Andrew Chee

If you want to maintain the same look, you can either use a thicker leather for more stiffness (but it will make your entire sheath much thicker) or you can use two pieces of thinner leather glued together with a stiffener inside (like kydex). There isn't some kind of chemical you can use that will stiffen the leather to any degree that would be useful for your purposes. Another thing you can do is to get a much thicker piece of leather and stitch it along the opening where it bends and this second piece of leather will add stiffness. It would be visible but you could probably design something that would look nice. Andrew

I don't know where you live but around here there are a bunch of TAP plastic shops. You can get HDPE sheets (cutting board material) 1/8" thick cut to whatever size your table is. Then you just screw it down onto your table and you have an instant cutting surface. Not terribly expensive either. Andrew

You should call Steve at Cobra machine and ask. The answer is probably yes. If there are two mounting holes on the back of the machine head then you can mount one. I had a Cobra class 17 and it didn't have any mounting holes but I just drilled and tapped two myself and was able to mount one. Kwok hing makes nice ones. They are designed for specific machines but most machines will work. You just might have to drill a hole here or there to make the, fit correctly. Andrew

Interesting. What type of construction do you use on your shoes. Also, do you design your own lasts or buy premade ones? Andrew

Full chrome tan leather will not patina. I think if you use a chrome/veg retan leather like a latigo it might patina better. For the best "leather aging" affect you have to go with veg tan leather. For latigo in different colors and in the 5-7oz weight category try Hide House in napa. I got some nice honey colored latigo from them in that weight. If you want veg tan, then you can try Wickett and Craig. They will split the leather down to whatever thickness you want. They do dye some basic colors but the dyes are not struck through so the flesh side will not be colored if the leather is split. You can pay them to refinish the leather for you though so that the flesh and grain side are both colored. I usually order skirting leather from them (as far as I can tell it is their regular veg tan leather but colored). I have them split the leather to about 5-6oz, then I have them stake the leather which will soften it a bit (not very much). Then I have them buff the flesh side so it's a little smoother. I use those for bags and wallets. They're the only place I know of that will do those services for you on orders of a single hide. Andrew

Nice stuff. For your fabric lined wallets, how do you deal with the edges that are between two pieces of leather? I find that if I keep them raw, they will tend to fray a little from use. Do you fold the fabric first? Andrew

Hello all. I recently went looking for an alternative to solvent based contact cement. I wanted something that held tight but didn't have the foul odor and was easier to work with (less sticky strings). I was reading about Weldwood in the green can and decided to try it. I got some from Home Depot and tried it out. I tried gluing the flesh side of a piece of veg tan skirting to the flesh side of something Tandy calls glazed buffalo calf (not sure the tannage but it is the flesh side). I applied a thin layer to each side, waited for it to dry clear (about 10 minutes or so), then I put the two sides together. I was expecting it to stick like contact cement would. But what I found was that the two sides didn't actually stick at all. The surface was barely tacky and didn't grab each other. Am I doing something wrong here? It seems like the stuff doesn't stick at all... Andrew

Hi have a practically brand new SewPro 500GR servo motor for salem (This is the servo motor with the built-in 3-1 gear reduction). I purchased it brand new from Bob Kovar. I had it mounted on my machine but then decided to go with a needle positioner motor instead. Since I had already opened and used it, I could not return it. It's practically brand new and has a 2" pulley on it. I believe they are $160 new. I would like to sell it for $140. I live in the SF Bay Area so I would prefer to sell it to someone here to save on shipping. I will ship anywhere in the US though. Please let me know if you are interested. Thanks. Andrew

So dried contact cement around the lid won't glue the lid shut? I thought that that was the reason for the Teflon pots since glue won't stick to the lids. I just might have to try this...

7oz on the outside is fine. 5 is probably better. If all your insides and slots are going to be of leather then use 2oz inside. Otherwise it will definitely be too bulky. I don't know if you'd want to but a way to cut down on bulk is to make the insides of the card slots with something thin like nylon (the parts that you don't see). That way, you can use one thickness of leather instead of buying two and it won't be too bulky. Andrew

I have these glue pots and I use the for pva (white glue) cements and they work great. I used the Teflon one for contact cement and I don't like them. The don't seal we'll enough for the glue to not dry out. Does contact cement work in these plastic pots? I'm worried that the dried cement around the lip would glue the lid shut. Andrew

Getting the non binder arm cover can cost like $70? But you do without it by just swinging the binder arm cover away or removing all together. The feed dog and needle plate can be purchased at www.kwokhing.com for pretty cheap. Andrew

The 441 clones have very big presser feet and feed dogs. This is necessary for moving heavy leather. But because of the larger feed dogs you have a larger needle plate opening to accomodate the feed dog. If you have two layers of 3oz chrome tan leather, the feed dog and presser feet can kinda chew them up a bit. On thicker, heavier leather that is not a problem and the larger contact area helps feed the material along. Conversely, if you try to use something like a Consew 206 to feed super heavy leather, the machine may not have enough foot lift or power to handle something too thick. I guess what I've personally found is that there is no one machine that can handle everything. You'll need at least two (if not more). Andrew

Look up rons tools. Their smallest edge beveler is nice. The toes are very short so you can use it on very thin leather. Andrew

If you check out a Cobra Class 4, Artisan Toro 4000, or Cowboy 4500 you will see a 441 clone. They are all clones of the Juki TSC-441 machine. They are made in China and imported by different companies under their own brand name. Although they are all basically the same machines, the more reputable dealers on this board will import the machine from China, check them up, and adjust them to make sure they are working correctly before selling them to you. They will also follow up the purchase with good customer service. Really that's what you're buying when you buy from one of the guys here. They are designed for sewing thick leathers using (practically speaking) a size 138 thread and thicker. You want to sew purses to holsters. I can tell you that one machine generall can't do it all. If you're sewing thinner lady's purses then you would probably want to use a much thinner leather and maybe a 69 thread which these machines won't handle very well. On the other hand, if you want to sew a heavy holster with 277 thread then a smaller machine won't handle it well and these machines will work great. As for the two pedals. One is for the motor and the other is for the presser foot lifter. You won't have to work both at once. Andrew

Any of your feet can accomplish this. It's sewing the straight line that's the question. If you have a suspending guide on your machine then you can just adjust it so it rides a little higher over the canvas and feed the canvas under the guide. If you don't have a guide, then use a scratch awl and a ruler to draw the line where you want the stitch to go and follow the line by eye. A bit more error prone but not that bad if you pay attention and go slow. As for the handle, I can't see the one in the picture too well. It looks like it's just a piece of leather folded over and sewn. That should be pretty easy to do. I have a 441 type machine and what I do is I get some 1/8" or 1/4" rope (depending on how thick I want the handle to be) and glue the leather around the rope. I leave extra leather so the presser feet have something to grab on to. Then I put on the holster plate on the machine so it can sew right up to the edge of the rope. After that, I cut off the excess leather and finish the edge. You can hand sew the handles and it would be similar except you hand sew instead of using a machine. Andrew

Yes. A skiving machine will give you perfect edge skiver in a few seconds. Andrew

Hello all. I see that there are some mentions of "Neoprene Glue" for leather. I currently use contact cement (barge type stuff) and PVA type glue (white glue) for my leather work. The contact cement holds great but is a pain to work with (gets everywhere). The white glue is easy to work with but holding strength is not as great. Does anyone use neoprene glue and can talk about its properties? I have a particular problem when I want to glue two grain sides together, especially if the leather has a finish on it. Anyways, any help would be great. Thanks. Andrew

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

Most of the machines listed here won't do zig zag. How thick do you think you will be sewing (total thickness)? The Sailrite machines may work if you only sew thin stuff. Most people here will recommend something like a Consew 206RB type of machine. Flat bed, will sew a 40 or 69 thread which is pretty small. Keep in mind that people on this board tend to lean towards heavier leathers so their machine suggestions tend to be heavier duty than you may need. For a flat bed, check out a Consew 206RB. Any of the subclasses (1-5) will do fine. There are better machines in that class but they are more expensive and the Consews will sew just fine. If you buy used, you may be able to get it with a servo for $600 but that would be a pretty good deal. I've seen them more in the $800 range. If you can spend more money, check out something like a Consew 227R. Basically the same machine as a 206RB but with a cylinder bed which can be useful for sewing tricky gussets in bags. Flat bed attachments are available for them so they can work like a flatbed machine. More versatile but again, more expensive. There are more expensive options out that there are better machines but these machines are already very good and their prices are going to be lower. Check out the dealers that are linked to on this board. They all sell either these exact machines or their own versions of these machines (basically the same thing but rebranded). Their service is good and if they have used machines, the prices won't be bad either. Cheapest prices will probably be found on Craigslist but then you'd have to know what you're getting yourself into. With these dealers, you'll know that you're getting a working machine with support behind it. Andrew

Hm... Maybe score the grains side of the leather (cutting maybe halfway through), and then ripping it the rest of the way? Try that. It might work... Andrew

How is the welt attached to the upper? Did you hand stitch that? Andrew

I've used a sewing machine without thread to punch the holes. They come out nice and neat, evenly spaced. Then when you hand sew it, you can't even tell that the machine made the holes. The only problem with a machine js that it cant get into some of the tight areas that you can by hand but the you can always use your awl at that point. You should try it. Andrew

Wow. That looks very nice. Do you have any pics of your construction process? I've seen videos on hand made shoes that are Goodyear welded and they all look incredibly difficult to do. I'd be interested in seeing how you did yours. Andrew

What do you sew? If you're trying to sew wallet interiors that are like 3-4oz total with 69 thread then the 441 clone won't be able to do that. On the other hand, if what you've been using is a Boss then you're probably sewing heavier stuff and a 441 will do just fine. Andrew