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mdawson

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Posts posted by mdawson

  4. Posted · Report reply

    Hi

     

    I have seen in the past 'closures' where there are 2 pieces of spring steel in the mouth of a bag / pouch, squeeze the ends together and it pops open, release to close.

    I've been searching for it to find a name to find a source but of course without the name no luck.

    If someone could give me a name(s) so I can search for the blighters I'd be most grateful.

    Mark

  6. Posted · Report reply

    On 4/8/2023 at 12:59 AM, Gosut said:

     

    Hey Gosut

    I've made a couple of batches of vinegroon but have been struggling to understand the chemistry, I forgot how to do all this stuff decades ago, never used it since high school.

    I wouldn't worry about the little extra vinegar you put in, unfortunately the strength written on the vinegar bottle is likely rounded off so the results are always going to be 'within experimental limits'.

    Looking forward to your conclusions in a week or so.

    Mark

  8. Posted · Report reply

    3 hours ago, JonesCoLeatherworks said:

    I see Techsew sells T 10amp 250v fuses which are "slow blow", not fast blow.  Would this make a huge difference?

    As the OP mentioned the motor is binding and therefore would be drawing excess current, substituting a slow blow for a fast blow fuse could allow this excessive current to continue flowing, potentially burning out wiring in the motor instead of a cheap fuse.

  10. Posted · Edited by mdawson
    .     · Report reply

    Hey Tequila

    I've had my target rifle in a sheepskin lined case for over 20 years with no problem, I imagine even after tanning the wool still retains some lanolin which would be helping to protect the rifle.

    On the subject of canvas, I have various types in my stash that I've accumulated over the years, some are quite hard and would not be good for the finish on a firearm, however, the softest is actually the cheapest and may be worth considering if you go down that path, from painters drop sheets.

    Mark

  12. Posted · Edited by mdawson · Report reply

    10 hours ago, nstarleather said:

     

    I  use a heavy duty vinyl used for windows in tents and such.  I had a tough time sourcing in bulk and  I buy 100lb rolls so my source isn't one  most of you could use... But this looks like the type of stuff you'd want:

    Boat chandlers have PVC sheet off the roll for bimini 'windows', our local, Whitworths (no connection) have 1.4m wide rolls, 0.75mm thick for $A24/m.

  13. Posted · Report reply

    On 3/6/2022 at 6:04 PM, Klara said:

    Good idea! Would you mind showing us the other side of the stitching pony?  I don't see how it is held together for clamping the workpiece...

    Not quite sure what you're asking for, the tension adjustment is the square knob shown in the 3rd picture, the cam lever is only used to release and retension when moving the leather, here's a view through the 'arms' so you can see the alignment. Added a view of it folded, I designed it on the fly, if I build another I'd make the base longer than the jaws to protect them.

     

    IMG_0313.jpg.f2efae01bfcbf79a46b4a05b7240f21f.jpgIMG_0314.jpg.9a53ef251c7f3a4111dc92d37d7aa332.jpg

  14. Posted · Report reply

    On 2/15/2022 at 5:29 AM, dans79 said:

    Even though the raw materials for my maul have arrived , it's still far too cold in the shop to even think about machining it.  Thus, I've been learning about stitching ponies as I know I will need one, and i have a few questions.

    1.  how wide should the jaws be?  I've seen them as narrow as 2 inches and as wide as 8. Is it just personal preference?
    2. what's with the 360 degree rotating base?  I understand being able to tilt forward & back for ergonomic reasons, but I don't get the rotation, nor have I seen someone actually using this feature.

    Here's how I 'got around' the question of what size jaws, I simply made rotating / removable jaws. By backing off the screw they can be angled or rotated 90 to use the longer side or turned 180 to use a different jaw configuration. The basic jaw is 90mm wide, it's what I had in my shop.

    At the moment I haven't 'configured' the bottom jaw as I haven't yet had a need for a different configuration jaw but the last photo shows a jaw from the prototype which has a notch cut in it to fit around a previously fitted snap etc or to set down very soft material within the notch for support while it is being stitched.

    In the unlikely event I need something else I can always make up a new pair of jaws.

     

    IMG_0299.jpg.9ffbf92a4cdc5bdebebd52bf79c6e822.jpg

    IMG_0307.jpg

    IMG_0309.jpg

    IMG_0300.jpg

  16. Posted · Edited by mdawson
    .     · Report reply

    An aircraft rivet squeezer is the first thing that popped into my head too, but aircraft rivets are aluminium and are possibly(?) softer than the copper rivets used in leatherwork.

    If you intend to follow this up, perhaps contact the local chapter of the 'Experimental Aircraft Assoc' and see if someone has a squeezer and could test set a copper rivet for you.

    Another alternative, if you have a compressor, would be a pneumatic rivet gun, basically just a hand held pneumatic hammer. Likewise an EAA member may test a copper rivet with a gun for you.

    You can get hand squeezers and rivet guns from Aircraft Tool Supply or Aircraftspruce. I've purchased from both companies, both are help full and easy to deal with.

    Mark

  17. Posted · Report reply

    On 7/1/2020 at 2:57 PM, EmptyHide said:

    Hi all, 

     

    100% isopropyl alcohol is hard to come by in my neck of the woods, and before I go salting some 70% I was wondering if I can safely use methylated spirits?  
    would using metho leave a carbon deposit on my creaser?

    Hi,

    Barnes Molding have 99% isoprop, King st, Newtown, about 200m from Sydney Uni, but it's about 10x the price of metho ($44ltr vs $4), Bunnings also list 500ml for $27 on their website (not available to buy online) but they don't say what strength, I know Barnes is 99% as I bought some a couple of years ago.

    Mark

  19. Posted · Edited by mdawson
    added links     · Report reply

    5 hours ago, Leathermann00b said:

    I'm in Australia, any recommendations on suppliers with good prices would be appreciated. 

    Australia covers A LOT of ground, where abouts ?

    Birdsall Leather in Sydney is my goto for supplies and advice, when things get back to somewhat normal they also have workshops where you can go in and work on your project with knowledgeable people around to answer questions.

    Also try searching online for leather work guilds, the one in Sydney is the Leatherworkers Guild of NSW, again when things get more 'normal' they run workshops in Epping.

  20. Posted · Edited by mdawson
    .     · Report reply

    I bought a sharpening system based on this principle about 40 years ago for sharpening sheath and pen knives, they work well being very consistent in angle and by using a marker on the blade, such as the fingernail slot on a pen knife as a reference to mount it each time that angle was maintained so went straight to the fine stones, no need to reset the angle.

    I think the finest stone in my set is 1000 so if used that for leather knives they would still need a bit more work to put a polish on them.

    I still  use it occasionally if I need to reset the edge on a pen knife but maintain them with a ceramic sharpener. If I didn't already have it, would I buy it today ? possibly not.

    Mark

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