TinkerTailor

Try a little super glue.

This is really noticeable with scissors. I took a pair of nice shears and at the proper angle, honed them so sharp that i could cut paper with one blade almost silently. I honed them parallel to the cutting edge, put them back together and they just pushed stuff out the tips. They had no bite. One sheet of paper they would cut but fabric no dice. I took them back apart and hit the edge with 600 very lightly perpendicular to the edge, passed them over a strop, and now they bite. I can cut silk to the tip, or 8 oz veg. They eat webbing for breakfast. Before i put the micro-serations in the blades, they would just push webbing out the end, regardless of how sharp they were. I think that sound of a well sharpened pair of shears is the serrations, not the keen edges. Which brings the question, Is sharpness a measure of the microscopic width of an edge or is it a measure of whether it will cut in its intended purpose? Arguably I made the scissors duller, but they cut better..

Go with the ferdco. Support the local guy, If you already have a good relationship with them. The ferdco is a 441+ by most standards, basically an improved 441 and from what i have read from owners is it is worth the price over a cowboy or cobra. They were built like tanks, the local guy will not need to ship, which may make up the price difference. Local service is a great thing. I have local service for other wood and metal tools, however the industrial sewing dealers in my area did not rub me the right way so i had a machine shipped across the country. Techsew has been quick to help with any issues, however they are a very long way away and shipping takes time. Plus the local guy can come over and set it up to do what you want, and show you stuff. Showing is way better that trying to explain over the phone. As far as pricing, I was looking at 3 much closer dealers, the closest was selling taiwan 441s for juki money, and the other two were selling Chinese 441s for Taiwanese money. One is a cobra dealer here in Canada. Same guy sold 1/2 lb of 207 thread for 30 bux canadian and charged 32 canadian for a pack of 10 s-point schmetz needles to a relative as an xmas gift for me. When i noticed the price i just about choked and called the guy to have a word or two on highway robbery........i get 1lb spools for $25-30 and needles for $15-20.. and that is the expensive online retail option. In your situation if the ferdco price is a bunch more than getting one shipped, arrange for setup and a lesson to be included in the price. It will be worth it, but be on the lookout for highway robbery......

I did an image search for "Ralph Lauren double buckle belt" and came up with a bunch of different belts. Also, what you are asking for is for directions on how to copy a design available on the market which brings into question quite a few issues with legality. If you were to post a picture of a specific detail of the construction, someone may be able to help with figuring out how it is done, so you can use that technique in your own designs. If you want a pattern for someone else's design, the best thing is to make it from an original. Be very careful about selling items made this way, some companies are nastier than others when it comes to trademark. You may be in the right, but do you have the bucks to pay a lawyer to prove it?

It is the wood chips everywhere that throw me off. I get that the bench would be chipped if punching on it, but that is weeks of wood chips if it is from the bench. Also, whoever is doing the punching is working too hard. Also, what are they making out of that crappily cut leather strap with the huge holes? and why did they cut it off in the middle with that weird half moon skive cut? None of the tools match the work shown.

If you look close, that looks like a staged workbench for the photo, not the in-use shop they are intending it to look like.

I bet Texas custom die could do it. They are pretty well regarded from what i gather. http://www.usacuttingdie.com/services.html

It also would depend on the blade sharpness, quality and whether it is mounted right. If a cheap blade is a little crooked in thinner softer leathers, it may work but throw in some stiff leather at the max thickness of the cutter, and if that blade isn't straight and parallel to the frame, it may wander, flex and break.

Watch out, Wiz has a nuther case 'o' that old cast iron itch, real bad..... Stay tuned after these messages to find out the result........ I use a Techsew 5100, a 441 clone, for belts, holsters, pet gear, bags and anything else heavy. I have a fine selection of fabric grade machines to choose from for light duty stuff, which for me is duck canvas...... Next machine is likely to be a middleweight walking-foot postbed if the right one comes along or a flatbed, which is more likely. After that it would be a patcher for closing bags and other patcher dutys. An off the arm 441 class machine is in my dream shop....

It looks like that ball is just a rubber o-ring and someone at the factory got the wrong one. A thinner o-ring of the same diameter would fix it. I restored my first treadle fabric machine in a cabin without power, and wood heat. Does that count?

There are quite a few data stores out there, I was leaning towards having a section within this site for pdfs that is an integral part of the site, however it is contained offsite, at cheaper hosting if the data volume becomes to big. When you pay for hosting, you pay for bandwidth and storage. The bigger the site, and the greater the traffic, the more it costs. They charge for either and both. The daily traffic in pdf downloads is low enough that it could be shoved off to a lower bandwidth hosting solution to keep the cost down. The issue then becomes who will police it for copyright and other issues of propriety. Would need a separate moderator for that to approve uploads. I think it would be a very useful addition to this site, considering the number of linked pdfs already here, and the number of broken links to pdfs in old threads.

I understand the limits on picture size, however there are various member levels, it would be a good perk for heavy contibutors to the site to have an increase in file size for pdfs and the like along with a bigger inbox. I know i have a few i could throw on here if there was a way. The thing is, because the volume and traffic of people downloading pdfs is so much lower, pdf hosting could even be hosted offsite, at a cheaper data-store. Most people will wait for a longer pdf download if it means they actually get the manual they need.

If that does not work, throw it out the window......

That is another way to build one. I was not talking about that exact method, however that is almost as easy to make.

These kind of tricks were so commonplace in workshops and jobsites back in the day. Before computers, draftsmen and craftsmen needed a bit of knowledge in geometry. Machine tools and blueprints have done away with these skills. Back in the day it did not matter how long things were, just that they fit with each other. A compass and a straightedge is all you need to draw most any shape and build most anything if you understand geometry. Look up "story stick" to see how they used to make houses square and level before tape measures. I use this technique for my basic rectangular pattern pieces. I just place all the measurements for all the pieces on one strip, and I can transcribe it to leather with a straightedge and a square. Use coloured pens to differentiate pieces. The pattern for a briefcase then becomes one strip of card 1-1/2" wide with a bunch of lines and measurements on it. Easy to store. I have just added a story stick patterning tutorial to my list of things to do...

That is great. It was a hard go, however you now have a well documented case of your abilities as a saddle maker who can work with difficult fitting situations. You can charge more for this service, I imagine. Put a statement on your site that says something like 'We make saddles to fit everyone. Our standard saddles fit 90% of people, however some require a custom fit. Various levels of custom fitting services are available.' The top level of service should be on site fitting and delivery. You want me to fit you to the horse that you keep in your stable in bermuda? Let me check my calender...Some people who ride horses have waaaaayyyyy more money than brains remember..And you never get what you don't ask for.

Business and politics, a sticky subject. Mixing the two is tenuous. Too much of the wrong kind of politics will kill a business. The best way to deal with politics in relation to customers is to avoid it. Respectfully and truthfully state business reasons why the request can't be fulfilled, and move on. It is ok to say no, however saying it the right way can actually build customer base, instead of alienating it.

Lisa Sorrell (link at top of page) probably talks about it in one of her boot making videos on youtube. While I haven't watched them all, she talks about so many bunches of bunches of bootmaking topics, I actually would be surprised if she didn't.

If the local guy can not help or needs help, Weaver leather is an adler dealer, they may be able to help, or point you in the right direction. They have helped other users with old adlers.

To make a simple one, take a straight stick of wood, use your dividers to make 3 evenly spaced marks in the stick, and drive a nail into each mark so it sticks out the other side. Make the center one not as deep as the rest so the point is just protruding the other side. Trim the points of the other two and leave them a little longer. Any time you place it on something with parallel sides, and both outside points are against the edge, the middle will be centered provided you drove the nails straight..... Drag it along for a center line. That is one way it is done for woodwork, the concept is easy to adapt for leather.

I thought about it some, and assuming the points stay inline with each other, and the pivots are tight and accurate, I can see 2 uses for it: On a belt that changes width, but is symmetrical, this tool would allow making a center line on it. A divider can't do this. You need to make a couple center marks with them and then use a ruler for the line. This could be done in one step with this tool as long as the width of the caliper is constantly adjusted to the current belt width as you slide along and the calipers are kept 90 degrees to the edges. Tilting the caliper wouldn't matter here. To find center of anything with straight parallel edges, you can set the tool to any width wider than the strap, and as long as the outside tips are on the sides, the middle is in the center. This will only work if the points are parallel. If you have to tip it to get the center to touch, it throws off the measurement. The caliper can be at an angle to the work in relation to the edges (one side ahead of the other), but it must be vertical. There are other types of tool that do this the same way, and are easy to make. No complex geometry. Timber-framers have been making on site tools for this for centuries.

That confirms my suspicion. I have been thinking of uses for this machine all afternoon, and surprisingly, i have come to the conclusion that if one fell into my lap at the right price (almost free), i would use it. The darning, patching, bartacking, pattern sewing for sure, however i could see myself rigging up a puller and sewing bag sides with it, off/on the arm style.

Is that a free motion machine? Like the kind that sew in any direction, but do not feed, so stitch length is up to operator? That is the weirdest foot i have ever seen. Is there a feed dog there at all?

I can't see how it would work, Changing sizes will change the vertical relationship of the outside legs to the center, meaning that the point in the middle will stick out at wide settings and be recessed at narrow ones, unless it also slides in and out. If it slides, i can't see how the linkage would be tight enough to be accurate. Seams like a tool designed to separate a fool from his money...Any dividers will do what this does. that Sometimes obscure things are that way for a reason....

I live in Vancouver Bc. I need to learn mandarin first...