TwinOaks
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Posts posted by TwinOaks
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I get a light edging in the tight area -just enough to break the corner- and let the burnisher do the rest. It's a rotary burnisher with a 'belt slot tip'...basically I have a rounded taper down to 1/4 inch and I use that to burnish all the inside edges of the belt slots.
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Contact Kevin at Springfield Leather (ad banner at top of page) and tell them what you need.
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We decided that wimpy sport bikes should be regulated to vinyl and nylon.
Just kidding!!
I don't recall seeing anything specifically for sport bikes, so you may have found a niche market.
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I thought you were suggesting making up the space with rings. That way, the original belt is the only leather used and removes the need to try and match the color.
I can certainly see the merit of only using them to add new pieces. As long as the color/stamping is repeatable, then the latter will definitely be faster and easier.
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Sponge is fine unless you have a lot of nooks and crannies like you find in Sheridan / Floral carving. If you do have a lot of little places to get the antique, I find that either sheepskin or fake sheepskin (pet dept. in walmart) does very well at getting the antique where it needs to go. Heck, you might be able to use a sponge on those too, but I like the wool better because it's softer.
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So the trick isn't to simulate all the wear and distress......it's to get all the wear and distress...FASTER.
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Contact Bob Kovar at Toledo Industrial Sewing. Link in ad banners.
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It's going to completely depend on your SPI, and what your stitching together. I'd stick to either 132 or 207 and 5 or 6 spi.
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You could do it with those plain (open / no center bar) rings...round or square...but remember to allow for the fold around each one. I'm guessing that you'd probably need 4 1" rings per side to stretch the belt 4 inches......because you'll use ~1/2" at each fold.
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Hand buffing is the way to go. You could put a buffing cloth on a drill, but you have to worry about building up heat and making a burnished or burnt spot.
You can buff when it's totally dry and do pretty good with whatever finish you're trying for. Or, you can spray LIGHTLY with some water and start buffing. That will likely result in a glazed finish...which is sometimes a good thing. But....you said you want a matte finish, so.... Buff when the leather is dry. Your choice of top coat / sealer will also have a major role in the finish.
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The secret to edges can be found in Hidepounder's tutorial....right here in the 'How do I ....." section. You don't have to follow his way EXACTLY....but stay close to the guide and you'll have much nicer edges than edgekote will ever produce. Edgekote is a surface treatment...period. It's a product to produce a quick shiny edge, and it's basically painted on the leather. After slicking the edges, you also need to burnish, DYE them, buff them, seal, and re-buff.
Since you're in hotlanta, swing by the Tandy there and check out the Professional Water Stains. They might give you some additional options on belt colors, and they're getting a pretty good review.
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Well, you're definitely in the right place!!!! This site is one of, if not THE, biggest sources of leather working knowledge on the planet.
Welcome to Leatherworker.net!
When you get to main page of the forums, you'll see a lot of categories. Pick one and get to reading. There's so much here that it gets a little hard to fathom. We have a lot of amateurs, quite a few novices, and are blessed with some of the masters of the craft that generously share their knowledge with the rest of us.
Recommended reading topics: Getting Started, How do I do That, Sheridan/Floral, and Figure Carving. In each category, there will be a number of "Pinned" topics that the staff here deemed VERY informative, and marked for easy location.
You can also browse the Gallery to get an idea of what kind of things you'd like to produce. When you have a question, feel free to ask, and we'll help out when we can.
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It kind of depends on where in "North" Florida you are. If you're near P'cola, you're not too far from Mobile.
I haven't had a lot of business with them, but I've met these people and they are very nice. The have a little store front, and do have a patcher machine on site.
You can give them a call and see if they can help you out.
(251) 660-1005
1530 W I65 Service Rd S, Mobile, AL 36693
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If you're going to try the paper cutter(s) don't skimp on quality. My wife picked a cheap (walmart) one up thinking it would be useful, but it wouldn't handle much more than pig skin lining. Anything thicker and it would just stop, or worse, slide off to the outside. This one was constructed of plastic with a metal blade.
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after you uploaded the file, did you remember to click "add to post"?
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That looks to be an electric engraver of some sort, with a purpose built beveling tool. I don't see that the tip is interchangeable with anything else. Also, in the comments section someone pointed out that the leather wasn't cut....just beveled. Toss in the eventual nerve damage caused by having a vibrating tool in your hand and having only your hand pressure to get any depth, and it looks like a solution in search of a problem. Not that long ago, there was another video where a guy had modified a needle scaler (air tool) to do pretty much the same thing.
Yes, for a certain market like people with only one working hand or some other similar disability, it could have some merit. Or perhaps it would be a good tool for running long lines. But if you notice, the operator makes the outline, then has to go back over it to get any burnish in the tooling. Even with just a plain ol' wood mallet, I get that depth on a single blow. So while I'm only moving at 1/3 -1/2 that speed...or less...I'm only having to follow the pattern once. The operator is also using a beveler where a small pear shader should be used (nostril).
I'm not saying that there shouldn't be ANY innovation in the leather tools dept., I just thing that any innovations need to be able to improve on the current tools.
A very good example of this is the Tangleboss swivel knife. It's a new take on an old idea, and does have potential. But I see some places where the traditional knife is still going to out perform it. Is it a bad idea? NOT AT ALL. For most things, it will perform as well or better than the traditional knife...but then, that's just my opinion.
Anyway, back to the engraver tool thingy....It looks like a neat addition to speed things up, in a limited manner. I don't think it will replace traditional tools, and I can see the potential for making some mistakes with it. An old adage seems appropriate here: " Don't learn the tricks of the trade....learn the trade."
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Wow, first Beaverslayer shows up and now Bonnie is back!!! It's like they're all coming home.....
Very nice work on the holsters. I also see some minor things like the corner on the sweat shield for the BDA. That's more aesthetic than anything, but corners can become snags (for shirts) and it's a visual diversion from the smooth lines of the rest of it. I'm pretty sure the old grumpy Mike covered the rest of it.
Welcome to Leatherworker.net!
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There are a couple of things... how much slack you like in the loops, if you're using line 20 or 24 snaps, or leather thickness...that will change the actual measurements
If I'm using my dot snaps, which are 5/8" diameter, the straps are 3/4". And don't forget to dress the edges.
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I make mine just a little wider than the snap I'll be using, and long enough to go around the belt, hold the snap, and have about a 1/4" as a pull tab.
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Welcome to Leatherworker.net!
When you have time, we'd love to see some of your work...and if you have any questions, feel free to ask and we'll help where we can.
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Good to hear you're out and in 'back to normal' condition.
I can't help but wonder about that 'low oxygen' part....did they use the little 'clips on your finger' thing? If so, did you warn them that they were trying to measure O2 through several yards of callous?
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Instead of using standard rivets I suggest using something like a button tack. You can look for them in "no sew button repair kits". It consists of a flat backed tack that locks into a 'button'. You probably don't want an actual button (like you'd see in a blue jean repair kit), but should be able to find something decorative to receive the tack. You could conceivable even just use an actual flat metal thumb tack, pushed through from the back, with a wooden button on the front side. Just mount the tack through the bodice and the leather, center the wooden button on top of it, and tap it down.....basically hammering the wood onto the 'nail'. The tacks are thin enough that should you change your mind, you should be able to remove them from the silk without damaging it. Depending on how thick the fabric + leather is, you might need to trim the tack so that it doesn't protrude through the button, but that's easily done with a pair of side cutters / wire cutters.
One of the first ones that comes up with Google.....you should be able to find them at just about any craft store or maybe even Walmart.
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Phil, typically (but not always) it's best to go with the lighter color first then apply the darker one over it. Using an airbrush REALLY simplifies the process of fading from one color to another.
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Very nice score!!!!
You picked all that up for the price of that arch punch.
Stroping Ceramic Blades - Why?
in Leather Tools
Posted
Certainly....
As we know, leather is a product of a chemical process - it is preserved from deterioration by tanning it. That process makes the leather slightly acidic on the pH scale. There are also natural oils, waxes and fats that are preserved along with the skin cells. When we drag a blade - steel, ruby, or ceramic- through leather we're necessarily also dragging it through everything else IN the leather. That's where the 'crust' comes from...though I'd lean more towards 'film'
However, I think there is another possibility as well. Several people have written that they've noticed that more recently made ceramic blades have grind marks on them. It's possible that the small grind marks are picking up the same residue and "clogging" the blade, making it cut less smoothly. Stropping (as stated above) cleans out the micro grooves.
Member "Shtoink" had some very insightful observations on stropping direction with the ceramic blades....I'll see if he'd like to post them here.
Paul Zalesak at Leatherwrangers did some pretty extensive analysis and discovered that the chemicals in leather are actually corroding metal in steel blades. So, for steel blades, the leather actually is DULLING the edge...despite being a much softer substance. That's the reason that Paul developed his blades from a special alloy.....which, is a trade secret.