Sonydaze

Art, I agree with you about belts and stones for finer knife edges. I just don't have the time or patience to go there any more. The Tormek gets me a very workable edge quickly, consistently and it is easy to go back to it for a touch up. It does great scissors and is unbeatable for my lathe tools. For the lathe tools, I have already tried two different systems before the Tormek. My T7 is about a year old, so my books are plastic covered and coil bound. lol Gord

Between leatherworking, woodworking, metalworking, household and outdoor stuff I do a fair amount of sharpening. Some days I was fantastic at sharpening...other days not so much. I finally broke down and bought a Tormek sharpener and a most of their jigs. The Tormek has a bit of a learning curve but now it is easy to quickly and consistently get the same angle and and a good edge. The stone on it can be changed from 220 grit to 1000 grit with the supplied dressing stone, then you finish up on the leather wheels with their honing compound. By adapting the planer blade jig, I was able to hollow grind the blades on my Osborne and Heritage splitters. I bought the Osborne splitter for $80 with a really poorly ground blade in it figuring that I would buy it a new blade. I was able to save the blade with the Tormek. Sharpening scissors, Tormek recommends not honing the the edge. An interesting video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQI3TsjKnbU

I emboss all of my products with a hot embosser. Especially with chrome tan leathers, the heat makes a real difference. I also have clicker presses, but have not tried them for embossing, but agree they would work well if adjusted carefully.

I think most posts here are not meant to be critical but helpful. Sharing what works for you can save many from having to learn the hard way. This forum has a great spirit that way. Taking a bit of extra time to use good punctuation makes posts easier to read and understand.

My cutting table is 4' x 8', topped with a 1/4" sheet of cutting board like plastic. If you are building a table make a solid, well braced frame and take the time to both glue and screw it together. Otherwise it will get wobbly with time. Also make the frame smaller than the top so you have an edge for clamping. Under my sheet of plastic are two layers of 5/8" plywood for rigidity..it stands up to some hammering and doesn't flex when you are doing long cuts. I went to a metal shop and got a couple of pieces of 1/8" x 2" x 8' aluminum straps for straight edges (use quick clamps to fasten your 8' 'rulers' to the table when cutting). My $.02 on cutting tables. If you have room, make your table 4' x 10'....the only thing I would like to change on my table, as some hides are over 8' long. http://www.sabicpolymershapes.com/ has many locations in north america and is likely the most cost effective place to buy your cutting top sheet. They will want to know the technical name of the plastic you want but if you explain what you want it for, they will figure it out. Sabic is a supplier to many plastic shops. Having a large, cut anywhere table saves a lot of time. You do a lot less moving of things and it is easier to keep your edge straight with softer leathers.

I used to buy from Cansew's warehouse on Veneble Street. I liked their thread but the pricing got prohibitive, so I changed to other sources. I haven't checked them for several years, how is their pricing now?

The dies I get made for hot embossing are made of magnesium, they are good for a couple of thousand impressions. My die supplier also offers copper which is better for longer and harder use.

I have never been happy with wiping/rubbing it on. I mix 50/50 with water and spray it on. Three light coats usually does the trick for me.

I have a similar one that I use to emboss my logo into most of my products. It works well on both chrometan and vegitan leather, you don't need water...the heat does the trick. If it came with a die or some type, heat it up and experiment on some scraps, you will figure it out fairly easily.

I have been taking stiffer leathers into the woodworking shop for some time. I cut close to the line with the bandsaw, then finish the straight edges on the belt sander, convex radius' on the disk sander and concave radius' on the orbital spindle sander. It is quick and you get nice edges with a bit of practice. I have also had some success beveling edges on the router table with a corner bit.

It looks like a hot embosser. You can get custom dies made or use type with a holder. There are many different colours of foils you can get to add colour to the embossed image.

I use both nylon and polyester, it is difficult to tell them apart. The polyester will stand up to sun exposure better than nylon. I wouldn't worry about mixing them.I like to use one size smaller thread on the bottom. Thread does get dry and lose strength over time, as far as how old is too old, I'm sure someone else will be able to give some advise.

Weaver usually has quality and stands behind what they sell. A magnet will quickly show you what is brass plated steel.

I built mine 4' x 8'....two sheets of 5/8' plywood on top. The frame is overbuilt with two shelves for storing rolls of leather. Take the time to both glue and screw everything together, as it makes a big difference in rigidity, especially over time. A friend copied my table without using glue, his table became quite wobbly after awhile. On top of the plywood, I have a 4' x 8' x 1/4" sheet of white plastic (like cutting board plastic) so that I can cut anywhere on it...reducing the need to move hides around. If she is using a rotary cutter to cut out larger pieces, she will love it. 'Standard' height is 32"-34". I'm tall, so my table is 36" high, but you can make it whatever height your wife finds comfortable. Then match the table height of the sewing machine to it, so you can put the sewing machine on the end of it. My .02 on work tables Nothing like a good single malt.

No problem Uwe, I picked up a 335-H3 (not white, but has Quick Digital) several years ago. These were the closest manuals that I could find at the time.

I have slightly earlier PDFs of the instruction, service and parts manuals. The service manual was published June, 09. Email me: gord(at)bound2please.com if you would like a copy.

Mistakes happen eventually, nothing is perfect. But it took over 12 years for your shipping mistake and you were proactive on making it good. I'm happy.

I'm impressed, Weaver Leathers was very responsible on making good on a mistake. I live on Vancouver Island, which means that UPS is usually the worst choice for shipping. UPS is awkward and add exorbitant charges for importing to Canada. If you miss their delivery, it can be a problem with extra costs. When attempting to talk to them about their very high customs charges, it comes down to 'do you want your shipment or should we send it back'. Needless to say, I never use UPS and decline to purchase from American companies that do not give me alternative shipping choices. Although Weaver Leather shipments have arrived reliably for over 12 years, the last one was late and caused a production delay. When I chased it down, my order was stalled and sitting at UPS in Richmond, BC. I called Weaver and was told a manager would have to call me, 20 minutes later I was talking to Nick. We talked though the problem, he accepted responsibility with no argument or trying to side step. He wasn't sure what he could do with sorting out UPS so he asked if he could call me back in about an hour. He called back promptly and said that in the morning they would duplicate my order and expedite it via Fedex so that I would have it in 2 days. Weaver Leather would cover the shipping costs. Two days later we were back to work! Someone at Weaver made a mistake, but Weaver readily did their best to make it good and minimize the impact on my business. Mistakes sometimes happen, (even in my business), I simply couldn't expect more from Weaver on making good their mistake. They are the kind of supplier that I can rely on to help build my business. Kudos.

Between needing to sharpen leather working tools, woodworking tools and kitchen tools I went to the Tormek system and am quite happy. Their jigs take the guess work out of keeping the correct angle and take you back to the same angle time after time. http://www.tormek.com/en/machines/t7/index.php

I get a lot of things shipped to me and do a lot of shipping. While I'm always paying attention to shipping costs, I do also realize that the labour and materials to ship a $30 order is virtually the same as to ship a $300 order. The time to do the packaging, to create the invoice, process payment, make the shipping documents and cost of shipping materials are close to the same. So I do cut some slack to companies when I buy small amounts. With Weaver Leather, I simply purchase larger orders and then their rates are good.

Weaver Leather is showing some in their newest catalog.

I have used them for several years and always have been happy with their products and delivery.

I have all three sizes, but almost always use the 60mm. Over time, I have tried most of the different makes but always come back to Olfa. (Maybe I am just too used to them?) The 60mm blade will stay sharp longer because of the longer circumference.

Pm sent.

Fairly close to you but in Canada, I get my dies made by Zlatko at Economy Die Makers. He is an old school die maker and builds them to last. His prices are always reasonable. http://economydiemakers.com/