garypl

This is an interesting design - can’t wait to see it finished! Gary

Terry - thanks for the tip about the using a pricking wheel to space the veined marks - I am going to try that! Stetson - definitely improved your carving on this one. I agree about the type of leather making a big difference - just started a new project with a new piece of leather and a new swivel knife from Leather Wranglers and there is a noticeable difference in how easily the knife glides through the leather. Gary

That’s a very nice bag, especially considering you are just starting out working with leather! What type leather, finish, etc., did you use? Always nice to share details on your projects so we can learn from each other! Gary

That looks really nice - like the extra storage slots on the left side. What type leather, finish and stitching did you use? Gary

Resolene can be applied with a brush, but using a cheap HF airbrush makes it so much easier to apply evenly. Resolene is more water resistant than Tan Kote, so if someone is sweating a lot I think Resolene will be more durable. I normally use a liner on the inside of belts and I may or may not dye the inside liner - all depends on what look you want. If I am not going to dye the liner, I dye the belt first, then glue the liner on, trim the liner and then stitch it up, followed by final finish. Gary

I didn’t mention it, but I always backstitch 2-3 holes when ending a saddlestitch - do the same here!

I would absolutely finish the back side of the dyed belt to prevent dye rubbing off. I normally spray a 50/50 mixture of Resolene and water. Nice looking belts! Gary

It’s a handy feature, but I sometimes punch a few holes with the thread pulled out from the needle, then thread and start stitching 3-4 holes from the start, leaving 5-6” of thread at the start and ending the same way. Then I use two needles to saddle stitch the start and end. This should provide a stronger stitch than machine backstitching, but does take more time. Gary

Yours looks much nicer! Gary

First I have heard of it, but looks to be priced about the same as Giardini. Look forward to hearing feedback on how good it is! Gary

Looks really nice - one of a kind makes it special. Don’t know how many hours you have in it, but I would expect to get somewhere between $100-150 if I was selling it. Gary

Hi Gavin, you can download a free program called Irfanview to resize your pictures. It’s very easy to use and if you resize to something like 640 x 480 they will be plenty small enough for posting. Gary Edit: 800 x 600 shows a little more detail and keeps files sizes quite small. Can upload probably over 100 photos sized at 800 x 600. It also reduces upload and download times when you resize large files. That is a benefit to people with slow internet connections. Tom

Alex - nice outline for beginners - thank you for taking the time to put this together! I would add a 12” or longer metal ruler from Wally World to list of tools - comes in handy when trying to cut straight lines. Gary

Nice job for your first wallet. Stitching is a bit too close to the bottom edge, suggest you leave a larger border, layout and stitch and then trim the excess. This will make it easier to punch the holes and stitch in a straight line. When you get too close to the edge your punch or awl can veer off toward the unsupported edge. Please include type of leather, thread, and dye/finish in your description - nice to know what everyone is using in their projects. Look forward to seeing more of your projects! Gary

For someone who just started a few months ago, I think your doing a great job! Carving and colors look good. I’m still learning every time I log onto this forum! Gary

Love the use of color and your stitching and finishing is spot on - nice work! Gary

Another very nice piece. I like the colors you used. Gary

Nice job! I like the colors on the carved upper section. What type leather is it and how did you color it? Gary

The squeeze bottles are very easy to control - syringes might not be so easy because pushing the plunger is probably harder than a very slight squeeze of a bottle. Gary

That is pretty cool! Tell us how well it works when you finish installing it. Gary

Thanks for the tip! I have a quart of silicone lube from when I bought my machine and I think it might last for a very long time! Do you see any value in using the lube pot when you are only sewing lighter weight leather at slow speeds? Happy Easter! Gary

Colt, I will have to try my lube pot again and this time I will skip the thread guide post on the top of the machine, as shown in your picture. When I originally installed the lube pot I ran the thread around the post and then into the lube pot, and I though it increased the tension too much. Gary

Beautiful work! You did a fantastic job in your blog documenting the build - that probably took almost as long as building the bag. What type and weight leather did you use? Gary

Hey Bolanca- that is a very clever design! What type leather did you use? Gary

Hey Blue - really nice job on this holster (for one of my favorite handguns - Colt SAA!) please provide details on type of leather, finish, thread size, etc. And nice job on the stamping! Gary