toxo

I honestly did start out with a big vise and a couple of six inch nails and I got reasonably good at it, only because I was fitting around a solid wooden core and lots of screws around the outside helped to get it into shape. And of course I was using 3pt R/Steel at the time so your stuff should be easier.

That's the one I've got. Handles 2pt but not 3pt. Should be good on your banding dikman. I use a longer piece of tubing over mine.

Another factor with postage is they come in 1 meter lengths. Shame you weren't nearer I would've sorted you out a few lengths. I've even got an almost full pack of 3 point somewhere that my cheapo bending gear won't handle. If that banding gear is a bit springy you might have trouble with straight lines. (unless you're putting it around a wooden block and then fixing it might be a problem cos you have to leave enough sticking out to cut the leather.) Toxo, that is very thoughtful of you. I just went for a drive and bought some steel banding. It's 0.7mm thick by 30mm wide and the rolls are between 20 - 30 metres long. They are leftovers from the manufacturing process, they get huge rolls of the stuff, approx. 1 metre wide, and slit it to 30mm and these are the bits left after coiling it to measured lengths. The stuff is used for building steel-framed houses, is very good quality and is high-tensile. It's going to be interesting to see what I can do with it. I'll probably try making wooden shapes to attach it to, but the first thing is to build some sort of jig for bending it. That sounds like it's gonna work. Rule steel is only 0.7 also but likely to be harder. If you go with a precise wooden core and a softish board I'd say you have a good chance. This is very handy for the holes if you go with wood. I've seen them cheaper than I paid. When I started it was with a large vice, 2 six inch nails and a hammer. Worked well for simple shapes. This is a mini rolling mill that was really cheap, very heavy and won't do very small circles but good for circular handbag styles. Can't remember where I got it.

Does anyone make a set for the 341 clones?

I was thinking bag sized panels. A bonus if you have another pair of hands to hold it

I assume the UK is too dear also? I did a post a while back about this where I posted a link to Partwell. Usually sold in packs of 60/100 so heavy. Better off looking for die makers who might sell you some.

Whilst I can take or leave spam as is, I'm quite partial to a spam fritter.

Placing leather on an upturned die and tapping around with a soft plastic mallet is perfectly feasible but the leather will move around unless you can find a way to stabilise it. Perhaps spray gluing on to a soft cutting board or some MDF might hold it. As dikman says, an arbor press and a soft board will work for smaller dies.

Assuming they're not all full sides, the simplest way to go would be to price per ft or per metre having discounted from the current price.

Thanks guys. I'm getting pieces of good knowledge from each of you and it's helping a lot and with my engineering background I've no doubt I'll get there but what would really help is to know what sort of folder you use and for what purpose. I can see where I'd like a leather binding on a handbag say or maybe a herringbone tape to tidy up the inside of an inside out tote or maybe a canvas bag. @nylonRiggingI'm certainly not averse to a bit of cutting and grinding and it was interesting to hear you say everything needs to be close up. I'll bear it in mind.

"made by sum yung gui hung lo". Made I larf that did. If I'd said it Tom would've told me off. (Just kidding Tom.) I've drooled over such set ups on YouTube Wiz. Don't get me wrong Wiz, I'm not shy when it comes to spending money when it's right and if I had such contracts I would do the same. I've no doubt that eventually I'll end up with something decent and by the time I've learned what I need to know and enjoyed playing I'll be able to do it with a flourish. Here's todays effort. The red is just over 1mm, the veg tan is 2.5 and 1mm. The red is 18mm

I spent good money on a binding setup for my Adler 69 and got nowhere with it, probably my fault but there you are. I bought one folder from JL but it's too small. Maybe it'll come good later. Don't give up.

Great job Tom. Yesterday I tightened up the belt that came with the trousers and the buckle came off! I had to find my belt before I could go out.

It always amazes me when you guys take the time to educate us lower mortals and I thank you for it but what you describe is above my pay grade. I'm about to sell my flatbed because I have no room for it. I have no room for anything. I came from a 4bed house in London to a 2 bed bungalow in Kent. One of those bedrooms is my "shop" I have one 341 machine and I'm hoping that eventually I can fashion something that won't take much to change from normal sewing to a basic binder. If I have to change out a couple bits then so be it but this is still not much more than a hobby and I'm loving it but without a brand and the supermarkets selling handbags for £15/20 there's not much chance of making any money and that's fine as long as I'm enjoying it. Back to the binder, the leather that I used is 0.8mm and actually fed through easily. I have lots of that kind of leather in many colours so I'm hoping I can use it. Don't know if it will go through a double folder, we'll see. I will be buying some ready made stuff to see what works and what doesn't. After thinking about my problem above there's one more thing to try that should've been obvious, the vertical axis. If I lean the folder out slightly and re-adjust surely that will even out the amount on each side?? We'll surely find out. Thanks again guys for all your help as always.

Being a complete novice I wasn't even sure if it was ok to use other than leather on leather handbags. In my head I was picturing a double fold with nice turned edges but in my experimenting but I'm realising how many variables there are including single/double, material, size, thickness of the material being binded and probably more. I won't be doing enough to warrant a dedicated set up but with a few pointers and plenty of trial and error I'll end up with something usable. I do have roll of bigger synthetic gold stuff that I'll probably never use but I can see where being stiffer with sharper edges will allow it to go through a folder with more control than a piece of soft chrome tan.

The folder is 18mm, I cut the chrome tan leather at 18mm. It's a sufficient thickness to give decent tension and all went smoothly but on the back side there was far less coverage and in places the stitches don't even touch the leather. I've got the folder as horizontal as I can get it so maybe there are folders and there are folders? Having said that almost all the folders I'm seeing are a lot more triangular (especially the double folders) so I can't see how they can lay horizontally so the answer may lay elsewhere. I will persevere.

Thank you.

So near and yet so far. Epic fail. How do I get the tape to come out of the folder the same on both sides of the leather? Is it a question of what type of tape is used?

OK, so it took a bit of fettling but from what I've learned ALL binders need some fetting. For starters, in my ignorance I asked for the wrong folder and it was too small. I had a couple of this type to play with and they seemed a bit simpler. Took a bit of working out to get it in the right place whilst retaining all the up/down backwards/forwards options. I also wanted to keep the original bits in case I need them later. Yay! My first ever bind. not perfect yet but definitely progress. I won't show you the back side just yet

Walking around the supermarket yesterday I noticed that they use a thick dense cardboard between the layers of bottled water (and other stuff). There was loads of it and I thought it would be ideal for pattern making and laser practice. If it's rolls you're after they're around 3ft square so would make around a 12inch roll with a bit of tape or string.

Just received from where I got my JL341 inc 10 more bobbins. £55 delivered. Now to work out how it works. I do love playing.

There's always UP.

HaHa dikman, your "shop" looks smaller than mine. I have similar boxes along a top shelf. Here's a quick idea, don't know how high your ceiling is or the new press but you seem to have a convenient height at 4 boxes down. Break there, lift the upper 4 boxes up and fix to the wall. A bit more rudimentary woodwork gives you somewhere to put the press and maybe even a bit more workspace.

A bit of a useless debate IMO and one that doesn't seem to be taking usage into account. I've never known a thread that simply holds two pieces of leather together to break no matter how it's sewn (bonded polyester/nylon). Can you snap a piece of V69 with your hands? If you can you have thick skin. Thread used under high stress conditions is different and is usually sewn inside a channel to avoid abrasion. As dikman said, I think a certain amount of ego comes from the S/S camp but you can say that about quite a lot of leathercraft and there's nothing wrong with it as long as it's not part of a strength debate.

Thanks for the replies guys. Let me start by saying that this idea is just for cosplay/steampunk type use. Apart from anything else few over here could afford a bandolier full of 17 Hornet ammo. Not many own a 17 Hornet because our laws dictate that you have to have the land or permission to shoot land before you can have one and at around 3600fps there's not much land left that hasn't been carved up in one way or another that can take that range. As you can see a normal belt size won't do it. After reading these replies I realise that they don't need straps and buckles etc. Just fix the bottom end however and throw it over the shoulder. If it looks good I'll do another to go over the other shoulder.