ramrod

that is a spark of hope. competition is a good thing.

i wish i had the answer, but i'm not familiar with what tandt provides. as for linen, i generally use a 4 cord at 6 s.p.i. for my 6 oz and up leather work.

i see your point, yoji. but in all honesty, i've dealt with PLENTY of chinese made products - from brake rotors to sway bar end links to.....well....sewing needles. the brake rotors were pitted badly and were very thin to begin with, the left side end link came apart after one summer of driving (and caused my car to handle dangerously) and these needles will bend easily. but, as i said in my other post, it may be inherent in the needle size. the common denominator is: chinese. it's just that i don't have the money (nor do i want to) buy things twice.

a couple of things here.... retiredff...the only problem with the thread you're describing is that it's cotton. i always thought that cotton would be a very nice and inexpensive thread to start using in my leatherworking, but it's not really the case. it picks up dirt readily and it just doesn't hold up well. it's subject to rot, also. i wholeheartedly agree with michelle - tiger thread is really the gold standard when it comes to thread. i absolutely love everything about it - except for the price. although, i must say that it is worth every penny. it sews as close to perfect as you can get. it's consistent and it lays very nice. that being said, i would really like to find even a close 2nd place so i can afford to buy more of it rather than 25 yds. at a time. billybopp....is that chinese thread polyester? and is it braided? the ebay info doesn't say what it is. i would be interested in getting hold of some of this stuff. i'd really like .6 mm though.

LOL.....good one.

<p>what a really cool thread, ray. and a great idea.</p> <p>it's really interesting to see what everyone collects on this forum. for myself, it's old watches. i love the manual wind watches. they are a mervel of manufacturing. another thing that really piques my interest (though i don't actually collect them - but i probably will start) is old blueprints - not really of architecture, but of manufactured items. electrical fixtures, machinery and stuff like that. i used to work at the crouse hinds factory in syracuse about 20 years ago. i worked in the whiteprint room. we would have to take old drawings and make microfiche from them. some of these drawings were from the late 1800's. they were drawn on linen - not paper. the sad part was: when an old part was obsoleted, the dawing was destroyed!! i should have grabbed a bunch of them. i used to search through the drawers and look at the old drawings. they were drawn with pen and ink. many of the names of the draftsmen were the fathers and grandfathers of the engineers currently working there!</p> <p> </p> <p>my cousin retired from the marines as a sgt. major a few years ago. one of his marine buddies collects....are you sitting down??.....urinal strainers. i think the most interesting part is....how does he acquire them??!!.....eeeeewwwwww.</p>

if you do a search, there was a member on this forum that had a million of them.....well, maybe not a million. but he was selling them because he had so many. just sayin'.

i HAVE seen a website that did offer longer shank grommets. it's frustrating that i ca't think of where i saw it. i usually put it in favorites immediately. must let that one slip by.

i just happened to go on the tandy website. they have what's called long post grommets. they are 1/4" if you skive slightly around the grommet post, this would probably work for you. tandy!....who knew?

it looks like their sonoma. its their analine leather. that's my guess.

wing dividers here. i set it for the width of the belt. but i also double check by measuring both sides of the belt. that way you know it is centered.

agreed johnd....those look like stacked washers. at first glance i thought they were possibly wrapped and stitched. but those are washers.....well, at least the brown ones are. can't make out what the black ones are all about.

she's mulling it over......chirp, chirp....

wow! i saw this and thought "deja vu". i started the last thread about this....but i can't find it either.

well, now i've seen everything. i didn't know that something like this was made. looks interesting. i wonder how tired your hand would get after a row in 9 oz. leather. it's a novel idea......but i get scared of.......MADE IN CHINA.

thank you, guys. a veritable wealth of knowledge. you both have been a real help.

i will be well within the bounds of max presser foot lift. i intend to do wallets, credit card cases and assorted small leather goods. (of coures, i'm sure everyone says that they'll only sew thinner items). but it is nice to know that i can at least get up to #138 thread. 277 if i mess with it. and i'm not in the messing mood lately. i also have assorted feet for this machine. and one of the has had some grinding work done to it. i just don't know what they are used for. i'd guess they are for welts. the foot that the needle passes through - is that called a presser foot also? or is it just the "dual" foot that goes on each side of it? that center foot that the needle passes through has a half circle shape to it when you look at it from straight on. is this a welt foot?

constabulary - thank you for the links. i really appreciate the reply. it looks like the existing needle is for leather. it is definitely not a round point. the reason that i wanted to know what would be the smallest needle is that i'm used to sewing with .6mm tiger thread at 10 spi - with a john james 4 needle. that makes this singer needle look like a pencil lead. i will look at the toledo info that you linked to. wiz - excellent info. thank you. as a side point, i tried the needles that i described above (rhein nadel 130's) and they don't work. it seems they are too short. does this make sense? is it because i take a 135 and these are 130's? is that how this needle "system" works?

the reason for the question is as follows: so, i recently took my 211g155 out of storage and plan on getting it up and running. i moved in the last year and haven't had a place of my own, so i couldn't really do much in the way of leatherwork. anyway, i began practicing on it and found that the current needle that is in the machine (installed by the previous owner oof a canvas shop) seems to be way too big for leather. i'm using #69 top and bottom thread and it is lost in the hole left by the needle. so i looked at the owner's manual that came with it. it is actually a manual for a consew 225. but the previous owner made a few scribbles indicating that it's a useable manual for this singer. getting to the point: i wanted to see what is the smallest needle i can use with this machine. can i go by the recommendations in the consew manual for needle and thread sizing? oh - the current needle has no markings on it, so i don't know what size it is. but i do have a pack of rhein nadel needles that have "rhein 130" printed on them. the pack that they are in have 130 21 printed on it along with a ton of needle system sizes. help!

its the wrong type of leather. garment leather is chrome tanned leather. it has already been "processed" and finished, for lack of a better term. it's in it's final state. you can't do anything with it. you need to buy a piece of vegetable tanned leather. it's the only type of leather you can tool and carve.

nice color, too...what kind of dye is it...and what is the color called?

a very interesting design. you executed it quite well. i like the closure hardware and how it was done. what is the leather that you used? was it dyed by horween? great idea on the lining material. it reminds me of a 1960's era lining.

speaking from personal experience, i've gotten a somewhat soft and, i guess i'd call it a greasy feeling, from leather when i've treated it with neetsfoot oil. now, that being said, i believe too much of the stuff is not good for the hide. i think i've read that on here before. but i must have put on a healthy amoount to get the oily feel that you are talking about. someone else might want to weigh in. as far as tanning goe, i believe that oil tanned leather is chrome tanned. as an afterthought, you might want to look into pull up leather. it had a greasy feel to it, although i'm not sure how well it does being used as a garment leather.

typically speaking, veg tanned leather is stiff and firm. chrome tanned leather (the kind that you CANNOT tool) is generally soft and pliable (think leather couch). veg tanned leather is usually tan in color but it varies from pinkish to light brown if it has some age to it.

i am not familiar with the tandy meza. is it veg tan pre dyed? it looks like a nice skin.