Mark842

I've seen people working leather for years that can't make a wallet that looks that good. In my opinion, at 4 months you are going to be a skilled leather worker before you know it. You will learn tricks as time passes that will save you from some mistakes but none of us are perfect and until you spend a lot of time perfecting the process for a particular item mistakes can and will happen

I realize it's a little more expensive but I use the Harbor freight 12 ton press. For me it has some major advantages using it for stamping...and we do use some of bunkhouse tools stamps. With a little bit of work and some math skills (if your cheap like me) you can install a pressure gauge on the bottle jack. Advantage of doing that should be obvious. The other advantage I like using the bottle jack over the arbor press. Is you can press the die into the leather and walk away and leave it there with the pressure on it for as long as you want. This allows for being able to use less pressure with better results. Less pressure makes the dies last infinitely longer. Before I installed the pressure gauge, by feel I'm guessing I was probably using 2K of pressure for a 4" diameter stamp on 6-7 ounce damp veg tan. The dies would last me about 6 months of everyday use of 30-40 impressions a day. With pressure gauge. 600 lbs @ 30 seconds using the same dies that lasted about 6 months and the dies are about 4 years old and still going strong. If you don't want to or can't install the pressure gauge yourself (it's a bit of a pain in the ass) you can buy a bottle jack with them installed but they are usually in the $400 range. I watched a youtube video and did mine in an hour for the cost of a $20 pressure gauge. Oh yeah...pick yourself up a piece of 1/2" thick steel plate scrap large enough to cover the dies you will be using to put in between the piston of the battle jack and the die otherwise you will just crack the die.

Looking cool

From the looks of the rust on that I wouldn't pay More than $10 for it for parts and possibly not even that much. I'd have to see it in person

No cons that I can think of. They are great machines and it is well suited for what you want to use it for.

I sharpen mine by putting them in a drill press and allowing it turn against a sharpening stone at the right angle. I then run a small sanding stone on the inside using a dremel. Makes them sharper than new.

I've purchased some parts from them in the past for a patcher I restored. They are proud of the parts for sure but nobody else had what I needed. That being said, they definitely do not have ALL the parts that some of these machines might need because I know of at least three parts I had to go to some Amish friends in PA for.

I'd take that to an antique dealer that specializes in furniture...does the antique roadshow ever come out there? You might be the next millionaire...

I interested in buying whatever needles your interested in selling if you wanted to bulk out what you don't want.

97 FLSTS? My toys...

I don't use a stone on swivel knives. Just rouge on a strop.

Messy as always. This is one of my stock rooms. The hardware shelves and cardboard boxes where purchased from U-line probably 15-20 years ago.

Richard, I'm planning on tearing down a Landis 1 this winter and restoring her. It's a good working machine already that is all there but it sat for 50+ years and is all gunked up. Just curious what kind of paint you used for the black.

Never thought about it. It might but I was shown this 20+ years ago and I've never had an issue. That being said I go through a 32 ounce can of barge every two months so its not like they are sitting around for a long time.

If you put a little vaseline on the threads on the cap it won't get stuck

Depends on the needle and machine I'm using, specifically if my stitch is straight or angled. If the stitch is straight I prefer spinning my work around unless its a very large piece. If it is an angled stitch it always seems like I can line it up better using reverse.

Google search finds it available from many sources. Works great.

The paint is not meant to be a cover up for uneven edges. You need to edge bevel, shape, sand your edges until they are smooth. Then depending on what your using for edge treatment, slick them either before you paint or after you dye. At least thats how I do it. Finishing edges always remind me of what a shop teacher taught me back in wood shop a gazillion years ago. A good finish will not hide imperfections in the wood, it will amplify them. I have found the same is true with leather.

Anyone else going to be here this morning for load out. Just pulled an all nighter drive in here. Got time for a1 hour power nap before they open.

I'm curious about the head..that's awesome. Did it hide come with the head? What are the eyes made of. Please elaborate.

Yup...but in some of us the artist is a 3 year old with a box of crayons and others a Rembrandt. Very nice work, I'm envious of your tooling skills. I can do basket weaves and geometrics all day long but if I tried to do something like that...lets just say the results would be less pleasing to the eye.

The smell you think is the smell of leather in new cars is actually the smell of organic compounds off gassing. Plastic, vinyl, foam etc.

Snafu....situation normal, all f**ked up

Don't over think it and don't over spend. Years ago I fell into the exotic wood burnishers trap. Just about any piece of wood or plastic will burnish the edge of leather. Veg tan is really all yu will be able to burnish by slicking. Depending on the leather sometimes wood works better, sometimes canvas. Tricks I have learned along the way...good sharp edgers that make a nice clean cut make for better looking slicked edges. The quality of the slicked edge comes down to how much work you want to put into it. I have products that I run the edges on my cobra burnisher for a minute, get a nice smooth burnished edge and call it good. I have other products that I spend hours on the edges shaping, slicking, sanding, slicking, sanding...repeat until it looks like glass. As always different quality leathers will have different results.

What size needle and thread are you using on top. Looks very large