25b

Machine has been sold.

Thank you for your reply. After reading up on what's in that leather dressing, I do not think it will do what I want it to do and may end up not being the best thing for the leather, long-term. I do sincerely appreciate the suggestion though...

Thank you, Sir...I will check them out... Any other help from anyone else that's successfully turned old leather from a board back into pliable leather is also greatly appreciated...

Anyone???

I thought we used to be able to download our private messages as a text file so that we could save them offline and empty out our inbox. Is there no way to do that anymore?

Hello...I'd like to ask folks for some advice please... I have acquired some really neat and very old Swiss military saddle bags. I've tried to do as much research as possible of reputable sources to learn the best way to help clean them and replenish oils lost over the years. They were made in 1938. So from everything I've read so far, the consensus seemed to be to wash it thoroughly using saddle soap. The Fiebings liquid saddle soap was recommended because it's easier to get into crevices, behind stitching, etc. Then use a soft bristle brush to scrub clean...then rinse thoroughly. I did that twice to each of the two bags. I let them dry indoors overnight until they were mostly dry, then took them outside to heat up (out of direct sunlight), along with the pure neatsfoot oil...then I used a chip brush to apply the oil and rubbed it in with my hands, working the leather as I applied it so it would be better absorbed. Anyway, sorry for the lengthy explanation. I did all that to both bags and one is now great, but the other one, the outer flap is stiff as a board. On the stiff one, I tried a third application of neatsfoot oil...while it was outside in the heat (it's 97 degrees in the shade here right now)...and when I did, the flap was very nice and pliable. The oil stooped getting absorbed, so I brought it indoors to finish drying -- and the flap is very rigid again. So is the back panel, btw...same as before. Any recommendations on what to try now? I'm not really interested in experimenting...I really need suggestions from folks that have restored old veg tanned leather like this and gotten good results. So...if anyone could please tell me what to do next to soften this leather, I'd be very thankful for that... Thanks for any help here...

I'm selling my Sailrite LSZ-1 machine. It's a backup machine and I really need to free up funds to buy other tools that I need. Comes with everything the "premium" package from sailrite comes with except for the integrated thread stand and their dinky little LED light. It also comes with the following which sailrite does NOT include: a leather foot, a sliding edge guide, a fixed 3/4" binder, a right angle 1" binder, several leather point needles, extra standard needles, about 15 bobbins with a nice plastic case. Works like new as it has seen very, very little use. Comes from a smoke-free and pet-free home. Price is $1125 (firm) and includes shipping within the continental US. Please pm me if you have any questions. Payment by PayPal "friends and family" or US Postal Service postal money order only. Thanks for looking!

This place has longer posts for both parts of the snap... http://www.fasnap.com/index.html I happen to like the text on the pull the dot snaps so the customer knows what direction to pull to open the snap. I also put a divot right over the "o" in "dot" on the snap so that they will know exactly what direction to pull to open it.......but that's just me. I know everyone doesn't want or need to do that.

If it is ANYTHING that will be exposed to UV (e.g. sunlight) light on a regular basis, I would VERY STRONGLY encourage you to use bonded poly thread instead of nylon. I've switched to only bonded poly on the outdoor use gear I make to ensure the items I build hold up as long as possible for my customers.

That's great...maybe I'll try to give them a call then...

Ahh...how long did it take from when you placed your order to when you received it? I heard before it's like 6-12 months or something ridiculous like that...

Where did you buy it from? Directly from Tannery Row?

You'll have a lot better luck with the "inexpensively" piece if you contact a local high school with a good shop class or a college with a machine shop...I've had some nice, metal tools made for me that way. You usually just need to supply the raw material, a drawing of what you want, and postage...it's better if you can go in person, but email works too if it's too far to drive.

No price, so I guess it's free?

This is the second thread I've seen you post this link in...is this your own shop or something?

What kind of skiver? Bell knife skiver? Manual skiver?

Ok, that's different...unless they have (or hace filed for) an actual PATENT on the design, there's really not any way they could go after you if you sold a similar item. Anyway, as with all things on the Internet, it's best to check with an IP attorney as they can explain what we've tried to explain in this thread in more accurate legal terms...there are patents, trademarks, copyrights, etc. and each are very, very different things and have various rules on what exactly is protected with each. There are people "around" that will try (wrongly) to say it's "illegal" to sell a copy of someone else's design of an item. In my research, I've found that whatever "design" is not protected if 1) they didn't apply for a patent and 2) they released that design "into the wild" by selling the item, posting pics on the Internet, etc. without having filed for patent protection. But like I said, don't take my word for it...consult with an IP attorney...they'll tell you...

Yep. That's correct. If your items are in high enough demand, you might consider raising your prices to allow you to continue to hand stitch at maybe a little more relaxed pace? Just an idea...if you can't do it, then you can't do it. I'm just so disgusted by my Cowboy 3200 bottom stitching appearance that I've just been continuing to hand stitch lately.

No pics attached. Go back to hand stitching...machine stitching is going to do this... Only thing you can try is carefully searing the ends with a lighter to melt them in place...or so.e people recommend glue, but I don't do that...Or you can pull the last stich to the back side so both threads are there and tie a knot. I think it looks bad so I don't do that either.

- YouTube - Nigel Armitage / Armitage Leather - "Saddle stitch in detail" video - Repeat watching until your stitching is as good as his (and yes, I've watched it dozens of times and still watch it occasionally because I'm not as good as he is yet...) The most important thing isn't to stitch exactly the same way he does (though it wouldn't hurt)...but to do every single stitch YOU do exactly, precisely, unwaveringly the exact same way on every single stitch every time. It take extreme discipline and attention to detail to be able to do this...and also to undo and redo 20+ stitches if you notice you made a stitch differently 20+ stitches ago. Until you get to the point where you can force yourself to do this, it will be difficult to perfect your stitching. Oh, and by "you", I don't necessarily mean you in particular...I mean the general "you" that is others looking to improve their hand stitching.

I use terminal knots on my braided items. The fast explanation is you basically crown all your strands and then run each strand under the one adjacent to it and up through the middle. But if you google "terminal knots", you'll probably find better explanations than that...

I prefer rounded corners on the Field Notes covers I make, but that's just a design choice...I'm sure plenty of people like square corners too...I'm just not a fan of them... What kind of leather is that? Can't see the edges to see if they're finished or not...

Prices??

I've seen it recommended to dye half of one of the strings the third color...then you'll end up with four strands of three colors and can begin your braid as normal... Don't really see how else you'd be able to start out a four strand braid around a ring with four colors any other way...unless you just begin with two strands of one color, one each of your second and third colors, then start it out doubled (8 strand braid)...braid it around the ring and back into itself just to attach the ring, then continue on with the four strands.

Not trying to be a smart alek, but the name is Nigel Armitage. I think maybe you're thinking of Ian Atkinson? Anyway, just wanted to correct Nigel's name to make it easier for folks to find his videos on youtube.