TinkerTailor

You have a lot of questions, and that is great, however in the many years this site has been around most of them have been answered already in much more detail than you will get from asking the question again. Do some research into the types of leather, how they are colored, how they are used. Poke around on this site, you will be amazed what you will find. Google is your friend. rolled edge tutorial site:leatherworker.net: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=58037 http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=26468 http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=30270 http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=50809

All the answers you need are already on this site. Use google, not the built in search. Add this to your searches "site:leatherworker.net" like this: marble for leatherwork site:leatherworker.net http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=56218

and salt. I have a peanut butter jar full of nasty malt vinegar and salt for antiquing brass.

It looks the same as a seiko ch-8b as well, I wonder if the parts fit? https://www.college-sewing.co.uk/catalog/search.aspx?keywords=ch-8b

This video will probably clear up alot of issues and questions constructing the items you want to make. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpEmkRlv1Uo

I know some chalks use wax as the binder in varying quantities to keep it in the stick form, careful with the alcohol here in unfinished areas. The wax may haunt you. If the chalk does not have any its probably best. I don't know if it is scientific, but i hold a flame to it and see if the chalk softened, if it does i assume wax binder. If it stays hard when hot i assume i am safe. Never had a problem with leather but with canvas, I accidentally ironed my chalk marks into a project. Would not have happened with wax free chalk.

All of the suppliers that advertise on this site sell real quality leather only. No fakes, or composites, unless listed as such. Genuine leather is a marketing term, and in some cases can mean particle board leather made from leather dust..... Generally, strap goods such as collars, belts and harnesses are made from veg tanned leather. It is normally only available in earth tone colours. Clothing, fashion and furniture use chrome tanned leather. It is available in more finishes and colours than you can count however have a few issues with strap goods. They tend to be stretchier and not generally available as thick which leads to stitched laminated straps to get thickness and strength. Also, some people have issues with the chromium in the leather against their skin. Plus chrome tanning is way worse for the environment but way cheaper and faster. My suggestion is to dye it yourself. Invest in an airbrush to help with even dying and go to town. As to your request for cheap leather: Cheap leather has more blemishes and weak areas. Straps need long stretches of clean leather. You will end up with alot more scrap. Cheap leather does not dye as nice nor as easily. When you do the math, cheap leather will lose you money. Quality veg tanned leather at a good price is what you want... People pay more to know it is quality leather with a small environmental footprint. In the price of the product, once you take away profit, overhead, labour, and hardware, the leather portion is small. A few dollars at that level can make a big difference to the profit line if marketed correctly. Reducing scrap will also help You are not scrimping on the quality of your hand-work, so why do it with materials.

Any decent sized city will have either a restaurant supply place or a plastics supplier you can get it from without the shipping. Search for HDPE sheet. That is the hard stuff, LDPE is softer.

I see your dream machine and raise you this: I do not want to know the price: http://www.campbell-randall.com/machines/sewing-machines/omac-669180010-eos-reduced-cylinder-arm-sewing-machine/

Nice machine, and you are just down the coast from me........ I searched all over Vancouver, looking for someone with a band knife that would do a job or two... Nice to find there is someone who is willing to do this type of thing. I may have some splitting coming up. pm sent

Servos have a narrower range of speed at the pedal. Can't get all the way slow and all the way fast at the same time. Have to pick a range. Guys who have servos with a dial control instead of clicky buttons for the speed like them because they can reach over and adjust the speed range without looking and doing the clicky clicky dance....

zack white has osbornes. http://www.zackwhite.com/Oval-Drive-Punches_c_222.html

Masticating mad methodology makes my muddled mind merry.

I searched and searched for these guys. I think you posted this in another thread a while back. Bookmarked now...

A clean one..... Joking aside, do not buy them at tandy. Go to the dollar store, any sponge will work. I buy the ones with the green scrubby on one side and rip the scrubby off.

I can't carve worth a darn, just saying. Swivel knives hurt my right hand, I have had reconstructive surgery on it and it does not like the position a swivel knife required. .10 mins and i am in pain. So, my stuff is plain or geometric/basket stamped. One day i will learn with my left

mcmaster-carr.

Not all tooling is western, and was done without craftool stamps for centuries. This guy only uses a swivel knife and 2 modelers. This is a great video, though the lighting makes it hard to see.

Some guys just use a small piece of scrap veg as a spatula.

If it got darker from the oil, it may lighten up over a few days as the oil dissipates in the leather. Or it may not.

I think you should turn the right leg 90 degrees so they are parallel and the machine is set up like a bartacker. Like this machine, but narrower: http://www.sewmax.us/index.php/component/virtuemart/label-sewing-machine-mitsubishi-plk-03bta-electronic-pattern-sewing-machine-150-152-detail

Unless you store the eyedropper in acetone, its gonna plug. Cut that stupid brush off and chuck it. All it is good for is getting glue all over the place, especially on the mouth of the bottle, where boogers of dried glue collect, and end up in the seam at the wrong time. The plumbing section has the same brush sold as acid brushes for a quarter each. Get a bunch of bamboo skewers, wood stir sticks, Popsicle sticks, and those cheap mini plastic pallet knives for artists at the dollar store. I have a coffee cup full of random stuff like this on my bench. Disposable dab'l'do sticks. I cut off the glue bit with side cutters into the trash and use the remainder of the stick next time. Each skewer gets used at least 4 times. Chopsticks are a great tool for holding leather pieces down/up/open while gluing to keep your fingers clean....

Yeah same idea. There is more to it than that as well. Bigger thread=bigger needles. Bigger thread needs longer stitch lengths, which require more foot and feed dog movement which require a bigger cylinder to fit it all in. Sometimes the bobbin case doesn't have the clearance to make the loop and catch it with big thread, regardless of the bobbin size. Your question was actually on point because the thread size you use is also a factor in the machine you get. I sew alot of thinner, smaller stuff (1/4"-3/8") but use heavy thread so the bigger machine was a better choice. For the smaller thread, 69, 92, 138, i intend on getting a second flatbed unless i find a screaming deal on a pfaff 335. Missed one for 400 bux a year or so ago....

Everything Dikman said plus: physical constraints. Clutch motors tend to be bigger and some have had issues with getting everything fitting nice under their table. Depending on table configuration some have trouble fitting a speed reducer with a servo. When i got my 5100 it was set up on the middle pulley of the speed reducer, and I found my servo did not like the lowest couple of speeds. It has a speed adjustment from 0-40. Anything under 6 and it got notchy. It no longer slowly ramped up speed as you pushed the pedal. I could do stitch by stitch at 5 but had to run it above 7 for smooth control. It was like it had 3 speeds, not a gradient. It sewed almost a as slow as 1 stitch a second, but would jump between speeds. With my reducer on the little pulley, I run the speed at 18 and can go 1/2 stitch a second, and control it smoothly. I can also do 3-4 stitches per second pedal to medal, no speed change. Plenty for my work. If i need more my motor is only at half speed. My motor has a brake, and if i take my foot off too fast when i am pedal down, the pedal travels up too far and it brakes, shaking the whole table. It actually stops just fine without the brake and i would like to turn it off in the servo controller, but do not know how. My techsew servo is designed to brake when you heel the pedal i think Do a weekly Pedal Metal Maintenance. Unthread the machine, turn up the speed, Crank some heavy metal with a whole bunch of double kick drums and try to play along with your machine. Crappy eastern European electronica works as well, if you must........just stop putting it in youtube videos people..

In another thread i think it was determined that poundo was die cutting mat. Can't find it now. I did however find a tip on another site for disposable, cheap mini-poundo discs: Hockey Pucks.