evandailey

Well this reveals my ignorance because I didn't realize there was a difference between the 29K and others. This machine is a 29-4 with the cast iron treadle base from what I understand. I'm supposed to go see it tomorrow. It sounds like it is worth the $200, I'm just not sure I would have much use for it. I mainly do holsters but am wanting to get into making satchels and things. But most often I am going to be doing 2-3 layers of 5-8oz. Veg tan. I also don't know enough about thread sizes yet to know whether what you listed would be what I need. Most of what I've read says 277 thread for holsters which i presume is bigger than the #138?

I'm going to jump into this thread with an semi-related question so forgive me for the high-jack. What are these machines capable of and best suited for stitching wise? I have an opportunity to pick one up for $200 that needs a little work. I was just curious of the limitations a machine like this has. I am saving to get a 4000 class machine and don't want to make any side purchases that will just frustrate me in the end.

Do you (or anyone else for that matter) mind sharing how you hold the holster for stitching on the reinforcement on one of these? I can't seem to envision how you would put that in a stitching horse for that wrap around reinforcement.

Yeah I figured that. But what I mean is how do you hold those big side pieces along with the gusset to sew all around the perimeter. One side I think I can figure out, it's when you've already stitched the gusset to one and now need to stitch it to the other that I can't wrap my head around. Unless they're machine sewing that part and that's why they don't show it.

I watch that video at least twice a week. It is very inspirational for me. There is so much that it doesn't show that I wish it did. I'd love to see how he holds the big pieces for hand stitching.

I don't think that's waht the question you quoted was asking about, but FYI Tyler is back in business making and selling T-Grips. http://www.t-grips.com/

Cost is the problem. The machines are very expensive and for an item the size of a gun you can pay as much as $150 to have it printed. Plus, you would have to have a 3d scanner as well or pay somebody to create a digital model for each individual gun.

Bob, How do you attach your canvas to your burnishing wheels? Obviously the rotating direction is critical, but do you glue the overlap or what?

I'm just guessing, but I suspect it is because water is a much better conductor than air so when it is wet you are better able to feel whatever temp the leather was already.

You can cut it with a diamond blade in a circular saw. I've done it running a small stream of water to keep the blade cool. Be sure you're on a GFCI circuit. Or you could rent a concrete wet saw for floors and cut it laying down. They usually are less than $50 per day to rent.

The one you have is a copy of an old Badger my dad has he used for painting pinstripes on cars. Get this http://www.harborfreight.com/10-ft-braided-nylon-airbrush-hose-95813.html braided airbrush hose from HF. It's a good one. I have this airbrush http://www.harborfreight.com/deluxe-airbrush-kit-95810.html I'm not sure which model it is a copy of but I know it works well. It's not hard to clean at all. The secrect to cleaning any spray gun is don't skimp on the solvent. Run a lot through it before you ever take it apart and the cleaning will be a breeze. If you start disassembling before you spray out all of the old finish, you're going to get finish in places that it wasn't meant to go. Then you start having problems. I also have this set http://www.harborfreight.com/professional-automotive-hvlp-spray-gun-kit-94572.html of larger spray guns I use for spraying furniture. My dad says he can't tell much difference between it and his $500 Iwata gun. We've painted cars with both and the finish is indistiguishable. Keep 'em mainted and they'll take good care of you.

Same for me, no problems out of my HF. As with many HF tools, my experience has been that they are EXACT copies of a higher priced brand. Not all of their tools are that way, but I think it is in this case. I don't think one 5x the cost would do any better for leather work.

Where did you see that? I can't find it.

I was using some version of Internet Explorer. I have no idea what it was because it is put on by our IT dept. at work and we have no control over what it is.

Ummmmmm....not on my browser. Perhaps that is something they should investigate is browser compatability because hovering over the picture doesn't do anything and when I click the picture there is no description, just a picture.

There's another thing missing, PRICES! Even if you price on a per order basis you should put a range or something on there. I am always reluctant to contact someone about a product if I don't know what price range I am looking at. If it's way out of my league I don't want to waste my time, or theirs. They are great looking knives though, and I happen to be in the market for a head knife. Too bad I don't know how much yours are! haha.

There are Dixon's of all sizes on eBay for between $40 and $60. Just search for pricking irons and scroll to the bottom of the page. I've been intrigued about pricking irons for a while now. I can't help but think the people stating that the blades are too big don't have the right thing. If you watch , the Dunhill craftsman uses a pricking iron to punch his holes and it is very fine stitching.

Thanks Art. It was one of those things I already knew, but was hoping for once to get the easy answer. Looks like I'll be saving up for a Cobra Class 4.

Shooter, whose leather are you using?

I am just getting into producing holsters for sale and am considering investing in a 441 clone machine. I am impressed with all of the information I have read on both the Cobras and the Cowboys and would love to buy one of those but $2200-2500 is just out of my price range. Then I found the Techsew model GA5-1R for $1250 which is much more feasible for me starting out. But it makes me worry there is something I am missing comparing it to the others, especially since Techsew's 16.5" machine is priced in line with comparable models from the other manufacturers. I realize the fallacy in shopping to a price point and usually I am adamant about not doing that myself. But when the money is not there, it's not there. Does anyone have experience with the Techsew GA5-1R compared to the other brands? Will it cost me as much in the long run as the others anyway or will I want to upgrade later? If I was going to wait to spend around $2000 I would just wait until I could afford one of the 16.5" models.

Ron, How come the link to the 5100 on your website says "product not found"?

I've not been making them all that long and others may do it differently, but I cut my leather oversized for the front piece, mould it first, then trim it to size and stitch it to the flat back. It works for me.

Actually, what the picture shows and what you have is in fact a block plane. I've been a woodworker much longer than I've been a leather worker. Block planes are designated as such because the bevel is up on the blade. On a bench plane the bevel goes down. Therefore, block planes can have a much lower attack angle than bench planes. I am surprised you were able to get that Lowe's grade stanley to do that. I have some higher end planes that are SHARP and I have not had great success trying to do what you're showing, but I didn't give it much effort either. Now that I see your results I'll have to get it another shot. Did you start feeding the belt into the plane right at the end or did you start a little ways into the belt?

At 6 stitches per inch through two layers of 8oz, I have found 4x the length to be sewn to be about right to still leave me a decent length to work with towards the end. any less and the last several stitches start to get short on the thread. Bear in mind I only do holsters so I have never done anything needing a length of thread longer than my outstretched arms.

I made one from a circular saw blade, one that did not have carbide teeth, figuring that if it would hold an edge for the saw teeth it would hold an edge for the head knife. It did reasonably well. I don't have a reliable way to heat treat so i did it with a torch. This is not the most uniform way to do it but it worked ok. The edge retention is not as high as I hoped for but useable. I am going to try and make another one someday with O1 or A2 steel as I love those steels for woodworking plane blades. It's tough finding thin pieces big enough to make a head knife from though. Most places only have hunting knife sized bars.