St8LineGunsmith

Horrik I cant claim credit for the design although I did make a couple of changes. actually the clamp does hold enough pressure to hold an item if you have to remove your foot. you cant stitch with your foot removed but it will hold the project without foot pressure it would not be very hard to add a bar hooklike a stitching horse has to hold continious pressure i jusd didnt find it necessiary i am actually going to put leather on the jaw just don't have anything suitable for that purpose at the moment. everything i have is 9 to 10 OZ and I need some 4 oz so it is not too thick on the jaws. I do actually wish my jaws were a little taller on my model because i sit in a wheel chair that is about 5 inches taller than the average chair but it is just right for a kitchen table chair the next one i make I am also going to use 2"X6" so I can have a wider jaw width. the drawer will be down at the foot and the tool ledge would be down low so not to snag thread. I did actually think about that because that is the most aggravating thing when it happens to me .you always think of improvements after you have already finished. I don't think your comments are hacking at my little clamp because I did ask for opinions and all your points were legit concerns about the design I actually liked this design better than anything else I have seen and because of the foot lever to quickly release pressure to move the project to another position appealed to me since i am used to using a stitching horse i thought this model would fit somewhere in between a horse and a pony. I guess you could call this design a stitching mule

Hey guys I finally made a stitching clamp and it turned out pretty good if I do say so myself Much better than anything you can get from tandy fer sher it is a floor standing model with a foot control lever similar to a stitching horse lever you can comfortably sit at your kitchen chair and stitch up your leather working projects. I learned a lot when I made this one so I am going to make several revisions to the next one like making the clamp jaws and base out of 2"X6" and add a stash drawer for stitching tools and thread ect and I am going to add a shelf to hold tools when you need to put them down but still have them right handy when you need them again. I think I can offer the deluxe model for $65.00 Shipped i figured by the time I buy materials and shipping I might make $12.00 which works out to around a buck fiddy an hour Fellas if you don't mind give me a little feed back about what you think. would this be something that anyone might be interested in purchasing and would it be worth my time and finances to build a few to put up for sale? BTW I will sell this one for $40.00 shipped to anywhere in the lower 48 Alright No wise cracks about my old white nasty looking crippled up legs £bigeye£

Wow $30.00 for one stamp and i saw some for a lot more than 30.00 on the site I am sure they are quality tools but I cant afford to spend that much money for one stamp this would be more of a market for the industry i suppose.

camo stamps can be used for scales and dorsal fins with the larger camo stamps as mentioned mules foot stamps work for fish scales but are much better used as reptile/snake and dragon scales.

6) impress women with my new belt Oh this is a mating call belt here is how i do it in sequence 1. sand and slick edge 2, tooling 3..finishing 4..,stitch together 5. even up the edges after stitching 6. bevel edges,apply edge coat 7. .burnish edges and polish 8. since I am married I just do the happy dance for my wife only wearing the new belt I made

Apply these stamping methods to the type of stamp you are going to use whether it is a border stamp Camo veiners, rope borders aren't very hard compared to other types of tooling. hope this helps heres another youtube vid there are proobably more judt click on something that looks interesting

Wow That is a good looking solo seat the tooling is sharp and clean, very neatly done I like how the piston and connecting rod in the hand looks like it is out in front of the background most of the time it everything seems to blend in with the background but yours actually has the illusion of depth. is that a mexican round braid? and what is that other lace called? do you make your own set plates? sorry for all the questions

Looks safe to me I registered as a seller hope to have something to sell soon

without a doubt Dyeing and finishing is my biggest fears which is also a part of leather working i need more education on I have been thinking about going to the local tandy store on saturdays to get some training in that area.

once you dye the leather it is pretty much there for ever. I have dyed leather and have it turn out darker than I wanted I just learned to live with the darker tint.

Nice looking rig could you make a sketch of the layout for the points of attachment of the straps to the holster I would love to make something like this for my C&B remington

I use waxed nylon thread it is very strong and don't fray or fuzz up.

I use a thread spool on a drill clamped down in a vise to burnish the edges of my leather I will coat it with some bees wax as it spins and rub bow rosin on the edges of the leather then go to town burnishing the edges cheap and works great.

I think you are on to something here and the rock as a stamping tool is a great idea I will have to give it a try on a project. I think the pic holster the Op uploaded has a nice look to it BTW

LMAO that is funny stuff tight there buddy

oops sorry for the previous post, i see your method is similar to mine. do you glue the join at the stitch line before holeing? if not your two pieces of leather may be shifting enough to make it harder to align the holes when making the needle passes which ill make it harder for the needles to pass through the leather, plus the cemented joint keeps the piece from separating if you get a busted stitch and I think helps to prevent stitching from busting and coming unraveled. you cant help that stitching does wear in time that can cause the stitch to deteriorate to the point it will eventually wear into but the remedy for stitch wear is to make a stitch groove but you probably already know that. just throwing that out for the reader who might be starting out and not know. now they know but Ya a slightly larger hole will make it a little easier for the needles to pass through. then dunk the stiched part in water will make the leather swell around the stitch and shrink the stitch slightly tighter with some threads when the water dries. you can also make awls out of pieces of piano wire sharpened on the end to pass through the stitch hole to slick down the fibers in the hole this will make less friction on the needles. piano wire comes in a multitude of sizes so you can make any size haft you might need. the larger sizes are also great for making stamp tools and modeling tools. EDIT: now that I am thinking about it a piece of sharpened piano wire could possibly be used as a bit to make stitch holes with a dremel tool I hear of some people of using needles in their dremel to use as a drill bit for making stitch holes so I am sure a piece of super sharp piano wire would work even better for I think piano wire is harder steel than sewing needles and will hold that sharp point better. just a few thoughts I wanted to share.

you are thinking about a sewing awl I have one but rarely use it this one is as good as any oothers the market plus about 15 bucks cheaper http://www.harborfreight.com/quick-stitch-sewing-awl-91812.html sewing awls are good for making loop stitches in heavy fabric like canvas and light leathers like upolstry leather and makes a good stitchbut not the best tool for heavy gun leather the other posters who already posted gave sage advise. a sharp dimond shaped sewing awis old school method but very effective method however dremmel tools make the task of making stitching holes 100 times easier and faster here is my procedure for stitching first I will make the stitch line with dividers then I will groove the stitch line then I will use an over stitch wheel tomake my tstitch hole spacing thenI will use rubber cement or barge cement or sometimes 3M 77 spray adhesive to glue the stitch line then I will clamp the two pieces to be stitched together and allow the glue time to cure then I will use a dremel and drill all the stitch holes with a bit the same size as the needle shaft Ialso use the dremel if two corosponding holes become disaligned. I think you will like this method because you cant beat a saddle stitch.

use olive oil if you want a light smelly finish olive oil gets kind of rancid after time neatsfoot oil makes a bit darker tint, Never heard of leaving leather out in the sun to get a darker tint but if you leave it out in the sun too long will it turn red and peel a few days later?

I had a test done about three months back and discovered I have carpul tunnel in both wrists and a nerve block at the elbow my last two fingers on my right hand are numb .

Tandy has the left and right stamp for $5.00 each and since it is for scouting it will be discounted with your troops tax number

Bearman I am also interested to see what you have maybe you could put together a list and post it here Thanks Mike

bev go ahead and mark off the cross stamp as sold also

Mike thats about the size bit i use too and a dremel and drill bit speeds up the stitching process 100 times faster than stabbing through with an awl haft. many will argue but i think it makes a cleaner neater looking stitch line and i find that you stand less of a chance cutting into the leather when pulling the stitch tight than with a diamond shaped stitching awl. I do believe a stitching awl has its place but i am a lot more apt to using one for lacing than making a saddle stitch Mike.

I buy from my local tandy leather factory store. it saves me money to keep from paying shipping charges and since i am on a tight budget i use economy tooling half shoulders and I can pick through what I want and not have to settle for what an online vendor sends me.

Katsass you give sage advice I agree with everything you advised in all of your posts not that my opinion matters much but advice well worth listening to just looking at your stitch work on your projects should be enough indication that you know exactly what you are talking about. and your methods are very close to the same as how i prep a stitch line and stitching however i rarely use an awl for making my stitch holes i usually use a drill press or a dremel and a small numbered drill bit but i always glue my seams and make sure the leather is dry before making any holes i especially like using a dremel on holsters with thick welts i can make good straight accurate holes with ease I also feel the same about tandy leather factory, they are no where near the caliber they once was. it seems to me the quality went down when the prices went up I also use Springfield for buying most of my leather tools and hardware