Andrew Chee

Will it be seen? If it won't be seen, I've found that rip stop nylon works nicely. Thin, strong, and doesn't fray too much. Ugly though so I only use it for wallet slots that won't be seen. Andrew

I usually will glue the liner on flesh side to flesh side using contact cement. I make the strap pieces oversized. So if I am making a 1" strap I will cut 1.25" strips, glue them together and then cut 1/8" off each side. You get a clean edge that way. I use a ruler and a roller knife instead of a strap cutter but either would work well. But if you want to then edge the corners and burnish the edges, you have to be more careful about what leather you use. Softer chrome tanned leathers just won't edge and burnish as well simply cause it's soft. After you glue and cut you can stitch the edges if you want but contact cement is pretty strong stuff and you might not have to (depending on the application). Andrew

I have a 335 (the new casting) and it sews 138 just fine. Andrew

Google British museum leather dressing. It's basically fats and waxes emulsified in a solvent (I use mineral spirits instead of the nastier hexane). You can vary the recipe with different amounts and types of waxes to get different properties. My current batch has some carnauba wax in addition to beeswax which gives it a shinier finish. It looks and feels very much like bridle leather but with a slightly drier hand. Try it out. At least it will be a good starting point into what should go into a conditioner. Andrew

What is a band knife skiver? I've heard of band knife splitter or a bell knife skiver but never a band knife skiver. Do you have a picture of one? Andrew

That's almost exactly what I have: Short arm 441 clone Pfaff 335 (got for a good price because a factory closed down) 2 consew 206 ( got one for free. Some guy on craigslist was just giving it away) 441 clones are nice but they're not good on lighter weight stuff. Andrew

I don't really know. I just tend to buy a little of something when I find new sources for interesting or hard to find leathers. Andrew

Check out this thread: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=38750&hl=campbell#entry241036

Hello all. This is the latest bag that I have made. It's made of 5oz W&C tan skirting leather that I finished with my own conditioner. It's lined with natural calf skin with an internal divider with zipper pocket and slot pocket. Not really sure what to call this type of briefcase because the opening is a bit unique in terms of briefcases. Sewing the gussets was a bit pain in the butt trying to get my machine to do the tension correctly. Finishing edges was also pretty difficult. Anyways, any comments appreciated. Andrew

How are the dead ducks attached to the strap? Sorry but I've never seen such a thing before. Andrew

What is it for? Is it a collar for a pet duck? Andrew

I found this place called pergamena.net. They're the tannery that was shown on that dirty jobs show. They do veg tan calf skin that's aniline dyed. I just placed any order to see what their stuff is like. Expensive but hopefully along the lines of what you're looking for. Andrew

The answer is yes but not well. For two 2oz layers you would use maybe 69 thread at the heaviest the machine is designed to sew with much heavier thread and you will have a hard time adjusting the tension down to accomodatenthatbsize of thread. Even if you do, the large feed dog and presser foot can make mince meat out of the thin leather. What I've found on my short but expensive journey is that one machine does not do it all. You need at least two, maybe more machines to handle that range of work. Andrew

What are you going to be sewing? 1/2" is 32oz of leather. That's really thick for a bag. I make bags out of 6oz leather and my total thicknesses are usually under 15oz total at the max. I don't know what bag would require four layers of 8oz leather... Andrew

Assuming the machine is in good condition, that's not a bad price. Swapping out the clutch motor for a servo is usually pretty easy because the mounting holes are all pretty much standard (and if they aren't, drilling a few holes into the table is no big deal). You can find servos on eBay for about $100. Depending on what you sew you may want to get a speed reducer (this will give you more torque at low end speeds to help punch through thicker leather). This may not be necessary though depending on what kinda sewing you want to do. What else is he selling with the machine? Different feet and guides can be found for the machine and they're not that expensive but it all adds up. Andrew

1" thick? What kinda bag are you sewing? For that thickness you'll have to get like a Campbell Lockstitch or something... That's really really thick. Andrew

How thick is the max total thickness you will sew? I have a Pfaff 335. It's a great machine. Max there'd size for that machine is about 138. If you're sewing regular bags, that's fine. If you want to sew saddle bags and holsters, that won't be heavy enough. Andrew

When you're doing large pieces like in bags, it gets a little difficult to finish the flesh side since there's such a wide area to cover. You can try Gum Tragacanth on the flesh side and then burnish it down but then again, there's just such a large area to cover. Sanding doesn't really work in my experience. It just makes more fuzzies. You can try lining the inside of your bag. More work but a much more finished look. I buy my leather from Wickett & Craig. The nice thing is that they can refinish the flesh sides for you. I have them split the leather, stake it, and then buff the flesh side so it minimizes the fuzzies. They can also paste the flesh side as well but I've never tried that. Just a thought for future projects. Andrew

Sold.

I don't do any stamping and I still want one... Andrew

I saw those machines. The problem was the widths were too small. I need one that can do a 1" or maybe 1-1/2" strap. Which one did you get? Andrew

I have one. I do mostly bags on it and there are times I have to roll up one end of the piece to get it through. Sure I wish I had a longer arm but they cost quite a bit more. I guess it depends on what you're working on. Andrew

Hello all, does anyone know where I can find a strap folding tool like the one in this video? I've had no luck finding such a thing. Thanks. Andrew

Where do you guys get buffalo calf leather? I bought something from Tandy that they call glazed buffalo calf that was pretty nice. It was in the 2-3oz range and useful for bag liners. Not sure how it was tanned but the stiffness suggests that it was veg tanned. They only had black and dark brown. I was hoping for a lighter color. What are other good sources for this leather? Andrew

This is always a problem if you want to make an all leather wallet. I've made wallets where the inside of the slots is nylon and that cuts down a lot on the bulk. You can also try to split veg tan down but you really need to get to the 1- 2oz range to get anything useful. To be honest, it's very difficult to split anything down to that level with any amount of precision without a band knife splitter. You can go to wickett and craig and buy a side of leather and have them split it down that thing but its a but of a waste since you have to buy an entire side that way. Kangaroo is nice but its probably more expensive than the leather you're using on the outside. There's not much of a good solution other than getting your own splitter. It'll have to be either a crank splitter or maybe a skiving machine (you make multiple passes). Andrew