mikesc

By definition..a manufacturer "makes" ( they are "the factory" ) ..an importer orders from a manufacturer / factory..some of them then pretend to be manufacturers by "white labeling" what they are having made for them by someone else.. Want high quality sewing machine thread..buy Serafil. https://www.amann.com/company/about-amann/ It will probably be imported from Germany. In the USA, you can ask about it here ..their US offices.. http://www.amannusa.com/serafil.html Amann make other thread types too .. "boxes" ( or 40 foot container loads, even of all the same colour ) are not a problem for them.. :)

Juki ( new ) will cost you more money than a new "clone".. Dealers are who you go to.. Juki guarantee through their dealers ..like Ford do.. Assembly ( and setting up ) is complicated ( not "pretty" , but very ) ..especially if you have not much experience with sewing machines.. If you are buying new ..you need to buy "set up" "on table" "tested" and "sewn off".. That applies no matter what brand of new machine you buy..unless you are very experienced, and have access to the mechanics manual ..and time to spare..

Come to think of it.. When I was making Welsh slate coasters..( back in 78 / 79 / 80..) I was backing them with glued on thick felt. Cheaper than leather, and easy to get rounds at the sort of size you need.. I just had a look around and found a 15cm one that I kept ( complete with Welsh Dragon ) it has a red felt disc stuck on the back.

Fredk's experience importing from Tandy in the USA recently seems to suggest that you'd have no problems dealing with Tandy USA.. btw..Brexit doesn't / will not affect the imports from the USA at all..HMCE might ( definitely will ) get "backed up" is all.. IIWY..I'd get a clicker and be making my own leather coaster blanks already if I had 5K to do, save a lot of money that way. Certainly easier than cutting rounds out of Welsh slate :)..When I lived in the UK I used to buy mine in from Blaenau Ffestiniog, and then screen print them with my own designs.. Pad printer might well be easier to use..the kind that does the insides ( bottoms ) of mugs. interesting..my speelchucker thinks Blaenau Ffestiniog is completely incorrect..and even Google ( France ) thought Blaenau was incorrect .. The slate quarry at Blaenau Ffestiniog is the most impressive place to be when a thunderstorm is raging..used to ride my motorcycle over to it ( 80 or so kms each way ) every time I had the chance when thunderstorms were predicted for that part of Wales..

Asian companies usually "scrimp" on quality if the importer insists on buying at very low prices ..( as would a US manufacturer if the US distributor insisted on paying very low prices to them, or if the US manufacturer was making for export and the importer from outside the US ( maybe even in Asia ) insisted on paying very low prices to the US manufacturer ) ) If the importers are prepared to pay for high quality, they get high quality..If you, or the importer wants "cheap", ( and if the importer then sells it on a a high mark up ) what you'll get will be low quality, that you might well be paying high for..If you are paying cheap from your importer, what "quality" would you expect. If Asian manufacturing was crap, why would the sewing machines that you use, the computers and phones that you are posting from, not be crap..They are made in Asia..Not made in the USA..Unless you are sewing with old machines or very expensive machines.. The fault of compromising on quality in order to reach a price that an importer is insisting on lies not with the manufacturer, but with the importer, and often also with their end customer, who wants high quality, but expects cheap prices.. To the OP..use the black for sewing..use the red for fishing :)

Necessity is the mother of invention..take a bow.. :)

What is going to work to dilute / thin ( or re-dilute / thin ) any adhesive.."contact" or otherwise, is going to depend upon what the original dilutant* / thinner was .. Not all adhesives or contact adhesives are the same.. So..best is to find the MSDS for the particular product, see what the "thinner" used is..and get some of that.. Some "paint" spray thinners ( note there are as may different kinds of thinner as there are pain ) are "oily", ( these are often used to clean spray equipment ) some are re-cycled ( these tend to smell more strongly ) some are "slower" ( these are used for amongst other things spraying the metallic paint "base coats" of two part metallic paint finishes, the second part being two pack acrylic or polyester clear coats )..Some will dilute epoxy paints and / Fillers, but will not dilute polyester paints / and fillers.. There are so many non compatible combinations of paints, adhesives, fillers and "thinners" that the only way to know ( and to stay safe..some mixtures are more dangerous than you'd think ) and to actually have a thinner that works.. Is to read the MSDS..and get what was used originally ..if you cannot get it..then try to test with a similar molecule.( wikipedia is your friend ) To prevent the adhesives "drying out" ( the original thinner evaporating slightly and the remaining part oxidising ) ..after each use, reduce the amount of air in the container, seal it tightly, "air tight", and keep it cool ( fridge temp ..3°C to 6°C and in somewhere dark if the container is transparent or translucent.. Bring it up to room temp by bringing it into the room an hour or so ( larger volumes need more time ) before you need to use it. Don't leave brushes in it..Even the kind that are built into the lids, they contaminate the adhesives and make them go off faster..Adhesives that go ff can seem fine for months or even a couple of years, and then suddenly go off..They do have "shelf lives" and "sell by dates" and "use by dates"..Check the "use by date" when you buy, don't buy something that has been sitting in a hot warehouse / shop ( or a frozen warehouse / shop ) for a year or so and that only has a year or so left. Unless you are like Brian and use large amounts, don't buy "big", it will go "off"..( and you will not be saving money ) that is the nature of adhesives..re-thinning can work, but it is not an exact science, some of the molecules in there will not be quite the same when re-thinned as they were when it was made.. HTH :) Apparently , if you live in California..none of the above will be relevant ..? ;) * I would say "diluant"..I forgot the English word..and my speelchucker thinks dilutant is wrong..::sigh::

Nice Aquarelle ( from what can be seen of it ) in the background :)

Today I learned something new .. :)

Plus, you do not want to sniff the fumes, not let splashes get on your eyes..and if you have kids or pets..do not let them anywhere near the liquid or the fumes..

The awa.org.au site is down ..but the wayback machine has quite a lot of their pages..maybe if you have the time to go exploring their archives you'll find more recipes.. their "stash" is here https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.apwa.org.au/ HTH :)

Maybe use a demountable table attachment around the arm ( to keep the holster horizontal when sewing ) when sewing these ? Just a thought ..

When I was a kid..( long long time ago, growing up in Ireland and various parts of the UK ) airfix glue was marked airfix glue*..and tile cement was marked tile cement..and breeze blocks and bricks were stuck together with cement. Don't know what airfix were calling their glue when I left in 87..I was only interested in leaving, but tiles were stuck with cement..I built 3 houses for myself in the years before before I left, and re-built at least a dozen with mates.. *And..Blue Peter always covered up the name of the glue they used..even though only copydex came in those stripey tubes..Could listen to the Goons while building my airfix :) Also , I remember we kids thought that real leather satchels were so "uncool"..now ours ( that we mistreated ) would be worth real money, later, as teenagers, we all wanted leather briefcases as soon as we got to GS. The rest of your post..I agree with 100%.. :) Give you a clue how old I am..I was the kid who named Blue Peter's cat Jason..got a "Blue Peter Badge" and all..my Mum was so proud :)

Yep, the lighter weight on the top is not able to form the "loop" when passing through leather..So, you have to experiment with the needles that you are using on the top when you are running the lighter thread on both top and bottom..the loop is formed by the top thread , the thread in the bobbin does not come into play in loop formation..

On anything else I'd say needle and thread combo is wrong and the loop is not forming in front of the hook when the extra resistance of the leather comes into play.. Try a size needle up or down from what you are currently trying, or maybe even two sizes up or down from it.. Other than that, having never handled what looks like a sewing machine designed by Heath Robinson in his Diesel Punk days :) I'll leave it to someone who actually uses one of these to give some informed advice..

I'd second the Juki..and I always post that the sailwrongs are ..... btw..When reading all the old threads here..Love your mask work Tom :)

This side of the "pond" glue and adhesive ( we'd say contact adhesive ) are generic terms..cement is what we use to stick bricks or cinder block together with, or tiles to walls.. Two countries ( yes I know that there are more than two English speaking countries on "our side of the pond" ), divided by a common language..and then there are the people from "down under"( various versions thereof ) and those on the tip of the Elephant head shaped ( Oh yes it does look like one ) continent.

You'll have to clamp it between two pieces of sturdy wood right along its length ( clamps about every 6 inches or so ) while the glue is setting.. I'd stretch the piece that will be "outside" before gluing, because it will be stretched when worn compared to the inner piece like Brian says..and then ( again like Brian says ) ..try and get it stitched afterwards..or eventually the two pieces will separate at some areas .. How are you going to be attaching the tool bags, and the buckle ?..glueing will not be strong enough there..

I'm wondering if your "rubbing alcohol" hasn't got something else in it..some rubbing alcohols contain traces of oils ..some say on the bottle for example "with oil of wintergreen"..even if yours doesn't say so..it may have been made in a place where they also make rubbing alcohol with "additives"..and been contaminated..oil of wintergreen ( and many other "additives" ) will make a "resist"..that will stop your dye from "taking" if you get any drops of it on the leather...If that is what has happened..Then fredk's "washing" way is about the only way to get the surface to absorb evenly again..

Your bike is one of the coolest things that I have ever seen, puts a big smile on my face each time of seeing it..love it.. My hat is doffed to you.. :)

One cannot teach talent, one cannot learn talent..one can only teach techniques, or learn techniques.. Don't worry about your lack of formal training in art..You have both the talent, and the technical ability, the "techniques" you'll pick up, they'll save you some time is all.. Many artists find their "calling" later in life.. Some just get immense satisfaction out of creating..applies to many here.. Many who do not have enough talent waste years at art schools..and are never able to use ( in any creative way ) the techniques that they were shown, due to lack of talent..Most of them become teachers..Other do something else entirely. Some both teach ( for a while, to see if they like it, and it is a good "backstop" ) and make a living out of creating. Some of us make "creating art" their career and life..the "art schools" just showed us the techniques that we'd have mostly found anyway. What is important is that every minute of your life counts..you only have a limited number of them in a lifetime..don't waste any of them doing something that you don't enjoy :)

Think of a design in a different colour maybe , that could go on both sleeves ( like some of the biker stuff that has flames that come away from the cuff and up the arm ) ..that would cover the rip..then cut out 2 "mirror image" pieces..sew them on around glue them carefully on to the arm ( turn the jacket right side out first ) then carefully turn the jacket the right way in again and sew them on around their edges..If you need make a couple of small "accent pieces" in the same style to go on the front of the jacket at the collar.. Voila! .. Custom jacket..no-one any the wiser..:) Check idea with Owner first..May not be flames, could be flowers..vine, whatever ..but you get the idea.. HTH :)

Latigo's link is to a pdf file that is on here ..works for me..

If metal then you are looking for spring steel..try the steel bands that are used to attach things to pallets..you can cut a piece off , they come in various widths..you are going to have to put it inside a leather sheath, ( you'll have to make it ) they are sharp..file the edges anyway..

Depends..Xena and Xavier would normally be pronounced Zena* and Zavier, but some do try to make the X letter a bit more "crisp", similar to the c in crystal.. French pronunciation varies enormously from region to region, even from county to county ( here the counties re called departements ) ..a lot like in Ireland.. I have almost no Irish accent left ( been away, and been travelling a long time, and grew up between Ireland and the UK, moved around a lot ( RAF family ) when living in the UK )..I probably had some Kilkenny / Wexford to begin with..comes from the border between the two counties ..near New Ross.. People here in France know it is not an English accent, but they find it hard to place..But around anyone Irish for half an hour or so the Irishness comes back :) .. On the phone to Ireland I tend to ask for someone by name, and then when they come on the line, ask automatically "Is that yourself" etc.. :) My son, ( born here 25 years ago ) after hearing Father Ted for the first time said "You don't have much of the accent, but you do have the words and the way of speaking" :) . The French ( like a lot of the English ) have difficulty with the accents of NI and of Scotland and Wales.. I find that nowadays a lot of the English have a "London" sound in their regional accents..Even the Brummies and the Geordies and Scousers have a touch of "cockney"..I noticed this even back in the 80s in the UK..the pernicious effect of Grange Hill and East Enders. :( * the e in Xena or Zena would be a short e here..even without the é,( the upward line over the é , denotes a short e sound, rising in tone ) it is pronounced as if it were the e in men, or bet, not like the ee in keen, or sheen...the a in Xavier would be short like the a in have..or the a in bat... Gives Zenah for Xena..and Zaveeyay for Xavier. Btw..Dog Harness is ...Harnais pour chien.. pronounced ( near enough as ) "arnay poor sheehan" ..Unless one is Qubecois.. :)