Colt W Knight

You can also make your own decals utilizing Waterslide Decal paper Here is tutorial I did for a guitar forum If you paint the machine black, when you apply a decal like this, only the metalic color will show because the outline will disappear.

That tooling is awesome, wish I could do floral.

Now I am really getting off topic, but I love talking about firearms. ( I think the newest Model 70s built by FN in South Carolina would give those old pre 64s a run for their money, and shoot more accurately. In 1940, the avg US income was 1,368$/year, and a new Model 70 was 106$ - that represents 7.75% of the purchasers income. in 2014, the ave US income was 53,891$/year, and a new Model 70 is 899$ - that represents 1.67% of the purchasers income. Inflation calculator says 106$ in 1940 = 1802.23$ in 2014 If anyone has similar info on sewing machines, I would love to see the comparison.

Solvent based lacquer is a porous finish. Lacquer is an evaporative finish, meaning it does not cure chemically, the solvents merely evaporate over time. Because of this, lacquer takes a long time to dry, and the evaporating solvents leave micro pores in the finish. This is why old furniture would get moisture rings when you set drinks on the table top without a coaster. The moisture seeped/absorbs into the pores. Evaporative finishes like lacquer typically do not have recoat windows because the solvents from the fresh lacquer allow the fresh coat to melt/meld into the previous coats. Modern polyurethane finishes(like on cars) actually cure chemically after a short amount of time. If you don't recoat within that drying period, you have to scuff the surface to increase the surface area and provide tooth for the next coat to hold onto. This is what happens when you mix two types of finishes. The two finishes do not bond chemically, they simply stick to the previous substrate like glue-mechanical bond. If there isn't enough surface area for the previous coat to adhere to, they will wear off. The clear lac is most likely a solvent based lacquer, and the paint is most likely a water based acrylic. Can WB acrylic adhere to leather coated with a leather lacquer finish? Maybe, test it and see. Too many variables to say yes or no 100% of the time. In my experience, the leather is porous enough to allow the acrylic to stick without out much problem.

Same deal with Sewing Machines, By 64 Winchester realized the the cost of production was too high, and the customer wouldn't be able to afford their product, especially with steep competition from the Remington 700. They had to find ways to produce the rifle cheaper. The Ithaca 37 fell to the Remington 870 for the same reason. If Singer was to make a new sewing machine with the same rock solid construction, no one could afford it.

I wasn't expecting that pistola when you said cap n ball shoulder rig.

Older machines were made so well, sewing machine manufacturers use to destroy older models in order to sell newer models. I had an abused 50's model Singer that still sewed like brand new after I cleaned it up.

The company logos I copied a picture from the website, and printed them out to full size. These were low resolution, so I actually had to redraw the outline of the lettering. 1. Print out text 2. I use packing tape to cover the back of the text. 3. Case the leather. 4. Tape the print off to the leather 5. Use a stylus or modeling spoon to trace the outline from the paper to the leather. 6. Remove paper 7. Use a sharp swivel knife to cut all the trace marks 8. I use 2 sizes of smooth bevelers to bevel the letters 9. I use a modeling spoon to smooth out the beveler marks. The initials inside were a simple stamp set. I also made this for the same client, he was actually one of my University professors.

That is 7/8 ounce vegtan lined with lambskin. The blue lambskin is seude

I am now ashamed to call myself a leather worker. Outstanding work. I donated a leather padfolio to the Arizona Cattlemans Conference this summer that I thought was pretty nice, but Mr. Bob Park also made one for the event that put mine to shame.

Absolutely sure the the needle is in the correct position? If they are rotated or not all the way up, they can cause all sorts of hell.

Quick question, why?

Are using a big walking foot machine for this? When I sew really light material( compared to vegtan leather) on my walking foot I can get the bunched effect one of two ways: 1. The stitches are long, and the thread tension pulls the fabric taught. 2. The walking foot doesn't feed the light cloth well because the feet have been ground smooth as to not mar the leather. To fix that, I have to ether set the stitch length real short, or hold my hand flat on the fabric and make sure I keep pressure on the fabric so it feeds through without the bunching.

I have this problem, so now I just leave long ends and saddle stitch with a harness needle.

I am jealous. I have a Consew 206. I never thought I would need to sew leather thicker than 3/8", but it quickly became a reality.

I have messed up hands, and hand stitching a project like a guitar strap or padfolio would leave me sore for days or a week or so. A machine alleviated all that nonsense. I think my hand stitching looked better than my machine stitching, but, I willing to accept that.

I went from hand stitching guitars straps to stitching with my consew. Night and Day difference on the wear and tear on my hands. Plus, what took me 5-6 hours to do by hand changed to 15 minutes. 10 minutes of neurotic testing to make sure the stitches are right, and 5 minutes of actual guitar strap stitching.

Someone with skill with an airbrush could easily do that. Someone like myself, probably not so well. A quality airbrush, set correctly, with someone who knows how to use it, has the capability of pinpoint accuracy. It is an amazing tool, and you can see artists in many genres using them.

I was able to pay for my used leather sewing machine in 3 weeks. I am now saving up for Cobra 4 or cowboy 4500

I use acrylic paint you can buy an any hobby store, and walmart even, comes in a million different colors. Thin it with distilled water, and I have to apply 3-4 coats to get solid coverage. Dries very quickly. Trying to get full coverage with 1-2 coats using a brush applies the paint to thick, and it will just chip/flake off. My experience with an airbrush is that when you set the air pressure just right, thin it just right, and spray it correctly, it dries almost immediately. I am going to start airbrushing leather in the near future, before I just used them on guitars I built.

That, is thoroughly impressive.

Excellent, I was about to build a Case for a tablet, and I like the way you have yours secured.

I have a 206Rb-1, with #138 thread I can sew up to 1/4" leather without a hitch. The machine will sew 3/8" of leather, but it is more finicky. I have tried using #206 and # 277 thread, but the machine was not happy. This machine is super easy to use and diagnose. I have no experience with the Juki

Nice, I am using a glass serving plate right now. I will look for those coasters.

Yup, 20$ piece of glass, and 57$ fee to round the corners.