BDAZ

Come by the old time jam 6:30 to 9 Friday Steve Langford's "Third Friday" old-time music jam is coming up. Date: Friday, March 21, 2014 Time: 6:30 - 9:00 pm. Place: Steve's music room Address: 9140 N. Shadow Mountain Dr., Oro Valley Map: Click here Chairs are provided Cya! Bob Cya! Bob

I offered to repair a friends belt which he has word for years and doesn't want to throw it away. It appears to be a well made casual men's belt 1" with a very heavy machine stitch, probably 277 or heavier. The thread has rotted at the end and the top and bottom foot or so has become delaminated. There is some black gunk in the middle which looks like it may have been some type of double sided adhesive, which does not cover the stitching. Any ideas what this is and what would be a suitable replacement. Thanks! Bob

Thanks OC, that's the kind of feedback I am interested in. How tight do you roll it? Cya! Bob

The one edge is just for an example. In reality you would stitch around the edge on 3 sides then turn the wallet right side out. Simplistico!

Jud, just imagine a square of leather. Stitch the edge of a wide piece of elastic to the edge of one piece, then do the same with another peice of elastic on the other piece of leather. You are left with two separate pieces of leather with elastic at one edge. Place pieces grain to grain, line up the edges and then run a stitch down the elastic leaving as of a "margin" as required. Fold the two pieces flesh to flesh and voila! Now do this for 3 sides instead of one and you are done! Of course you will have to turn the item inside out at the end instead of folding. Cya! Bob

I am just completing my new cutting table which is 40" high and 5'x3' to fit the self healing cutting mat I have. I intended to put a couple of shelves to store veg tanned flat but I am wondering if rolled wouldn't be more efficient. Any down sides with storing leather rolled and storage in general. I am in Southern AZ so lack of humidity may be an issue. Thanks! Bob

The only solution is to glue and stitch 2 separate pieces of elastic to both sides turned instide out, then stitch the elastic together, possibly with a thin folded trip of leather as a reinforcement and then turn right side out. That would do the job IF the stitching on the elastic holds. Cya! Bob

I line with suede.. cu Bob

I purchased a 3200 on Wiz's advice and am thrilled with the machine and the direct support from Bob Kovar at Toledo. The machine was within my budget (just) took an hour to set up and start sewing. A small glitch developed within a couple of weeks which was immediately sorted and a defective part replaced by Bob with no down time. I have been able to launch a leather business based on this machine. At the moment sew a double layer of wet formed 5/6 oz veg tanned with two layers of glued suede lining which drops down to a single layer of veg tan and suede and the machine as no issues what so ever. I have also sewn decorative stitching on 3-4oz, again with no problems using a 207 thread and minor adjustments of the tension. Great machine, Great support, Happy Camper. Is it an Adler? No. Did I have to mortgage my house No.. Cya! Bob

Diamond is essential for setting the edge on ceramic blades. Cya! Bob

It was my first show and I made a number of excellent industry contacts which will help get my business off the ground. Saw a lot of interesting hardware which gave me some ideas for making my products more cost effective. I did not attend any of the work shopos which were not relevent to my business. Cya! Bob

FYI for the US guys..Harbor Freight has their belt / disk sander on sale for $59, less than half of what I paid for my last swivel knife.. Cya! Bob

Must have had jet lag! Cobra Steve of course was there but not Cowboy Bob.. Picked up some quality tools and made some very good contacts. Will be back next year for sure. BTW The BBQ at Prescott Brewing Company was to die for. Cya! Bob

Great show! Got to meet Cobra Bob as well as other members of the site. Will be back next year. Cya! Bob

Wiz, that response should be a sticky.. Cya! Bob

I'm going..will be up on the 5th. Anyone know of any music jams in Prescott? Cya! Bob

A lighter carefully applied. You are preventing the micro fiber suede from fraying. There is also an anti fray liquid you can get at any fabric shop. Cya! Bob

Since it is a small piece I would probably us Barge cement, not spray adhesive. Cut to a larger size then trim and singe the edges with an alcohol lamp (no soot) Cya! Bob

Not sure if this would add too much bulk but check out microfiber faux suede at your local fabric shop. It is much thinner than the real thing and is indistinguishable from the real thing at first glance. I use headliner spray adhesive available at the local auto parts shop. Cya! Bob

If I had a similar problem I would use the tumbler I have for cleaning brass for reloading like this one at Harbor Freight. Use crushed walnut shells (available at your local pet shop) and tumble until all the crud is gone. This process should avoid any damage to the business end of the tool. I would only tumble a few at a time and it will probably take a few hours per run. No chance of ruining the tools with caustic chemicals. Cya! Bob

I received my 3200 a few weeks ago and I am about to go into full production. The machine works like a champ. It is my first serious sewing machine and so far have used up to 346 thread. Bob at Toledo is great to deal with and a couple of minor glitched were dealt with immediately. I am making instrument cases and banjo straps. Here is my first custom strap guitar made on the 3200 a few days ago. The customer was thrilled! I also bought it with the 4500 stand. All arrived in perfect condition and I was sewing within an hour of getting the boxes open. Cya! Bob

Great Stuff! I sometimes sit in with a local band called Puca which is the name of a mythical Celtic horse. I sent them a link to the pic. www.pucamusic.com (I also did their web site) Cya! Bob

So I don't get it! If you are making custom straps make a custom strap!! I think this patters is just ugly and I wouldn't put anything like it on my guitar. What I do is find the exact measurement of the current strap from point to point. If there are two buttons, then I make it as attached. If it is going to the peghead, then I will make a small strap that will fit under the strings and stitch a buckle on the other end or just use a latigo lace. I usually add the first name on the front of the strap and the full name on the back. so I also get the measurement of where the strap crosses the shoulder. I do have a number of attachment options on both ends the button to button style which will give a few inches of adjustment either way without the ugly woven widget. (See pic) I make mostly banjo straps and have started making guitar straps on commission. Custom is custom! Why compete with The Guitar Center? Cya! Bob

A while ago I checked out the MSDS of all the Tandy dyes, cements and solvents. (I hold some patents on soy based solvents.) The primary alcohol appears to be ethanol so I would assume that denatured ethanol would make the best solvent. One of the standard saying in the solvent industry is "Like dissolves like" Cya! Bob

I started off with a Singer version of that Janome and with a leather needle and walking foot accessory, it IS useful for somethings including stitching light weight veg tanned and garment leathers. You are limited to home sewing threads and needles and the stitch is far from decorative. I recently purchased the Cowboy 3200 from Bob Kovar at Toledo and it has changed my life. Attached is a picture of a recent comission for a guitar strap made on the 3200. If you can't afford a good used walking foot machine that won't mar the leather then hand stitching is in your future. Don't waste your money on anything less. Cya! Bob