Kevin

With nylon thread, I wax it and pierce the needle through the thread three times instead of just once. Kevin

No, I tried one in the beginning and it absorbs the impact that should be going into your tools. Have fun, Kevin

Agreed, the only times I use Edge Kote are when I use black leather or chrome tanned leather or if dye will bleed into the leather from the edge. Kevin

Did you really let it dry? Like 24 hours. I know it looks dry in just a few minutes, but it takes longer to really dry. Good luck, Kevin

The Tandy High Tech Skiver is a toy that cost 40.00 when it first came out in the '70's. But it was better than the nothing you could buy then. Kevin

Tool on the right is a welt plow (plough), I believe. Kevin

Thanks, Kevin

This is not actually the answer to your question BUT, if you want to darn or zig-zag, just run a loop of cord or leather from the last section of the arm that goes up and down on top of the machine around the take up lever for the presser foot. This takes a bit of trial and error to get the length just right, but when you get it right, as the arm lifts up it picks up the presser foot and releases the thread tension so that you can manipulate your materials where ever you wish. This method has served me well on three different long arm machines, but I have not been as successful with my 29-4. Good luck, Kevin

I bought the wooden handle and screw from Pilgrim Shoe and Sewing Machine Inc. 800-343-2202. (20 years ago) Kevin

If you're truly in competition with them, just buy their stuff and resell it. I don't pay much attention to their finished product catalog, but I don't recall seeing anything all that impressive. Kevin

Does the "ink" just wipe off with the Walmart pens? Kevin

It depends on the size of the stitch and your style of stitching, but mainly on the size of the stitch. Kevin

Fisher (Space Pens) used to make two sizes,I believe, but I don't buy anywhere near enough to meet their minimum anymore. I get them from Ward and Kennedy now and they only have the wide. Got to wipe the tip off every time I use one, so it doesn't make a gooey mess on everything. Good luck, Kevin

Just look at the nice round heads on the brass and look at the flat head on the split rivet, I've never seen rounded heads on split rivets. The others are copper inserted from the back and set on the front, using the hardware in place of burrs. I probably do half a dozen plates on halters this way every day. Kevin

Thanks

Got the leather today. I have to say that it's not nearly as pretty as Sedgwick's. The back isn't finished as well and it is "greasier" on the surface. I probably won't get a chance to really use it for a couple weeks, but I will try to report when I do, or if I use it before then. Kevin

Those tools look like they're for tubular rivets. I think if you squeeze a solid copper rivet, it will just bend (ok, I know it). I think if I were back in an apartment ... marble or granite slab on the bed, leather on top of that, anvil on the leather, hope the slab doesn't break and all the neighbors will hear is tink, tink, tink. It will bounce up and down some, but if everything is tight and solid, it should work. Good luck, Kevin

I had never heard of Booth either, I met the salesman at a trade show in King of Prussia, PA. Oh, and Clayton is the tanner not Putnam. Pricewise, it was less than $350 for a pair of butts + shipping. The last I got from Seigel was almost $300 for one piece (not sure if it was a back or butt) and free shipping. I haven't seen the leather yet, so it might be apples and oranges, don't know, but Seigel didn't have backs or butts in black. As for Baker, I think after the communications were through, it only took about two weeks to get the leather. Kevin

The last post is correct. You cannot take care of the suede and the nap will wear off in two weeks and then it will be slicker than the grain side. A few decent saddles had suede out, but mostly just old Argentine saddles using split leather. I haven't seen any since the mid '80s. Kevin

OK then, you need soft foam rubber, and Windmill does not have that last I checked, and I don't know who does. I used to glue a couple layers of neoprene together for that. You should probably have about a 6oz. piece of leather on the bottom and 5oz on top. I have never done a satisfactory job without taking the flaps off the saddle. I've tried just taking the saddle nails out, thinking that would give me the clearance needed to stitch, but the saddle creates enough leverage against the side of the machine to make the stitching look bad. Even hand stitching, flipping the flap back and forth makes the stitching look choppy. Some of the newer saddles have really soft thick foam like they sell at material shops, I don't know how well it will hold up though. They usually have air vents ( hoes punched) in the bottom piece of leather like a sofa cushion. I had one the other day that whistled from so much air going in and out and the holes being too small. Let me know if I can be of further help, this was the first thing I did that made me the saddler at the shop, Kevin

Whoa, Are you talking about knee rolls or a padded flap? Kevin

I ordered a pair of black butts today from Booth in Mass. tanned by Putnam in England, we'll see how they look soon. I have ordered stirrup butt directly from Baker in England and it was nice but it took a month or so just to get a reply from them, maybe he just overlooked an e-mail or something. GB and US, two great countries separated by a common language. Kevin

Even though you may not be burning the leather, you may be burning the gum right off. I can't tell you about speeds and pressure, you have to practic and find what works best for you. Some days I can get a beautiful edge and other days it seems like I can't get squat. I use gum on the leather and parafin on my finishing wheel. I had a Master saddler from England in the shop Fri. and she uses something called glue beads that dissolves in water and just rubs it with a cloth. We have an English shoemaker in the shop and he says they use gum dragon, which I believe is the same thing since they both said it smells like vomit, but works incredibly. Good luck, Kevin

Hey Andrew, 4 1/2-5oz leather, veg tanned panel hide is the best, but I haven't seen any for a few years, most anything will do, chap leather is fine just won't form as easily. Windmill Saddlery may have the stiff foam or you could use felt. I couldn't tell you how many rolls I used to take off saddles, now everybody wants them. We do some on some dressage saddles that look like something off of a Peruvian bull fighting saddle. Kevin

I think about all you can do on chrome tan is Edge Kote. Kevin