Andrew Chee

Look up thread burners. They're cheap and easier to control than a lighter. Andrew

Hm...but it looks like the bag on the rightt has the front and the back gusset seams top stitched cause they both look like they lay flat. That's what I don't understand how to do. I would understand if only one side had this but once you put the second side on, how would you get the lay down stitch in there? Hope I'm making sense here. Andrew Sorry. Missed the part about the one on the right being the OEM one. I guess I wonder how they do that stitch. Andrew

How did you sew the gusset for the backrest pad? Andrew

FYI, I looked into the pricing for the Bimac burners and they are crazy expensive ($500-800). I called Campbell-Randall and they will be able to come up with something similar for a lot less money. I'm planning on giving their tools a try. Will see how it works. Andrew

You can use a compass or anything that will mark a straight line for your stitch. You don't really need to gouge out a groove since the leather is softer, just something that will leave a mark that you can visibly follow. As for holes, you can use a pricking iron. Those will mark the holes (or in some cases actually punch the holes for you). You have to be much more careful with your stitching tension though. With heavy, hard leather you can pull the stitches as tight as you want cause the leather will resist but with soft leather, the stitches will be all bunched up if you aren't careful. In general, though it can be done by hand, softer leathers are probably easier done on machine. Andrew

FYI, Weaver's hand clicker is currently 25% off if you buy from them. $700 something instead of $900 something. Andrew

Let us know if you get it. I'm curious as to how it works and how much it costs. Andrew

I posted a similar thread on this topic and was able to find out a little bit more information. Take a look at: http://www.bimac.info/index_Page3097.htm And http://www.bimac.info/index_Page793.htm Andrew

If anyone is interested, I found a little bit more information on this type of tool here: http://www.bimac.info/index_Page793.htm and here: http://www.bimac.info/index_Page3097.htm Andrew

FYI, in case anyone is interested. Here's some more pics of the knife in question. I just received it today. The blade is around the thickness of a clicking knife blade, maybe a little thinner but definitely more flexible. Funny thing is that it comes unsharpened. I guess they expect users to sharpen the blade themselves. Andrew

This actually sounds like a really great idea. Do you have an example of what it might look like? I don't know of any existing right outer presser feet that wraps around the front and back of the inner feet. I can modify existing feet with my dremel but I have no means to manufacture a new foot. I would love one for my Toro 3000. Andrew

I read somewhere that a lot of high end bag and wallet manufacturers use this technique. Does anyone know what the benefits of going this way vs. more traditional burnishing? Also, the tool looks like a soldering iron with a different tip. Probably not terribly expensive. Anyone know where to find one? Maybe I'll try it out. Andrew

Hi folks, I came across this edge burning tool and I"d like to know what it's for. I've seen some reefer ended to it and some pics of people using it but no explanation as to the purpose of this tool. Any help would be appreciated. Andrew

Hello all. I am thinking of placing an order with them. There's some hardware and fittings that I'm interested in. They have a 50euro minimum so if anyone wants to buy a knife or something we can place an order together. I'll just charge you cost and shipping. Let me know. Andrew

I am a genius! I actually found it! Haha... I used google translation to translate "clicker knife" to Italian and it came up with "Trincetto" and then I did an image search on that word and got this: Italian clicker knife Hope it's the right thing. Not sure how to order it though. Andrew

Nothing except the only folks that make them a the Japanese so they're not that easy to find. Andrew

I've looked high and low. Basically $15 is about as low as it goes for those hooks. I decided to make my own instead. See the pic. Andrew

Considering that's your first piece, that's really not bad at all. Very clean lines and clean cuts. As for curves, what kind of curves are you talking about? Turn semi-circular curves or wider flowing curves. For wider curves, get yourself something called a clicker knife. They have disposable blades that are pretty heavy duty. You can get curved blades for them that cut curves pretty well. Just draw the curve and (holding the knife as perpendicular as you can) follow the line. For tight circular cuts, the cleanest way I found was to use something like a dime or some small circular piece of metal as a guide. Don't try to cut along the curve. Get a craft knife with a flat chisel blade and cut wedges straight down. The smaller the wedges you cut away from e leather, the smoother your curve will be. Not sure if I'm describing that sufficiently. Andrew

Hi, I have some W&C harness leather and I really like the feel of the stuff. The only thing is that the stuff is really really easy to scratch and dents easy. I run an edger on it and the edger feet leaves light crease lines in the leather. Do you guys have any ideas on how to remove light scratches and impressions from e leather? Thanks. Andrew

Thanks for the advice. I bought a cheap $12 Harbor Freight "detail spayer". We'll see how it works. Andrew

Do any of you folks add neatsfoot or mink oil to the wax to make it more malleable? If so, what kinda proportions do you use? Andrew

Definitely machine. I tried some hand stitching and I got tennis elbow. Machine stitching's a lot faster for sure but unfortunately the back sides don't look as nice as hand. Also, some of the stuff like the credit card slots (at least the way I did them isn't really feasible by hand). Andrew

Hi Chris, I'm interested in getting a detail spray gun for dyeing large pieces of leather. Is there any particular one that you would recommend? Thanks. Andrew

Here are a few wallets I recently finished. Clockwise from top left 1) Cognac shell cordovan 2) Natural shell cordovan 3) Dark brown chromexcel horse butt 4) Tan dyed veg tan horse butt exterior with natural veg tan goat interior (lined with red silk) The picture with the wallet by itself is a W&C russet harness leather with a silk lining. Comments welcome. Andrew

Spraying a sheath should be pretty easy with a preval. They're pretty nice. The dye goes on much more evenly then I could do with daubers. The downside of them is that they run out. I was just dyeing about half a side worth of leather. I had the dye thinned out a lot (alcohol based dye) and took about three coats to get the depth I wanted. I was also spraying mink oil on the leather between coats of dye. With that said, I went through about 3 or 4 power units for just that half a side. I suppose if you are gonna dye a lot, it may be worth your money to look into an airbrush setup. I'm thinking about that now. Andrew