billybopp

I use a Logan 560-1 picture framing mat cutter to cut leather with - similar to what you Springfield is using, but just a bit smaller. We do a some custom picture framing, so had it anyway, and I decided one day to try it on leather and it worked great with a couple of limitations - mostly the throat depth behind the rail limits how deep into the leather I can cut, it's about 7 or 8 inches for pieces larger than about 50" or so (they fit between the hinges), and the straight edge is 60" long, so big enough to do most of what I need to do. Blades are inexpensive and pretty darn good out of the box, but I do strop them a bit. They also have the Adapt-a-rule system that is not board mounted($65 on Amazon), so you can clamp the straight edge to your work surface and run a cutter along it ($21 on Amazon). The longest they offer is 60", so reasonably large and without the throat depth limitation of the board mounted cutter that I use. I also use a Fiskars rotary paper trimmer($48 on Amazon) for thinner leather up to about 12" wide. - Bill

You mentioned using antique gel - if you're referring to Tandy antique gel, be aware it tends to penetrate and at least a little discolor acrylics and resist. Depending on the look that you want that's not necessarily bad, it will mute the colors - just be aware! Fiebings antique paste doesn't penetrate paint and resist nearly as much. I'd suggest using some scrap leather with the paints, dyes and resist that you intend to use and experiment a bit before you go to work on your actual piece. - Bill

The only thing I've ever hunted successfully is beer. As my waiste size attests, there has been great success in that sort of hunt. But I think @battlemunky has the right idea, the rivet heads, hardware and makers stamp are your clues for scale. Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong, but copper rivet heads are around 3/8" diameter. That would make the D rings on the shoulder trap about 1" and the snap rings around 1/2" or 5/8" Your other option would be to just ask the guy you're making it for. Just tell him you've seen pictures and have figured out that it's not hard for you to make, but having never seen one in person don't know exactly how big it should be. -Bill

If you've got to have troubles, selling too well is a good one to have! Can't wait to see the video and it's awesome to hear that the zipper guide is working out well! - Bill

Lots of good advice above! I'd love to have a straight edge anchored to a workbench like @RockyAussie shows above, but I don't have a workbench! I'll do something like that one day when I do have one. But for now, I have a BIG self-healing mat and kitchen floor for now, and for pieces that will fit, I use a Logan matt cutter that lets me cut up to 60". Sure, it's meant for cutting mats for picture framing (something that I also do) but also does nicely on leather. But without those, you can still make good cuts! There are a number of things that can help you get that cut. A rubber or cork backed straight edge will help keep it from moving around during the cut. An extra pair of hands (or even feet) can help hold it down tight to help keep it from wandering. I have a 48" ruler that I put self-adhesive cork on just for that purpose, and also have a 24" ruler that came with a rubber backing (even better than cork). The quilting rulers that @battlemunky mentioned also work well since they have a LOT of surface area to help you hold it stable, and you can see through to your leather to help positioning over a pattern. Put your straight edge on the pattern side when cutting. That way if the knife wanders away from the straight edge, the cut will be on scrap rather than into your piece. Use body-mechanics to your favor. It's really hard to cut a straight line when you have to swing your arm around your body to keep it in the cut. Place your work and straight edge at an angle that will let you keep your wrist / elbow more or less locked. That'll help to keep the blade from wobbling and wandering. As you already know, your knife should be SHARP, and stropped! It's great if you can cut all the way through your leather in a single cut, since that will give you the cleanest edge. But if the knife and leather don't cooperate there's nothing wrong with multiple passes, you just might have a little more cleanup later on. Keep as much of your knife in the cut as you can manage. IE, keep the handle down close to the leather. That both makes it easier to cut in a single pass and makes it easier to keep your cut straight. A longer blade (within reason) lets you engage more leather than does a shorter blade. Also, don't let the knife lean or wobble side to side for a better cut. A bigger blade can make that easier, and that is just one of the advantages of a round knife - It stands tall so the slightest variation or wobble is clearly seen! If you're going to use a utility knife, strop it to improve on the factory edge. Also, you'll find that the fold-out type has far less blade wobble than the retractable ones do. For small cuts, an x-acto knife works great if you use the # 2 blades. The standard #11 blades are pretty flimsy. All things considered, tho, a good fixed blade knife is best. Just a few suggestions that you might find useful -Bill p.s. @RockyAussie I want that bag. LOL

Patience is a virtue. I am far from virtuous. - Bill

The Singer 29s are great special purpose machines designed for patching shoes and boots in inaccessible areas. They are not so hot as general purpose leather sewing machines for a number of reasons. But as long as you understand that and have use for such a machine, the main consideration between these two for me would be availability of parts. The 29k3 is probably over 100 years old, and spare parts are long gone. The 29k172 is at least 50 years newer, and if I'm not mistaken were still in production in the 1970s, with parts availability. For me, it's a no-brainer. go for the 29k172. As much as I love antiques, if they can't be made workable and kept that way, they're just decoration. - Bill

That's one cool machine! Kinda makes me wonder if one could get a cheap old sewing machine and somehow modify it to do much the same thing .... Hmmmmmmmmm - Bill

Looks pretty darned good to me. - Bill

Personally, I wouldn't risk buying one of these and would buy from a known reputable dealer such as the ones listed in banner ads up at the top of the page here at LWN. They go through the machines they sell and set them up properly to sew leather before delivery to you. They also provide superb after-sales support both here and by phone. If you buy a no-name machine, you may be totally on your own for initial setup, parts and support. Unless you have LOTS of experience with industrial sewing machines, that is certainly worth the relatively small price difference. Just my opinion, FWIW - Bill

Let me preface my opinion by saying that I don't currently own a leather sewing machine(just a couple domestic machines), and sew all my leather by (aching) hand. But I've been keeping my eyes and mind open for the day that I make the move to mechanical methods. I've been watching this forum for a few years now and have learned a LOT! I definitely agree with @chrisash, geography should be a factor when choosing a machine to buy, both for future service and support if you should need it, and for shipping since that could be a significant part of the price. These machines are pretty heavy and distance becomes a factor in shipping cost. Of course, the main factor will be whether the machine is suited to your needs. The support that you can find on this website from talented amateurs such as Wizcrafts, Uwe, Gottaknow(not an amateur, but also not a dealer), and others is amazing to me. The depth of knowledge is awesome. But even more impressive and amazing to me is the support from the dealers that participate here, such as Cowboy Bob, Cobra Steve, Techsew Ron, Gregg at Keysew, SolarLeatherMachines and others. They provide support not only for the machines they sell, but for others as well: it is astounding. Additionally, dealers can provide phone support. There are even a few from dealers and amateurs from Down Under that jump in to help so you might even get an answer to a question in the middle of the night here! How cool is that! When push comes to shove, tho, you may need a mechanic to look at the machine at some point, so geography does become a factor. I don't know if there's anyplace around where you are in the fingerlakes region, but it's worth a look. Of the dealers that I know of, Techsew is in Montreal, Keysew is in Philly and Toledo Industrial Sewing (Cowboy) is in Toledo. None of those are more than a day's drive for you. That's where I'd start! Some of them have banner ads that you'll find at the top of the page here at LWN, so give the site a little love and click those as part of your search. This all reminds me, I need to go visit Keysew one of these days and let Gregg buy me a cup of coffee. They're a short train ride away, and I walk past every now and then on my way to a great little pub that has a nice selection of craft beers and good food. Keysew is always closed that time of day, tho. Hope that helps! - Bill

That's a brilliant piece of design! Kudos and thank you! Now I know for sure that I need a 3D printer! -Bill

I guess that's what happens when ya find yer mate on here! LOL

At any college biz school, you could take at least a semester long class on costing and another on pricing if you wanted to go to that kind of depth, but Mike pretty much hit it on the head in a nutshell version which should work just fine for small production ( including hobbyists). The only real rule there is that you want to sell for more than it cost you to make (if you want to make a profit). Pricing is generally done by "What the market will bear" .. What are people willing and able to pay for your product. That can vary quite a bit depending on where and to whom you are selling. About the only way to find that is to look at similar items in the market, actually try selling your product, or some sort of pricing survey ( we call that market research ). Mike has a relatively simple costing model, it sounds like - and that can be just fine. If you wanted to go into more detail, you'd start with actual cost of ALL materials which could include materials cost, shipping, storage, even insurance. Be sure to include ALL materials such as hardware, thread, glue, dye, even water if you use it, etc. You'd also include labor (even if it's just your labor) and such. Those are all Variable Expenses: the more products you make, the more things you pay for. Once made you need to think about cost of packaging, storage of completed items and such. There are also fixed expenses which includes the space, heating and cooling, insurance, tools and such that are used for production: these cost you pretty much the same whether you make one item or one hundred. How deep you want to go, tho, depends on you and to some extent how much product you make! Just some food for thought! - Bill

When saddle-stitching, you simply tie two pieces of thread together and hide the knot between layers at your first stitch. It's that simple. With a sewing machine the thread never actually crosses from one side to the other, so while you can have a different color on each side, you cannot get a "candy cane" stitch. - Bill

Stitching chisels make holes that are much too big for thread that small. I'd consider using them ... or a wheel ... to mark the spacing then a small awl to punch through. You might even get away with a leather point needle as an awl blade to make the holes. - Bill

LOL. That's the problem with web searches in general. They return exactly what you ask them for, and not always what you intend! - Bill

Murphys law says that all rivets that you currently have on-hand will be exactly the sizes that you do not need. It's a proven fact. - Bill

Yes please!! I've been toying with the idea of making shoes too! - Bill

Welcome aboard. Wow! Sounds like you got some great deals on those machines. Every time I see one of those 7s with all their exposed parts I can't help but wonder if an OSHA inspector came across one, would they die of a heart attack on the spot? As for the box of tools, you're in the right place to learn what they are how to use them, so ask away! - Bill

You beat me to it @KingsCountyLeather. LOL! @RockyAussie Thank you! I always pay attention when you do one of these posts since there they're always well done and always something to learn from!! Heck, if I had the money I'd buy a croc bag just to encourage you to keep posting, but alas I'm poor. - Bill

Happy Birthday Johanna ... And a million thanks for all that you do for us! - Bill

That's one of the best uses for most of the Tandy kits! They mostly pretty decent designs really. Trace out the pieces on cardboard or such, marking out a line where the stitch holes are rather than individual holes. Go ahead and assemble the kit, learning just how to put things together - what order and such. When you're ready to make another, pull out the cardboard patterns, cut your pieces, and mark the stitch lines lightly with dividers and then make proper stitch holes with stitching chisels or pricking irons and an awl. Now you've got a nicely designed bag that's put together with much nicer stitching than you'd get with those big holes in the initial kit! - Bill

No experience with this sort of thing, but why not do an X stitch, a baseball stitch, or some other decorative between white and green in a third ( or more) contrasting color? Make it part of the visual design. - Bill

I like to think that knowledge is the result of experience, either your own or somebody else's. The main thing that makes experience superior to somebody else's passed on knowledge revolves around this imperfect thing that we call communication. Imagine if the technology existed that would allow a direct brain link from one person to another. Knowledge could be passed along wholly intact, including for example what it feels like to hold a swivel knife just right or hit a stamp just the right way with just the right power. It'd be easy peasy! But that doesn't exist, so we have to rely on communication to pass along that knowledge through some form of communication, whether one-way or a two-way exchange, and in many possible formats such as verbal, written, pictorial, video - any of which could be one or two way. So, we're limited in obtaining knowledge outside our own experience by the communication skill of another person. Furthermore, we need to find somebody that communicates in a way that works for us. What is perfectly clear communication to one person might be pretty much incomprehensible to another, whether because of the format or the style of the communicator. Fortunately, we have people with experience and the knowledge gained from it that are willing and able to pass that along as best they can to us, imperfect tho it may be. Their knowledge is a GREAT shortcut for us! To pick on @immiketoo for a minute. Bad as it was, imagine how long it would have taken to make that first case that he mentioned without the benefit of Stohlman's book - and how many bad versions it may have taken to get an acceptable result. Even then, some techniques and ideas may never have occurred to him! Also fortunately, @immiketoois a pretty smart guy who got it figured out and probably added some new knowledge through his experience, and that of others .. and is willing and able to communicate it to the rest of us. - Bill