johnv474

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A few small changes can make a big difference, such as: - if I have to apply much muscle to cut or stitch, something needs changed. - figure out every detail on scrap leather, not on the finished item. Practice skills in isolation, not as part of a project. - the craftsman is more often the limiting factor than the tool. Mastery of a half dozen tools will develop an apprentice's craftsmanship faster than ownership of a thousand.

I like the compact and adaptable workspace. Mounting the monitor off the work surface will save lots of fuss. I would be amused to see someone use the rear half of a stitching horse as a computer chair. You might like to see this linkage hinge toolbox. I imagine one being made for leatherworking tools, but have not seen one in person yet. Here's a video: Most of my work is done on a drafting table and a 3' log standing nearby, with a 2-drawer file cabinet between them. It doesn't take much space if you don't need dedicated stations for each step of the process.

You can, however, get some great burnishing and two-tone effects by applying shoe polish over a dyed project and before your final topcoat. If you take a piece that is dyed a light color, for example, and then apply Neutral shoe polish in the middle and Cordovan or Mahogany around the outside, you can get some neat effects when burnished/polished up. The effect is useful if you give your project some patina straight out of the gate. It is also helpful if you want just a tinge of a certain color, such as to tie in with the thread's color. The polish is (not exactly but basically) a wax with pigment in it, so as the wax wears off much of the pigment will too. If you use a topcoat or sealer, use it after the shoe polish to protect the polish from wear.

In the shoe repair world, Barge and Master are among the biggest sellers for cementing leather, rubber, and just about anything. Weldwood is used less in that world, but is quite available and my experience with it has been positive. Renia has a loyal following but is about $40+ vs Barge and Master at about $15-20/quart. Other names for adhesives that can work on leather would include Shoe Goo, Freesole, Emu, Du-All, and just about any latex or wood glue. The contact cements are more common than glues, though. Super glue is strong and fast, but also hard and brittle. Before using glue or cement be aware that oiled leather doesn't stick as well, and smooth leather doesn't stick as well. If you can sand/scuff the mating faces that will help. If you can wait to oil your project until after using glue/cement, that will help. Back to the main question. If adhesion is an issue, try thinning the cement with, preferably, the corresponding thinner and applying a thinned coat (or just apply a light coat if not thinned). This first coat acts as your primer and helps adhesion. After that has dried to the point that it has lost most of its sheen, apply a regular coat over the lighter first coat. Wait until most of the sheen is gone again, and press together firmly. Tap it or use a roller to press down if you like. Ideally, then leave it resting in a position that is not stressing the bond. Come back in a day and sew, or whatever else you plan to do. Contact cements gain strength as they cure. I think about 90% of its strength is there after 12 or 24 hours. Shoe soles and heels are often attached only with adhesive. In some cases, they are also stitched. Sometimes they are also nailed or even screwed on, but many use only adhesive.

I dare say that Nuttish's example of the stitched hole looks more traditional, or refined (as in "classy") than grommets or eyelets. For fine leather goods like attache cases or other bespoke goods I would suggest that approach.Where ruggedness, utility, and economy (of manufacturing effort), the grommet or eyelet might be more common. Either approach can work, depending on the application.I see fewer grommets/eyelets in fine dress shoes but lots of them in work boots. I dare say that Nuttish's example of the stitched hole looks more traditional, or refined (as in "classy") than grommets or eyelets. For fine leather goods like attache cases or other bespoke goods I would suggest that approach.Where ruggedness, utility, and economy (of manufacturing effort), the grommet or eyelet might be more common. Either approach can work, depending on the application.I see fewer grommets/eyelets in fine dress shoes but lots of them in work boots.

Are you looking for someone to come up with a Sheridan-style design for the purse? It was unclear if you wanted the drawing/pattern or to have someone put an existing design into the leather (i.e. carving/tooling). Thanks.

Do you know what brand or model your punch is? Osborne has two revolving punches, the 155 which is forged and the 223 which is stamped (and much cheaper). Both of them have replacement tubes available but they are not interchangeable. Landwerlen Leather in Indianapolis sells both. Ebay would also be a source.

Are there any leather groups or guilds in your area? It helps to know what types of leatherwork you hope to do. Saddlery and harness? Construction (bags, pouches, holsters, sheaths, wallets)? Decoration (tooling, carving, stamping, pyrography)? Clothing (costumes, chaps, fashion)? In the absence of a teacher, much of what you need is available via Youtube, these forums, Leathercraftlibrary, web searches for specific topics, Pinterest, and Google Books. There are more hobbyists than there are apprenticeships, but if you want to find a place to learn about many kinds of leatherwork, you may look into finding a club (usually these are for tooling and stamping, and secondarily for construction), a makerspace (though leatherwork is usually not the top priority), or asking if the local shoe repair shop will let you put in some hours helping out. Those shops repair bags, holsters, shoes, and luggage regularly and are often asked to make custom straps or belts, so that could be a place to larn about construction and finishing work.

Be sure to use very sharp cutting blades so they do not drag, as that will cause more fuzzies. Excess fuzzies can be sizzled off with a lighter held at a distance. Gum tragacanth might keep acrylic edge treatments from absorbing as well, but that may not matter as they are typically a surface treatment. Your options include clear/neutral shoe polish, one of the waxes, or even a lightweight glue. Then coat with acrylic or whatever you hope to put on in. You can always just color the edge with acrylic as well, then cover with acrylic topcoat. The acrylic will help hold the fuzzies to the edge, mostly. The difficulty of getting that type of finish on edges leads some people to folding the edge over, , or using welts, or other construction techniques that don't involve an exposed edge.

It sounds like what you want is called a grommet ('ojal') and not an eyelet ('ojete'). They have similar functions but grommets are two pieces and eyelets are just one piece. Either one requires a setting tool (specific to each size). I have heard of people using ballpeen hammers or anything rounded when they did not want to buy a setting tool. Grommets are stronger and are available in a wide range of sizes. Where I work they sell up to size 8 or so, which has an opening that is about 1" diameter. That would be large enough for a very large rope. Call a local shoe repair place and ask where they buy supplies from. The place that sells grommets/eyelets for fixing boots may have them in larger sizes for fixing coats, bags, and tarps.

A price and photo are required, per Marketplace Rules.

A price is required, per Marketplace Rules.

Landwerlen Leather sells American Straight Needle awls and needles and bobbins. 317-636-8300

A basic toolset could consist of the following, to cover the essentials. The important part is learning to use them. That skill cannot be replaced by a tool, and a master can make impressive work from basic tools. Think: Eddie VanHalen with a beginner's guitar vs a Cub Scout with a sniper rifle. Tightest budget: 1) click razor knife $0.50 2) scratch awl $2.45 3) two harness needles $0.35 each 4) spool of waxed thread $5.25 5) ruler $2.00 Anything beyond that is to make your work more consistent, faster, stronger, or more decorative. For tooling/carving add: 1) Basic Seven tool set $43 or 1a) used swivel knife $8 and 1b) used beveler, pear shader, veiner, backgrounder, camo, and seeder $4 each 2) stone or hard rubber $10 or nearly free if you ask a monument/tombstone maker for a piece 3) mallet $10 or less For reinforcement, add these used tools from garage sales or Craigslist: 1) rivet set i.e. ball peen hammer $10 or less 2) anvil i.e. side of a regular claw hammer $5 or less 3) diagonal cutters or hacksaw blade $5 or less 4) wood glue (pva glue) or contact cement $7 For consistency in stitching, add: 1) haft $13 2) awl $6 3) stitching clam used $25 For better cutting: 1) used head knife 4.5", $30 or less This can be used for 90% of cutting operations 2) Dexter knives $6-10 3) strop materials $5 or less Beyond those you are looking at specialty tools, e.g. for setting snaps. From there the sky is the limit, depending on the dimensions of your personal wallet.

The Tandy corner punch costs $30-50. A much cheaper alternative ($14 or so) is to buy a large-sized CS Osborne belt punch and file/Dremel off the part you don't need. A 3/4" diameter is part number Osborne 245 3/4. Here is their chart, showing that they are made up to 1" diameter: http://www.csosborneupholsterytools.com/product_detail.php?p_id=925 While searching for online prices I found them from Greenboatstuff, I think it was called. Other places sell too (some at ridiculous prices). -JV474

Landwerlen Leather in Indianapolis sells wholesale rubber, leather, and crepe soles/heels for work but also dress shoes. The store sells Vibram, Soletech, and Goodyear primarily, and carries memory foam insoles by Sof Sole as well. No minimum orders. Note: I work there. So it's not just a plug for our store, I'll also mention Frankford Leather, who is a competitor and has similar products.

I don't know about cheapest. We sell Fiebings dye for $4.50 for a 4 oz bottle, to give you a starting point for comparison. Of course, buying by the quart or gallon can save money too.

Mainethread.com They sell a waxed twisted polyester thread. It is not braided, which has its pros and cons.

I was recently given access to some very nice sewing machines that had not been used in a while. I have since gone back to hand sewing. If I was in larger production, with many repeated pieces, then I would go back to machines for some things. Here was the problem I faced: you can spend three hours tinkering and adjusting a machine to get it to work, and end up with no stitching done. With machines your time is spent setting it up, and adjusting. When all is well, then all is well indeed... but when it is not, nothing gets done,

Coats/Barbour's makes a braided flat thread called Corus, but it is only in black or white , I believe. I am not yet convinced that braided is the ultimate. Unraveling occurs much more with linen than with nylon or polyester (as in Nyltex or Maine Thread). One disadvantage of braided is that it cannot be tapered, which means that using a slightly larger needle than twisted cord (especially linen). We did a little side-by-side on a scrap between Tiger thread and Maine Thread in a fine gauge. The results were similar. Tiger thread is nice to use, don't get me wrong, but if a spool of .030 Maine Thread costs $4.50 in any of the colors and is available readily, then I am not sure the extra money for Tiger thread makes a proportionate difference. (Note: I don't remember the length of thread on the spool for that price, but it's maybe 40 yards or so?) Maine Thread looks chunky on the spool but pulls down nicely. EDIT: it's 70 yards per spool.

Among veg tanned leathers, the particular barks that are used (e.g. oak, quebracho, etc.) vary from region to region. Even before veg tan develops a patina from exposure to the sun and so forth, these leathers will have different colors and smells. Central American leather may smell different than South American, and Italian could smell different than US, just depending on what is used in tanning. This would depend on what trees are native to the area (vs importing the bark, etc.). When we order in leather soles for shoe repair, you can see/smell a difference. I believe oak gives a yellowish tinge, quebracho gives a pinkish tan, and another one (hickory) gives an orange-ish tan. In our veg tan scrap bins I see definite oranges, browns, tans, pinks,and yellows.

You can treat it like suede. This looks like the bottom split. Use products intended for suede.

Marketplace rules require that an approximate price be included in the description. Shipping arrangements (if any) and photos will also help the process of finding a buyer. -JohnV474

I think Hide House out of Napa CA also sells this.