imstephenjones

Amazing response. I'd also check maverick leather. Great prices on Horween. I'd stay at or under 4oz.

Texas custom dies is a good place to start

You can buy direct from YKK with a $200 minimum order.

I emailed him and the machine is sold.

Are you applying cement to both sides, letting the cement dry for 5-15 minutes, and then applying the pieces to each other? If not, give that a shot. My team has been flying thousands of pieces of Dublin and chromexcel and that's how we do it. Which is also the correct method for the cement application. Let me know, would love to help you solve this problem!

For a cheaper setup I would recommend finding a used drill press on Craigslist, purchasing a burnishing wheel from leatherburnishers.com, and use an oil dye. It's really simple and gives a very clean, glassy finish. I find that the more compounds you throw at it the less amusing of a process it is. My newest setup is a VSB burnished from Campbell-Randall, and all I have to do is put a colored wax on the wheel and apply it to the edges. If you have a budget of $100, you can definitely make my first suggestion work for you. I wish I could recommend the Dremel attachment, but I have not used it. It seams like it would be harder to control because you would have to hold both the piece being burnished and the Dremel at the same time. Best of luck!

Can I come take a look? I'm located in Tacoma. Send me a DM with your phone number and we can set something up?

Very interested. Can you DM me with the zip code you're in? I'd have to setup shipping to Tacoma, WA.

BigMatt, My neck hurts too. Wish there was a rotate function on this forum. MarioHanel, Beautiful machine. Someday!!

Hey all, I'm looking into foot press riveters for the shop. I'm looking primarily at the Heritage Foot Press and the foot press offered by Dan Byler, the Amish magician out of Dewittville, New York. I'm wanting to focus on solid brass tubular rivets, but the ability to do a double capped jiffy rivet would be nice too. A few questions I have: I have seen the Heritage Foot Press with some attachments I cannot find anywhere. Here's a video showing the attachment and if you look close you can see the style of rivet (photos attached as well). Anyone know where these attachments were picked up at? Anyone have a rivet source that will have a versatile selection? Looking for options. Has anyone bought a rivet machine from Dan Byler? I have the photos he sends in the mail, but no info on the types of rivets, dies, etc. that are compatible with it. Do you recommend any other foot press rivet machines out there that are extremely capable, affordable, and versatile in rivet types? I'm definitely leaning towards the machine from Dan Byler. I have his Bench-Top Press with Self Centering Table, and it's outstanding. The prices are right up my alley as well. You just can't find machines at these prices and quality. Would love any help y'all can give me. Really wanting to do my research and purchase the right machine. Cheers, Stephen

Dang. I just bought one new...

Hojem, Did you ever find a solid brass tuck lock that is 1"? I'm looking for the same. Preferably with the catch having a rivet application rather than the cheap bending application most have. Thanks!

No worries. If you want to email me at Stephen@blackanchor.us we can chat more about the machines. Pumped!!

What model are the skiving machines? Are you willing to ship to Tacoma, WA? I'd pay, of course.

Mike, We are in Tacoma, so definitely not local, but we can help you out! Feel free to email me: stephen@blackanchor.us Cheers. Stephen Jones

Defuniak, Is this machine still available?

Do you have a beveling machine? I am very interested in your Chinese strap cutting machine. Could you PM me the info? Also slightly interested in your weaver burnisher as well as the 6" skiver. Let's talk!

I see this is a very old post, but I'd love to let in on some valuable information that I believe was misconstrued in this feed. The question was: Is veg tan good for the environment? Actually, to my dismay, it is not. But no method of tanning leather is. When you look at what the hide goes through (soaking, fleshing, un-hairing and liming, bating, pickling, splitting, shaving, neutralizing, retaining, drum dying, fat liquoring, etc.) you see that there are a lot of steps and a lot of chemicals used to complete each step. These chemicals are processed through water treatment facilities with chlorine and other harmful chemicals that are let out into a very tender eco-system. They strip the protectant layers from fish, plants, and even cause mutations in aquatic. It's pretty crazy when you get down to the whole process. The biggest thing I want to note is that chrome tanning is not worse than vegetable tanning. It is actually better for the environment as a whole. For the 55,000 tons of Mimosa tannins used in harvested annually it takes 33,000,000 gallons of water to process and 145 acres of land. This is from the Mimosa, mind you, the least harvested for it's tannins. To harvest Chromium III (not to be confused with Chromium VI - A known carcinogen and very dangerous material that has been banned for any type of use) it takes very little resource. NOTE: Carcinogen causes caner. There is also a difference in the consumption levels of each. Tannins come from very few species of trees. The tannins are actually in the trees to protect it from various insects within their ecosystem by producing a nasty taste. Being that there are very few species of trees usable for this type of tannin for the tanning process we are over-consuming a resource that will not last us another few centuries at the rate we are currently going. On the other hand Chromium III (again, not harmful to humans, wildlife or the environment) has a reserve to last us indefinitely. Removing a species of trees that make up a complex eco-system is harmful. Very, very harmful. There was an article posted in the New York Times some years ago that talked about a ship that was found at the bottom of the sea. This ship took sale in 1786 and was carrying vegetable tanned leather and hemp. When the divers found the ship all they found was the bell and vegetable tanned leather. There were also veg tanned sandals found buried from the Tutankhamen, which were over 3,000 years old. Chrome tanned pieces are known to biodegrade back into the earth providing nutrients to the ecosystem. Veg tan, on the other hand, is very resilient and useless after it's useful lifespan. I used to be an advocate for veg-tanned leathers because of the misleading hype about it. Now I am more interested in chromium tanned leather, as it serves as a less harmful alternative for the overall eco-system we call home and can be improved upon to create a healthier system overall. I hope this cleared up some of the muddy waters!

Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay. As you can imagine I was very busy fixing my production schedule because of this error. The tannery did the following to correct the error: Gave a 15% credit for each damaged hide (I needed the leather, so I refused to send it back) Paying for shipping to have the wrong weight leather sent back as well as a credit for the hides Free shipping on my next order to correct the leather that was a wrong weight That was what I was hoping was going to happen. I do feel made whole. I appreciate the comments and help throughout this post. It gave me a bit of courage to take on a powerhouse of a tannery. I feel I was more than taken care of considering the circumstances.

Hey all, Today I received a $6,600 leather order from... well, let's nickname them Franks Tannery. Their leather is great, and I don't want to scar the name. Franks sent me 30 hides of which 9 of them were the wrong weight. Also, eight of these hides were damaged (about 1/4 of them) from shipping. They were smashed along one side. Franks has messed up my order once before, but I had no course of action because I ordered over the phone. After that incident I started emailing to order my leather. I have the emails stating the exact specifications for the leather and Franks confirmation of the leather I ordered. What course of action can I take? Can I seek the loss from my profits? What about a discounted rate for the leather that needs to be shipped back and the new leather that is coming in? This mistake, if not fixed, will put me out of business. I would appreciate any and all help from the leather worker community on this matter so that my business can live another day and I can continue to do what I love for a living. I really don't want to go back to working for someone else. Maybe I'll go work at Franks to ensure this doesn't happen anymore? Thanks in advance, Stephen

Very interested. PM'd you!

Very interested. PM'ng contact info. I'm in Tacoma, WA. So I can pick up. Interested in a mid-february purchase, so hanging onto it until then should be no issue. We can talk more details in our convo.

You should check out the Pfaff 1245. I have one, and it's great going through two layers of 10oz leather. I found mine on government liquidations, you may have some luck there. It's also a walking foot. You can find 3mm+ (1/8") compensating feet for it from the UK. I am interested in your Pfaff. I'll PM you with contact details. Looking for a smaller Pfaff for my wallets. Tired of using my Brother needle feed. I need that walking foot strength!

Looking for a hand press with rivet dies for 11mm double capped rivets or single cap with eyelet. Either or. Currently using the W-1 C.S. Osborn Hand Press but it does't have the die set for 11mm rivets. I am in need of a rivet that has a longer shank on it, thus the need for another press. Let me know if you have anything!

@cjmt: Where did you source your hardware from?