TinkerTailor

I knew you would comment on this as well, just didn't think it would be simultaneously......Do use needle coolers much? Machinists have moved away from flood coolant in many situations and moved to these micro misters that spray a microscopic mist right at the cutting edge. Way less mess. I wonder is this could be adapted to sewing? It would be a very tiny amount of atomized water, which cools when it evaporates. For jobs like webbing where there is no risk of damage at all from the water, this may be the ticket... I mentioned the airbrush hack for an air cooler, how are they done in yer neck of the woods? Any other recommendations? I Imagine you guys use air actuators as well for some automation operations, and the machines have an air supply near which makes things easier.

That is a winner.

If you are seeing smoke from the needle, you need to slow down and/or mitigate the heat. The metal needle will not smoke, it is thread/webbing/oil burning that is causing it. If you stop a hot needle, it will melt the material in the hole, and then cool. This will cause the hole and the thread to fuse some, close up around the needle and get tight. This could easily be the cause of the pre-corner loop, if the top thread is melted into the hole, it can't pull tight when the machine finishes the stitch. If you are sewing to a safety/military etc standard, you will probably fail due to material damage. Thread lube is a must, and since staining is not an issue, not reason not to. Another way to reduce needle heat is a needle cooler. It is basically an air nozzle pointed at the needle. Not much air volume needed at all. An airbrush compressor and an old airbrush zip tied to the machine will work dandy. I had a picture somewhere of a ghetto needle cooler setup but i can't find it right now...

If you want to get really accurate, they make trigger pull digital scales for gunsmiths that measure grams/tenths of ounces of pull. Some have used luggage scales and fish scales for the same thing. The methods of hanging weights on the thread are just ways to get it close without the measuring tools. Before digital, these types of tools were really expensive... Lyman makes a great one and it can be had for under 50 bux on sale. Not cheap but worth it in time saved if you are frequently setting tensions on machines. If you write down the numbers that work for a particular thread/material/needle combo, you can replicate it exactly very quickly. The advantage to the trigger pull ones over the luggage and fish scales(which also work) is the trigger pull scales usually have a function to save the peak value. This allow you to pull and look, while a luggage scale required you to read it while it is moving. One way around this is to set the tension too tight, pull the scale to the known value you want the thread to be at, and then loosen the tension until the thread moves. You do want to look for a scale that measures in fine enough increments. Many trigger scales start at 8oz and measure in 1 oz increments. The lyman digital one starts at 0oz and measures in 1/10oz (or metric). Many luggage and fish scales are only good for pounds/kilos. http://www.cabelas.com/product/Lyman-Digital-Trigger-Pull-Gauge/740429.uts

Pro tip, Fiebings spirit dyes work great on wood....

Juki ls-1341s clone

I wonder if you thinned your dye with bourbon, could you charge more for the end product? It seems like anything with whisky or bourbon in it sells these days. I saw a 16 dollar bar of whisky soap the other day. Seems to me, soap is meant to take away the smell of whisky on yer skin and clothes, not add it.....

Even a couple aussie machine dealers....

What is what? Who made who? Back in Black?

Technical stuff ahead warning: It may be true that olive oil has been used by some in the past and saddlers today use it with success, It is not the ideal oil in many situations. Don't get me wrong, I have used it myself at times. I looked into this topic pretty thoroughly a while back because, like you, when I read anything about oiling leather online it all seemed like he said she said and nobody knew why. I decided to go to the best source we have left, the textbooks and manuals from back in the day when there were thousands of saddlers, not dozens. People spent great deals of time and money back then to find out the answers to these types of questions because they made a big difference to industry when horses and leather were king. I have a huge library of leatherworking/saddle making/tanning/ treatment/bookbinding/cobbler textbooks and manuals dating from the early 1800's to the 1950s (100+pdfs). Both western and english sources. Lots of info was in "The Journal of the American Leather Chemists Association vols 1-16, 1906-1922". I'd upload it but its 240mb of pdfs. Most texts list rancidity as a downside of any vegetable based oil. Many mention that olive oil may be used and is one of the best of the easily obtained vegetable oils, but none that i know of list it as the ideal oil if you have a choice. Oxidation is the enemy of vegetable based oils. Neetsfoot basically never oxidizes, that is one of the reasons it is used for leather. When vegetable oils break down and go rancid they form acidic compounds and some terepenes you can smell. It is when oxygen reaches the oil that it goes rancid. Depending on conditions like humidity there may not be much of a smell noticeable. The smell is not the harmful part, it is the acidic compounds that are bad. It was suspected that these acidic compounds in the leather may accelerate dry rot. Essentially, dried out leather that had previously been treated with olive would dry rot more/faster than leather previously treated with neetsfoot, some thought. A least one early book has a recipe that supposedly stabilizes the olive oil to help prevent this. However, if i remember correctly, this recipe seemed dodgy chemistry/alchemy wise (which is common in the early texts) and it may not even work. Repeated wetting and drying as well as flexing opens and closes the pores of the leather allowing in fresh oxygen and moving the oils around, which speeds oxidation. This wet/dry cycle was why I recommended neetsfoot or another non-vegetable based oil more resistant to oxidation. Light also speeds oxidation incidentally, olive oil is sold in a dark bottle for this reason. If you do use olive oil, one key is to get the most extra specially virgin cold pressed, freshest clearest oil possible and keep it sealed and out of the light. Go to your nearest italian market/little italy district to get the good stuff. Considering the price of leather and time, it is cheap. If it is dusty and sitting in a sunny window in a chinese market, leave it there Many texts list almond and rose oil as well as compounds extracted from whales as options, though the downside to these is cost, and/or you have to kill whales.

Two comments, Olive oil will work but can go rancid over time inside the leather. On a warm wet head, this may happen faster. One big reason neetsfoot oil is used for leather is it does not go rancid. Oil is not really a finish. It does not waterproof or protect as much as it nourishes the leather to keep it flexible. Using some kind of oil or creme would be a good idea alongside finish with this project because sweat salts and oils from the hair may dry out the natural oils in the leather. Dyeing also does this. The oil or creme replenishes it. I like to use carnauba creme myself, or neetsfoot depending on my mood and the project. Undyed natural leathers i skip the neetsfoot and use carnauba only to prevent the darkening effect. For finish, snoseal will work nice and is beeswax based. If you don't overapply it will waterproof but wont get sticky. If you buy it and don't like it as a leather finish when you test on some scrap, go use the can on every pair of leather boots you got. Nothing wasted.. As to the dye, If you use fiebings spirit dyes, and buff it well after, you should have no problems with dyes transferring. Except the usmc black. It seems to rub off forever. Leave it there and get the regular black, it does not really rub off at all. Spirit(alcohol) based dyes don't generally run or bleed, however they may transfer dye particles left over on the surface. This is why you buff off the excess. Its harder to buff the excess out of the back, so if you can skip it it may be better. I use old t-shirts and sheets to buff. I have not been impressed with many of the water based products i have tried however others have had good success. Fiebings pro and regular spirit dyes have always worked good for me so i am going to stick to them for now. Except the usmc black....grrrr....I have a belt that i made years ago and still i can only wear with black jeans.....

So good call on the sharpie trick. I use that one all the time. You are absolutely correct that if the sharpener is not getting to the edge, and is hitting the wrong spot, something is out of wack. Not sure now new this machine, or its blade is, and what make/model it is so the following it somewhat speculation: Digging in can be due to a dull knife, but it can also be due to incorrect cutting edge angle/grind. Cutting machines, whether for leather/wood/metal all have specific edge angles needed to cut a given angle. It is always a balance between material removal rate and preventing the tool from digging in. This is why it is important to ensure you are starting with the correct angle, and the blade is not off due to previous poor sharpenings. Now why is the question. It could either be the sharpener is out of wack, or the angle of the edge on the knife is out of wack from previous poor sharpening, or the stone is not flat/true. Without pictures or a manual i suggest accurately checking if the angle of the blade as it sits is correct with some measuring device, or check it against a brand new knife if you have one. If you push a piece of plastercene or clay up to the edge, you can get an impression of the angle of the edge. This is sometimes easier and safer than measuring the actual edge. Compare this to the factory specs. The idea is to check the knife to ensure it is right with the world, if the angle is correct, you need to correct the angles of the sharpener, or sharpen in a different position. If the angle is off, you should sharpen the knife to the correct angle or replace it.. The other thing is the stone needs to present a flat surface to the metal at the correct angle. If the stone is worn with ridges in it or something, you will need to either dress the stone or replace it. Good news is, if the angle of the knife is out of wack,and provided you have enough knife left, you should be able to sharpen it correctly by ensuring the sharpener is working at the correct angle and going to town. It may take a while to get it grinding right to the edge, but it will eventually get there. If you end up going this route, take your time and take breaks. You do not want to overheat the knife grinding it too fast. here is a tutorial, watch at 1:45

How to calculate width of lace based on size of core and number of strands: Another with some video tutorial links: And here is an old archived website with some tutorials: Turkshead: http://www.kingsmerecrafts.info/page71.html Rommel Reins: http://www.kingsmerecrafts.info/page101.html 6 and 8 part round braid: http://www.kingsmerecrafts.info/page121.html

If you check the other threads you posted in, I gave a description of a way that a chicago screw can be used, as well as a technique to use a big double cap rivet. Also check these guys out for quality USA made chicago screws and other things in many sizes, for not much more than some chinese stuff.: https://www.usbind.com/

That is kinda what i was getting at with the stretch trick working sometimes. If you are lining 8 oz straps with 1-2 oz leather, stretching the liner slightly and gluing it flat is basically the same as gluing it on the curve, you are just shortening the inside piece slightly in different ways. With these thicknesses it should work out beautiful. because the stretchy leather is doing its thing, while not able to effect the main piece due to the thickness difference. Now If it is a 5 oz strap with a 5oz liner, the stretch trick will not work because the liner is too thick in comparison to the outside. This situation is best glued on the curve. The outside wrinkles and cracks you suggest could very well appear here. It only works when the liner is significantly lighter than the main material. One upside is it can be harder to get floppy stretchy liners on straight, and tacking them down really helps this.

Do some tests with the glue you have and wet leather. Many glues, even water based ones, require a dry surface for best bond strength.

The real issue is that with any bend the material on the inside of the curve bunches up and wrinkles because it needs to be shorter as the radius of the bend gets tighter. The extra material has no where to go. Of course the degree of this bunching depends on the thickness of both leathers and the degree of the curve. The methond JLS states is a good method especially for thicker leathers. I use this method on all my bag flaps. For strapping, and smaller projects, If the lining is thin enough and the main piece is heavier, you can sometimes stretch a piece of lining a little larger than the project and tack it to the table, then glue it on. This works good for belts and straps. Tack one end, stretch the liner lengthwise, tack the other and then glue the strap on top. You can tack down and stretch a whole lining hide and lay out the strap pieces on it all ganged up. Cut the lining and separate the pieces after the glue dries. I find in many cases this is easier than gluing the item on the curve.The idea with both methods is to have the lining lay flat on the curve and stretch some when you straighten it instead of having too much material inside the curve when its folded. As to the adhesive, if you are stitching,and just holding the pieces until you get it stitched, any leather glue will work. If you are relying on glue alone, or in large areas strong glues are needed to prevent liner separation during use. I personally use heavy duty contact cement because it is stuck hard instantly and allows me to move on without waiting for the glue to dry. It also does not let go with use. Downside is, you gotta aim right cause once the pieces are stuck, there is no repositioning. In the states i think they like weldwood blue contact cement. Up here in Canuckistan, we use LePage.

Doesn't look far off, but the perspective in the pictures isn't perfect. One way to check is to draw a quick 6"x6" grid on the floor/table and count how many squares are covered up by the hide. Guestimate the 1/2 and quarter squares.

For what it is worth, the bottle of isopropanol in front of me is 99%. Our beer is stronger up here too............

That is a really cool, original setup and looks almost new. It is from the days before safety standards however so there is no guard and fitting one will be hard i suspect. Do us all a favor and keep it complete. Compared to machines, there are VERY few original table setups around and would be desirable to a collector. Your machine is also basically unused and would be more valuable with the original table and motor to a collector i imagine. Good news is, you can just take out the motor, clutch, switch and wiring and replace with a new servo motor. Any of the vendors at the top of the screen can hook you up. May need to do some figuring for the pedal linkage, again the dealers on this site will likely know exactly what needs to be done. Best part is, they only make noise while sewing, and stop running when the needle stops unlike that noisy clutch motor you have right now. As to yer belt, leather belts stretch, especially if they are left under tension for 30 years without use. In the picture, the staple looks half out as well. The ends of the belt should be touching. New round leather belt is available though the one that is on it likely will be fine if you shorten it a bit. You can also get modern synthetic round belting from mcmaster-carr. Not sure if you have this but as singer manual scans go, this is a gem. You can actually see the pictures. Most of them look like they were scanned with a usb hairdryer... http://www.singerco.com/uploads/download/ff071da0793d2bb38d46f9052d2c69bc15cff672.pdf It says your machine is made for canvas which can get up there in thickness and sewing difficulty. It takes up to a 22 needle, which is the size for 138 thread so needle and thread wise it should be fine with lighter leather (provided the tensioners and bobbins will also run 138, this i don't know). Not a compound feed so you may have issues with material feeding and backside marking to watch out for. The issue will be speed, It also says max speed is 2200spm which is way faster than most leather people sew at. When buying the servo, get the smallest pully possible and talk to the dealer about possible speed reduction devices. It cane make a huge difference in punching power

You may get a faster and more defined result by spraying dye through it. Look up lace painting, It is a technique used on custom cars and motorcycles. You are right, the sun is moving and there is too much space between your mesh and the leather allowing the shadows to move blurring the inage.. If you are set on suntanning, I would put a piece of glass over the top to press down the mesh, or possibly print the mesh pattern onto a sheet of clear acetate and use that instead, like they used to do for overhead projectors. They make sheets you can print in home printers.

I have a near new condition iron body domestic and the japanning is really glossy. Think about it, if you are going to put gilding all over the machine, and make it sparkle, you would also make sure the paint is shiny. Lumpendoodle2's is 75 years old and you can still see reflections on the arm.

As a note, In my opinion, A natural backside is better. It shows both the care and attention that you put into your dye job and edges, but also shows off the quality of your leather. Low quality leather is backed with paint and stuff to keep it smooth and uniform because it is far from it. Good leather does not need this. You can fake a nice grain side but it is really hard to fake the raw backside of quality leather. Part of the trick is to get it to look untouched, but actually have sealed it from badness without a fake look. And if you have a small dye bleed on an edge, Just call it a "Humanity Feature" and keep going. With every project your technique will refine and the humanity features will lessen, until the final stage, when you are a machine.......Happy dying.....

Please use english guys. There are many people who have information, and willing to help. They can not help if they can not read what you are saying. Many people will make posts with the text in both their native language as well as english. It is much easier translate to english once when posting than it is for the reader to translate every time. There is a private message system available to members where you can have non-public conversations, It should be located at the top right of your screen. Пожалуйста, используйте английские ребята. Есть много людей, которые имеют информацию, и готовы помочь. Они не могут помочь, если они не могут читать то, что вы говорите. Многие люди будут делать сообщения с текстом как на родном языке, а также английский. Это гораздо проще перевести на английский, как только при отправке сообщений, чем это для читателя, чтобы переводить каждый раз. Существует частная система сообщений доступна для членов, где вы можете иметь непубличные переговоры, он дол жен быть расположен в правом верхнем углу экрана. Some threads on the topic: Here is a book on the topic: http://www.hought.com/brbooks-romal1.html

I believe the alcohol is the solvent that dissolves the dye particles and the solution needs a certain alcohol percentage or the dye particles will drop out of solution. Adding water may drop the alcohol concentration of the solution enough to allow this to happen. Plus alcohol thinned dyes dry really fast while water based ones do not, another factor to consider. Rubbing alcohol is really cheap. Granted water is cheaper, however, i would guess that if it worked as good as alcohol, everyone would be doing it by now, Kinda like 50/50 reso. That is not a feibings thing, it is a user recipe that works really good.... Yup