LeatherWerks

I am hoping someone could tell me how the dog leash in the photo I am posting is made. It appears the color on the back side is a white to cream color, and on the front it's some other color of pink. Is this two layers of leather glued together and sewn, or is leather actually available like this? If it is available, can anyone tell me where I could buy it? The color shown is just something I found on the internet. I'm looking for leather in a variety of colors. Thanks, Steve

I'm planning on doing a little upholstry work, recovering some bar stools in leather. These chairs have a welt sewn in various areas. Does anyone know where I can buy a welt foot for a Cobra 4 machine? Thanks, Steve

JJ the reason I thought my machine might be out of time was what it does when I finish my stitching. Imagine you are stitching a belt. I generally start to or three stitches before where I want to begin, back stitch and then go forward to lock in the starting point. Often when I get back to the starting point and and reverse the machine to lock the final stitch, I end up with what appears to be two threads on the bobbin side and one on top. When I pull the piece out to cut the threads the two threads are often jammed up in the bobbin area and they break.Could it be I'm just sewing over the thread tails where I started? I don't know. Steve

Thanks Art, I'm not the other Steve, but I do know him. Steve

I have a Cobra 4 machine and was wondering how I could tell if it needed to be re-timed. What problems would I see with the stitching or anything else. Thanks, Steve

Could you get chrome tanned leather that would be strong enough for a dog collar? I guess it would have to be a couple of pieces sewed together. Steve

A customer of mine ask if I could make her a dog collar and leash for her dog. Sounded simple, and I said I would do it. Then she explained that she wanted both of these item to be make from 'soft' leather, not 'hard' leather like you see in pet stores. I really don't have a clue what she meant by soft leather. Does anyone know of leather that is soft? I'm guessing we are not talking veg-tanned leather. Maybe it a combination of leathers, she just thought the leather actually touching the dog should be 'soft'. Thanks, Steve

Spooky listed the company Sprenger which is in Germany. I appears that they have the quality I'm looking for. On their web site, it doesn't appear to be any links that would suggest that they would sell to the adverage Joe. Anyone know if they have any sales reps in the United States? Steve

Glen, I actually have looked at Ohio Travel but these items are pretty much 'mainstream'. I'm looking for items used by Louis Vitton or stuff you would see on purses by Dooney Bourke or Coach. I know I can get their specific hardware, but some company makes it. This is the quality I'm looking for. Thanks for your reply, Steve

I'm looking for a supplier for very high-end hardware, bolt snaps, d-rings and the like. What I'm trying to do is make some really good dog leaches and pet products that you can't get at your local pet store. Does anyone know of a source? Thanks, Steve Nelson

I ran into this machine recently, a Consew 206RB5. Here's the deal. I currently own a Cobra 4 machine, I make mostly belts and holsters, but I would like to add handbags and wallets to my portfolio. Would this machine help me toward that goal or not? I guess the question is, are there reasons a Consew 206RB5 machine would be able to do things my Cobra 4 would be less suited for. Additionally, I plan to give about $650 for the Consew, they want $750. Is this a good price for a used machine? What should I look for on this machine as far as function, appearance, operation? I have no experience with Consew machines. Thanks, Steve

I thought I saw a video of this somewhere on the leatherworker forum but it may have been somewhere else. Here is a picture of what I want to do. It's the braiding on the end of this leash. Thanks, Steve

For some time, I've tried many different settings on my Cobra 4 EPS Servo Motor in an effort to see what works best. I bought this machine from Steve at a trade show in Arizona and don't have any paperwork that shows the settings. For those of you that have Cobra 4 machines, did you get any Servo Motor instructions? If so, could you let me know what works best for you? I mostly sew holsters and belts using two 6 to 7 oz pieces of leather. While fooling around with the motor today, I encountered a setting showing L1, L2, etc. Prior to this, the only display I had seen was one showing 5.0, 5.1, 5.2 and 5.3. Of course, there is the settings on EPS machines, 'Pu' and 'Pd' which determine if the needle stops in the up or down position. Thanks in advance, Steve Nelson

Okay, I'll give that a try. Thanks, Steve

I've been trying to make a pancake holster for a government 1911 and always seem to have the same problem. I make the holster and when I put it on, it seems that the belt slots should have been spaced further apart. Of course, if I did that I'd have to make the holster wider. Does anyone know what the distance between belt slots should be on a standard pancake style? I know it would vary based on your design. A general idea of correct distance would be fine. Steve

I'm interested in this needle thing...the concept of 'angle'. Where do I find such needles? Steve

I'm using a Cobra 4 machine, sewing a holster using 277 thread and I am not satisfied with my current lock stitch method. I've heard on this forum that you should start sewing about 3 stitches, reverse and then stitch forward. Using this method with 277 thread the 'build-up' of thread is just unacceptable in my opinion. Here's what I would like to propose as my method of lock stitching with hopes that someone more experienced that I would endorse it or tell me why it won't work. Imagine you are sewing a 1911 holster. You start sewing forward and just continue sewing (don't reverse to lock the stitch). You continue to sew until you get back to the starting point. You sew into where your first stitch started and then go one more stitch forward. You then reverse for two stitched and then you are done. Will this work? I ask this question because I see really high-end holster like Milt Sparks for example, and their holsters don't appear to have the stitch build-up I am experiencing. Thanks for your thoughts, Steve

Trox, since you ask me a specific question, you deserve an answer. Yes, I read every single line of every post in the entire subject before I made my comment. Thanks for asking. Steve

Bought a #2 edger and it works great. Thanks everyone who replied. Steve

The guys at the Leather Machine Company are likely the best around when it comes to customer service. Now, if they could find a speed control solution for my Cobra 4 with the EPS system, they would be considered gods. Steve

Nice collection of watch bands. What type of machine do you use, and what size thread is used in watchbands. I'd like to make a few for myself but have never tried. Steve

I love the machine, it's made my work look so much better than when I was using a Tippmann, although, the Tippmann is a great machine, just not electric which makes all the difference in the world at least to me. I purchased mine with EPS, electronic needle positioning, something that's great to have with one little drawback. You'll read somewhere on this forum where The Leather Machine Company is offering a fix, (a member on this forum came up with the fix) for the servo motor they use on these machines. The fix is to prevent the machine from going 0 to 60 the moment you engage the foot control. The fix works on machines without EPS, but I haven't been able to make it work with mine which has EPS. If I could get that one problem solved I would say in my opinion, the machine is as near perfect as it could be. Steve

Before I bought my Cobra 4, I had a Tippmann Boss. During that time I purchased a number of spools of thread from Tippmann, I thought I specified 277 but looking now, it's all 207. No wonder my stitch always looked marginal...I was using a 200 needle thinking I was using 277 thread. Anyway, now that I own 3 spools of thread that I don't normally use, my question is what needle should I use with this 207 thread on a Cobra 4 machine? I know what you're thinking...a guy that spent all this money on a Cobra 4 should at least know what needle to use, but newbys have been known to buy what they don't really need or understand for that matter. For those 'masters' out there, what would you suggest? Thanks, Steve

Thanks for replying to my post. Your pictures and comments clear things up. Thanks, Steve

I've ask this question once before, got some responses but still don't understand how these thumb snap holsters are constructed, just the reinforcement part. In the picture it would appear that there are three holes in the metal piece, a rivet top and bottom plus a hole for the line 24 snap. I've told on one forum that this is not true. Can someone explain how you are supposed to build this? Thanks, Steve