MADMAX22

Agree with Dwight and would like to add when hand stitching I usually take the thread I am using and spreading my arms apart as far as I can reach TWICE then cut the thread. Its just a part of hand stitching having to add a few lengths when doing long runs like large belts and such. Anymore then the double arms length and the thread gets hard to manage and also your pulling the entire length of thread thru the leather for every stitch.

Nicely done.

Well yes the 155 is a lockstitch. The 111w155 with a servo motor is going to be good for slings, aprons, and some bags which depending on design are better suited to be done on a cylinder arm machine. Its limited to 138 thread (maybe 207 on top). The 3200 is the choice for holsters, sheaths, and heavier weight bags. It will also do the slings and aprons depending on how thick your going. Will handle 277 thread easily which is what alot of people use in there sheaths and holsters. The 155 is a cool old machine however the 3200 is a more versatile machine.

Same here. Plus usually just oil then finish of your choice.

Nicely done.

Thanks for the videos/links. I know you were just being helpful and wasnt trying to go against the grain or anything, just throwing my opinion out there. Just my personal preference of not relying entirely on glue which could be totally unfounded. Just an old guys opinion.

Sure it would be ok but I just couldnt bring myself to send anything out the door that was held together just by glue.

Cap totally understandable. With the fact your making holsters and belts and like tooling then I would suggest stiching with vegtan for the time being. Good on you getting away from the bellies, you will probably screw up far less with better leather thats not as stretchy and a more consistant thickness. Tandy leather is not great/good but it will serve ya much better then the bellies I imagine. I personally have not had the issue of W&C delaying shipping, just normal processing of a couple days and the usual time for ground delivery to where I live. Getting there lower grade will blow away the tandy stuff when you get to that point with the exception of W&C calf sides they have on special right now they arent so good. Now Hermann Oak is IMHO on par with W&C, usually HO is more expensive because you have to go thru retail unless you get large quantities from them then its cheaper. Maverick leather has some HO 8-10oz special on sale right now for $165 which even though its special is probably still a darn good leather. http://maverickleathercompany.com/product/hermann-oak-tooling-special/ I know its probably out of the price range right now but for future reference maverick has specials all the time on stuff. Belts Now for your belts if your not gonna tool them bridle and harness make good belts as well. Maverick has some of the W&C bridle on sale. W&C bridle is pretty affordable for bridle leather. It is vegtan with usually a aniline finish and totally finished on the outside FYI. Makes some nice belts.

Couldnt say, maybe they have a shoulder padded vest/jacket but there eyes are too far apart

Wickett and Craig will split there skirting to whatever thickness you want. They will pretty much split most of there leathers and can refinish the flesh side for ya. W&C is a good price point also and they make great leather. Horween makes some nice leather, is popular with certain crowds I guess you could say however there prices are up there unless you are getting 1000sq/ft at a time. I think the better question would be "I am making __________ and _________, what kind of leather do you guys recommend?"

Why rubbing alcohol? I would just use saddle soap if I was trying to clean them then the obenaufs or your choice. Seems much less harsh on the leather.

Kangaroo is primarily used for either making lace (the vegtan stuff is the best) and also for falconry. It is pretty strong for the thinness but it is somewhat expensive. It also makes a good liner for things like wallets where you want thin and strong. Most of the other exotic leathers are usually used for inlays and overlays in my experience.

Pure neatsfoot oil isnt greasy unless you over do it. Wiping on a thin layer then letting it sit over night is the key. Dwight I think part of it is matching the leather thickness to what you will be making, possibly choosing a different type of leather also depending on the style you want to do. Usually though changing from say 8oz that you use for most of your stuff (just guessing) to 5oz will make a big difference. Plus removing the wet forming part of the process can also get rid of alot of the hardness. Depending on the project I usually give it a light coat of neatsfoot and let it sit overnight, then decide what type of finish I want to use. If leaving it natural I rub on a wax/oil mix (home made sno-seal) I have and let that sit in a warm environment for a day or two then buff it off and its good to go. If I use a finish it is usually tan kote or saddle-lac. If saddle lac I let it dry then buff and its good to go, if tan-kote I let it dry and then use my sno-seal equivelant and let it set up for a day then buff. So anyway I go its basically 3 steps but takes a little while, the process can be speeded up if you have one of those hot boxes to let it sit in for a while.

Ive done a couple rifle stock covers (nowhere as nice) that they didnt care about the butt being padded, they just wanted to reposition there site angle. It is ecspecially common on those old mosin-nagants because of the scope location requirement.

I may be wrong but I think that screw to the right of your bobbin case that holds the little catch arm should be tight. It looks like it is loose and allowing things to move around that shouldnt.

I guess I shouldnt say its not worth the $200 they are asking, it all depends on what people are willing to pay and that is a nice looking one. Also what people are intending to use it for. I am just use to seeing them cheaper but they probably arent in as good a shape.

Your probably right Tinker, I am not very good at the domestics. Heck it took me a hour or so to finally figure out what my Singer 101 was. This is a decent blog on identifying a few domestic groups. http://vssmb.blogspot.com/2011/07/visual-guide-to-identifying-singers_30.html

Looks like a 15 and way to pricey IMHO.

Not a prime example of stitching, this was shortly after I started doing leather work. Barbours linen hand waxed with bees wax and rosin mix. I think I have a thread somewhere from when I made this belt. Anyhow, this was dyed with fiebings leather dye which doesnt hold up for dying thread obviously. The belt itself has held up well I think, its HO 7-8oz liner with crazy horse outer also about 7-8oz. The buckle on the other hand is nickle plated steel and needs replacing. Sorry for the pics but I think I had one to many last night when I took them. The first pic is from when I made it, others are yesterday.

I have not had any issues with the horween latigo but I also line it with another type of leather. I think it depends on the brand you get. Even the WC has two types of latigo, one thats much oilier.

Well see thats the thing, there are several items that have been around atleast that long that were sewn with linen thread, think of all the saddles/harnesses/halters that were stitched with linon thread and were still around when the leather was rotting away or falling apart. Also the ten year thing I am not sure about either. Ive got my belt I have worn for the past 6.5 years and it has just polished the waxed linen. One last thing is "poly" thread UV resistant without a coating added to it? If so for how long? Most of the bonded poly that you buy ya pay extra for it having UV resistant coatings applied to it and they advertise this I have not scene where tiger thread has stated anything about UV resistant coatings being applied to there threads. From what I have read the poly thread resistance to UV is primarily garnered from the treatments it undergoes otherwise its not as expanded a resistant material as some like to chime on about.

So I posted a question in another thread about this stuff (and all poly cord) and didnt get a response. So waxed linen thread has been proven to last for 50/80/100 years if taken care of. What is the life span of poly? Also a "transition" point or wear point will cause poly cord to wear thru just as it would anything else (nylon/linen). Now dont take this wrong as some kind of an attach on Tiger thread or anything. I have not tried it, I did get some Maine thread and the wax was way to heavy on it and I wasnt impressed overall with it compared to my own linen thread that I hand wax with a mix of rosin and bees wax. That is another thing I am curious about, the rosin and bees wax mix I use really locks in the stitch as compared to just regular wax. Do you guys rewax your thread or just rely on the wax provided? Now I do get the prewaxed convenience and the manufactured look of the tiger thread which is probably prevalent for bigger industries requiring a bunch of people to be able to easily hand stitch something. Hand waxing linen thread takes time (make the wax mix, cut the thread, taper the tips, wax it). Plus tiger has that uniform thruout consistency that ya may not get with line thread.

Here are some pics Ken emailed me of his splitter.