Ed in Tx

When I work with shark I first remove the loose fiber by hand and then use an oscillating orbital sander to thin the piece down and smooth it out. If you don't get rid of that loose stuff you may end up with issues like the hide separating from the base material. I found that paying a bit more for a higher quality hide is best.

Having light weight leather curl like that isn't unusual. The easy fix is a light spray of plain water and place the item on a flat surface and cover it with something else flat with a little weight. I use counter top samples of granite or marble that are about 4" x 6" or even a 12 x 12 marble tile. The other users problem is buying leather from Tandy. As mentioned bellies are not the best part of the hide, the fiber density decreases and you get separation of the upper layer.

A snap setting press would be a good investment. I have had no issues using LN20 or LN24 snaps when using the press. I bought the press and dies from Goldstar Tool a few years ago. I tried the setting by hand but always seemed to have problems. Being able to put on a snap with no issues made the purchase worthwhile.

Shop Talk Magazine puts out an annual "MY Buyers Guide" that has an in depth list of suppliers for anything leather related. It is a go to reference for finding whatever you need.

I don't think they are tubular rivets. The tubular rivets I have used don't look like that on the back side. The tool I use is a peening setter and the back side of the rivet ends up looking different. They must have used some specialized rivet and press. You could use either a copper or brass rivet and burr to accomplish the same result. A rivet press would be much easier than doing it by hand especially with a brass rivet. You could also use a Chicago Screw with some loctite on the threads. Ed

What weight are the straps? Thanks, Ed

Looking at a couple of the labels the leather is probably 3 1/4 oz in weight. That makes sense considering that it was used to make bellows. That is a lighter weight leather. Tannery Run or "TR" leather generally means that the hides are a mix of grades, some could be near perfect while others might have several flaws while the majority of the hides are somewhere in between quality wise. If you are serious about selling the leather you are going to need to show people what you have. You will not damage the hides by opening the bundles. Most people won't buy leather without seeing what they are buying. In addition not too many people are going to be willing to buy that much square footage all at once. If you are just wanting to get rid of the leather price it at $2 0r $3 a sq ft. and someone might be willing to buy it. Just my thoughts. Good luck, maybe somebody out there just can't live without it, you never know.

Rahere, the issue with a lack of wide shoes exists here in the US as well. There is no uniformity in sizes between manufacturers and even between styles within the same makers. Ordering shoes online is a crap shoot because I never know if they are going to fit. Not all online sellers offer free return shipping and some even want to charge a restocking fee. You are not alone Bigfoot!

Going up one needle size has helped me numerous times. I normally sew heavier leather and use A Cobra Class 4 machine but when I have had issues with fraying or stitch skipping when sewing some pieces a larger needle generally does the trick.

Those are pretty cool looking coasters. I have been a fan of the Canadiens since I was a little kid watching games in black and white on Hockey Night in Canada in the early 60's. I worked in Montreal for a brief time in 1976 - 77. My boss was born and raised in Montreal and was good friends with the Richard brothers. He took me to the pub they owned at the time and I got to meet them. I got to go to several Canadien games while I was there at the old Montreal Forum. That is when Guy LaFluer was playing. Montreal is probably the coolest city I have even visited. The Metro was fantastic being able to go everywhere in the middle of winter and only briefly go above ground. Sorry to reminisce.

Cable lacing twine is the same as what is used for leather lacing. The difference is the size of the cable lacing twine is larger, I believe it is referred to as 9 strand. Basically the same as sewing thread where you have various sizes from 69 to 138, 20, 277 etc. Cable lacing twine is normally either black or white in color and is always waxed. In my younger days I laced miles of communication cables in telephone company central offices. That is pretty much a lost art these days, cable ties are much quicker.

I bought a Cobra 4 about 6 years ago and have used it for all sorts of sewing. Belts and holsters, skeet bags, purses, wallets and a bunch of guitar straps. Give some serious thought as to your real need for all of the attachments. Mine came with everything except the electronic positioning. To be perfectly honest the only things I have used are the left and right feet and the slotted plate. You can't go wrong with the Cobra 4, it is very easy to use and the customer support from The Leather Machine Co. is top notch.

What type and style of needle are you using? There are needle that have a right or left twist to them so the appearance of the top stitch will be slanted. If you are using a spear point or a diamond point needle you need to make sure the thread hole of your needle is square and not slightly twisted to either side.

Great job on the ranger belt. Where did you get the buckle, keepers and tip? They are a perfect contrast to the belt color.

A Ranger style belt would be the best way to go in my opinion. Even with that the main part of the belt should be a bit larger than the persons waist size. A small amount of overlap is best.

Needles sizes are so damn confusing. I looked at the eBay listing and they have size 24 needles but I'm not sure the 135x16 will work in my Cobra Class 4 machine. It seems like every manufacturer has their own nomenclature for sizing.

Fenice makes water based dyes that work extremely well. They are based in Italy and I am sure there must be some European vendor that carry the products.

Where do you purchase the titanium coated needles? I normally use "goof off" to clean my needles when I have glue sticking to them but the titanium coated needles might be of some benefit when I sew belts. Thanks in advance..

Tasco/Ritells tanning solution works well. Taxidermy arts carries the kit. www.taxidermyarts.com.

The only true way to "TAN" a snake skin is with one of the reptile tanning kits Tiara mentioned. The solution of 50/50 alcohol/glycerin is NOT a tanning solution, it is strictly a preservative. I have had people use that method on copperhead skins and then want me to make them something with the skin. It doesn't work out well. When you use a true tanning solution you will see a change in the skin, instead of being almost see through the back side of the skin will be almost white. Tanning is a multi step process that changes the structure of the skin.

Why not try a thin sheet of aluminum between the layers. Just cut the aluminum 3/8" smaller to allow room for stitching.

Springfield Leather has a decent selection of drum dyed veg tan.

I second the Renia Aquilim 315. I have been using it for about 2 years now and have had no issues with it. Best thing is a little bit goes a long way. It took me a while to figure out the best way apply it to the leather. I found using a flexible nylon spatula works the best for me. Another plus is you can use it anywhere and don't have to worry about fumes like you do with solvent based products.

Try soaking the stamps is a solution of CLR and water. CLR works very well for removing rust and it's not corrosive. Same goes for any parts you can remove from the machines. Depending on how much you paid you may well have gotten a really good deal even if you have to spend a few bucks to get the sewing machines up and running.