bushpilotmexico

I bought some Wyosheen from Sheridan Leather as I was told it is Sheridan's replacement for NeatLac as a leather finish. When I tried it for the first time thankfully on a scrap piece of leather that I had edge coated (black) and burnished I notice the Wyosheen was lifting the black edge coat and staining my British Tan dye. This doesn't happen with Super Sheen or Resolene or any other of the acrylics. Has anyone had the same problem and any suggestions? Thx

Any suggestions as where to buy reasonably priced drum dyed leather for making belts. Thinking 6/7 oz.

I checked with a technician at Frontier Gun Leather and he told me that JB uses a special oil that they buy from Weaver it's Sheps Neatslene harness oil comes in light or dark. Although I have neatsfoot that I bought from Sheridan Leather I have never used it and maybe never will....I just thought it strange that JB soaks his belts and holsters in oil. The tech did say as well it also depends on the quality of the leather and it's age. I have never used drum dyed leather and Art says he buys the black drum dyed, I would think for belts. What i kind of don't like (I use Fiebing's alcohol dyes) is that they don't penetrate very deeply and scratches or abuse shows up quickly. One thing about my oil dyed test piece is that the color goes completely through the leather. JB in his video does mention using sunlight to lighten and even goes so far as to recommend tanning lamps for using indoor if it's snowing outside. I appreciate all the comments and help. Thx

I've done a lot of Googling since i posted this thread and the general consensus is that using excessive neatsfoot oil is a major no no. This a posting that I read on Leatherworker.net Too much Neatsfoot oil will definitely harm the leather. Neatsfoot oil softens by breaking down the fibers of the leather. To much oil means too much breaking down. I got impatient oiling my tack as a teenager and put the reins all the way into the oil bottle. I pulled them right out and wiped them off, but the damage was done. They gradually broke down and got longer and longer till they broke. The horse thought that was great, he could reach more grass, and eventually got to go where he wanted! Bianchi pours on the neatsfoot including passing it through an oil bath. I know Frontier leather uses the Bianchi name but getting to talk with John is next to impossible. What amazes me in the video is that the leather doesn't significantly darken, yes it does darken some but turns out more a mellow brown tone. My sample is 8/9 oz and has 3 applications and the oil has penetrated right thru the leather. If I had to I could live with the color although it's a lot darker than I would normally use when dying with Fiebing's British Tan. I know I'm not getting and response to my thread but as a virtual newbie any reply would be appreciated especially if neatsfoot will eventually damage the goods. Thx

We all know that neatsfoot oil darkens leather....in Bianchi's 3 video set of Western Holster Making he exclusively uses neatsfoot oil, multiple coats, including immersing the belt and holster in a heated tank of oil. He claims that for the belt and holster he will use 1 pint of oil. Even though his leather darkens some it's no where near the dark color I get when I try using neatsfoot on a sample piece of leather. I normally use Lexol non darkening prior to dying and with the Lexol alone there is no appreciable darkening of the leather. I find the Lexol helps the alcohol based dye penetrate the leather evenly. Just wondering if anyone has viewed Bianchi's videos and might be able to comment. My neatsfoot is a pure oil that I get from Sheridan leather. I just thought I might try only using neatsfoot but with pure neatsfoot there is no middle ground every coat darkens the leather more....this doesn't happen to Bianchi.

I appreciate all the replies. I sewed that test piece with a left toe presser foot and a lot of weight is on the single foot. My nephews wife's father is a saddle maker and he suggested that I try using the double toe foot. I did today and because the weight is being distributed between the two feet there is considerably less indentations. On the test piece earlier I dampened the leather, burnished and they all disappeared. Vic the saddle maker said that considering the leather is pre-dyed just to dampen the leather along the stitch line taking in any presser toe marks and then burnish. Vic said that even if the leather picks up a water stain it might even compliment the holster when finished.

I was hoping I wouldn't have to wet the leather down but I guess if I do I will have to give the whole holster a dip because it's already dyed and if I just sprayed the stitching line and burnished I think I would get a water stain. I know the samples that Steve sent with the machine showed presser marks, especially the chunk that was 7/8" thick. I was kind of wondering if I could use a couple of layers of that green or blue painters tape and lay it along the path of the presser foot, might soften the blow? I'll experiment a little bit. I know from Googling I found out that if you start off 6 stitches per inch as the leather thickness increases so does the tension and you'll have 8 stitches to the inch at the top. On my third line once I started to sew up hill I manually increased the stitch length one full turn and the stitch length proved to be fairly consistent through out.

Hi everyone, Still practicing with my Cobra 4, getting reasonably competent with most sewing but now it's time to close down a couple of holsters and sew the welts in. I made up a test piece just to practice with and you can see the presser foot is leaving an imprint on the leather. If I hadn't dyed my actual holster leather before hand and was just dealing with the leather you see in the photos I could probably using some water and burnish the marks out. My problem now is that I have dyed the holsters and I'm going to see the track of the presser foot after I am finished. Any suggestions as to how to prevent it?

From Googling it seems that sewing from the toe uphill to the top becomes a tension problem as the thickness increases. One fellow said that the stitches become smaller as you climb uphill. He was so dissatisfied that he now uses his stitching wheel to pre mark where the holes should be and then manually one at a time places the needle on the marks. Slows down the process but I guess each stitch will be the same.

You'll be amazed as to how this technique works, the trick is not to allow the Lexol to be completely absorbed by the leather before you apply the dye and start swirling the shearling pad before you even touch the leather.

This dying technique was given to me by my nephew's wife's father who is a world renowned saddle maker in Alberta. Over the years mostly I have never been satisfied with my dying because as we all know it can make or break a project. In the past I have used a dabber, the shearling wool pad and lately was resorting to dip dying. Here is what Vic told me and it works 100%, first buy a gallon or quart of Lexol non darkening leather dressing. Apply a good coat of Lexol and while still wet use your shearling pad and in a circular motion, after taking the excess dye off on a piece of paper towel, start applying the dye. It will look like you got a mixture of lexol and dye on the surface but you will be pleasantly pleased with the result. It's worth giving it a try if you, as I was, are having problems with uniform dying.

I used to be a flight instructor and always told my students "There is no such thing as a stupid question." so here goes. Still on a learning curve with my Cobra 4 and until I purchased the Cobra all my sewing was by hand. So here is my question. All my cowboy holsters have at least two welts one a little shorter than the other but neither runs to the toe of the holster. So at the top of the holster including the thickness of the welts let's say you have 5/8" of leather now in a short while you begin to slide down the slippery slope so to speak. In other words the thickness of the leather is decreasing to the toe. This means that the walking foot will be sewing downhill. How does this affect the stitching on the back of the leather? Do the back stitches become longer or isn't it noticeable. I can make up a sample and give it a try but would appreciate any input. Thx

That will work as well but I drilled the larger hole first plus the threaded hole for the set screw. It was just much simpler to drill the smaller hole on the opposite end rather that having to use sleeves. It takes no more than 30 seconds to reverse the ram. What ever works. My 74 year old hands were cramping up when I hand stamp. It's so much easier now using the arbor plus for me better control of the stamp and no double impressions.

I agree with Colt trying to drill with a hand drill without a lot of set up plus some sort of jig wouldn't be practical. I used my drill press to drill the ram. In one end I drilled a hole for the standard diameter stamp handles and in the other end a larger hole for the handle for the 3D and letter stamps. When drilling the ram don't be in a hurry and start with a small pilot drill and then work up one size at a time until you get the final diameter, use cooling fluid and be sure the vise holding the ram is securely clamp to the work table of the drill press to avoid injuries. The holes have to be true and straight.

Just wondering if anyone had a source for tannery dyed leather for belts. Weaver used to show finished double shoulders in an old 2007 catalog with what looked like solid colors. Checked on line with Weaver but what they show now wouldn't suit what I have in mind. Thx

Much appreciated, that is exactly what I did. My tension setting hadn't changed from when it was sewing without a hitch...the needle was the culprit. Thx

Seniors moment 277/207 with the #24 needle, don't know why I was thinking 346. My aplogies.

I want to ask the question but I may have solved it. My Cobra 4 was sewing perfectly up until this morning. I was fooling around with a thin piece of canvas and going nowhere quickly. I gave up, needed to sew some leather and thankfully decided as John Bianchi recommends tried a scrap piece first. What a dog's breakfast, the Cobra was dropping almost every other stitch forwards or backwards. It just wasn't picking up the bobbin thread. I scratched my almost bald head, re-threaded the machine, checked the bobbin and gave it another go. This time it was worse. I finally decided to look at the needle in case it was bent. I'm using 346/277 combination in a #24 needle. The only thing I could find was that there was a slight barb on one side of the needle. I replaced the needle with a #25 and took a test run with no hiccups, then I put in a new #24 and the Cobra purred along. Obviously the barb on the needle was the culprit has anyone else experienced this just in case this was a temporary fix? Thx

Still on a learning curve with the new Cobra 4. I'm stitching along the belt just like a house on fire and now I'm coming to the end of the tongue billet and I must follow the curve (I am using the stitching guide as I don't yet have the confidence to follow my stitching groove free hand). As I enter the curve I let the Cobra do it's thing, at or close to the tip what I am doing is walking the needle around by hand so to speak just using the fly wheel. As per the instructions I don't turn the belt until the presser foot lifts on it's own. I then, using the fly wheel only, sew the next stitch, wait til the presser foot lifts on it's own and then turn following my groove. Once around the corner I begin sewing with the Cobra. Problem is I'm getting the long stitches as you can see in the photo. Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated.

Just sewed 20 loops on a new belt using your suggestion and it worked like a charm, not one dropped stitch. Thank you again.

I tried your suggestion and it works like a charm with no missed stitches, just have to practice backing up...thank you very much for your suggestion. I just finished stitching a cowboy belt and it only took me 15 minutes that would have been 7 hours hand sewing. It would be difficult in the belt and holster business to be competitive if you had to hand sew although hand sewing well done is hard to beat. Thanks, bushpilot

As a newbie I watched John Bianchi sewing loops in his video and following his lead I am sewing forward on the diagonals I can sure try sewing backwards and then forwards on the loops. I guess the Cobra came with the left toe foot attached....with the right toe foot on you would definitely be able to see where you are going especially when sewing backwards on the diagonal. When you sew backwards and if the last stitch isn't going to go in your big dot end point do you do the reverse technique that Al shows in his video and using the lever adjust the needle forward to hit your dot? Then you would begin sewing down the loop. I did ask which way you turn the needle clockwise or counterclockwise? Much appreciated

I appreciate all the helpful comments. The thread I am using was supplied by Cobra Steve so I have to assume that the thread wouldn't present the problem. Wizcrafts you say "You can counter this by rotating the orientation of the needle so that the eye is slightly to the rear on the right side. This prejudices the loop towards the approaching hook. It also changes the appearance of the holes." I have the needle inserted into the machine as recommended so as I sit facing the machine do I rotate the needle slightly clockwise or counter clockwise? It's obviously a turning problem and I have been careful to make sure that the needle is slightly above dead center before I lift the pressure foot and rotate. Thankfully I haven't dropped a stitch when straight sewing. I'll have to go back and practice some more and try to see if I can somehow duplicate the conditions to drop the stitch and then I'll know how to correct it or better yet prevent it. Still hard to beat the appearance of some well done hand stitching but my 74 year old fingers just can't take the strain any more. The last cowboy belt I made had over 600 stitches sewing the liner and took me a little over 7 hours. That's not counting the hand stitching in the two holsters.

Just got my Cobra 4 a couple of weeks ago and after almost 30 years of hand stitching I've been tackling the learning curve of the Cobra 4. Can't say who is winning me or the machine! I've been practicing sewing bullet loops and you can see that it's dropping the odd stitch. They are always at the top where I have finished sewing on the diagonal and now am stitching vertically down. I raise the pressure foot, turn the leather, lower the foot and start sewing...I know immediately the bobbin thread hasn't been caught. I'm using 277 thread top and bottom and am waiting on thread I ordered from Steve, 207 to be exact that I can use in the bobbin. The leather in the belt is 7/8 oz and the loop material 2/3 oz calf. I'm sewing slightly over 5 stitches to the inch and my bullet loop material measures about 7/8" so it usually works out that if I start just at the top of the calf skin the last stitch finishes just past the bottom of the material. Now when I lift the pressure foot, swing the leather around and start sewing up the diagonal the last stitch will fall too far forward so using a technique I learned on YouTube I use the reverse lever to move the needle back to where i want it to penetrate then drop the lever into forward and hand cycle the needle down and just up past center. I then position the calf skin and begin to sew down. That's where I occasionally drop the stitch or so I think. Today I went ahead and sewed on 20 bullet loops on a belt I am making, I dropped two stitches all on the top, I knew immediately it had happened so I just raised the needle, lifted the pressure foot, cut the threads, cleaned up a few threads and resewed and you'd never know anything had happened, a couple of double threads that's all. I am open to suggestions as to why this is happening? On a straight run the machine doesn't miss a beat with no dropped stitches.