JerseyFirefighter

Every now and then I get a few moments (and some help) to clean up the shop. Sometimes it helps to have a dedicated cleaning day. I usually try to do a very good straightening up after one or two batches of orders. Two things that have helped a lot is that all the big stuff is on wheels and can be moved, and this hardware organizer I bought. It has 192 removable bins and keeps me from having the smaller organizers all over the place. One half has strap hardware, and the other side has dog collar hardware. Downside is that it was pretty pricey.

Funny that this popped up today in my feed as I missed it when it was posted. I happen to be purchasing a laser engraver today. It's going to cost a wee bit more than that setup but i'm anxious (and a bit nervous) to see what I can do with it. My intentions were it to serve as a "ghost employee". Loading projects up, hitting send to printer and me going back to doing leather work while it's engraving something else. I have a spot picked out and all but a vent cut to exhaust the fumes. Please take ventilation into consideration if you end up engraving any plastics or metals. Leather stinks when it's burnt, but all the other stuff emits nasty stuff when engraved. Best of luck!

The tapering is a cool touch to stand out from the tumbler holder crowd. Great idea!

The price of "handling" should be included in the sale price. Just another shady sales tactic to seem like the lowest price in town.

I was tasked with making a friend a working lead for a K9. They had shown up and specifically asked for this exact type of clasp. I suspect it was locking once upon a time, but no longer does so. A source for any hardware finish...brass, stainless steel etc would be greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance.

They're likely buying sides and using the longest strips on the side to make the leashes and the rest go to their other gear. If they do sell pre-cut strips like this they would be far and few between, and likely carry a premium for them.

Carve, mold, then dye it.

Welcome! Also from Jersey

Fantastic. Shoe making seems to be way out of my wheelhouse for what I currently do, but I love seeing posts like this to know that the tools are there, and I just need to focus on a goal if I really want to make it happen. What weight do you use for the outer portion of the shoe?

I got nothing other than WOW.

Have you checked for super powers yet? Kidding aside that's really weird to have happen.

Thank you. The closest I had gotten was Walnut. The belt is almost done and the bride likes the way its shaping up. I'll throw up a pic when im done stitching the pocket.

Im a fan of the blacked out look. I think you made the right choice and it does take away from any minor inconsistencies .

VERY much appreciated. I tried tightening at first and it seem snug already. Put a little more elbow grease on it and it's nice and smooth with lever placement. Thank you!

So my Ferdco (juki clone) is normally kept at number 8 (I know this doesnt indicate stitch length), but it will no longer hold in reverse while stitching. It will drop back down to forward within a half revolution of the needle. It's looseness is evident when running forward at full speed with the lever slightly moving with each complete revolution of the needle. I was looking for a means to tighten it. The only place I see to potentially tighten nuts down is an access panel located directly behind the lever, however the wrenches included wont fit into such a confined space. Am I correct in looking to tighten the two nuts directly attached to the stitch length lever? I would much rather ask than trying to foolishly come up with a plan for a close quarter or offset wrench to tighten down on something. Your insight would be much appreciated. If more info is required I will gladly snap a few pictures. Thank you!

That's exactly why I never really got into it and the ultimate reason why I purchased the dies. Strap work keeps me busy enough. I probably should tinker more with them since I have about 100 sitting in a box in the shop. I also have some heavily discounted ones I sell that have blemishes for practice along with orders. I would never sell them personally. While they fit into the business model, the time spent designing can sometimes be as much time as actually carving them out.

I like how it came out. Red House Shields work is top notch so he's a good resource for seeing how he stamps and tools them. I've only made one shield as a tester as carving isnt really for me (yet). I actually sell shield blanks to other shield makers and yet I cant find the time to commit to giving it a better go. I personally am a fan of the black on black look for shields. Nice and clean looking.

The wooden strap cutter works well... until you start getting into full thickness and harness leather. The blades are disposable, best to buy a few 5 packs and keep them handy. You could very well change a blade every side and still come out ahead of the game. My blades on my old wooden cutter would give me 5 or 6 sides of 13-15oz before I knew I had to change/adjust it. The slipping of the cutter could be three fold: 1 The side isnt properly squared. When there are deviations to the straight line you are forced to "correct" your cutter to compensate exaggerating the slight variance. 2 You havent tightened the wing nut down hard enough. Couple that with a weak blade and the width will increase as you pull against the leather. The only time I have found myself in this position was with a weak blade with full thickness leather. 3. Slight outward pull of the cutter giving you that horrifying glimpse of daylight between the letter and the cutter handle. You know not only is the strap is wasted unless you can repurpose the good section, but you also have to spend time re-squaring the side. Funny enough, there is some 10-11oz H.O veg tanned that I have literally broken razor blades on along the back. like 2 cuts off a fresh blade broken. The heavier stuff I use tends not to give me that problem. That said I let my motorized cutter do all the talking nowadays for my strap leather... and the trusty hand cutter for the wider or narrower pieces because forget changing the spacers on that beast.

If it is a legit laser it *should* have a compressor blowing air directly at the laser as it cuts. This helps remove any debris that gets sucked up into the dust collection system and also keeps the product from overheating/catching fire. Without owning one I think you should be fine with keeping the rest of the product unharmed.

Good deal. It's always good to have the versatility of choosing to cut a 1/2" strip for a project or a 3" strip right off the side. You wont regret the money saved and the ability to do the aforementioned. Best of luck!

I dont have room for it, but I would make room considering how many copper and brass rivets I set.

Black always goes well with Burgundy. There is also white, cream, or a similarly matching reddish brown thread for the leather.

Rivet and burr I gather he was referring to.

Veg Tanned Leather... however if you plan on doing more than just those projects, I would opt to buy a side and a strap cutter. The math (if im correct) shows the 5 pack of belt blanks at 1.5x72" (at best) is 3.75 sq ft. That's 13.33 a sq ft. You can buy a side of Hermann Oak Craftsman grade for around 8.59 a sq ft. I have bought the craftsman grades before. They have some imperfections, but do not affect the yield of your side much if you are cutting straps out of them. They are a little less attractive to those that cut out larger squared pieces for projects. You can buy a $20 strap cutter and still save $$$

The dual sided one or the single sided blue box? I'll take you up on it if it is the dual sided heritage II box.