Stephenpuhakish

Awesome... So did you hit "the wall" Or add "another brick in the wall" Sorry couldn't resist lol

http://www.ebay.com/itm/311024933438 Managed to find a few, getting just the right combination of search terms was key "Wallet card punch" will pull up at least a half dozen if not more. And thanks Bob, I really am search tool handicapped. And it seems electrathon used acrylic or plastic rather than wood, but the idea is there

Yes they do make such punches, a quick search on eBay will yield many results. However they always looked to be cheaply made so I never bought one. If you do, let us know how it works for you. For all the wallets I've made, the small holes and connect the dots method is still my favorite. If you do a quick search of the forum you will find some threads about this topic, including one person who made their own by stacking razor blades between wooden blocks, then cutting out the small pieces that remained. Don't recall who and to be honest I am handicapped when it comes to our forums search tool.

Love the wallet. As far as the portion of strap everyone is referring to, why not try a template for the billet off of a ranger style belt, resized? It would give the appropriate curves to make it blend in, and would be fairly easy to resize. Keep up the awesome work!

I've actually seen the punches listed on eBay for doing card pockets just like this. Never took the plunge to buy as they looked poorly made. What I do is use a round drive punch to make the two small holes on either side of the pocket, then cut between with a straight edge and your cutting instrument of choice. I find that the holes tend not to tear as a straight cut does.

I'm from Canada and we have coins for $1 and $2 denominations as well. We did recently discontinue use of the penny. Realistically, if you make a single purchase with "paper" currency the highest number of coins you could receive back is 7. That being said, cash transactions are largely going the way of the pager(at least here). Most people I know use their bank card or credit card for every purchase. That being said, most mens wallets I make these days are simple card wallets without a billfold. Ladies wallets almost always have a spot for coins. Personally I don't carry coins around, I dump them in my wife's purse(which already weighs more than your average toddler)

Here's one I learned the hard way, a good sharp awl will easily go through the leather and into your fingertip if you've done the foolish thing of putting your finger behind the work, likely without you feeling it. Also, for some reason most customers don't want bloodstains on their brand new item... go figure

Here's a thought, if you're doing smooth bevelling, make a push(or speed) beveller. It's usually used on longer lines but I think you could still make it work for you. I have one that I ground myself for making belts. It's in one of the Al Stohlman books somewhere, I'm sure someone has made a post about them before too.

Have you thought of making a scrapbook style instead? Many different page sizes, layouts etc are available, and you can find posts fairly easily at places like Michaels or other craft shops. My wife has been hounding me for some time to make one for her and I recently picked up the posts for it. If you check out a few scrapbooks you'll probably see they're fairly easy to copy. If I get to it before too long I'll post a step by step of how I did it. If you beat me to it I'd love to see photos. Regards Stephen

Excellent advice given so far, just one thing I have to add to this. If you are using a Tandy beveller with a "z" in the number, trash it and invest in a better quality one, even if it's just a real craftool. My first set was all the cheap cast "z" stamps and the heel on the beveller was so round it wouldn't actually get into the cut. I did manage to improve it with some files but eventually I just replaced the whole mess of z tools. Good luck. And if none of these tips help, a photo of your carving will help others steer you right.

Sadly things like this are all I find locally. http://regina.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-hobbies-crafts-Juki-Industrial-Sewing-Machine-W0QQAdIdZ595559636 What sources are you using to find your deals? I scour all the classified sections and hunt online and never seem to find anything close enough for me to go sew off on. Unless it's so overpriced it's not worth looking at that is. Just bad luck I'm guessing. The hunt continues...

I too bought one of these just to find out it's a glorified silver gel pen. My wife has dozens, and I've used them with the same success as the Tandy pen.

I don't see any shading and I'm guessing that's what was forgotten. Still looks great!

Actually here is a link to them at the Tandy outlet. They also have the Japanese and English styles as well http://www.tandyleatheroutlet.com/p-307-al-stohlman-brand-french-style-skiving-knife.aspx

Hi everyone. I was recently approached by someone to make wallets in larger quantity. I have been hand stitching everything up until this point but am now looking for a sewing machine that will be at home making wallet interiors, and making items using garment weight leathers, perhaps even the occasional purse. I won't be sewing any veg tanned leathers on it, I still prefer hand stitching items made from it (and would continue to hand stitch on the wallets but hand vs machine I won't ever compete production wise). I know of the premade wallet interiors through Springfield leather, but I prefer making them myself. First problem I've had is I have tried to figure out what exactly I need sifting through old posts here and elsewhere, but it seems many of these machines were clones of a specific model and I can't keep all the numbers of the different manufacturers models straight in my head. If someone would lay it out straight for me(as much as is possible) I would really appreciate it. As in, "you need a singer xxx-xxx,or it's clones a pfaff xxx..." I realize that many machines would fit this purpose, but please simplify things for me as much as possible. My second problem is location. I live in Saskatchewan Canada, and finding anything capable of what I need locally is a problem. Links to eBay items would be welcome as well. My final issue is cost. Without going into detail I have medical problems that keep me from working or doing much, and my wife supports our household. Though my leather craft is contributing much more these days than it used to, there is precious little to spare for reinvesting into tools or equipment. So the smaller and less costly the machine(and shipping) the better. I have managed to scour up a few options locally, one being a nakajima dbu-180L-2. Priced at 750 just an hours drive away. Would this machine be too much for what I need? It has the table, motor, and bobbin winder. I'm sure I would have to modify it to work on leather and find leather needles if it's suitable. But sim sure that will be the case with most machines, and definitely any machine I can source locally. I'm also open to buying any machine someone might have on hand and unused, assuming costs can be kept low. Anyhow I'm rambling now and I'll wrap it up. I'm just looking for someone to point my compass in the right direction. Thanks for reading