Sovran81

Thanks Steve. Google was not my friend on this search. Now just a little more research to decide if those machines are worth the shipping knowing that anything in his garage grew rust faster than gardens grow weeds. LOL

I was recently offered a military sewing machine from the above era. the only info I could get from the sweet old lady was that it was used to sew canvas.Since I would have to have the machine freighted from the midwest site unseen I was hoping some of our machine experts could tell me what this sewing machine might be. I dont think the military would have bought from more than 1-2 suppliers in that era. I need to figure out if the machine is worth the freight. Sorry I dont know any more info than this.

I have bought a few tools from these guys. Awl, Stitch groover, and overstitch wheel. All of them have been excellent quality and I am very happy with the tools, the savings, and the factory sharpening compared to other quality tool brands. I am now looking at a bag punch. They offer two styles. I dont like the looks of the hand forged punch, The other punch looks pretty good but the savings is almost none over the same punch from osborne. Does anyone own one of these bag punches? How does it compare. If they are comparable quality then the 3 dollar savings isnt worth the 3-4 week delivery time.

I contacted them for a complete custom makers stamp. The price for a regular stamp was $20 for a 1" stamp. Price for a complete custom stamp was thirty five dollars. By custom I mean they couldn't take the existing blank stamp and just add name and location, they had to cut a custom graphic logo also. it was a total rework of design. They can be used with the Tandy hefty handle or arbor press. I do plan having them make me one in the near future.

I use the same style groover, but I believe I got mine from GoodsJapan. Absolutely the easiest tool for a newcomer to pick up and use perfectly the first time. At times I have used it freehand for initials and such. Works pretty good for that also. For a decorative groove further from the edge I have used a small allen wrench for the guide.

Sylvia you find some of the neatest stuff. I have tried a standard swivel knife in the past and could never make the smooth sweeping cut let alone something intricate. Decided right then that knife and tool work were not for me since my knife work resembled an army of stick men. This is a knife I would like to try. Bookmarked for sometime in the future.

Personally I would use stitching because the bag is stitched. It would take longer but the end result would look better and you wont have to worry about the edge of the straps lifting up or curling. If you wanted to use rivets or chicago screws you would need to make sure you match the thickness of the leather to the depth of rivet/screw or the strap would be loose and floppy. I use rivets and screws, I have to have an assortment of sizes to match varying thickness of leather and still get a tight connection. I hope to get a sewing machine the same day pigs take flight. LOL

@rcsaddles are you sure it was tallow? It was more than likely suet. Tallow is rendered fat. I cant see a butcher processing the fat then giving it away. Suet is a good source to make tallow from unless you happen to have access to mutton fat. I am unsure why mutton is preferred to beef but it is. For anyone looking for tallow, watch ebay. I bought 22-23 lbs of pure tallow for $9 from a culinary artist. He used it for carvings.

I have been using a straight pin, but with my big clumsy calloused fingertips it is hard to grab even one with the plastic ball. LOL. I had been using a dead ink pen for marking. @reddevil I googled self-centering hole punch but came up empty. Does it use an edge guide, or somehow center on the mark? Can you provide a link?

Nice work. The gold gives it a nice touch.

I used my templates today. Absolutely awesome. I wish my tools matched those templates in quality. I do wish the holes to mark the buckle holes were slightly larger, but still one of the best investments I have made for leatherwork.

Ordered 2 sets today. I took advantage of the ebay sale. Thanks Sylvia.

I was recently contracted to make a show harness out of patent leather. Like an idiot I said sure no problem then realized I know nothing about patent leather other than it is shiny. I don't particularly like it myself and have never learned anything about it. If any one has any tips about working with it such as sewing, cutting, removing scuffs, folding, gluing or anything else I would greatly appreciate your knowledge.

LOL Sylvia I will take any help offered. I failed to properly explain what I was trying to do. Other than the splitter I got for braiding, I have very little in the way of leather tools. Alternate ways of doing things are always welcome.

Bruce Thank you. Do you suggest another tool for cutting a channel across a strap? Sylvia I have a Campbell splitter that I use for taper skiving belt ends. I love it. I am actually only trying to remove enough leather for the ring to snuggle into across the strap. That was why I bought the 1/4" french edger to begin with, I sure do hate to modify a brand new decent tool. Well it will be decent once sharpened. LOL

I recently started using them. As much as I try to shy away from Tandy stuff I found the tools and crystal rivets to work well as long as the leather is the right thickness for the rivet. The problem I have is trying to find rivets for the thinner leather projects. I dont want to have to add washers to create the right thickness. Ebay offers tandy stuff cheaper than tandy does unless you are one of the premium gold members.

I never thought about that for the rivet holes. Thanks Sylvia. I have tried a skiver but it seems to cut too wide and shallow. I have the silver tandy skiver so I cant bend it like I have heard of people doing with the black one.

I just bought a new french edger having only seen vids of their use and descriptions on the forum. I am afraid I bought the wrong tool. I was expecting the toes to be angled so the cutting edge would furrow to a specific depth and cut a channel. I am wanting to thin the leather of a strap so it will fold flatter around a ring. what tool should I have bought? Can I file and smooth the toes to an angle so it will do this? Thanks

Thank you. I am getting to the point I need a machine from time to time and am trying to decide on the machine.

Lift the foot and move it back or just turn the work around and stitch back?

Can it to a back stitch, or do you have to turn your work around?

WOW! That is beautiful. Probably works better than my 5 for $3 mini knitting needles too. LOL

Thanks for the pic. I may have to rely on stitching and use spots or tubular rivets for the asthetics instead of combining the 2 functions. @stelhrse I dont know if it will help but the catalog Hanson Rivet has can give you some information. Its available for download as a .pdf

Those are my first choice but I dont know what the back side of the finished rivet would look like. Do you have a pic of the back side of a finished rivet? @spence I had not thought of that. that might work.

@busted What rivets would you use for a finished look on both sides?