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It will be much cheaper to have a single stamp made with all your details on it.

On some machines its on the front panel. On mine I think it's F1 and F2.

I have one of those sack trucks that transform into different guises but any decent sized truck would do. I also have a strapping system that you normally find around heavy duty crates or cartons. When I sold my "69" there was just me so I cut a pallet to size and strapped it to the bottom of the machine. this made it extremely easy to move around on my own. If I was doing it just to move around the "pallet" would be just high enough to get the sack truck under.

I've never molly coddled my leather. I've even put it through the washing machine. I'll try white spirit, thinners, acetone, even I think the most potent, brake disc cleaner before I give up on it. Obviously try on a small area first. If it dries the oils out, replace with neatsfoot oil.(don't saturate)

Unless you buy from Europe where it's measured in millimeters.

Hi Josh. First of all you need to fill in your profile so we all know where you are. I'll hazard a guess at the US since you've used Buckleguy so as far as where to buy and sizes I can't help because I'm in the UK and I buy my leather face to face after I've examined it and felt it. The reason I've said that is if you want to make a bag it's not just a question of how thick/thin. If you're learning then veg tan leather will give you more opportunity to try different techniques than chrome tan will. Chrome tan is usually softer than veg tan so do you want your bag to stand up or flop like a hobo type bag? Chrome tan can come in all sorts of colours whereas veg tan can come ready coloured mostly you have to dye it yourself. You can't tool chrome tan like you can veg tan. So you have to balance what you want your bag to look like when finished but the thickness will come into it also. Like I said, I go by feel but you might not have that option. There are many charts out there showing thicknesses in ounces and millimeters and no doubt someone will come along with a more helpful explanation. I will add that both veg and chrome tan comes in different tempers (floppiness). Best advice is to talk to whoever you want to buy from, tell them what you want to make and ask them what they have. Most will be only too pleased to help. Good luck Josh and don't forget to post the pics when your done.

I had the same experience with a 341 clone. Each time I questioned an aspect of the machine, they took the trouble to send a video, ie one stitch at a time, same hole reverse etc etc. I don't think some people on here realise that the machines they're denigrating now have top brand (non Chinese) labels on em all over the world.

A white horse goes up to the bar in the pub and the barman says "We've got a whiskey named after you " The horse said "Wot Eric?"

Result Fred. This is why they can be so slick and quick. The losses are built in and it's far easier and quicker to do it this way. Imagine the time and labour it would've taken talking to someone about the problem and them finding out who to contact to get a replacement air filter and then arrange delivery etc.

Because the hobby can be all things to many people it's difficult to cater for an unknown variety. My workshop came about organically because the sewing shop that hangs a few of my stuff did classes for crochet/knitting etc and I mentioned that I wouldn't mind doing a workshop if the idea appealed. They had a room upstairs and I started with 4/5 people. I think the premise was good, I encouraged them (if they were ongoing) to choose a pattern and I took them from the start to the finish. I provided everything including the leather. Once into it they could work on it from home and bring it back each week. Could've worked very well but there was too much against me. Because I was paying an hourly rate and there weren't many pupils, the rate to them couldn't be as cheap as I would have liked. I was severely restricted by times and days which didn't always work for some people. I think it could have worked very well if I could have catered for the times that suited them. This would have resulted in more clients and therefore cheaper rates and therefore more clients resulting in cheaper rates and therefore more..... It worked quite well for what it was. Some picked bigger projects and came every week, sometimes twice. Some just wanted the basics. One guy wanted a collar for his two bitches (his words) and when they were finished he was gone. At the end of the day, if it's in ya, find a way. Might be fun.

Some of you may remember me buying a small compressor a while ago. It arrived with some damage to the small air filter so I contacted them to replace the air filter. Didn't get that far, straight away they told me to print the returns label and it would be collected on such and such a date or at the very latest it was to be returned by Feb 1st 2025. In the meantime they sent me a complete new compressor which is working fine. This was mid November. Since then the thing has been sitting by the door complete with returns label waiting for a courier that never turned up. A few days ago I received an email from Amazon saying that since I haven't returned it they charged my card again for the same thing. Every cloud ......... After fighting with an automatic message machine I eventually got someone from the far East. Pointed her to the email I got in November after which she refunded my money and told me to keep the second compressor. Happy days.

Did you do this Dog? If so how did it go? I've done a couple workshops but for paying pupils which makes it harder because you can't make it cheap unless you have plenty a few peeps taking it up. Didn't do it so much for the money, I just love teaching and I think it's incumbent on us all to pass on our knowledge. Needless to say, after paying out for materials and tools, I made not a penny but we all had fun while it lasted. I might tackle the council after the holiday to do an evening class or workshop where I would use their premises.

Love a practical job. Well done.

You could just re-shape the flap (or sew on another piece) into a finger and sew on a small keeper to slide it in.

(if you meant folding the sewed edge over itself, like rolling it) No! The French seam is when each side lays down on each side and top stitched from the top. All of this type of seam MUST include a backing else the seam won't have any strength. It also stops any pulling apart of the initial stitch line so will never show from the top. This link will take you to a Cechaflo video. This man is a maestro with a sewing machine and although he mainly does auto stuff you will learn shed loads from watching all of his videos and the man never says a word. Getting back to the backing, A liner of some sort could replace the backing provided that you sew through it to give strength to the seam. A Car Seat Bolster using Piping and French Seams - Car Upholstery

I think you're doing well! For a newbie you're taking on a variety of techniques which shows that you're learning and also that you have a degree of confidence. Some things can only be learned by doing, not reading. The mistakes are minor and will get better with practice. You missed an opportunity with your 10mm seam allowance. You could've practiced your skiving on that because it won't be seen. it would also have given you the option of "butterflying" it so it lays down flat on both sides. Subtle marks top and bottom help to line panels up to ensure stitches line up as well as starting from the same position on every panel. As it is you can simply cut down the seam allowance and/or put in a drop in liner just fixed around the top.

Awesome job DT. My thoughts on tooling flowers and scrolls are well known but I do like tooling to highlight practical projects. I don't have the skill to do it myself, maybe some time in the future. I will say I'm not a fan of the over use of antiquing. I think it robs the piece of the beautiful darkening and patina that comes naturally with age. Hard hat firmly in place.

Extremely interesting tanning process from start to finish. Watch till the end to see tanning fish skins. How Japan-made cordovan is produced. Craftsmen face the importance of lives.

Don't even know what they look like. The one in the vid is 28mm across. Of course it should do smaller. I've just done 20 bobbins in about 15 mins. I did have to bend the upstand so it centered over the center of the big cones. I also had to slightly change the shape of the little spring thingy that the bobbin slides over. Might not need it but on this one it was reluctant to let the bobbin side over it. Maybe it would've done with more force but I didn't want to chance it. Just pull it out and change it slightly, job done. I think I've just settled on a new labeling system. I don't have all the colours and all the sizes and because no-ones life is gonna be in danger with a handbag this is the way I do it. I start with the closest colour to what I need, then I do the needle running on the 45 degree thread thingy. That's how I choose my needle. I don't have multi machines all set up for one job, I'm changing the setup all the time so for me it's the most practical with what I have. So..... Instead of trying to keep up with the size of the thread on each cone, bearing in mind that most of the cones don't have labels, I've decided put each bobbin through the 45 degree test and then label each bobbin with the size of needle it wants. Simps eh?

As you guys know, I like to share anything good that I find. Also, as a miser I don't like to waste money. With the amount of material that I put out I certainly can't justify buying two cones of thread at a time. So as most of you know, sometimes it's just a pain when the thread runs out and you don't have a loaded one ready. So I thought I'd try one of these. Not much expectation and when it arrived it's made of that hard plastic that you don't want to drop, but after very little fettling (they're not made for the big cones) I was quite impressed. No idea how long it'll last but I can sit in front of the tv and load lots in very little time. I've tried to take a short video but it's slightly oversize and I don't think it's gonna load so I'll try to get it shorter but I'm not good with videos. 20241216_193807[1].mp4

Good dog.

Good job. Hope it get's lots of use.

Any job with a practical use is a good one in my book, well done. Sadly over here the advice is to just put a phone number and not the dogs name on the collar because so many are being stolen.

Is there an accepted method of lightening it? I wouldn't bother but it's a large bag panel that's almost finished Inc stitching holes. I dyed it too dark a long time ago and it taunts me each time a see it.

Fair enough, I don't think you can have a conversation about the shape of edging tools without including the thickness of the leather being used. For example, a rounded edge could be achieved on thick leather with a flat edger with a few passes and a curved edger would be equally unsuitable unless it was the right size for the leather being used. With the myriad of widths and shapes out there I would first adapt a tool that was longer needed but that's just me.