TwinOaks

Le magnifique travail, je surtout comme l'animal carvings. D'afficher votre travail ici est bon et vous pouvez aussi afficher des peintures dans la section appelée " show off" (Se vantent) Wonderful work, I especially like the animal carvings. It's good to post pics here, and you can also post pictures in the "show off" section.

Geez, Steve....I wasn't even born until 3 years after you graduated.....Thanks! I'm feeling younger and more rejuvinated already!!!!! Kustom, I don't have a pattern, per se, but post a pic of what you've got now and I'll try to help you figger one out.

I'd return them in a heartbeat. I hope you paid by credit card, because you can contact the card company and let them know that you're returning the product and you want your money back. I'm not the best leathercrafter in the world, and I know it. Occasionally, I'll make silly mistakes....but I catch them. I also try to keep my kids (7 & 8 years old) interested in the craft. I can honestly say that my kids can turn out better work than some of what you posted.....well, one of them can. My son (youngest) doesn't really care to much for anything that isn't dangerous to himself or others, but my daughter is making my proud by mimicing my OCD. Back to the leather: Yep, crap. Send it back in a box, addressed to the CEO of the company, with a polite letter of complaint. The nice thing about folks that try and turn a quick buck by turning out crap work....well, they aren't around long.

I did some additional searching, and it looks (mechanically) a lot like a consew 277-. The spec sheet lists it with about 5/16" presser foot lift. I know I'm , but after my experience with a "super clean" Singer 66 I got from ripoff-bay, I'm gonna say it anyway....look for a new machine, or at least one that's in use just before you buy it, preferably from an established business. Stay away from the 'deals' online....especially the "head only, it was working when I bought it, and I need money right freaking now" sales.

In that case...since you got them at blow-out prices from a legitimate source.... SCORE!!!!!! I pulled a spec sheet (google it) on the 223R and it looks like you've got a presser foot lift of about 8mm. I don't think it falls in the "heavy duty stitcher" category, but it should handle belts, bags, wallets, etc. All it specifies on thread is "..thread depends on speed and material.." Hang around for a little while....Art's sure to make an appearance and tell you what you need. BTW, go with his advice if it differs from mine...

at those prices, I have to wonder about them- both mechanically, and whether or not they're "hot". That 223 is easily a $2000 machine, new....maybe more. For the 225, it looks like a Singer 111, so you can do a search here for it.

Ed, I've got the older version of the model to which you posted a link; it looks like the current model has more goodies. Rdb's looks like the next size up. Either should suit you just fine. I've used mine for everything from the shop, to vacuuming the car, and lots of things in-between. Small note on the smaller size- at least the version I have- is that you can't swap the hose to the exhaust to use it as an HVLP inflator.

Enough room in front of the slide to allow comfortable wear, and enough room in the back (rearmost slot) to allow for a full grip, but still pull the butt of the pistol in snug to the body. The closer you can get the slot size to the actual belt width the better off you'll fare.

3 votes for 1 gal shop vac. The only issue is they are noisy. That's easily handled by putting the base unit in a box lined with foam/carpet scraps/sound baffles/etc and having a longer hose. A 'plus' for them is that they are wet/dry vacs, and handle either with applomb.

Welcome to Leatherworker.net! It's pretty obvious that you've been looking about....you included pics in your first post!!! Grab a seat, and stay a spell, byo drinks, and the restrooms are down the hall to the left.

Object lesson in what one man can do: Andy Artoonian.

Good start on your website, Lobo. I know it's probably just the prototype site, but one of the first things I noticed is that all the page links in the header seem a little cluttered. A few hours should get that straightened out, no prob. Good looking leather, keep it up! Congrats for being able to expand your business, I'm hoping to head that direction too.

Bienvenue à Leatherworker.net, il est bon d'avoir des membres plus européens. L'utilisation d'un traducteur est très bien, et il y a probablement quelques uns de nous qui parlent français aussi bien. Montrez les images de votre travail, svp, nous voudrait les voir. Nous aimons des images.

Take this advice with a salt block....not a grain....a block. I have a 66, and in the center of the flywheel, there's a knob. That knob is loosened to use the bobbin winding accessory. I have no idea ff the 31 has a similar attachment method for the flywheel, but it'd be worth checking. When loosened, it allows the machine to run without moving any of the other parts -needle, hook, etc. No info on the bobbin/shuttle other than my Viking 6440 has a similar bobbin and if inverted, it too will fall out. One of those 'gotta be careful' things, I suppose.

Call Steve. You will please notice that he wrote:"...and I will give you the name of the closest dealer to you that sells this type of machine," and not "you need to buy model X." Steve is in the postition to know what's needed, and who to go to to get it. I'm pretty sure I could do an online search and have 10 different models inside of 5 minutes, but there's a catch: Most if not all of this class of machine are set up for factory production work....at factory production work speeds. Sure you can run them more slowly, but it takes a good bit more effort/skill. You'll want one of the larger sized machines that's set up for leather. This can include a speed reducer (pully) and/or a DC motor with adjustable max speed. You don't want a machine that goes from zero to 'help, I sewed myself to the leather!' inside of one second. Not everybody knows how to do it, and unless you're a mechanic (or similarly inclined) it's better to just get the whole thing set up by folks that know what they're doing. Yes, Steve is a businessman. However, his reputation preceeds him for a reason, and he's an incredible asset to this forum. There are other's of course: Kevin at Springfield Leather, Ryan Neel of Neel's Saddlery, Dave at Artisan, the list goes on. Art (forum moderator) is another good source. Superchute wasn't steering you wrong with the advice to get more machine than you think you need. I've priced several models, found what appears to be a good deal, then realized that I'd be better off just getting a good heavy duty machine to begin with, and only having to buy one (more) that will do a very wide range of projects. There's nothing like getting to the end of a project where you've had to hand crank the machine through almost every hole and realizing that 245 stitches ago, the hook missed the thread (leather too thick/ timing is off for that thickness)it's pulled loose, and you've got to go back and restitch something. It's a real eye opener. So, I write again....Call Steve. It's an 800 number, won't cost anything, and the advice you get may just put you on the machine you need. Oh, I'm not affiliated w/ Steve/Cobra/LMC, nor am I a customer. But as soon as I can, I will be.

Just remember, whatever percentage chance they give for a particular weather event.....there's the remaining % chance they're wrong. The most accurate weather forecast I've ever heard was in the mid 1990's in Macon, Ga. The weatherman was an ooooold man, who was apparently tired of working. The weather pattern in question was a collision of two systems, with scattered showers popping up here and there. The forecast was: "Depending on where you are, and what time it is, you might get some rain today." Btw, down here on the gulf coast, we're really loving the low 60's (F) at night. It's putting off running the AC a little while longer. Thanks for the cool breeze

Mine measured right at 8 inches, around the radius and ulna. (the bones that 'stick out' are actually your forearm bones) 6'1" frame of a blue collar worker that works with his hands.

Actually, I've already got it, with a boatload of plug-ins, and add-ons. I just haven't bothered to tweak it so everything runs just so. <sigh> yet another "To Do".

You're most welcome for the advice, hopefully it was worth at least what you paid for it! Hmm, so I remind you of your dad.....great, now I feel old (er). There is a bright side to being....thrifty....and it's this: Yes, he may have spent 5 hours making a tool he could buy for a few bucks, but at the end of it, he had the tool and the few bucks.

When I've used them, I punch a hole just a little smaller than the shaft of the t-nut, then stretch it out to intall the t-nut. Several times I've needed to clip the points of the prongs to keep from over penetrating the holster. For setting them: a good hard surface, and mallet. Oviously, if the t-nut is longer than the holster is thick, you'll want to use something to allow for that. I'm pretty limited on my selection of hardware (homedepot/lowes) so I've been using the 6/32 size. Just be sure to allow a spacer between the belt loop straps and the holster, and figure that into your thickness.

Considering dickf's advice, I completely uninstalled ie8 and 7, saved all the favs (just in case) and reinstalled a clean version of ie7. Problems went away, and it's back to it's regular speed (which for a 4 year old laptop isn't too bad).

Start swearing loudly at it, then threaten with violence. It didn't solve any problems, but I felt better. Hang in there, the gurus are coming.

Here's another perspective, along the same lines as BillB's. Stop buying tools. Start practicing. I started with (and still have) a fairly limited selection of tools. I've picked up a few things and used them ONCE. The things that get used most are swivel knife, beveler, backgrounder, pearshader, and an awl. And the slicker/folder I made from a $6 piece of wood from Woodcraft. Would I like all the top drawer tools? Absolutely! Do you need all of them? No. Sitting down in Peter Main's work shop wouldn't help my carving ability, nor anyone elses. Sure, every tool you can think of is within arm's reach, but while you're starting out, you won't know what you need. Work with what you've got, and learn to use each tool to it's fullest. Then expand your tool selection. Do you HAVE to have modeling tools? No, you don't. Try using a smooth beveler like a pencil. You can actually draw with it, remove the ridge on carvings (the halo), all kinds of things. Need a wood burnisher? Try the curved handle of one of your tools. Need a lifter/petal tool? Get a cheap screwdriver, and cut the shaft of at the angle of your choice then sharpen and polish. Need a stitching spacer? Use a fork. Make some of your tools from bolts, modify other stuff do what you want. The point is, the tools do not make the craftsperson. Yes, better tools make a craftsperson do better, but they're no subsitute for practice. Take a look at my avatar. That was done using a Cam, a Beveler, a Pearshader, a Swivel knife, and a t-shirt. This one was done with a modeling tool...only. Get some patterns, get that old hide, get to practicing. Check back here, and post pics. This is the best way to learn this craft...unless you have a neighbor named Chan. A good analogy is this: You don't learn to shoot with a tricked out, scoped and ported SBH. You learn the fundamentals of shooting with a MkI/II/III. Then you move up to the customized toys.

Thank you, Redbeard and Jbird. I appreciate the compliments.

Check Ohio Travel Bag (OTB).