TwinOaks

Actually, I'm over that way quite a bit. My work route is from Hattiesburg/Laurel down to the coast- Waveland to Pascagula. I'm in Waveland at least once a month to work on the McDonalds at 90 and 603.....might just have to take a slightly long lunch and stop in to visit. I'll let you know when I'm headed back that way.

Also, invest in (if you don't already have) a pair of good shears/scissors. I use shears to gut about 80% of my thinner leather, and a head knife for the thicker stuff.

I can't help but wonder if there's some stamp maker in _______(wherever they get them made now) laughing and thinking "Let's see 'em burn the chrome off THIS!"

Welcome, Lee, it's good to have you with us. If there's any specific things you'd like to learn about leather, just ask, as we'll be happy to answer. You sound a lot like my grand father when you said "I don't usually have much to say". ....of course, that means it's usually worth while to listen when you do say something. Thanks for joining up with Leatherworker.net, and welcome to the family.

I use a "circle stencil" left over from my drafting/engineering days. Match up the leather with the closest hole, mark it, and cut w/ scissors.

Embellish the wear a little more, then make up a really good campfire tale to go with it. Then, ride it 'til the seams rip out, and rebuild it.

I've got access to a .36, and a .44, both 8"bbl. I'll try to get some measurements sometime tomorrow. Don't forget, you'll need to make a possibles pouch to go with it.

I know it isn't funny to be out a tool......but that's just hilarious. Look at the bright side- you now have a handle for a custom built tool. And it'll match all the other ones! On second thought, maybe you should send that back to Tandy, I'd love to hear their explanation for it.

If you don't have any experience w/ graphic arts, it might be faster and easier to get someone to do the lay out for you. If you have access to some computer graphics programs (and there's a lot of good free ones) You can see if it has the "add text" feature to it. Essentially, you need 3 concentric circles, spaced for the height of the leather, - top, middle, and center of the letters, then you need to divide the arc in which you want letters into the number of letters + spaces. Ex: Noble_Lion_Leather is 18 spaces. If you want it across the top of a circle, you need to divide 180 (degrees) by 18 (the number of characters *including spaces*) to get the arc degrees for each character. That gets you your 'grid' for laying out the letters, then you add the letters and spaces to each arc. If you're going for a full circle, then use 360 instead of 180. With a computer, you type in what you want, select a font, select a size, select a size of circle, and push enter. We've got quite a few top notch computer folks on here, and I know I've seen one or two offering graphics layout. If you're gonna order a Delrin stamp, call Brenda at LaserGiftCreations.com and tell her what you want. I corresponded with her via E-mail and gave her a rough description (and I mean ROUGH). She sent back a .bmp of the proposed layout and it was exactly what I wanted. I'm sure others who make stamps can offer similar services, but I haven't dealt with them personally. I have NOT heard any bad reports on any of the stamp makers offering their services here. Hope that helps,

You need to be a little more specific. What kind of leather work will you be doing? That's important because there is no "best" machine that does EVERYTHING.....all have limits of some sort.

Yes, you can get vegtan in 3oz. Most bags are made of chrome tanned leather, but some are made out of thicker bridle leather. Vegtan, until treated, will readily accept moisture, and upon drying, get harder. It's part of the method for shaping leather into holsters. Usually, if you see vegtan in a bag, it's as a sewn on (overlay/inlay) because the vegtan will take tooling. Ever see the really fancy floral patterns? Those are done on vegtan. If you've seen it on a purse, it's usually a separate piece that's been attached. Some bags, like the ones made by Ed Santoro (waldenbags.com), are a combination of bridle leather and vegtan. Chrometan is certainly as durable as vegtan, depending on the use. Also, some leathers are tougher than others, depending on the animal. The reason so many braiders like Kangaroo lace is that it's incredible strong, allowing much thinner laces than cow hide for the same strength. As far as stretching, all leathers will stretch- it's preserved skin. The degree of stretch will depend on the usage. Call the 800 # for Springfield leather (ad banner) during reg. bus. hours and talk to them, tell them what you want to do, and ask if they have any small pieces. They will even cut leather to get you the approximate size you want, and I believe the also offer splitting service to get you the thickness you want.

Good morning, Junk, Welcome to Leatherworker.net! It sounds like you are after garment or chap leather, possibly lining leather. It is usually softer than vegetable tanned leather, and most times thinner. Take a look at some of our sponsor's websites (click the ad links at the top of the page) and you can get pics of the different types of leather. When you see leather thickness listed in ounces (i.e. "5-6oz"), the "ounce" means 1/64th of an inch. So, 8oz leather is 8/64ths, or 1/8th inch thick.

Welcome to Leatherworker.net!!! The class should be both fun and informative and if you run into any questions, feel free to post them here.

The issue usually isn't the cost of the machine head, it's the total package. Even though you may find a used machine head, there's a lot more too it that just plug it in, add thread, and start sewing. The 'leather stitching' machines are slowed down a lot. This adds to control, and most importantly torque. Shoving a needle through a thick wad of leather is a hard thing to do - if you hand sew, you know how true this is. Most industrial machines are set up for a textile factory setting. Speed is all important there. If you search a lot of the industrial machines that look like the Cobra, Cowboy, etc., you'll see speed ratings of up to 3000 spm. That sounds like a loud buzz and then you've overrun a stitch, or sewed your hand to a piece of leather. The leather machines use a different motor, and typically a speed reducer, so while you might find a machine head (lots of ebay auctions for "machine head only") you'll still be out another couple of hundred dollars for the rest of the components before you have a machine that might work. You'll still need to check the timing, make adjustments as needed, and have it mounted in a table of some sort. If you're a sewing machine mechanic, no big deal, you do it on a daily basis anyway. One of the best threads I've ever read on the subject is here: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=25239. It's worth taking the time to read it. It's also well worth the time to call Steve Tayrien at Cobra Leather. He'll talk to you, let you know what's what, and is pretty dang nice about it too. I've spoken with him about machines other than what he sells, and he was happy to help me out with the minor little problem. But...read the thread in the link. It's very helpful.

Since you have a press for the logo, repeatability isn't an issue......try this: Start with a clean piece and make the logo. Now, get straight edge, wrap it with cloth, coat with your resist, and pull across the surface of the leather. Just like block dyeing, this should only put the resist on the non-tooled area. Repeat for a few layers to make sure you have good coverage, then spray the tooled area w/ your dye of choice. Immediately wipe off any over spray from the resisted area. That should give you what you're looking for. There is a topic 'pinned' on here about block dyeing with a little more detail on the steps. Think of it as screen printing your resist on the area around the stamp.

Good looking 'blind' construction. Retention will of course be better if you had something to mold to, but sometimes you don't get the option. If it's not too late (meaning you still have it), you may consider rounding the corners just a little bit. Putting a radius on the corner, even a small one, will help prevent the leather from folding/bending etc. and getting tattered looking. Overall, a very good job since you don't have the pistol or a dummy to mold to.

It will just be a slightly darker color, unless you absolutely saturate it. With the NF oil, stop applying it a few coats before you think it's had enough. Otherwise, it'll leech oil out onto everything it touches (when saturated). NF oil is primarily a conditioner, used to restore oils, etc. after leather has been cased, carved, tooled, etc. For best results, apply a light coat and let it soak in. If there's any really dry spots, they'll get lighter pretty quick and you can add another very light coat to those areas. Then.....set it down and leave it alone for a day. The oil will soak into the leather quickly, but needs time to even distribute through the whole thickness. There won't be any 'shine' to it caused by the NF oil. For that you need to add a topcoat. Now, there is a recipe for absolutely beautiful leather that involves NF oil and sunshine. Just like YOU get sunburned, so can leather. Lightly oil it, then place in the sun for a day and it should turn out gorgeous. It still won't be sealed, but it's an easy way to get a good look. If you want really good water resistance, stop by Academy (or another sports store) and look for "Sno-Seal". I did some test pieces, and the water just beaded up on the surface after application. That Mink Oil you have may do the same thing....hence the suggestion to test a few scraps before using it on the piece you're working on.

Also....the nearest Tandy to you is down the road in N'Orleans. You can check with them and get info on when the hold classes.

Bonnie, I don't have any experience with that machine, but I'm getting some of the same thing with my Boss. I got the machine from Frank (on here) and he told me to keep an eye on the tension of the thread coming off the spool. Sure enough, as long as I have a little slack heading into the mechanical tensioners, it stitches great. As soon as I run out of slack, it starts pulling threads to the top. What's that got to do with you? When you see the threads pulling up, see if the thread is under additional tension as it comes off the spool.

Ferg, if you decide to lower the dogs, be careful that they are either completely down, or have enough still raised to get a good purchase on the leather. I made some really nice scuffs when I tried to lower the feed dogs on a little machine and got them just low enough to skid along the leather. For the presser foot marks......fine tune the pressure, and keep a modeling tool handy.

Bryan, Welcome to Leatherworker.net. That little part where you ask if anyone is willing to share knowledge....that's the reason we are here. We have several sections that will help you out if you'd like to read them. Start out in the Paul Burnett section where there is some introductions to the various methods. Keep a note pad handy and write down your questions, then post them in a thread for specific answers. We also have a "How do I do that?" section, where members ask and receive answers for specific questions. Grab a chair and stay a while, you're gonna like it here.

If it has no silicone, then it's probably carrying a wax of some sort. That's just fine. Without having it in hand, I'd have to say it's time to test. Get just a small scrap and coat it. Then you'll know what it's gonna do. Both mink- and neatsfoot oil will somewhat darken the leather. A small sliver of the leather is all you really need for test purposes. Why not try both, and see which you like better.