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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.

Maybe look for a tiny round file and put a curve on the ones you have. Edgers I've bought in the past have come with a tiny stainless steel rod that you can wrap some fine emery paper around. Good for touching up in the future.

I should have added, "When using a different colour in the bobbin".

Not the same at all but you can get a similar look on the machine by deliberately loosening the bobbin tension. Great job by the way.

This is one way to do it: cut a piece of ply to the size of the interior of the box. Cut another piece of ply to the the same size PLUS 2 thicknesses of the leather. Cut the two pieces of leather allowing for the sides of the main box on one piece and allowing for the sides of the lid on the other. Place the ply pieces on the leather and cut a groove all round on both. Cut out the corners, this is the tricky bit depending on the thickness of the leather. You can end up with the two pieces butted up or you can mitre the corners for a much nicer job. Once you're happy with the way it folds, (wet the grooves), lay the pieces flat and punch the stitching holes starting from the same point all round. I would do it with scrap first. Good luck.

Update 2. New one arrived old one still here waiting. After some playing I'm having trouble siting the vacuum hose next to the bell knife. The suction seems adequate but some bits are not going down. I'm wondering if there's an optimum shape and position for the intake hose? I'm starting to think about building an all round chute with the suction at the bottom. Thoughts?

I use a 341 clone myself and am very happy with it. The only fault I'm finding is the size of the feed dog hole which may be problematical with very thin leather but I intend to address that. Another point to consider is a speed reducer with a servo motor will give more torque. On mine I can dial in the whole range of speeds from very slowly to quite fast enough thank you. The downside to speed reducers can be they don't always get on with needle positioners which I like very much but am having to live without for the time being. I am learning to do without though and it's not as bad as I feared. You seem to be on a similar journey to my own and I hope I'm not teaching Granny to suck eggs but I'll offer some advice. Save the veg tan for special. Likewise the Decovil and other stiffeners. Look to Chrome tan for some inspiration. Some leatherworkers will spend months on a project for others to say "well done", I'm not one of em. I like working with leather and being constructive and if I can get a tiny bit back on the £1,000s I've spent I'm not gonna turn it away. When I go to my leather shops I'm always looking for coloured Chrome tan of the right thickness/temper. Saves all that dying and gives me inspiration. I'm about to tackle piping in a proper way and if I can make the piping in a colour to contrast the bag it will give me an edge. Here's a pic of some keyrings that I did while messing with a new compressor and my skiver. All different weights, Made with what I could find amongst the leather.

@Novalee Before you confuse yourself with machines you need to think a bit more about what you might want to do in the future. If it's bags that you want to do (as I do mostly) working with thin leather is fine for bags that don't need to stand up but might limit your options in the future. Having said that, even the most robust bags like satchels and briefcases don't use uber thick leather and even then it's likely to be softer than the stuff some are using on here for their saddles, holsters, gunbelts, etc. Just saying your machine doesn't have to handle the thickest material and usually the price goes up with the thickness.

Welcome from a fellow Brit. Changing to a servo is a must and is pretty straightforward. You'll still want a speed reducer. Smallest pulley on the motor and either replace the handwheel with a large pulley or fit a speed reducer in between. Either way will enable one stitch at a time if that's what you want. Having College up the road will be very handy but they can be pricey, especially for original parts.

Use a straight edge, sew, cut off surplus.