leathervan

I just bought one. My first skiver.

There must be minimum oz weight of leather after which wet forming would not work or be practical. For instance I don't think that wet forming 2oz leather would be a thing to do. But I could see where wet forming a 5 or 6oz leathers would work. Am I on the right path or is there more to it?

When I pound the cap onto the socket with the leather sandwiched in between the stem of the cap bends so that when it Is finished the cap and stem are not aligned so that the cap isn't directly above the socket. What am I doing wrong?

That used to be the case--hand stitches being a better stitch. But maybe there is something new about sewing machines that puts the hand stitch out of the superior edge it had over sewing machine stitches.

I assume that they must because the only alternative is a hand stitch.

Let say for convenience sake that I am stitching two square pieces of leather together. I am using a single stitching needle and going through the holes one way and then back the whole way and then tying the two threads together. A very basic stitch. But if I don't use enough thread the whole stitching process has to be done over. But I don't want to use too much thread either because then there is thread that is wasted. How do I know how much thread to use?

Wow! That's beautiful. Looks like a lot of work.

Did you hand stitch that? With an awl?

I mean either with an awl or needle by hand(one or two needles). I suppose a person should have different size threads on hand. I have only one size now and its a real thin thread.

I know what the problem is from the start and that is that brand names get a lot of money for their items just by the name alone. Like Versache purses etc. I am sure that a lot of people on this board could make a purse that is just as good if not better than anything the Versache brand name makes. But they got the name and they can charge $300 or $400 or so for a purse. Wouldn't that be nice if we could do that?. So I suppose its the same with brief cases and any other item. So I wonder if there is any profit to be made in making brief cases for guys like us that make one by hand and then try to sell it.

I know about the Tippman brand but they cost way over a thousand dollars new. Pricey I would say. Any other brands of hand powered. Or don't you recommend a hand powered leather machine. It would be slower that is true.

If I want to write something permanent like a name on leather what is the best thing to use? It doesn't have to be a pen but I assumed a pen of some sort would be the best marker for permanence.

Will it work? I accidentally put some saddle tan water based dye on a place where black leather dye was suppose to be. Can I use the black leather dye over the tan dye and have a successful dying procedure?

When I cement two pieces of leather together to make it like one piece there is sometimes an indentation where the leather pieces don't meet to form a smooth edge. A place where it is like the leather is cut out to form a small canyon. I think you know what I mean. I suppose that when it is cut the knife isn't at a perfect vertical position sometimes. But is there a way to fill that gap with something where I can still get a good smooth edge using the usual techniques of sanding the edge and then buffing it using edge dye etc.

I know that wax is what most people seem to apply to edge dye but the wax wears of too. Is there another way to keep the edge dye from wearing off?

I know that the air brush is better but its also more expensive. Much more! How much difference is there in the quality of dyeing a piece of leather. My problem has been getting an even color. If anyone has used the Preval sprayer I would appreciate some tips on how to use it.

It sounds like the best thing to do before stamping is to wet the leather lightly. Not soak it. Maybe just enough water to cover the surface very lightly. Am I on the right path?

I need a very strong magnet to hold a drill chuck to the bottom of an arbor press. Does anyone have any information where I can get one?

Would an airbrush help to get an even colored coat of dye so it isn't blotchy. I would use it on a belt.

what kind of air brush do you use?

there is a web page www.thistothat.com that should help. If the link doesn't work google thistothat.

what do you mean by case the leather?

I appreciate any advice from those who have done it.

I take that back, it didn't work as well as I thought. From everything that I have done in leatherworking(which isn't a lot) dyeing seems to be the trickiest.

I found that if I soak a rag in alcohol lightly I can rub off some of the darker spots to make it more even in color. Anyone else try that?