mlapaglia

Very well done. As both a leather worker and a chess player it looks great. I have one suggestion. Next time, dye the inside of the black pieces. It will remove the only defect I saw in the entire set. The contrast between the inside light color and the black drew my eyes to that point first. The slight dye overrun on the edges detracts from the greatness of the rest of the work. Just my 2 cents. Michael

A few pictures would help. We need to know what it looks like to respond.

Ask to speak with Kevin at Springfield.

A few pictures of your current product will help get you answers.

Expect to have to sharpen EVERYTHING that needs a sharp edge. For the price it should let you know if you like the hobby. If you do, than first replace them with good quality tools. If you decide you want to carve and tool the wallet you will need those tools also. Tandys Basic 7 and a cheap Tandy swivel knife is a way to see if you like tooling. YEs you will wind up spending about $110.00 for tools that are poor at best but you are not spend ing a $500.00-$1000.00 to find out you do not like the hobby. Other side of the coin. I used to sell guitars and would alwos try to get parent to NOT buy the cheapest guitar so the kid could see if he liked to play. They were just to hard to play. Same will hold true with some of these cheap tools. If you have problems dont let it get you down, It might be to cheap tool.

I use 1 tablespoon baking soda to one quart water. Don't let it soak too long as too much baking soda can harm the leather. I dip for about 20 secs and the. Rinse In cold water. Then in front of a fan to dry for 15-24 hours. Oil and let sit another 24 hours.

Do you want it to open at the top or the bottom?

From the same article it states: "Sometimes, depending on the thickness of the leather, you will find that the Pricking Iron has cut all of the way through the leather, however this is not always the case, and it is not, as already stated, really what a Pricking Iron is intended for." (Bold added)

I cant say for sure that it wont. I do know that a belt I failed to neutralize came back later with two of the holes on the billet ripped out. Cant say for sure but it could have been the acid. Since then I always do the backing soda and I dont soak the leather. Just dip it a few times or for belts I run it through the 'roon 3 times.

At todays exchange rate, Just for giggles, that makes £4-500 = to $690.48 - $840.00 USD

Well farther west we use #277 thread on belts and holsters. As stated we can use the thread for climbing and towing. I agree the 3200 is probably a better machine. I won a Boss but have tried a 3200 and its nice.

Vinegroon is not a dye its a chemical reaction so adding different colors to it will not change the black. The Iron in the vinegaroon reacts with the tannins in the leather and turns black (simple explanation of the chemical process). it makes a great black but wont work to try to change it to a different color.

The entire book is about how to use and sharpen most leather tools. A must have. Tandy has it as a digital download for about 10 bucks

I dont know if this will help but you can get it as a digital download for about $60.00

This might help. Its from Leathercraft-Tools-by-Al-Stohlman.

Looks good. Two questions. Why the rivets on the holster since it is stitched and how are you securing the screws for the clips on the back side? I dont see T-nuts on the empty holes?

I dont know of a way but next time run the thread between some brown paper from a paper bag and remove the excess wax. Sorry I dont have a better idea.

They all come with a ruler on them but not all the wooden ones are accurate. Also the Black river gauge lets you set it exactly the same each time as it works like a blade stop to set the width. Its worth the cost just for the ability to repeat the width.

One teaspoon of Oxalic acid dissolved in a quart of water can be used to clean veg tan leather. It removes oily fingerprints stains, waxes and many other stains. You can find it at most hardware stores. Its sold as a wood bleach. It is also call Bar Keepers Friend. Works wonders for cleaning leather. Use a sponge to wipe it on the leather. Follow with clean water on a sponge. wait until it dries before dying. I am sure there are other concentrations that will be suggested. This is what I learned from an Al Stohlman book and it works for me. Here is a thread that talks a lot about Oxalic acid. Its worth the read. Michael

If you need a lot in the wider sizes and you are careful there is no reason not to use a strap cutter. Just remember that the wider the cut is the harder it is to control. Also the thinner it is the harder it is to control. A little practice and a good place to aly the leather while you cut and it should be fine. BTW did you get the wood strap cutter of the metal draw gauge? The wood one works well for me but Id love to get the draw gauge. Michael

If that's done with Black top thread and white bobbin thread it looks like you have it set correctly. Otherwise white would show on the black side or black would show on the white side.

Never. My Son has one that has been used daily for the last two year and its still fine

Ya done good! Michael

I bought a Stohlman knife at Tandy last year. It sucked. The current ones are carp. Old ones might have been ok but current ones are not. Would not stay sharp no matter who sharpened it. They come dull. So they need to be sharpened first. I brought it back and stayed with my utility razor and roller knife. I suggest you try a different brand. Osborne makes a good one. Bruce Johnson, a moderator on this sight sells a lot of tools and usually has a few different brands. He would be a good source for a round knife.

Nice work. I have two granddaughters, 22 month old twins, right now they just like to play with the scraps and a "purse" I made to test turning a pocket inside out. I cant wait till they get a little older and learn the craft (I hope) They do get to stamp the leather, Well I hold the stamp and they swing a nerf mallet. I love them but Im not stupid. I press the stamp into the leather. No way Im letting them whack me with a real maul. I digress, That looks really good. well done!