Frayed01

As far as the 'adjusting screw' goes, it's a pain tightening the wing nut all the time, my solution. Go to your local cycle store and buy a 'quick release wheel spindle', get someone to cut a continuous thread on the spindle, cut it to length, fit, and then all you need to do to tighten the jaws is push the lever down.

If you log on to the Tandy Leather Factory home page,you will find,Free,downloadable patterns for various projects. Dave

Here's my donation Notes_About_Thread.doc Notes_About_Thread.doc

Wow,the belt is off the planet,love the interior swivel knife work. Where did the silver come from? was it of an original Bohlin piece? I am totally in awe of every thing that came out of Bohlin's studios,the man was a genius. Dave

Hi Johann Love the machines,I have a patcher just like the one in the top picture (Adler circa 1932),which I am currently getting back into working order. before you start using WD40,try a little sewing machine oil first,dribble into the holes for the bearings,and try some light grease in the pulley track at the wheel end of the pivot arm,and crank it over every now and then for a couple of days,you will be surprised how quickly it quietens down and gets a very smooth action. When I got mine,the pitman rod(the connection between the treadle,and the pulley wheel) was missing,so I made mine out of 2 pipe clamps (Munson clips), some 10mm studding,and 2 bearings that I bought on ebay,so it now runs very quietly indeed. Are you close to Bielefeld,do you know if Kochs still trading,as I am trying to get a new foot for my machine. Dave I forgot to say,I can send you a PDF file of the repair manual for this machine,with a list of part numbers and diagram.

Hi guys,I took your advice and got in contact with shoesystemsplus,and was quoted: K030003033 (Adler) $79.00 USD S82007 (Singer) $43.50 USD Shipping additional Is this about right? I also noted on another site,there are 3 different feet for the Singer,8557,8558,and 8666,any ideas. I might add that Adler/Singer feet are like rocking horse manure in the UK,the internet hasn't thrown up any addresses in the UK at all,unless I'm doing something wrong? Some guidance would be appreciated. Dave

Thanks Paul,but there are still people on these forums,whose talents I would kill for,so much more to learn! Dave

Thanks for the compliment Tom,I am currently waiting to go buy some leather in London,also working out some new wildlife patterns (Otter,Barn Owl,Curlew,Avocet,Puffin),I'm currently selling my Honda NX650,as I've just had revision surgery on 20 year old hip replacement,and have been banned from riding trail bikes by,the boss(my wife),and the orthopeadic surgeon who did the op (Bummer) So I should have plenty of money to re-equip myself with tools ect. I think the first few will be about 2.5 feet, 1.5 feet,and then come down in size as I get back in to cutting tighter curves. Dave P.S. I started riding in the 60's,so maybe it's about time to stop trying to go around bends quickly

Hi Pete, With hindsight (wonderful gift),I considered the whole of the head/beak area to be badly cut. All the cuts are of a uniform depth,which means that the outline split between the upper and lower beak isn't as thin and in scale as it should be,and the "bumpy" bit with the "nostril" should have been carved deeper to give the impression of the roundness/bulge,but as I say I was cutting with my index finger in a steel splint,which meant using another finger was awkward,and I hadn't learned the subtlety of using the swivel knife at that time. That said I keep it just because it was my first attempt,and every version I have done since has been an improvement,I do like the wing and tail feathers,but don't like the visible leading edge,which again was a very heavy handed use of a mulefoot,which I now tend to use with thumb pressure alone. As for the Dutch sailing barge,that's my wifes favourite,even though I've done better versions of that as well!

Kathy Wow,great picture,the colouring(sorry,english spelling :angel_not: ),is fantastic (means the same in either language )!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Spider At the time I did the eagle,I was serving in Northern Ireland,my parents had been to visit relatives who lived near Fort Worth,they dropped in to Tandy,took out a years subscription to Make It With Leather,and bought me a Mega Tandy Leathercraft Kit. Sent the magazine,then sent the tools when they got back to the UK,2 months later,I had read the mag back to front a million times,so when I got the tools,I did the obligatory rounder to find out what they did,and carved the eagle a week later. After that I funded my carving by making pancake and sprung shoulder holsters for the guys who needed them,which improved my saddle stitching skills no end (but killed my hands),I just took it from there. This time round,I have to travel to London,to select my leather(I like to pick my own hides),but every time I want to go,another problem occurs,so it looks like after Easter before I can get back to it,rest assured as soon as I've started it will be on here.

The problem with the eagle,is that I was to heavy with the mulefoot stamp when doing the body feathers. I have done numerous other versions,and pressed the tool into the leather by hand,to get a much more subtle finish. I am also greatly ashamed of the swivel knife work,but at the time I had badly damaged my right index finger,which resulted in it remaining rigid,which made carving a bit difficult,I have since learned to live with it. :D Dave

Just posted on the Figure Carving forum. My first 2 attempts at Figure carving,the Christine Stanley Eagle,was the first attempt in July 78,the dutch barge was copied from a sketch on a chart after a sailing holiday,the original sketch was one and a half inches square. I thought they were pretty good for a first attempt,but when I look at them now I see all the mistakes I made with the tools,thankfully I got better. Dave

These were my first 2 Figure carving attempts,the Christine Stanley eagle was done in 1978,on a piece of leather donated by a friend,I had just got my new "tools",and couldn't wait for my leather to arrive. The Dutch barge was done in 1979,the design was taken from a sailing chart I had used on holiday,sailing on the Isselmeer in Holland,the original sketch was about one and a half inches square. Every other piece of work I did was either sold,or donated to auctions for charities,I just like carving,but this time around I think I'll keep a few. Dave

No,I live in Ashford in Kent,maternal side of the family,come from Devon,Dorset,Somerset triangle,Colyton,Hawkchurch,Thornecombe,by way of Cardiff. I found out about it all when I did the family history, the family working in the tannery were the Larcoombes,who are still in the area. I'll get down there one day. :D

OutbackP,believe it or not my Great,Great,Great,Grandfather was born in Colyton,and worked in this tannery as a boy.

Art,I forgot to say I love the Hind avtar,just checked out the websites,and the shoesystems is an Alladins cave. Dave

Hi,I'm refurbishing a newly acquired Adler 30,it currently has a narrow welt sewing foot,which has been used for a long time. The underneath is almost smooth and I would like to replace it with something a bit wider. I have tried Google,and ebay,and come up with ziltch,can I use other makes of foot,and if so where can I get them from? Dave

Hi,my name is Dave,I live in the UK,coming back to leather carving after a 10 year lay off. Started leatherwork in 1977,whilst in the Armed Forces,availed myself of the US army facilities whilst in Berlin,kept it up after I left,but due to a 2 hour commute to London and back,every day I let it all lapse. No longer have to commute,and so I'm back. Have just acquired an Adler 30 longarm patcher,free and in working condition,from a friend of my brother who lives in Germany. I am also replacing all my beloved Tandy stamps,which had rusted over the years,win some lose some,and ebay is proving very fruitful at the moment. The only problem we have in the UK,is a lack of places to buy decent veg.tan/tooling leather,but I'm working on that. Nice to find a site that caters for all sorts of leatherwork Dave