billybopp

When you're saddle stitching and looking for that zig-zag look, there is an interplay of leather thickness, hole size and thread thickness. In a nutshell, the thread has to have enough room to cross past itself in the hole, and that's harder with thinner leather. If you're not getting what you expect, try thinner thread so that it has more room to cross. - Bill

Would you pay more for a flight from Chicago to LA if the pilot agreed to go have as fast? Yes. IF it meant that we'd actually arrive at LA and do so safely When those boys show up to plow the snow from my drive, should I pay more to the fast guy, or the guy who takes a while? Yes. If the guy that takes awhile does a good job of it when the fast guy doesn't. Does pizza cost more if it's here in 31 minutes or MORE? Yes. And I frequently do pay more and wait a bit longer when I get pizza from the local mom and pop shop. It's FAR better than the fast pizza from Domino's, and hence worth the money and the wait. The point of going very slowly when sewing is to get the precision needed to put a stitch exactly where you want it - for example at exactly the point of that English point belt end. I don't yet sew leather by machine, since I have no space for a big sewing machine. I do, however, occasionally hem pants and repair clothing using my "domestic" sewing machine. When it comes to the tricky bits and turns I frequently use just the handwheel to get things exactly as I want them. Even when sewing longer stretches, I don't go at full speed since full speed is beyond my skills to control. So, if one has the skills to sew at top speed then that's awesome. But for most folks sewing leather, I suspect that the control afforded by going VERY slow at the bottom end of the speed range more than offsets the loss of speed at the high end. - Bill

As Bikermutt pointed out, the machine you need is largely dictated by the things you want to sew. But I'd suggest the first stop on your quest should be this sticky post on LWN. It will answer many questions. - Bill

The closest thing I've seen to what you're trying for is in a youtube vid by cechaflo. I don't know if that will help you, but it's worth a look! - Bill

As mentioned above, it's all about what works for you! I've got several poundy tools that I use, and a few that I gave up on for leather. Wooden tapered maul that was given to me: about 16oz. Liked the feel, but eventually it started splintering on leather tools, so now it's for woodworking chisels only. Rawhide mallets, also gifted to me: 12oz & 16oz. They work fine, and still see some use - but never felt as nice as the maul did. Chinesium cheapo maul from eBay: About 16oz. Not bad for $12! Still used often, but it's not tapered so still not as comfy as that wooden one. You need to hold up your arm to use it rather than rest an elbow on the work surface .. Same with most mallets. Shop Fox maul from Grizzley: 16oz & 30oz. These are tapered, rubber wrapped wooden mauls and feel really nice but the rubber is a little too bouncy for tooling leather - They're fantastic for woodworking, tho! The price was right at <$20. Dead blow mallet: 32oz. Great for those big 3D stamps where bouncing can lead to double impressions. Also great for strap end and oblong cutting punches. NO bounce on this one! About 6 months ago, I injured my shoulder so haven't done much tooling since - and what little I have done has been resting my elbow on the work surface. A tapered maul in the 14-16oz range is in the future for me, I think. I've been looking at Barry King mauls .. so ... tempted ... They all have their place and uses - it's all about figuring out what works for you! - Bill

ROFL! Thanks for getting my day started with a laugh. I wonder, does perfectly normal beast really require sauce? - Bill

If you're dumb, so am I, but I find them all useful in different situations, so ... Maybe not! - Bill

+1 for Cechaflo! The videos are silent, but he does a great job of annotating in English and effectively showing you just what he's doing. Great stuff! - Bill

Those doctoring bags are awesome! Like Firewalker said - Wish they could tell their stories, and wonder when they were made! If you'd like to see a modern version, Don Gonzales posted a video on Youtube making one - this one is a saddle-horn version but goes to show there's still a need for 'em today. - Bill

It's just awesome that your wife and you get to work together! The more I see the things that you can do with a 3D printer, and a skiver, and a sewing machine, and other tools the more I want them. Dang ... This is getting expensive! - Bill

The first thing I'd do is figure out exactly how much space you need for the car. Then you can plan around that and put items that need to be pretty much permanently mounted in front of that - things like tooling surface, drill press, belt sander, cabinets, laser, compressor and such (like maybe a sewing machine if you have one or plan on one). You may even want to consider a smallish utility sink and water tank - useful for cleanup but also for laser cooling. You might even consider water and drain hookups if it's going to be mostly stationary. Leather storage can be overhead in racks - either open or rolled up in PVC sewer pipe. I'm not sure how the laser will cope with being mobile, but I'd mount it as near the center as car placement will allow and also put it on shock mounts to help minimize bouncing around in transit. Laser and mirror alignment are critical, so bouncing may not be a good thing! You may have to re-align things every time you move the trailer/shop. Your cutting, gluing, and spray booth/dying area don't need to be all that heavy duty - just sturdy enough. I'd consider mounting the tables to the wall with hinges and hinged front legs and some way to lock them in place up or down, so that you can simply fold them up against the wall when not needed. I'd think that your ventilation solution won't be terribly thick and can probably live behind the tables when folded, although could require that you hinge the benches a bit offset from the walls. You can probably even work out a way to make collapsible sides for the stinky stations to make a sort of paint booth. Storage for dye and glue supplies need not be terribly deep and can probably go in shallow cabinets near those stations and high enough up to not interfere with the car. You'll also want electricity, some heating and / or cooling. Most of your electrical needs would be near the front where the power tools are, but you could also run some long power strips further back for miscellaneous needs. For heating / cooling, I'd consider the sort of units that you sometimes see on top of campers. Agreed with above that natural light is best, and you might be able to put in windows or skylights, but if that's not an option choose daylight balanced lighting. Just a few thoughts - hope they're helpful - Bil

I'm totally with you, Bikermutt!! I get this vision of a leather workers version of Sheldon Cooper from Big Bang Theory diving into the ball pit at Chucky Cheese ... Popping up and yelling "BAZINGA!". - Bill

If it's all working, and I had the space, I'd certainly buy at that price! If it has a 1" shaft with 3/16 keyway, which is pretty standard for embossing rolls, they are available. The Tandy manual machine that I have is currently asking $300 + $50 shipping on ebay. Metal rolls are asking in the $100 - $120 range on ebay, but less expensive resin rolls are also available in the $30 range from seller "duckcreektraders". There are even folks that can make custom rolls on a laser cutter, although I've never checked on pricing. They are great for embossed belts, but there are other uses as well, such as the borders on these mug wraps which are a combination of embossed borders with tooled and stamped centers. :

Yup. Definitely an embossing machine. and an unusual design. Very handy to have, particularly as mentioned if it comes with additional rolls OR if the shaft is the standard 1 inch with a keyway. I have the old Tandy embosser with a bunch of rolls, and love it! - Bill

Fiebings Pro Oil Dye (now just Pro Dye) is an alcohol based dye, as is their regular leather dye (according to their website). The oil part of the name was used to denote synthetic pigments, made from petroleum. Synthetic pigments tend to yield more intense colors than do other pigments and can be more colorfast. I also use like the beeswax/NFO blend finish. It's not too shiny, not too dull. Just right for many things. Use more or less equal amounts of NFO and beeswax melted together in a glass jar in a warm water bath. I use my crock pot on low setting. You can adjust the proportions to get something a little softer(more NFO) or harder(more wax). It can be poured into cupcake tins, or even empty chapstick/lipstick containers for use, and sometimes include some with items that I make for folks so they can refresh the finish when needed. A little heat from a hairdryer and some buffing really help it to penetrate the leather. I've experimented a little bit with adding a little paraffin wax and carnauba wax, but haven't come to any decision on those yet. - Bill

That's quite a story and quite a collection of machines, Wiz! Which current or previous is your favorite and why? Thank you for sharing - Bill

Correct! And to take it a little further, champagne bottles have a much more pronounced indentation and much thicker glass to contain the carbonation pressure. Furthermore, that was one of the key developments made by Dom Perignon. Bottles tended to explode before he made the above modifications. - Bill

As Bikermutt said, Lisa Sorrell is a site sponsor and well known cowboy boot maker. She has a youtube channel which is really interesting to check out. It is more about cowboy boots, but may give you some of idea on what goes into making a boot. The videos aren't ALL about bootmaking, but generally entertaining in any case. She also has an online store, Sorrellnotionsandfindings.com where you can find lasts, tools, the DVD course mentioned(now $850), some leather, and lots of other helpful items. You might also check out Tim Schroeder's gallery on here, he's made some pretty awesome looking cowboy boots and work boots. He also has a few threads about boots like this one. This thread has some info on a work boot video series kickstarter. Hope that helps - Bill

If you look at the banner ads at the top of the page, you'll find "Leather Crafters Journal" .. I don't subscribe myself, but many do. If you search, you'll find (hope I get the name right) Russian Leather Craft, which is a Russian language online magazine which offers an English version. Sadly, traditional magazines are dying out. But at the same time, there's never been a better way for folks to share information than the internet and sites like this! - Bill

We've had a few thread threads on here asking the same question. The general consensus is that the Chinese thread is OK, but Tiger is better and generally worth the extra money. They are both a woven poly thread, and both are workable. Chinese thread tends to be a little thinner (what's sold as 1mm is closer to 0.8mm) and flatter, the color isn't always consistent, and it's waxed but not very heavily. It's still pretty decent to work with but I don't use it for really nice items - more for utility items. Tiger thread is thicker, rounder, and a bit stiffer, possibly because its much more heavily waxed. The color and consistency is spot on. So yeah, you get what you pay for. - Bill

Well done! You should be proud of that one! - Bill

Nigel Armitage recently put up a video for the Osborne 84 splitter .. Looks to be very similar to yours. There's a sharpening video too ... Hope that helps - Bill

If you're looking for the type of pricking iron that gmace99 is using, it is often sold as a "reverse" pricking iron but more properly known as a "portmanteau" iron. To the best of my knowledge nobody makes a diamond stitching chisel in reverse/portmanteau. And thanks gmace99 for this and your other videos! I had forgotten your "knot trick". Really handy to know! - Bill

I think that if I ever tried to count or calculate the number of stitches in an item, I'd never hand sew again. LOL. But, that said it eventually gets easier, faster, and even relaxing - you can listen to music or even watch some TV while you work. It's a lot like driving a car. Remember when you first started driving? It took ALL of your concentration every time you went for a drive. If you tried to change the radio station, you were likely to swerve all over the road. But, as time went by and you got more experience, you could relax a bit and sing along with the radio, change stations with ease. It all got easier and more automatic - you still pay attention to what you're doing but it's just not occupying your entire brain until you get to the tricky curve. You get to that point with hand sewing too, and it can be enjoyable! - Bill

If you look at the sponsor links at the top of the page, you'll see Bruce Johnson Leather Tools. Bruce is a member and sponsor here. Click on his link and give the site a little love! He has a tutorial page with instructions for sharpening edgers, including bissonettes. Just in case you're not seeing links, I'll post it here. https://brucejohnsonleather.com/files/1414/0658/3880/BruceJohnsonLeatherTutorialEdgeBevelerSharpening.pdf - Bill