TinkerTailor

Ozone generators will kill airborne mould and surface mould if the concentration is high enough. Almost impossible to use it to actually get rid of mould because most of the mould is inside the material, and the visible part is just the spores.The gas can't get inside the leather in enough quantity to matter unless you way over saturate the environment. Ozone is generally used to prevent infection or prevent spread of mould in the air. Problem is in higher concentrations, it will also accelerate corrosion and oxidation, and affect some plastic materials. It may speed oxidation and degradation of the natural oils in the leather. It will also kill the smell and taste of anything in the room. Most importantly, it can damage your lungs and possibly kill you. The generators usually use UV lights which will blind you if you look at them. Not the best option i would say when a dehumidifier is cheap and works just as good to prevent mould. If you already have mould, it is too late and not much can be done but throwing out the mouldy stuff and sterilizing the area with bleach. Just like a fridge, the key is to get the mouldy stuff out before it spoils the other food. One bad apple can ruin the bag.

That post on the top of the machine the thread travels through is more than just a thread guide, and ir should have holes at 90 degrees to each other. I have heard some of the old school dealers on here advise people who have thread twist problems to run it through one hole, around the post 90degrees, and then through the other post. Something about doing this counteracts the twisting.

application rate of 50/50 neetsfoot/beeswax was what he is referring to i think.

I believe there is a US military specification for the leather dye they use and fiebings makes it for them.

Correct, the "regular" part was a reference to the colour name, not the product line. I meant regular black oil dye. I could have been a little clearer

Sometimes we do things a certain way, even though it is wrong and inefficient just because its fun. Sometimes i look at things cause its fun. Fun stuff to look at is good for inspiration. Round knives are more fun to look at than a clicky yellow olfa Conclusion? Round knives are funner.

Yes and yes. When you are sewing a 30 foot sail or a bigtop tent for instance, the feed dogs/machine operators cant handle the material weight so pullers are used.

It was a loaded question and i already knew the answer by your post about the dyed hands. USMC black sucks because it rubs off forever, many have found. I use old sheets and tshirts, stay away from the screen printing areas, then buff. Keep on buffing. and buffing, channel your inner Karate Kid, and buff some more. Eventually it will stop. Sealing it will help prevent further transfer. Then chuck out the usmc black and get the regular. Even if you only pay yourself 5 bucks an hour to buff, that bottle is going to cost you way more than a new one.....I buff for a few seconds and no rub off ever with the fiebings regular black.

Weight. If you want it proper, take a arrow straight 2x4, glue an aluminum ruler on the edge and screw several metal gate handles along the top so you can really lean on it. The leather shop i go to has one like this on their cutting table. If you want total hands free cutting, put a vertical dowel at each end you can slide a 20 pound weightlifting weight onto each end. These can be had at thrift stores for cheap. Saw the old owner square five 10oz hides at once in one cut. He had a whole pallet of double bends to make into belt strips and did not want to waste time.

One way is to use several shorter pieces, In a belt because it is stitched all the way around, you can tie a knot and ditch the tails between the layers, and then just start again with a new thread. No backstitch necessary if there is an internal knot. This technique is easier if you don't glue to the edge. The difficult part is getting the tension the same across the join and the knot flat. Some replace the knot with a drop of superglue. I have also seen a technique to use on non taperable thread(see below) that is hard to explain, and takes a bit of practice, but works well. As you start running out of thread, get a new piece and lay it perpendicular to the stitch line between 2 holes. You then stitch 4-8 stitches with the old thread, winding that new thread in and out between the stitch holes like a slalom course, between the layers of leather.(minimum number of weaves will depend on stitch tension, tighter=better). This will lock in the start of the new thread You then switch which thread is visible, and continue with the new thread, ditching the old one the same way you started the new one. Repeat on bottom side. When i am going to use this technique, i usually start my stitch with one thread 4-6 inches longer than the other and then the long one is the one i ditch first. One of the things with traditional linen thread, is when properly used you taper the ends of the thread by scraping them with the edge of a knife, which allows you to just twist on a new piece and keep stitching without changing the thread thickness or needing knots and backstitches. The taper allows both the new and old thread to weave through several holes at the same time. Much faster than tying off and restarting or working with 10 feet of thread. Also, linen tends to fray much faster than synthetic thread, and can only go through so many holes before it looks like crap. You can run a 10 foot piece of braided poly through every hole on a belt and it will look the same at the end. Run a linen thread through all those holes and it will be all frayed up if not broken by the end. Adding new pieces as you go keeps the thread stronger and looking more pristene and uniform. Before synthetic thread, getting these necessary taper joins right was one of the things that made old school stitching harder, and separated masters from dabblers.

As to the dye rub off on your hands, buffing before you resolene/seal is the key. I am going to take a shot in the dark, are you using fiebings USMC black by chance?

Just wrap them in tissue paper if you are worried about them rubbing and scratching each other. The keys to preventing mould anywhere is air flow, humidity control, and lower temps. If air can get to it, it will basically be at the same humidity as the house/shop. This means, you need to get a thermometer with a humidity sensor. If the humidity is too high(i do not know what the danger point is), you have the choice of lowering the whole room's humidity or building a leather closet/vault and controlling the humidity in there. Even in damp warm environments, just moving the air around the item a little will make a difference. Now in florida, where it can be really hot and humid, it can be really hard to control humidity in the whole house. Keep the leather cool and as dry as possible. Don't stock more than you have to and if the humidity of your house/shop is high, get a dehumidifier or built a climate controlled leather vault as Dwight says. Small dehumidifiers are 100-200 bucks, but can easily be cheaper than replacing hides. Most of the cheap ones are too small for a big room, but In a small "vault" space, the small dehumidifier would probably work great. Untreated fresh veg tan will mould faster than finished products, that is why we apply finish after all. Number one thing is, If you see any mould anywhere get rid of that piece immediately. Disturb it as little as possible to prevent the spores from becoming airborne, bag it and chuck it. Mould will spread fast if left unchecked. If you must keep mouldy leather, separate it very well from the good stuff, dry it thoroughly, and freeze it until use. There are supposedly ways to kill mould on leather however i have never had mould problems with leather so i can't give you tips here.

#69 is thin around here. Most do not sew with less than 138 unless they do garment/uphostery work. I and many others use 207 for everything but small pocket items. Holsters are done with 277/346 a lot. As to your machine, the problem you will run into is material feeding. Non-walking foot machines can have issues with the material shifting. especially if one of the layers is slippery and one is sticky. Also, on grabby or stiffer materials and glue sandwiches, the material will pull up with the needle unless you have enough foot pressure. This pressure can prevent the top layer from sliding under the foot and cause the teeth on the dog to bite and chew up the backside. If it lifts, you get skipped stitches. While that machine may work for now, as others have mentioned, it won't for long and you will soon find its limitations. Use it, sell a few items and then buy a real walking foot industrial. Do your research, read up on here what models are good for your use, and get looking. Stay away from ebay unless you know what you are shopping for. Many horror stories and bad sellers. Talk to actual used machine dealers, like some of the advertisers on the site, and/or scour craigslist and the like and then ask on here for opinions on the machine you found. With time and luck, a used good machine can be had for cheap. Just like everything, if you need it right now, you are going to pay.

Clip.com is a lawn care software site. Interesting, but not the right one i suspect.

Tandy is trying to change this........the market share part, not the problems part.....Upside is tandy is stocking big machine thread now(of what quality is to be seen)

Never know, I have only picked up stuff in person.

I use wd40. It is a crappy lube but is great for cleaning. The propellants and solvents in it break down and loosen lot of kinds of gunk, then I wash it away with normal soap. Had better luck with the aerosol than the pump spray liquid but both work. I usually spray it and give it a quick scrub with a plastic brush, and then any stubborn areas i will soak a paper towel piece with wd40 and place it over the spot overnight. Sometimes i will also use carburetor cleaner on things, it works faster but it costs more and can damage some finishes. If i am correct, they shellaced over the machines after decaling. Those decals are pretty delicate, and would not have lasted 100 years if they didn't protect them some way. I am pretty sure that modern clear coat was not invented/perfected yet and shellac was the clear of the day. I believe that some of the 'dirt" on old machines that makes them appear grimy is old shellac. Shellac will darken with age, in furniture this makes old pieces look richer as it darkens and is desirable. In wood, clean old shellac finishes can be reconstituted and renewed with some alcohol and a fresh application of shellac. In sewing machines, old shellac it looks like old oil gunk and for sure has oil on it/in it making a basic refinish impossible. Alcohol dissolves shellac so alcohol in cleaning will remove the old shellac and leave everything clean, but delicate. It is important to redo this protection or the decals will be gone in no time with use if you clean with alcohol. I would bet that they did not polish after clear. Clear finishes, even then, could be layed down very smooth and shiney. The additional cost and risk of damage to the decals due to how thin the topcoat is would not be worth it. With the thickness of the japanning, and simplicity of the bodies and parts on these machines, hitting them with a giant polishing buff in the most seen areas would have been fairly simple and cheap before decaling. I could see them doing it, though i have not confirmed. As to restoring, While period correct clear finish is a cool idea, todays clear paints are miles and miles better and more durable than they were in 1916 and come in a range of matte-gloss finishes. I would get some high quality automotive clear and put on 5 really coats.....If only for durability

Good call.

Totally not the case, They are Canadian. I think it is short for Pacific Canada.

Multiple applications of thinned dye, perhaps with more than one colour, brushed or sponged on. It can take a few coats to get the tonality and hide the application streaks. Btw the streaks in the individual coats layer on each other to get the marbling. Even application is not necessarily the key here. Other faster way is with an airbrush.

Guys who do resin casting and work with epoxys will run a heat gun over the surface right away after application, apparently the heat will reduce the surface tension, as well the airflow will gently agitate the surface, causing the bubbles to rise and pop while the material is still liquid enough to flow back in to fill the holes. May be worth a try on the next attempt.

I put my machine lower, more like a flatbed initially, but i found it limited the use of the arm. The lower height meant my knees were in the way of maneuvering the project sometimes but also because I have found that when making bags, the clearance of the arm is not just for the bag, it is for my head. I am frequently sticking my head under the arm to see if the backside layers are cooperating, and everything is going good. For me, my needle is at shoulder height in a standard sewing chair, and I have a taller bar stool I also use to put it closer to waist height. There have been very few times both making bags as well as doing jobs like binding carpets for my sailboat, stitching straps and even making a deerskin flatcap on a 441, where a flatbed would have made it easier. I do not have a flatbed attacment. I have the ability to throw one together in a few minutes, however i have never had enough need. Apparently they work pretty good. Btw, not a bad idea to wear safety glasses when stitching, especially at eye height. I have had a needle break and hit me in the cheek.

My recommendation is to phone both Toledo sewing machines and Techsew, and tell them what you are doing. They are both known for being great helps to people, and getting them into the right machine. Both machines you are looking at are Chinese clones of other machines meaning the difference between brands is really a service issue. For example, the techsew 5100 and the Cowboy4500 are the same machine, and are clones of the japanese juki tsc441. These dealers may even have used japanese machines in stock as well as the clones. Well worth some phone time. It may be that 2 used machines will suit you better than one new clone for the same money. Which dealer is closer, and you hit it off with over the phone is really the main decision. All the dealers that are on this site have years of experience with this.

Or you can insert shims behind either the top or the bottom of the stitch adjuster cover plate to angle it and change the contact points. If reverse is too long, shim out the top of the plate, if it is too short, shim the bottom. I firmly believe that casting flaws and irregularities on the bodies of these machines change the angle the plate sits at from the originally designed angle and causes the inconsistency between machines. At least machines with this style of stitch adjust. It is more likely that the external body has casting flaws than the internal parts. In a fiber environment, where most of these machines live, this irregularity is not an issue so they do not correct it in manufacturing due to cost. They could easily machine this to be consistent but it would increase cost of manufacture. We leather people are the only ones who care that the backstitch is in the same holes....and we are an insignificant portion of the machine sales..

They are commonly referred to as jeans buttons. I searched for these a while back, not many options as you have found. Most are cheaply made. These guys may be worth a call: http://www.scovill.com/product/apparel/jeanswear/duramark-tack-buttons/ And these guys sell them in 25's in a couple colours, but they are in Canada. Exchange rate is really favorable with american right now.. https://www.paccana.com/product/434/buckles/metal-jean-buttons