mlapaglia

Good idea thanks.

Troy, its a new buckle but it doesnt mean that the post does not have a sharp edge on it. Ill check.

I made a belt for a dear friend. He would not let me line it. Im not sure what his reasons were. Anyway, the belt is H.O. 8-9 oz About 40 inches overall finished length. 5 holes Vinagroon color and Resolene finish. Hand stitch. (You know this is a true friend when I hand stitch a belt since I own a machine). He just called and told me the leather between hole 3 and 4 just tore through. I have never had this happen. The holes were spaced 1" apart and the leather didnt look like there was any problems with it. I have not seen it yet but its on the way. Hard to say what went wrong but He says he sat down at the table and it tore. He is not at all heavy and in good shape. Could he have just had it too tight? Could it be a bad section of the leather? Any ideas? Im off to start the replacement. Michael

Thats exactly what I was going to say.

Great work. The wallet brings back good memories of one I made for my dad.

Always remember that if it offends you, you do not have to make it. Sometimes its best to turn away business for personal reasons.

It would be easier for us to "not get me wrong" if you started a statement with something other than "you'd better" Thats a direct and aggressive statement. Just a thought. FYI, OP great buckle.

Forget another machine and get the Boss. For all the complaints people post there are lots more people that love them. In your case its a great deal.

Just make sure you oil the belt with some Neetsfoot oil 24 hours after dying and before applying the finish. Give the oil 24 hours to soak in completly. 2 light coats. Dont over oil it. Dying and tooling takes out some of the leather oils. Neetsfoot returns those oils. Just get pure neetsfoot NOT neetsfoot compound. The compound is nasty due to the additives If you find you are making a lot of belts you might find buying a back from Springfield even cheaper and cutting your own. Strap cutters are not expensive. Just tell Springfield you are making belts and ask for then to cut you a straight edge on one long side. I have spent a lot of money at Springfield and like everyone they make the occasional mistake but have always made it right and quickly.

AndyL1, Are those copper rivets on the belt? Nice belt and nice Brand placement

As for the dog booties. Velcro can be stitched to leather if you like or you can install snaps. Id get some scraps wool still on. You can get them from Tandy CHEAP. Line the inside of the booties to keep the pooch's feet warm.

Been there done that. Still do at times. Been on disability since 2002. Hang in there.

Forgetting the disability issue for a sec, you should probably build up a presence on this forum before asking for the loan of very expensive materials. While your request may be truthful and heartfelt no one here knows you from Adam. Give us some time to get to know you and you will find there are great people on this forum. I hope this is not offensive I am just trying to help.

Looks good. you might look at this thread. The pictures on the first post show a good way to place loops on a belt. There are other ways also.

My mistake. It seems that Tandy has not added the basket type stamp to the Pro line yet

Try the new pro series of Tandy tools. Not the best but much better than the old ones.

Lexol will work. Id use PURE neetsfoot oil not compound. That will help.

get yourself some size 0 harness needles to start with. Work up to the 2. exchange the 4's for 0. I use a 0 for the thread I use. it even takes my 277 machine thread if I taper it like I should.

Your concept is good. For a first timer its fine. You need work in cutting the leather out. Your stamping is shallow probably from stamping when it is still too wet or hitting it to lightly. Stitching is better than most for a first time. needs to be straighter and follow the curve better. Next time try thread instead of the sinew unless you were going for a period piece then sinew is correct. You also should burnish your edges. Did you put a welt in the sheath? Its a middle layer that is only maybe 3/8 to 1/2inch wide. Keeps the blade from cutting the stitches. Keep it up you have a great start.

6 tpi is fine for what you are doing. I use it for anywhere from 1 piece of 5 oz to 3 pieces of 9 oz. Check Ebay. I have had good luck with the company in that link,. 28 dollars is good price and better quality than a 5 dollar iron from your link. Per electrathon's post above a 4mm is for all practical purposes a 6 tpi. I really doubt the ones you are looking at will last at the price they quote. They say "LeatherCraftTools.com's Diamond Hole Punch PRO has the fully-quenched body," but do not say what the metal is. Probably iron not steel. probably bend easy. You have to store it coated in machine oil so it is an iron type metal of cheap steel. quenching is not enough to make iron useful but could make it brittle if done wrong . (God I hope I remember my high school metals shop correctly ) If you have to go cheap get the Tandy Pro line ones. At least we know they are pretty good and you can test them at the store and see which one is the one you want. Or call the store and ask them which is 6 tpi.

Possible solution. Forget pitch get a Dixon pricking iron. They sell them #/inch so a #6 is 6 per inch. no messing with pitch. If you dont like the size of the mark the Dixon leaves you can contact them and ask them to make you a 6/inch pricking iron but with a width/thickness similar to that of a 10 or 12 they will probably do it for you . As they mill the tools themselves , special requests are not a problem. There are several Dixion irons on E-bay if you want to pay less than new. FYI since Dixion does not talk about pitch and a 6 is 6 SPI its probably why most of us think that the number we thought was pitch was the size per inch.

I saw that too. I tried my best not to say you were wrong but the information was flawed. if I failed you have my apology. Tooth pitch is defined as the distance between teeth(This applies to saws). This can also can not be correct since a single prong 2,3,4mm pitch tool can be purchased. Therefore my first post is totally wrong also. I got that information here.

OK, but I can buy an 8 tooth 3 pitch. That doesn't fit with your explanation. They even sell a single prong in 4 different pitches. "Available in 4 pitches (3, 4, 5, 6 ｍｍ)." So Im not sure your information is correct. I could be wrong but I do not believe I am.

There I fixed it for you. I machine stitch a lot of stuff with a Boss. However, when I want to make something really special for someone or something to really show off then I hand stitch it. There is nothing better than a well hand stitched line. Machine stitching helps me produce more and faster and for every day product it is good quality. But for perfect stitches i need an awl, a pair of pliers and 2 harness needles with waxed linen. Nothing wrong with a machine stitch. I just like the saddle stitch better when I have the time and the need.

watch Ebay, they show up about 2-3 a month.