Hilly

Glad I could be of some help to you. Try winding about 20 bobbins - 10 for the top and 10 for the bottom. Don't let the top bobbin get too empty, because they don't always wind evenly. I've had one bobbin run out when the other still had 20 or more feet of thread left on it. It's not a foolproof method, but it does help a LOT.

You can also order prewound bobbins in large quantities. One trick I have learned doing upholstery, is to wind a whole bunch of bobbins, and use one for my top thread, in place of the16 oz spool. That way when I see the top thread bobbin spool getting low, I know that the actual bobbin spool is low, too, and I never accidentally run out of bottom thread in the middle of a seam.

Thanks for your replies. I wish I could watch someone using one of these round knifes, just to see how they are used. Anyone got/could make video and post a link? (Wishful thinking)

Hello everyone! I've been lurking here for several months now, and finally joined on 10-13-07. I posted a few times before today, but thought it time to do an intro. I've always loved leather in any form from furniture, to motorcycle saddlebags and jackets, to leather cases, to holsters. I've always loved the way leather smells, and the creaking sounds it makes! I have been doing some car upholstery, and have decided to do a custom interior on my nephew's Corvette using leather with some stingray accents. I also want to do some leather tooling on parts of my 1969 Mustang fastback. I would like to make the top of the fold down rear seat into a figure carving using the Mustang pony as the main figure. Also thought about making the fold down sun visors out of tooling leather, and doing some tooling on them, among other little accents for the car. Something totally custom! But that's for later when I gain skill and experience... Anyway I'm starting out small, doing kits from Tandy to start me out, and now I want to move on to doing some holsters for our pistols. Later, I can do some rifle cases for our hunting rifles. And after I wreck enough leather, I will move on to the car projects... Well, thanks for allowing me to ramble, and hope to see ya around on the forums! Hilly

What is the best way to go about cutting your pattern pieces out of leather? I have a utility knife, but I'm not sure this is the best or easiest way to get the job done. I want to cut 8-9 oz leather to make a holster. I'm afraid of the knife getting away from me and ruining my leather. I have experimented on small scraps of this weight, and have to make several passes with the knife to cut all the way through. Are there shears or scissors that will effectively cut leather of this weight?

I wanted a foot like that, too. I just sent my zipper foot to work with the husband, and he ground off the left side of the zipper foot. Isn't it wonderful to be able to see what you're doing?

Sorry for the delay, but I'm pretty new here.... http://www.pbase.com/justpeachy/image/44353162 I took this photo a couple years ago. Maybe it will be helpful.

Thanks so much to all who have replied. It's really nice to have a place like this to come for info, or answers to questions I have. I hope to learn enough that some day I will be able to chime in with an answer for a newbie, or help someone else.

My husband's cousin owns a large dairy farm in the midwest, and they butcher a few cows each year. They have no use for the hides, and just toss them. I'm wondering if there isn't a place I can send those hides to have them made into tooling leather, and what the cost involved would be? Would it be cheaper to send in my own hides and get them tanned as opposed to buying from a middleman such as Tandy? It just bothers me that the hides could be used in some way, and not just tossed like garbage. I've sent many deer hides into W.B.Place in the past, and had them made into leather, but I don't think they deal in cow hides. Also, if I can find a tannery to process the hides for a reasonable price, I'd need to know the proper way to care for the raw cow hides. With the deer hides, we rubbed salt into them for a few days, then we rolled them up, and sent them to the tannery.

Thanks for the welcome. One of my first orders of business when I first came here, was to do a search on stropping, and I have read quite a few threads on the subject. Seems no two people give the same answer except to "do it often". I imagine this answer is due to the vast assortment of knifes out there, and how long each holds it's edge? Also it seems as if many people use different methods of stropping; using anything from sandpaper to rouge to chrome polish. I guess I will just jump in and get my feet wet, and learn by feel how often I need to do it. I do have some scraps to fool around with, and also that Tandy kit. When I'm done screwing those up, I have a double shoulder I purchased to make into holsters. I could probably sacrifice a small amount of that. I intend on taking my time, and doing the best job I can do with what I have, and keep in mind that most people are not going to get super great results on their first attempts at leatherwork. Maybe I'll even post some pics so everyone can critique my efforts. As for the clear packing tape.... it sticks well to cased leather?..... Which brings me to another newb question.... When you begin carving and tooling a project, what do you do if you can't finish the whole thing in one sitting/day as with a large project, such as a saddle? Can you repeatedly re-case the leather? I'd think that covering it, and leaving it continuously damp could harm it and the work that has already been done? Thanks for your help! Hilly

Hi everyone. I'm hoping someone here can give me a little info so that I can start my very first projects.... I bought one of those Tandy kits with a wallet, checkbook cover, etc. (hey, we all need to start somewhere), and I'm reading the instruction booklet you get with it. It talks about stropping your carving knife. My first question is how often do you strop? After so many hours, minutes, projects, inches, what? Can I use wet/dry sand paper in 1300 grit or 2000 grit instead of jewelers rouge? The instructions also say to cement your project to some hard cardboard while you work on it to keep it from stretching? How much can a wallett possibly stretch from tooling?! Will the rubber cement come off of the back of the leather afterwards, or am I forced to line everything I make to avoid having a gooey mess on the back sides of my projects? I eventually would like to make some nice holsters for our pistols - a couple of .44mags with scopes. I'm looking at making a pattern for a regular holster, and modifying it with a slot so that the scope sits outside of the holster. I'd also like to be able to attach it to a belt that slings over one shoulder so that the gun sits at an angle, across the torso, within easy reach instead of being hung at the hip. Maybe later on, I can make a pair of saddlebags for our motorcycle. I'm drooling over the thought of doing oak leaves, and some of the tutorials on this website are a huge inspiration! Thanks in advance for all your help. Hilly