TRHLeather

Good luck. I had to set mine up many times before I got everything correct. Now it seems to work great. Be patient and good luck!

I just finished rebuilding a 1245. Mine did the same when i did not have enough tension on the top thread. It looks like your top thread isn't pulling back up through the hole and the extra loops on the bottom are getting caught up in the following stitches. Easiest way to check this is to sew 3 or 4 inches, cut your threads and see if you can pull the bottom thread out easily. I would recommend playing with the tension before you get into adjusting timing. Timing for the 1245 - 2mm above bottom dead center, the hook should be at needle center (width) and the tip of the hook should be 0.8 - 1.0 mm above the hook point. You can adjust this by loosing the gear that controls the hook rotation. I would recommend looking up the service manual for the 1245 online. Page 12 and 13 will show you all the necessary steps. After extensive online reading, some people have a different take on that but I set mine up to the specs in the manual and it works well for me. My understanding is the 145, 545 and 1245 are mechanically the same in this regard.

That is beautiful! Great work!

Well, better late than never. I finally finished my dopp bag that was February's challenge. I was away for two weeks vacation in Feb and came home to massive amounts of snow. I'm not sure what is going to give out first, the snow or my back. between Sunday and today, we got 29 inches of snow at my house in Nova Scotia.

Well, better late than never. I finally finished my dopp bag that was February's challenge. I was away for two weeks vacation in Feb and came home to massive amounts of snow. I'm not sure what is going to give out first, the snow or my back. between Sunday and today, we got 29 inches of snow at my house in Nova Scotia. Now to start the project for March lol.

I am going on vacation and needed a case to keep my camera in. This is what I came up with. I somehow got the molded part sewed on a little crooked but from most angles you can't notice.

I love the flat back. I had done some research into making one but this is the first one I have seen with a flat side. Very nice! Electrathon, is that a specific product that MAx CLR advises use on a project or there whole product line in general?

I like the design. I have been thinking of making the same type of thing to carry business cards around in. The color is cool, dark and grimy like the subject matter. As for critiques, I would sand your edges after you sew then and before you finish them . It will bring the two pieces of leather even before edge finishing.

That doctor's bag is fantastic! I would love to try my hand at one of those. The tote is really nice as well.

You have a number for that stamp? I can't find it on the site. I really want to try it out.

Realm13, I really like the card slots cut like that. The cover stamping is also nice. I don't think I have ever seen that kind of stamp.

That handle is amazing!

I really love that dragon pattern. I did something similar as one of my first carvings but it is nowhere near as amazing as that. Did you stamp the scales or are they all hand cut? The dye work is fantastic. Overall I love it!

Joined late but managed to get it done before the month ended. I just used some 5 oz. veg tanned that I had laying around. It gave me a lot of practice using my new round knife, both cutting and skiving. I had never used one before and now I'm not sure I could do the work without it. Also the first opportunity to shoot dye with an airbrush. So much better control on the amount of dye. I used a base of Eco-Flo professional waterstain - purple and shaded it with Fiebing's USMC black. Any input/criticism is welcome.

That's exactly what I do. I find it works great and gives a much more uniform coat than any other way I have tried.

I had such a hard time with exactly the problem you are having. I bought a super cheap, single action airbrush for about $12 and hooked it up to a small compressor I already had. The results were amazing. The finish lays down in more uniform coats, I don't rub off any of the acrylic and the dye even looks better. Several thin coats with an airbrush also solves the streaking problems I had and the bubbles I used to struggle with. Not only is it great for finish, I just finished using both water and oil dye with the airbrush on my latest project and i'm hooked. I am putting in an order for an airbrush compressor (the one I have is a small air nailer compressor and scares the crap out of me and everyone else in the house when it kicks in) and a couple of different airbrushes.

I love the colours and your designs are amazing!

Beautiful work. I agree about the edges. It takes a while to find what process works for you personally with edges, but when you find what works, it makes the end product that much sweeter! P.S. I'm pretty impressed with the number of Canadians I have found on this forum.

When I do rounded corners, I use the same process but when i get to an outside corner I have to cut darts, or small triangles, almost to the finished edge (not quite to where you would see them when you fold/glue them) so the leather doesn't pucker. For an inside corner, I cut the leather almost to the finished edge with straight cuts to let the leather fold without pulling.

Did you have any issue with the smell not going away? I have used vinegaroon in the past and sometimes it never quite went away.

I just joined this group on the 15th of Jan and I am just finding this post now but I am going to try to get a project in this month anyway. Nothing like a little added pressure.

Sure. Just give me a little time to get the parts together and scan them. The guy I made them for had a 15" measurement around his calf so I will show on the pattern where to add material for larger leg sizes.

I know how you feel about the letters. It's just one of those things that I have a hard time making look like I want them to. Those are a lot better than some I have done lol. This is a beautiful piece. Keep up the good work!