DavidL

leathercrafttool.com has a few. They have a few on ebay translated in mandarin if by chance you can read it or know someone who does. Other than that its mostly a step by step picture tutorial that isn't too hard to figure out.

The type of stuff bellroy does is more advanced and you will struggle with the folded edge and getting a flawless assembly. i'd think it would take 100 hours after you learn the basics (probably 2 years) to get the same looking wallet as bellroy by hand and no machinery. A regular card holder maybe 4 months to get a good looking one. It starts from pattern making - hand cutting and skiving - gluing - stitching - finishing Pattern making - Knife *must be sharp (olfa), paper or cardboard, good ruler that is heavy duty, 90 degree ruler Handcutting and skiving - hand skiver or dremel tool. gluing - brushes and contact cement stitching - awl, stitching pony, needles, thread, beeswax, compass/gouge, pricking iron size 7 - this tools can be $60 -220 for euro tools or 12-20 for japanese. finishing - if dyeing leather then you need a finish like resolene, edge paint cost around $80-200 depending on the quality of the tools. Stohlman art of hand sewing is highly praised, although it only has very basic info that can be found in-depth on youtube. A japanese wallet making book is a good place to start.

I reread the post and did more research yesterday and the same themes kept coming up that even though the 201 may work for thin leathers its motor will struggle to do thicker leathers for long. I was under the impression that it could do veg tan but clearly domestics can't do leather. Il have to get the 45k when one pops up on craigslist. Thanks for the responses and I'm glad I didnt pick up a domestic.

I 100 percent agree. Everytime I look at a sewing machine post I see wiz's name and he gives good information. I was hoping he would respond to my post when I started it. However for some odd reason I am only looking at vintage machines and for a cheap price below 400 so the criteria is different and my options are very slim for the few singers that are in my price bracket.

singer 201 is a heavy duty machine and can work on vegtan with a bit of effort so its a compromise. If I have 2 grand to spend I would go down to a store and pick up a good machine but thats not the case. singer 45k is better than the singer 201 and the 45k is at 1300 dollars canadian after duties and shipping at the least so its not feasible. Any other industrial machine will come close to 800 or over for the cheapest. So far my list from first choice to last is: Singer 45k since it can work on thicker leather with ease - 1300 - over my budget Singer 29k - using a creaser or groover so it can stitch for long lines without straying - 250-400 Singer 201 (gear driven) or 15- 91 with 18 needle - 200-400

The airbrush I was looking to make wide spray patterns was the Iwata th line. Its needle allows a nice wide spray.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLipfdjWTbg this is the video that I saw that made me consider the 201 - 2. It's sewing what looks like 12 plus ounces of vegtan and can handle more. On ebay the 45k is listed at 2500 and another at 900, whats the normal price of this machine. Can you buy a slightly larger needle for the 201 from modern needles to fit tex 270 (.58mm).

Thanks for the response. Singer 45k and singer 201 -4(hand crank) are my two top options. Does anyone have the average price of 45k or singer 201, they go on sale on ebay for bidding and I don't want to overpay. I read singer 201 has the best stitch and by many known as the best looking stitch even by todays standard, rolls royce used the machine for production of their interiors, will singer 45k create just a good of a stitch? With hand cranking does the model/ weight of the machine make a difference in sewing thicker leather? Shouldn't the needle do all the work? Using a hand cranked machine like the 201 or 45k can a treadle or larger wheel be added afterwards to the hand crank models. Any other machines that are competitors please do recommend so I can look into them.

thanks for that info, I'll check out a different machine then. Im pretty much set on a vintage machine that can be hand cranked or treadled, sews thin leathers and thickness up to 8mm. The only machine that I know that is modern and what I'm looking for is the tippman boss, however the boss is 1000 used. Would the singer leather patcher 29k work well for simple use sewing with .58mm thread (tex270 I think). 7 SPI.

Im willing to spend a bit more, but not in the 1000+ range yet. I'd like a simple beginner machine to just start off on and the singer 136 looks like a good trade off in price and quality (correct me if I'm wrong). When I'm ready to upgrade I will pick up a heavy duty machine like the 441 and keep the singer 136 for small projects. Im unfamiliar with sewing machines, so I assumed that most machines could sew 1.2 cm of leather. 12 ounces - 4.8mm is the max I will stitch. The machine that the women (singer 136) had in the video seems to work well on shoe uppers roughly 3mm and didn't look to be that bad. Can machines like the singer 136 be able to stitch 8mm if I need to. Any other suggestions to similar machines like the singer 136. I'd like to hear your opinions on vintage sewing machines. A person I know overseas has a few machines costing three to four thousand and talked about how the metal contacting the material slowly bends and becomes more precise as it ages. Don't know how true that is but he has 2-3 machines that he uses daily that he says are better than new machines.

could you point to a tutorial. I'd like to try it out.

Angelus paints is hands down the best acrylic paints with custom shoe painters using it as a standard.

Does the pulley have any effect on the hand crank on the side? I think Il have to find a machine with a larger hand crank like the one shown in the video. Are these hand cranks able to be replaced?

Thanks il keep that in mind. I think the singer 136 is what I'm looking for it has a wheel if I want to hand wheel it and I can use the motor too.

thanks for the input! How do things like furniture, leather chairs and anything using real leather have an evenness in thickness and feel even though some of the hide is part of the shoulder and belly? Would you say that upholstery leather has the most evenness in flexibility, feel and thickness?

Thats true. Im using it for areas where hand stitching will take far too long. I have used a normal sewing machine and don't like how it feels. Handcracking would be the closest in terms of feel to hand stitching and is more precise. As far as getting tired while hand cracking at least I won't have to stitch for 3 hours for a belt and thats good enough for me.

Unfortunately I don't have the cash for it yet and was looking to buy it in a couple months time. If you still have it and its in good condition I would be interested. Are you located in Hamilton, Ontario?

1/2 inch thickness. Stitching would be 5-9 spi. Id prefer non electric because I want it to be as close to hand stitching as possible where its all handmade for belts. Looking to make belts from 3-14 ounces is the average. Two machines that I'm eyeing are the singer 136- 10X machine (can this stitch through 8-12 ounce leather?) or the singer 29k which is selling for 450. Anyone know if the singer 136 w10X can be swapped to the rolling foot on any model from modern made stock. How much do these go for I can't find it online.

For cutting out parts of a wallet (vegtan/bridle) and thinning then down to the same thickness say 3 ounces on a splitter. What would be the difference in feel, stretchiness and strength of the wallet cut from the shoulder vs the belly. Even if the pieces (belly and shoulder) was split to the same thickness would they both be exactly the same in feel and flexibility? Or the flesh side is stronger and more dense in areas like the shoulder? Lastly, put through the splitter (non electric) can these pieces come out to the same thickness from the shoulder pieces to the belly? Does upholstery leather or chrome tan leather split more evenly than veg?

Also try oxalic acid or lemon juice to whiten the leather first then apply dye. Same technique artist use, painting a light colour first then paint over with the darker colours. Helpful for troublesome colours like red or yellow Would acrylics, if done correctly be permanent and not scratch off even in things like wallets where there is a lot of stress.

Im looking specifically for old vintage hand crank. Im new to leather sewing machines, what is the difference between upper and lower wheels, rather than just upper and what is M style bobbin? Looking in the 200-400 range. Does the old machine takes edge guides and bias tape attachments from new stock. My criteria is from most important to least. First three is mandatory. Stitches Max close to half an inch and at least 12 ounces effortlessly of every material veg tan, Chrome, vinyl, heavy canvas. Vintage machine. No electricity. Comes with fine needle attachment and roller foot. Easy to use meaning that the machine is known for its quality. Not overly expensive. Will upgrade to something better but want something to first learn on and keep as a secondary machine. Has a round arm like the tippman boss but is longer. Can also equip a flatbed is extra. Things like edge guides, and bias tape attachments are wanted but not necessary.

These roller feet can they be installed on any singer machine or have to be a machine made specifically with that installed. Edge guides can they also be added to any machine? whats the best machine - singer 136-100, singer 52w, 45k thats for 3-4 layers of 3 ounce or thinner. Has to be hand cranked.

1:44 Whats this brand and the price. Is there a noticeable difference with machines w/ the fine needle and roller foot (?). How well does an edge guide work and can it be added to a vintage machine like the one in the video.

I've seen in blogs this thread called lin cable extra that hermes uses for some of its products. The thread I have is cable linen. Is the extra version only one size? why is it unavailable online? Is it better quality?

I find some leathers may have accumulated oils unevenly or something similar because when I dye my piece one area will absorb more of the dye. Would you first remove the oils from things like from your fingers or from a rag your wiped the leather with some naphtha, saddle soap, or degreaser then apply the neatsfoot?