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SWFLholsters

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About SWFLholsters

  • Rank
    Member
  • Birthday 03/03/1954

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  • Website URL
    http://www.swflholsters.com/

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Florida
  • Interests
    Holster crafting, Leather, Kydex

LW Info

  • Interested in learning about
    Leather Crafting

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  1. Yes you can modify a needle positioner servo, it is not as easy to do as a standard servor, but not too difficult. Check out the following link for instructions. http://www.swflholst...-eps-speed-mod/ Gook Luck!
  2. The net weight printed on the box for the head is 48.5kg (107lbs) and the total weight on the shipping invoice was 136kg (300lbs). You may be right about taking smaller 2oz splits, I'm new at this and need some schooling. After the holiday's I plan on calling David and Steve for some splitting pointers.
  3. Hey Eric, on the holster I didn't notice any big change in the retention ability, but the look and feel was very nice, and IMHO a big improvement over acrylic. On the belt I did notice a pretty big difference, kind of like going from a new belt to a nice broken in feeling. No problem with the belts vertical rigidity though. This combo was for my bother-in-law so I will be able to keep tabs on how it performs. I think the baking after forming really locks in the holster firmness, but we will have to see how it holds up over time. I just need to figure out how to speed up the application and lessen the labor. I forgot to mention that I did apply Angelus 600 on the interior of the holster.
  4. Thanks guys! I'm glad you liked it, I actually enjoy making the video's. Each time I do one I learn new things to speed up the process. A little update... For fun I tried splitting a few small pieces by hand with the hand wheel and I would most definitely advise getting the servo powered setup. The pieces I experimented with were small and it took quite a bit of muscle power. I surely would not want to split a run of holster pieces by hand. Maybe the unpowered machine comes with a handle instead of a hand wheel, even if they do I think the servo setup is money well spent. Of course I would say that.
  5. I have been struggling with this issue too, I like the water proofing properties of acrylic but hate the fact that you are basically locked into that finish. I ordered some Sno-Seal and Montana Pitch to see if they would be good alternatives. I did a quick test on some scraps, and to me, Sno-Seal beat the Montana Pitch in the water resistance department. I need to do a more thorough test to be certain that Sno-Seal is better. I'm including several photos that show the finish difference between Sno-Seal and Angelus 600. I love the way Sno-Seal leaves the leather feeling and looking like leather and that you can reapply whenever needed. The one problem I noticed is that any of these paste heat gun solutions involve more labor and time to apply, especially on belts. I am thinking maybe it could be an option for a few dollars more? I recently ordered a quart of Angelus 620 with hope that it will tone down the glossy look. I doubt it will change the plastic feel though. I will report back after I get a chance to do more testing.
  6. It's here and it's a beauty. This is my first splitter and I am learning as I go, I'll try to answer questions as best I can. Happy Holidays to all, and a big High-Five to David and Steve at Leather Machine Co. I have delivery and setup photos along with a video posted to our website. Please try to ignor my obsessive tendency in the video. ;-) http://www.swflholst...d-setup-photos/
  7. Thanks Eaglestroker, it sounds like you are well on your way to stitching happy land. Let us know how it goes.
  8. Thanks Eaglestroker, it would be nice if you could snap some photos of how your Cobra was packaged. By the way, I thought you were supposed to wait until Dec 25th to open your presents. You are in for some fun times, enjoy!
  9. Yes I am a very lucky man to have what I have and to have a wife that allows me so much freedom. This leather venture has overtaken our family room, craft room, storage room, etc, the garage hasn't changed much except reorganized a bit. Her understanding is a blessing from above. Yeah, I had a bit of a rough start with my Cowboy but after some tweaking and TLC all is working well now. I have talked to the dealer and he is well aware of the problems I have had. I agree I would not want a machine this size to be shipped with the head mounted to the table. The pedestal stand is bouncy enough when sewing I can only imagine how bad it could get during shipment. I thought the pallet loading/packaging on my order was outstanding. CNC is a dream that I think will have to wait for another lifetime. I think that one could break the wonderful understanding relationship that I have
  10. Incredible craftsmanship, very inspiring. Thanks for sharing
  11. I owned a Tacsew 155 for about a month and had to send it back because of a binding problem. I would say that if you can see the machine in action and you know this guy, I wouldn't at all be afraid of buying it. I did a lot of research before buying mine and there are a LOT of happy Tacsew owners. Do a search for Tacsew on DIYTactical.com and HotRodders.com and you will find many happy owners. I stitched quite a bit with the Tacsew before trading it on a Seiko STH 8BLD and it stitched every bit as good as the Sekio just not quite as smooth. A heck of a lot less money though. If you said you were buying new, I would recommend only buying if you can demo it and or return it easily. It is a typical china made machine, some good, some not. When you get a good one you have a reasonably priced good machine. This photo shows where mine had a problem, the presser foot shaft and tension adjustment hole were out of wack which caused binding when the tension adjuster was screwed into the casting. Looks like it was bored off center. Anyway, I hope this helps, I wish you luck and happy stitching! A shout out to Sewinggold.com Steve Levin for outstanding after sale service on my Tacsew.
  12. Hi guys I finally got around to posting photos of my Cowboy delivery. I love equipment photos and I figured some of you may too. And these photos may help soothe the anticipation jitters for those that are ordering machines and are wondering what to expect on delivery. http://www.swflholst...very-and-setup/
  13. I have had the same problem with my Seiko STH 8BLD. By adjusting the reverse stitch length I finally got it to reliably stitch back into the same holes. The problem I have is that the thread tension is just not the same back stitching as it is stitching forward. Perfect forward stitching tension produces a lousy back stitch lock on the bottom of the stitch. Adjust the tension to get a good back stitch and then it is too tight stitching forward. I gave up because I was never happy with the stitch quality. Now on things where I want excellent stitch quality I just back stitch the old fashion way... turn the fabric. I know it sounds crazy having a fancy machine with a reverse lever but for me the best results are manual reverse. I do the same thing with my new Cowboy 4500 when stitching holsters because to me it suffers the same problem. The stitch lock on the bottom of the stitch is just not quite right when back stitching. Maybe someday I'll get it figured out and it could be my pickiness is part of the problem too. I wish you luck.
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