LeatherHead99

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Thanks again Twofinger, Enjoy your stamps.

I've been making custom stamps with my laser engraver out of 1/4" acrylic. I thought originally acrylic would not work, but to my surprise it works very well with an arbor press. They're not indestructible, but as long as apply even pressure, these will last a very long time. I'm selling them for $10ea.. that includes shipping. A small art fee may apply if you have something complex.. $5 to $15 .. PM me if interested Ron

Thanks.. Is there some kind of technique or product to apply to stop / or reduce this wrinkling when dyeing?

I notice when I dye veg tan black, it tends to wrinkle really bad when bent the opposite direction, even the slightest amount of bend will leave wrinkles. The wrinkle size size seems to correlate with the depth to which the dye has penetrated..It seems to be really bad with the black dye. I've tried conditioning with a few different conditioners,but the same result every time, im using fiebings oil dye. I generally make truck belts / tool belts and suspenders for firefighters.. its almost impossible to keep the leather from bending against the grain.. Ive contemplated using pre-dyed leather for the suspenders, but the belts require at least a 12 or 13oz.. and I cant find pre-dyed in that thickness.... is there a way to minimize these wrinkles... there has to be some way .

It does appear that way, but this is from when I tried to work the leather as show in the video. When I tried to roll it to break it in this occurred. Its as if it stretched on the surface and never recovered..

Great video, and informative, but he used a piece that already came that color from the factory. The leather that comes already colored, ive notice doesnt wrinkle like the veg tanned dyed leather does.. That would be my next step, just buy it already colored. I will just keep experimenting with it. I will dry to condition it little more before I work it.. thanks

I can seem to stop my belts and straps from winkling after I dye them. I've used different pieces from different retailers and always get the wrinkles. I've used Tandy's Pro dye and both of the Fiebing's dyes (oil & spirit). I use pure neatsfoot / or EVOO to condition. I make tool belts for firefighters and the leather is 12 oz and up. The belts get abused, wet, thrown around etc, but I don't want them to look like crap before they get abused. The leather produces larger wrinkles than normal when bent and then returned to the flat position. Any tricks on how to limit this? Will warming the oil up some before conditioning help? I also used Tandy's Pro conditioning creme and it produced the same results. Should I condition the straps before dying? Or is this just something im gonna have to deal with?

My store recently stopped carrying these.. I was able to buy a bunch of the sets on clearance for about $6 a piece a few months ago. I don't know if this is the case for all the stores or not.... Perhaps they are still available online

K.. good advice.. I thought about buying the Fiebing's acrylic dye pack from them, but held off on this order... I can't deny that the stamps I bought do work under my press. We'll see if they hold up.. Has anyone ordered tooling stamps from them?.. The prices on their tooling stamps are really low ( the lowest i've seen) I'm assuming they are lower quality tools like the stamps I bought.

I just wanted to share my experience with everyone about S-T leather. The prices on their tools are ,I think the lowest around even if you have the elite / gold memberships to other suppliers websites. I thought what the heck lets give them a try. Bad: The lady was almost impossible to understand and there was an excessive amount of background noise or static on the phone which made it that much more difficult to hear her and understand her... with all the noise as dialect my exp date ended being wrong on her end.. no big deal because she called me back the next day to confirm everything. I would probably fax the order in next time - if there is a next time. Good: The shipping on the items was faster than I expected and at a reasonable price too $7.. I ordered from Springfield Leather , Zackwhite and S-T all in the same day and S-T arrived first.. I'm located in Central FL, and I think all those companies are about equal distance... So I guess that's a plus for S-T Bad: The items were sadly cheap chinese knock off stamps obviously made from a cheaper material....but they still worked as they should, and left good impressions on the leather. This was my first, order and I don't know if I will order from them again or not. I'm would like to assume that all the items they sell are not as cheap as the stamps... I thought about ordering some carving stamps to see what kind of quality they were, but I'm sure they are cheap knock offs too.. Some items in the catalog are specific to the brand and state what brand they are. The stamps did not specify and brand in the catalog... Overall I'm not completely disappointed because the low price did reflect on the quality of the product and I can still use the stamps on projects. Use your best judgement and ask questions before ordering from S-T.

I just acquired the machine and I know that Tippmann sells the nylon lubed thread for it. I read somewhere that lubed thread is more for the electric machines that stitch a lot faster. Obviously the Tippmann doesn't lay that fast of a stitch. Would non-lubed thread work just as well, or is there some other added benefit to the lubed thread for this machine?

Just acquired a tippmann boss from the "for Sale" section of this forum... Long story short it arrived damage and now im battling with UPS to get them to pay. The machine still seems to work, but there was damage to the needle assembly plate and tension foot adjuster. The needle plate assembly plate has a few gouges in it, which is causing the machine to chew / scar the underside of the leather. I will post a pic later ( and yes I do have the replacement parts on order $50 ) The top stitch looks great, but I I've never sewed on a machine before and im not really sure what the underside should look like... Im used to hand stitching and having a nice beautiful stitch on both sides. I alway see pics of the top stitch but never the bottom... Can someone post a pic of the bottom stitch from their Tippmann, just so I have something to compare mine to. Thanks

Well, I went ahead and bit the bullet and bought the Tippmann Boss that was listed in the "For Sale" thread in the forum. I didn't have it in me to buy a new one. I spent more than I wanted to, but I figured "what the heck". I read the reviews, watched a lot of videos and visited the company's website. I went with the Tippmann Boss because it looks simple to work on, it's portable ( big plus for me), small foot print (not much space left in the garage) and I figured quite a few people on the forum have one and I could probably get most of my questions answered here. I also loved how the company has all the manuals, videos, listed there for download and the easy parts finder diagram looks as though it would come in handy when / if something ever needs repair. So here is my first question..... Where's the best place to buy thread for this machine? Im not sure if I have anyone local that sells machine thread. thanks again.

Thanks again.. Can't wait till it arrives..

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Thanks a bunch... production speed is certainly not an issue.. I do like the fact with the Tippmann I have complete control where each stitch goes and its wireless. lol .. Maybe I should jsut get off my wallet for once. . thanks for the info.

I also just read on this forum that the GA5-1 machines may leave marks on the underside of the leather from the feeder, is this typical for this type of machine?

Thanks for the info... much appreciated. I assume $600 is a good price based on what i've found. Also, is there anything I should look for on these machines that would indicate there may be something wrong with it.. He says it works great and he hardly used it, but who knows for sure until I inspect it. He said I can bring some leather he will demonstrate it for me. Thanks again

Typical stuff. Belts and suspenders with linings, knife sheaths maybe some holsters etc I can't imagine needing to sew anything over 1/2" thick. Right now I'm using either 8/9oz or thicker I want to at least viable sew through two pieces if that thickness ( 1/4" I think)

I've decide to dive into the leather working craft head first as I usually do with most endevours. I've set aside some money for a sewing machine to aid in this addiction. I've been looking on Craigslist and Ebay trying to find something close and within my budget. I have about a $1000 in my budget, but was hoping to have my cake and eat too by finding a nice used machine as well as having $$ left over to spend a few hundred on more hand tools, etc. So these are the machines im looking at so far. I mainly plan to make belts, suspenders, knife cases etc. He says its a GA5-1, but the markings don't seem to match the other images I've seen of a GA5-1. I assume its a copy maybe? or decals he maybe put on, dunno.... http://tampa.craigslist.org/pnl/for/4001557033.html This one is local and, im just not sure PFAFF - 145 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Leather-walking-foot-sewing-machine-/171106060729?pt=BI_Sewing_Machines&hash=item27d6b749b9 And then this one a Singer. I failed to get the model # when I spoke with the owner.. he stated it does not have reverse... http://treasure.craigslist.org/for/3898144520.html I'm a novice with sewing machines in general, but I'm pretty handy at fixing things. I'm hoping for a machine that would be easy to find parts for and easy to find literature on if needed. Would any of these be recommended for a beginner? any suggestions or advise would be great thanks

No, its not for a holster, although it is for a protective cover. I'm making a protective cover for a facemask. It's going over the glass face shield to keep it from getting scratched while in storage. The facemasks get placed in a bag when not in use and tend to get scratched a lot from being tossed around and bumping into larger objects. I figured suede would be easier on the glass than the rough flesh side of the veg tan.... Would the suede be easy to get the dirt off with wiping by hand? That was a concern of mine with having dirt getting trapped between the glass face piece and cover. What do you think a good liner would be for such and item? Maybe just another thinner piece of veg tan? Thanks

Im about to try lining for the first time and thought suede would be a good choice plus it was on sale. I'm lining a piece of 9-10 oz veg tanned leather. I know I need to use paste to attach the suede and sew the border, but I wasn't sure what to do with the edge. I assume the suede can't be burnished. I want to make the edge look as professional as possible. Whats the best way to this. If someone could post some close up shots I'd really appreciate it as well. just so I can get and Idea of what my finished product should look like. Thanks

Looks amazing..

Thanks for the info. Very informative and helpful.