandy can be handy for that, especially for advice on construction. However, Springfield leather has better quality merchandise and very good advice. Kevin will let you buy cuts of leather to try things out, and he has all the tools and supplies you will need. I can give you plenty of places to buy certain things, but Springfield Leather (Kevin), Zack White leather (Tim), Hidecrafter Leather (Ron), and Sheridan Leather Outfitters (Luke or Vandy) are the places you want to use. When you move up to buying sides or shoulders or exotics then there are different suppliers, and we can give you their names depending on what you need. Most importantly, tell your supplier what your skill level is and what you are going to be making to make sure you are buying and getting the right stuff, we can also recommend here. Art

Hi Jeff, Try this thread on for size. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=1256&hl=buchman Art

Hi Al, The industry standard is silicone thread lube, one of the major producers is clearco and folks like Weaver and Campbell-Bosworth handle it in quart to gallon sizes. Industry wide, it usually comes in 5 gallon pails and 55 gallon drums. In the sewing industry, they dunk the whole spool in it for 5 minutes or so, of course those machines are running somewhere near the speed of light so the more the better. It is pretty much stainless. Art

There are also brass burr rivets in either round or flat head. Being as hard as brass, they are the dickens to set. Look good though, especially the round head, you can add a burr under the head to give a little different look. Art

Hi Nele, Would you please tell us what the problem and the fix were, also the make and model of the machine. This will help others. Art

TRI is a triangular or tri-faceted point, good for leather and produces a straight stitch. Art

Hi Nele, Either you tripped the safety clutch (push the button and crank it through to reset) or you have re-threaded it wrong. Thread groove in needle on the left, needle scarf on right then the top thread is left to right, if your machine is the other way around, then the thread is the other way around. Art

135/17 is the system, 22/140 or 21/130 are the size you want. singer#/nm#. I have sewn with a #19 with 138/138 and got by with it, however starting out you are going to want to use a #21. Art

Hi Amanda, I haven't seen much online, however, Robert Black's video (about six hours) is pretty good if taken in small doses. It is titled Marlinspike Knot Works, Decorative Knotting and Braiding in Leather, and is around $60. Be careful if you order this, there are three other titles by Marlinspike Knot Works, Making a Key Fob, Zipper Pulls, and Turks Head Bracelet that are each around $30. I can definitely recommend this video. Art

Hi Randy, Been there, Done that, Got scars to prove it, burns too. Art

Hi Steve, Are you taking those "special set up" machines with you? Everyone needs to see them, I wouldn't buy a machine any other way. Art

Hi Mike, That's what I was told, I know it is not 1095 just by the sparks. Anything with half a point of carbon or more can be heat treated to a pretty high hardness. Quite a few custom makers use D2, others use some Swedish variant. A2 is a little hard to work, you have to anneal a lot as it hardens very quickly, I've had it harden during moderately heavy grinding and hole drilling. The Os and Ws (and 1095) are quite red short and don't work well with a hammer. There is a reason for everything and complexity increases as carbon goes up. Art

Hi Randy, Check your caliper, did you mean .030", .050", and .070"? Art

Those pins go into the backside of the head and allow you to pivot the machine back to get at the underside. I can't see them that well, but it looks like they might be in backwards. The pins should be able to lay flat toward the inside of the pan. For some, it is a little easier to put the pins in the head then vertically set the head into place, that way, they won't fall out. Art

The last time I checked it was 1063. However you might want to just call CSO to check. There isn't enough difference between 1063 and 1073 to matter, but with plain carbon steel, you can always trust the magnet. Art

Hi Jim, There is a plaque under the Singer seal that will read 144w??? this is the model place of manufacture and sub-model number. Example 144w304 Art

Is it me, or does that machine look a little like a 144 or 145? Art

Hi Jim, That is a great old machine. I don't want to offend anyone, but I've seen them go for $1,200 to around $2,000 IN THE PAST. Finding a buyer in today's market will be tough. Whole shoe shops languish for months with no buyers and in the last week are given away just to get the equipment out of there. The problem is, the equipment is so heavy that it has to be sold locally or the packing and shipping will consume any value. Nevertheless, there IS someone out there who wants that iron, try Craig's List and put an ad here in Marketplace. Get a lot of pictures, it might be a unique variant. Art

Tandy did originally sell the Tippmann Boss, for years they did it. We are talking of a machine that was supposed (according to Tandy ads) to have improvements over the Boss. I have seen (past tense) the Boss in Tandy stores and in their catalog, not anymore. I have never seen the newer and much hyped machine in a Tandy Store, this is not saying that some might have made it out there. But if Tippmann was making them for Tandy, why aren't they out there today? Art

That, and the Weaver version, which may have been one in the same, weren't shipped. For a while (like a little before the expected rollout), Tippmann drastically dropped the price on the Boss (below $1k if I remember correctly), and maybe TLF and Weaver, being the astute businesses that they are, realized that they couldn't compete selling their Chinese copy against the less expensive American original from a company that had already amortized all of the development and production costs of their product. It would have been a real problem for them later on as they would have to service the thing; how are they going to beat Tippmann service? And that is the point here, if you could find one, even for close to nothing, how would you get parts or service? Art