TwinOaks
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Posts posted by TwinOaks
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Since you have used the acrylic bases on everything, resolene isprobably going to be your best option...preferably sprayed on.. I don't know how well the leather will take it because of all the acrylics already on the leather, but Sno-Seal is a very good water repellent. As far as color fastness....no way to tell. Some of the eco- products hold up well in direct sunlight, some of them don't. You'll just have to see which.
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I would recommend saving a bit more and purchasing the right machine for your needs.I'd go a little further and say get more machine than you think you'll need. Staying strictly within your parameters (wallets and pancake holsters) a reconditioned Singer 111 style would work. It should handle the wallets with ease and most of the flat holster work...but the holsters could be st the maximum capacity of the machine...which could cause some additional wear to the machine. What if you need to sew a liner into the holster? Upgrading to a Consew 205 (or clone) would increase the capacity a bit for the holsters, and still handle the light work well. The point is that all machines have a physical limit to how much and what they can sew. As long as you stay inside those limits you're fine, but the choice of machine can limit your ability to do some projects. By having a machine with more capacity than your requirements, you don't wear out your machine, AND you have a little room for expansion.
If at all possible, stick to our sponsers - not only have they earned their reputations, but they do a lot to the machines to set them up specifically to sew leather.
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H and Welcome to Leatherworker.net! Go ahead and ask your questions, will try to answer them.
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And since it hasn't been mentioned here yet....ALWAYS buff the leather to remove loose dye particles before sealing it.
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Nice find! I'm not too keen on the newer Tandy tools, but the old ones are worth having.
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Lots of things can influence it, so a specific time will be hard to say. Just from my own experience, you should use it all up before it goes 'bad'. It may settle a bit, but stirring or shaking will remix it.
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The reason I use the regular needles and blunt the tip is that the eye is smaller than the egg eye needles. I've broken lots of the egg eye needles because I sew with very small holes - need pliers to get the threaded needle through.
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If I recall correctly, L6 can be hardened with water, but i've found that it oxidizes quickly. My very first attempt at making a blade was with (I think L6) a circle saw blade, and though it hardened and tempered well, it requires a coat of oil on it to prevent rapid rusting....and neither rust nor an oily blade is acceptable for leather work.
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No, it is NOT normal. I just had a look at mine, and if there's ANY tension on the thread (you are holding the threads for a few stitches when you get started, right?), the thread should glide right off the bobbin. Look for a small burr in the area it's hanging up. It you find one, you should be able to either file it out ( then re-polish) or contact tippmann for a replacement.
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Or you could make a little tab that's attached to the outer piece of leather - sewn, riveted, etc. Set it back from the edge just a little bit and you'll have room to lace the edge.
An alternate to the tab is to forego the use of D rings at all, and use a small slot in the outer piece. You simply feed the strap end through the slot and rivet/stitch in place with the end of the strap between the cover and the liner. Again, do this so that the edge is still available for lacing.
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I buy my needles at walmart (multi needle pack for about $2) and use either the smallest pair or the next smallest pair. I get my waxed linen from Hobby Lobby, "On a string" brand...white, black, or brown.
The dull needles are for sewing...they're dull so that when you go through a stitch hole, the blunt needle won't pierce an existing thread, it will go around it. I just buy sharp needles and file the tip down a little, or be careful when sewing.
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The only thing I can think of, specifically for gel, is that you might have to layout the stitch line more carefully.
You certainly don't want to sew through it.
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Welcome to Leatherworker.net!
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Only veg tan can be tooled.
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Regardless of the length to be sewn, you shouldn't sew with more than about 3 feet at a time....just like with lace. The needle end of the thread passes through every single hole, and doing some simple math, there's 72 hoes per foot. Dragging the leading thread through that many holes can make it start looking a bit ratty. As you go, you might notice that thread isn't as tight, may not lay right, may look worn, etc. It's easy to overlap and start a new piece, so there's no reason to have ratty thread at the end of your stitch lines.
If you don't know how to splice in a new piece, here's how: Sew until you have about 4 inches of thread left, and leave the ends hanging out in limbo. Now, take your new piece of thread, back up 3 holes from the last stitch, and put one end pf the thread through. Pull it through until it is centered, and resume sewing...right over the loose ends of the previous thread. After you've gone past the loose ends, pull them tight, and cut close. When you run over the stitches with the over stitch wheel, the loose ends will disappear.
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But it is the perfect example of investing $200 in labor for a $50 item.....or quite a bit more!
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Well how bout that....somebody is making one piece versions of what several of are making on our own!
I like to use a line 24 snap, a 6/32 t-nut, and a 6/32 machine screw. The 8/32 screws work too, but it's sometimes difficult to find a screw with the head small enough to fit inside the snap base (which requires modifying the screw head). The 6/32 machine screw heads fit just fine inside the line 24 snaps.
I never thought about marine supply places....and being here on the coast, I have several to pick from. i might just go shopping today!
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It looks like a presser foot with a built in edge guide...nifty!
I don't see it on the tippmann page, though. Hmmmm, did you get this from an individual?
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Depending on a couple of things, I think most can be opened to about an inch.
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Ask the questions you need to ask before you need to know the answer, or, as my sig line says "Don't learn the tricks of the trade, learn the trade."
We have a 'Critique my work' section here in the forums, and many times the critiques have been gentle and somewhat "beating around the bush". If anyone wants an absolutely no holds barred critique, y'all are welcome to contact the moderators and we can post your images without your name attached to it with instructions to be brutally honest. I did this a good while ago and the critique of my work was ...sobering. But that type of critique is sometimes exactly what we, as artisans, need to improve.
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whichever suits you best... primarily how you'll be seated, or whichever position you prefer, and the height you want to work.
The jaws will function much the same way, and you will just need to decide on a saddler's vs. harness maker's design. The saddler's design has deeper jaws, allowing larger pieces.
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A good sharp knife CAN be joy to use, but if you're dancing around because of it....slowly put down the blade, you need to get outside more.
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In a pinch, if all that is stopping you is an underlug, you can tape a dowel to to blue gun to fill out the extra space needed. You should already be doing that for the site channel, too.
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Here's a quick tip for you head knife use....when it feels like it is dragging, lighten the pressure you're applying. I thought there was something wrong with my blade when i was actually through the leather and starting to cut into the cutting board.
Finishing A Leather Armguard?
in How Do I Do That?
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No offense taken at all...and you're right, I did make the presumption on technique. Although my method is different...I more or less follow the bottle directions and apply with a sponge. But the results are the same - a long wearing water resistant finish that looks good.