mikesc

The leather you linked to at buyleatheronline https://buyleatheronline.com/en/nappa-leather/7-black-nappa-leather.html?search_query=NAPA&results=3 is cheap for a retail price..If you buy direct from the tanneries or megisseries in larger quantities ( over 10 skins per order in most of them ) it will cost you less.You can also have it dyed to your own colour to order .High quality leather does not come "cheap", you cannot buy a Rolls Royce for the price you pay for a Pinto.. Btw ..It is dyed black, not painted black, there is a huge difference between what those words mean.

Electric soldering iron ( with filed and polished tip(s) run through a dimmer switch/ rheostat. Cost..under $20.00. RockyAussie , Brian.. has posted pictures of his in use and explained how he made it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brass

Umm, Chuck..I didn't say this line.. I've not been downloading..apart from seeing how Tandy stream video via Brightcove..Which I mentioned on the Tandy free thread.Here

https://www.leathercraftlibrary.com/category/85/patterns-free-leathercraft Apparently it is everything on the left navigation,ebooks, doodles etc. HTH

Sound advice Brian..Got to go out , will look back in later.

nrk said presumably on page 42 in each book.. That's gonna save Johanna a lot of money on hosting and domain name renewals, may as well just turn off the lights then at the end of the month..Huh. A little ( or a lot ) of downloading of "free" can be a dangerous thing.

What Mutt said..it is like fine wine..gets better as it gets older.

242Y :) :)

Yep..stamped, ( stamps which would remove that part of the A, or any enclosed area ( the typographical name for an enclosed area is a "counter"), are more awkward to make, and thus more expensive, and fragile ) and stuck in. With the "counters" painted, they could have removed the "counters" with a scalpel, but didn't..

The way those letters are slightly rounded on all the edges,( even where they meet the black edges ) I'd say there is a good chance that they were stamped out individually, and then stuck in / on, one by one after, with the black and white layers having been already sewn together..

Ah..to make Holster Patterns ..a word was missing earlier, should ha' guessed I suppose ;).. Gimp and inkscape would work for those too, don't get a lot of call for Holster patterns, or leather holsters where I am, not "my market"..there is a "western dress up" market here though. I just never bothered with it..you really don't want to hear country music songs in French*..Nor rock*, nor Reggae*, nor Hip-Hop*..nor Pop* ( part from a few exceptions, one of whom died and got a state funeral ) Uniformed forces here tend to use Kydex ( and similar holsters ) , others buy theirs ( leather holsters ) when they are in the USA. *It is even worse when you can understand all the lyrics, and how they bust a gut because it must always rhyme, even if that makes the words sound ridiculous.."uh" gets added to the end of many words at the end of lines, to make them rhyme with the word that had "uh" added to the end word of the line, one or two lines before..

Yes, the older ones don't have it..My 20U doesn't say 20U 33, just 20U, never been able to find out why, nor how old it is..So I don't know which was the year that they bought that feature in..Could be that some 20Us have it and others don't , and that all 20U33 models do. Mine has the twin spool stand that folds up from that back of the machine, and is pale blue, with a whitish stripe with 20U ( no 33 ) the older ones that I have seen , have a single horizontal spool holder mounted on the top of the machine. The bight is 9mm from side to side ( some are smaller )..the harp is 3/4 of standard industrial, two different sets of feed dogs, and two different feed dog plates.The embroidery plate didn't come with it, I made one. They also work pretty well for sewing neoprene, I know people who use them for free form embroidery artwork, and Irish dance motif embroidery ( the much older 107W100 and especially the 107W102 are ideal for embroidery, but very very sought after and cost a great deal more when one can find them ) ..I'd have the use for an older Neechi cast iron triple stitch zig -zag machine too..Another "hens teeth" item I know that you have put a few machines on treadles that didn't originally have them, was your 20U original with a treadle, or was that a conversion ?

Indeed, beautiful, as usual. :)

Depends on what you want to do with your.psd files..gimp ( freeware, cross platform, open .psd, edit .psd, save to .psd..if you don't need to work with layers ). Latest version is much more powerful than previous ones. https://www.gimp.org/features/ inkscape for vectors ( like illustrator ) https://inkscape.org/ HTH

And thank you Gregg When you have actually used or own a Singer 20U you know they are good, I was looking for mine for close to a year, they are like hen's teeth here, travelled 200 kms each way to get it..When I got there the guy pressed the "on" button for the clutch motor, and the blue smoke escaped with a "bang!!"..he looked really sad , and said "now I'm never going to be able to get rid of it, and It is too heavy to take to the dump, ( was on a full size k leg table ) will you take it away for me, for free"..So..of course being the public spirited person I am , I said yes ..it now has the clutch motor from my Singer 211 ( which got a servo motor ) ..when I get the time, I have a servo motor for it..SilverForgeStudio, get the 29K..offer something low for the rest.Count the cash in front of him ...if he sticks, make an offer just for the 29K and the 20U.. Just saw you asking about 20U parts..parts are cheap, and 20us are very easy to work on..you can also use them to do freehand embroidery, initials, monograms, and the like ( they are also great for canvas )..you use the knee lift to change the "bight" ( the width of the zig-zag ) by moving the knee lift action bar that is underneath the table so that it is under the rod which allows you to control the bight dynamically while you are sewing ( without stopping ) ..or you can set the bight and needle position from the top of the machine..you can't do any of that on a domestic cast iron machine, which anyone who has actually used either a Singer 20u or a cast iron domestic machine would know. I don't know ( have never used a Consew Premier 817 ) and If I haven't used a machine, I don't comment on them, but Gregg ( like wiz and Bob and some others here ) has forgotten more about sewing machines than most of us will ever know..so know, so listen to the man :)

Marievee said.. Layers of what ? and how many in total ? at what thickness per each layer ? All machines ( even domestics ) can sew two layers of 14 oz denim..or two layers of 1.5mm lambskin

rule 34

Except it isn't ..and you won't.. Many of us in business ( where you don't keep machines that are of no use in the ateliers ) have both singer 20Us and Singer or other Domestic cast iron machines along with our other Industrial walking foot machines., so we know what we are talking about when it comes to them, Singer 20Us compared to domestic cast iron machines.. If it runs ( the Singer 20U ) and you can get it for a reasonable price..do so..it will be useful when in the atelier with a walking foot machine / machines and a patcher.. the others..No leave them..unless you can get them for a few dollars each, and then break them for parts and sell the parts.

Sangrati..what would be in it for those who are already in business if they did this They would help for what reason..what would it benefit them ? you should also be aware that some of us in already in business here, are already in contact via email etc directly, and already help each other out with sourcing etc where we can.This here ( Johanna's place ), is already "the platform" where " those who are capable could ( actually already do ) help on "the platform" to those who are not so apt at the art"..you are talking about a commercial "market place" form of a guild..as already exists in Germany and some other countries..I'm not at all sure,no, belay that.. in fact I'd be definitely against anyone telling anyone that "they could not release goods until they meet the standard"..in the USA that is called "restraint of trade".Nope , no way, no how, nope, nope, nope, niet , nein, non, leh... JLS..I did n't bother posting re Because 1)Brian works in a different field from me..what is relevant to his "mass production" ( or at least large scale production is not relevant to what I do )..so I would not be a subscriber..But, from pure curiosity ( depending on the subject ) I might be interested in an individual video(s)..Never hurts to learn something new if one has the time..I've never actually see any of Brian's videos he has posted here, because unless I'm on youtube, I block youtube and Google ..But his "how to threads" are superb :)..so, if he were to make videos, I would be pretty certain that they would be worthwhile to many..How many depends on how many here are hobbyists, ( I suspect as Jeff said recently that it is the vast majority ) and how many of them would have the time and funds to invest in what is necessary to move into true production of the kind of things Brian makes..or things in which those techniques might be useful. 2)Personally, given the huge level of skill and experience and creativity he has, and the fact that he is a very good teacher (as is evidenced by his "how tos" )..If he were in the USA or Europe ( rather than the expensive to get to Australia ) I'd have suggested to him privately long a go that he thinks about opening a school ( even if only for a few weeks per year ) with small groups of students who would visit him in Australia ( stay for however long the courses were* )..They would pay him ( the rip off "courses being run out of Italy seem to do very well, and are IMO very expensive for the little that they teach, and as many of their teachers are not experienced enough themselves, they often teach badly ) ..That I would see as viable..I've run similar things in the UK , Malta, and France related to teaching people how to to draw, paint and sculpt better. But it is far easier to run classes when accommodation is easy to find close to them, they do not require long distance expensive flights to get to, there are not possible visa and passport questions..But above ll it is easier to run classes when one is not also running a very high quality luxury goods production business , with clients and commitments to service, at the same time.. From the rates that people such as Nigel and some of those who run shoemaking courses ( another skill that Brian has "coming out of his ears", could probably make fantastic shoes in his sleep ) people do not want to pay enough per video to make it worthwhile ..at least I wouldn't get out of bed for what I see videos being charged for..Whereas courses where people actually have to show up and you show them and guide them..that is a "different kettle of fish" ( "ball game" if you are left side of the pond) ..hobbyists are prepared to go hungry to pay to learn from someone who is really good.. It also removes the potential problem of videos being copied and "shared", likewise PDF files ( although they, PDF files are easier to secure against casual copying and "sharing" than videos )..see my comment a day or so ago in the Tandy "free" thread re videos...The other factor with videos, which you have mentioned a few times Jeff , and which I agree totally with you on, ( came outta left field there huh ) is that almost the first thing that happens when someone who really knows what they are doing, makes a video, every youtube wannabee , makes a video of what they just saw ( like it was their idea ) throws it up on youtube for the "fame" and / or the ad money ( without a large number of subscribers only Google gets paid for the ads that roll, but some still think they are going to live on 10cts per 1000 views ) ..and the world gets a snowball effect of videos about "how to "whatever, done badly, by people who have no idea, but who just watched someone who did know. If Brian is ever interested in going down the "in person courses" route, the nuts and bolts of how it could be done, and what could be included, what the marketing would need to be, what the rates might be, etc etc..Should best be ( IMO ) discussed privately*..not in open forum, where, as has happened, almost instantly someone jumps in to try and organise the leatherworkers world second coming..or the latest Etsy off the back of other people's skills and talent. Is the daughter of the woman that was run down cute ? ps..my gross profit is 9 or 10 times what the materials and time to make "whatever " costs me..net..( everything taken out, materials, roof over head, vehicles, machines, energy insurance, income tax etc etc, is around 7.5 to 8 times what ever was "cost"..sometimes materials don't even cost 5% or even 1% of final price..( productivity etc is already "optimised" ) Could make more..would have to get up earlier, I do not really do mornings...Also have to leave time for doing other things, not my only business, and family comes first too. Management accountants..in French we say "des compteurs de haricots".. Gonna go unpack my new laser, arrived today..I'll look in later to see how I might make it more productive..or something. My apologies Brian :)..sort of hi-jacked your thread a little there..But I think it was more relevant than a second Etsy or a commercial guild.

my 2cts..not viable, nor required, those of us in business** are doing just fine and don't require any intermediaries between us and our customers..There is more to Ecom than registering a domain name and some limited companies.Those who produce high quality goods already, do not need certification by a new "platform" which ( and the person "setting it ups" in this case you )obviously would like to be taking it's/ their "cut" of any sales.The hobbyists ( Hey Brian, my system thinks that is an OK spelling ) already have Etsy et al. The "leather industry" has many national and international bodies, some of us are members of some of them..Another "trade / directory / platform" that wants people to join so it can take a cut of what they sell their work for ? ..Nope.. I'll pass..I used to get spammed by that kind of thing daily via emails ( and occasionally via "snail mail" *), before I set up my own mail server and had them black holed or bounced. *Still get some snail mail ones..use them to light the fire, just like all the other "I can make you rich" junk mail. **Speaking for myself here..others in business already may differ, but I sincerely doubt it.

I built my own mass storage heater / fireplace*, have a friend who is a tree surgeon, in exchange for building him a website, ( which I offered to do anyway ) I get all the free wood I want ( as sometimes 6 metre by 1metre logs ) I just have to chainsaw it smaller, split and store it to dry, some is used for sculpture, or lumber, the rest I burn, all of it, leaves are composted..There is no waste .Grew up ( half the time ) on the family small farm in Eire, small farmers don't waste..not even a small piece of string. Here they don't burn Birch ( which is a shame because it burns well, if a bit tarry if you don't get the fire hot enough, and if you can't build a chimney that draws properly ), they only burn Oak, Beech, and Ironwood..the rest ( they think ) "doesn't burn well"..I've given up trying to explain to them how to build mass heaters, and proper chimneys..I just let folks give me the wood that they think doesn't burn well. Are you sure that there is no one in Canada producing large amounts of Birch Tar that you could buy? Making it yourself is very laudable, but despite being simple, it is time consuming on a small scale. * ( around 85 to 90% efficient, maybe more, certainly better , more efficient than the very expensive ones that I've see supposed "specialist" fireplace builders here sell for many thousands of Euros, one of my neighbours bought one of them, burns 4 times as much wood as I do, to get the same temp, in the about the same volumetric space..cost him $16.000.oo Euros ! ) Btw..You might be interested in this ( sort of tangential to what you are doing, but dates back to the time when the Russian Court smelled so much of their leather , which was Birch Bark treated ) that a very well known UK business grew out of it.. https://www.imperialleather.co.uk/our-story The website has that irritating light brown on beige thing going on with the text in places ( some web designers are beyond hope ) ..but it does give you some more background that you may not have known around your product's history.

You cold always buy it in bulk from Russia and then "reduce" it and sell it on, not as lucrative, but ( depending on how much you pay for shipping from Canada ), could still be a viable business. Just have to pitch it right to the Hipster market "Condition and waterproof your boots the way your Great Grandpa, and his Great Grandpa etc did*" you may even be able to buy it in Canada in 200 litre barrels. *Yes, I confess , I used to work in the advertising business. Come to think of it, if the shipping costs to send stuff to customers were not so high in France, ( and small glass bottles or metal containers are not cheap here either even orders of 1000 units or more ) I'd be tempted to add it as a new product line myself, plenty ( far too many in fact, one is too many ) of Hipsters in France**, seems a shame not to be taking more of their foolish Hipster money. ** There are at least 20 or so permanent residents,here in this small town ( 3k population when the tourists are here in summer ) ..Paris is "scootering"*** with them. ***verb or possibly adverb ( depends on where you learned your English apparently ) which describes a number of Hipsters in motion or in a group..Noun is a "scooter" of Hipsters..like "flock"

Brian would maybe have to ask Claton to be sure ? But I'd imagine that the idea is not to step on their tails, they can reach round very fast to their tails with the toothy end.

Google search for annual production quantity Russian birch ply I think that the "Russian commercial set up" is more than "large", they can certainly be able to sell what is an incidental waste by product of Birch plywood production very cheaply,..they could give it away if they felt so inclined. For example..The SVEZA Group's annual production is 102 million m2 (1.3 million m3)....They don't go gathering 3lbs of Birch bark, they go gathering a few thousand tons per time as as side effect of gathering a few hundred thousand tons of Birch trees at a time, multiple times per year.. Making Birch Tar, even at artisanal levels in small quantities isn't rocket surgery. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birch_tar