Woodyrock

I have a Kinsley machine, which I have used for several decades. A lot of spill over, you are pressing to hard, or too long. The spill over should easily come off with a soft grey eraser, which used to come with the machines but they are just art erasers. BTW most of my foil is old enough to vote, and still works fine. I do not know anything about the new machines but with the Kinsley you can print on anything that will fit.

There used to be a good leather shop in the artists quarter in Tijuana. I have not been there in over ten years so do not know if it is still there. I always walked over, and coming back US Customs was very interested in the rolled leather. I several times had to unroll for inspection.

Does anybody know of a source for punch tubes, and copper anvils for Eyelet Tool Company spring punches? Osborne tubes are not the right size. Thank you, Woody

A leatherworking tool the collectors seem to value is the heavy rawhide mallet. If a leatherworker wants, or needs one of these you have to settle for one in poor condition. The renewal of one is actually quite easy once you have it apart. Once apart, and old rings removed (small wooden wedges will help) ,I derust the iron parts, prime them, and repaint. The next step is to make the many rawhide rings, making them slightly larger than the size you want. Assemble the new ring, and leave it to set for a few days, and compress, then retighten. Unless you are lucky, a new handle will be needed as getting the old wedge out will usually ruin the old one. Here are photographs of ready to reassemble, and finished. After the mallet is reassembled, and compressed size the rawhide by sanding against a disc sander.

It would be most likely to your benefit to sew the heel tab by hand. I remember seeing these made in New Zealand, (early seventies) where I worked but only remember the heel tabs were sewn on a dedicated machine. I hand sew all my mocs.

I need mallet dies with rounded corners to cut 2" x 4" and 3" x 4" pieces, any condition so long as they can be sharpened.

I have dealt with them for years, and I must say the old web site was a pain, so usually went with the catalogue.

A wee bit of a late reply, but PVC is VERY mouldable when heated, (heat gun) so instead of a round tube quiver, just heat until limp (do not scorch) then press down to desired shape with a board on top. You can then cover with very light leather to reduce weight.You can even make quite impressive bows from PVC pipe.

Access please. I am having some customer requests, and need ideas. Thank you.

I did clamp two pieces together, with light saw kerfs where the holes were to be bored so the drill bits would follow true. First with a small drill bit, then larger by steps. The hinge was an old cast iron one I found in a second hand shop. The wooden one worked as well as the iron one I now have.

The traditional punching anvil was (is) a block of lead. It does not move, does dull the punch, and is more or less self healing. You can 'heal' the surface by lightly peening it with a smooth faced hammer. I have been using the same block since the late sixties. It is roughly 6" x 6" x 1".

My grandfather was a harness maker, and had a straight blade lap skiver for doing harness joins. I make leather polishing belts for lapidary work, and do all my lap skives by hand. This is getting old quick when I get large orders. Does anybody know where I can get a lap skiver? One I remember had a big blade with a handle that was pulled. The harness was clamped into the machine. Woody

I am game, please let me in. Woody

Scrub it clean with with a good soap (sunlight) and a kitchen scrubber. Do not use bleach, but household peroxide can be used. Shaping can be done with woodworking saws, files, and wet/dry abrasives. Boiling bone will weaken it. Woody

This took me back to my apprenticeship days (marine joiner) we apprentices got to make the rivets. Boss was too cheap to buy ready made. I never saw how the wire was cut, but we apprentices got buckets full cut to length. Both ends were quite square. Saw cut somehow. Any how out jigs fit in the prichet hole on the anvil, were in one piece folded, and would spring open when knocked out of the anvil. The shop had the jigs for differen t lengths and wire sizes. I think the shops blacksmith made them. After about an hour of making rivets you drifted off into la la land. Thump the jig out, the new rivet usually fell on the floor, but it back in the anvil, put in the piece of wire, tap the jig down, and thump the wire to head it....repeat repeat. Woody

Industrial paper towels cut into fours, dipped in plaster work well, but you need someone else to do this whilst you just stand there. I have Birkenstock shaped feet, so real shoes are problematic. I made lasts by first making a plaster casting, adding plaster to shape it as a last, then used the plaster to make the last from wood on a duplicating carver. Shoes look like crap, but they do fit, and are comfortable. You only need about 1/4" of plaster/towel to make a good mould. I have done full torso casts using this method. Woody

For softer leather, I like the old ring type.....they are easy on the hands whilst pulling the leather, but the blade needs to be really sharp, and well honed. They are no longer made, but I see them on E-Bay frequently. New blades ar probably impossible to find, but can be made fron old skillsaw blades. Woody

A good cheap solution is to pick up three or four counter top off cuts, and glue them together. Sometime in the sixties I made up one for my father the size of a double sink using five layers bonded together with epoxy tar. It is still in use in a saddleshop, and has not come adrift yet. Today, epoxy tar is industrial use only, so hard to obtain, but there are a number of epoxis that will do the trick. Just clean the surfaces really good before glueing them. Goof Off works wonders at cleaning stone. Woody

You can get the forms on line from the US fish and Widlife Service......and, you need the form for any item that has animal parts leaving the country. There is one form for gift items, and a diffenrent one for commercial use. Woody

To get a real no bounce from the granite counter top slabs laminate several together. If you can find some, use epoxy tar to stick them together....and best done in situ. Five layers (5") makes a very heavy piece. Woody

I just tried to find photographs of some of the turnshoes I have made, but that ended in failure....there some somewher in this computer. Anyhow, I usually just drop the shoe or moc in a bucket of warm water, leave it until it stop bubling, then haul it out, let it drain , then turn. I turned a piece of white oak about a foot and half long 3/4 inch diameter with a nice rounded end to turn the seams, and toes....a tool I use for turning a lot of items that are sewn inside out. After a shoe, or moc is dry, I give them a good rub with lots of saddlesoap, then a light rub with mink oil. My own mocs get bear grease until they will not take anymore. She who must be obeyed does not allow my mocs in the house. Woody

A very good source of information on old mechanical Pfaff machines is the Old Pfaff Phorum. There are quite a lot of manuals there, aa well as people who really know these machines. Woody

Give the boots a good soak, then turn. OK for me to say, because I do not know what sort of boots you are making, as I do only mocs, and a few turnshoes, neither of which have heavy soles, and turn best wet. For my own mocs, I put them on before they dry, and wear until dry. This litterally moulds them to your feet. Woody

The majority of my leather work is polishing belts for the lapidary trade, so, I split all the leather so I know it is all the same thickness. I belt not so done will bump, which is of course useless. I also make knife stropping wheels, which also have to be an even thickness, but not as critical as the lapidary belts. Woody