Randy Cornelius

I have a stirrup plate for my Toro 3000 I tried it a couple times but did not see where it helped. I have never put it back on. Save your money and buy more thread and needles.

The only one I would consider portable would be the Boss that would fit your needs. But you will need a sturdy table or bench to bolt or clam it down to.

Elmers would not be my first choise, most saddle makers will use a white glue simular to elmers to glue on the swell cover as it works good with wet leather and does not set up quick and allows time to work with the swell cover before the glue sets up. You can try it with pig linning and it may work. But I would suggest contact cement, you can get it at any hardware or home center. Get the Wellwood brand orginal, I have used it before when I have ran out of my Duall 88 cement and it is a very good replacement. Apply to both pieces of leather and let the cement dry to a tacky state and but together, It is not very forgiving so make sure everything is lined up good before you slap them together. Also another product that I use is called Fabric Tach that I buy at Wally world in the craft dept. It is a clear glue that drys in less than a minute. I will use it on zippers, cases and anything I want to hold together so I can sew it on the machine. It can also be used to glue in pig linning. Hope this helps. Randy

I have a Artisen Toro 3000 that I have had for several years, always been a good machine and never have I had a complaint. I bought one of the first ones to come out. Lately though I have been having trouble with it missing stitches, breaking thread, and fraying the thread. I have done everything that I could think of so I called Artisen last monday morning asked for some tech support, the lady I talked to said she would have a tech call me back, waited several hours, called again, still was told he was busy and would call when he had free time. Waited over a week and called Steve from Cobra, he was working for Artisen when I bought this machine. He was very helpful as usual, walked me through setting the timing and also found a small burr on the shuttle hook that I polished and now have it working like new again. Wanted to publicly say that Steve is truely one of the great guys out there , even if you don't buy a machine from him he is always willing to help you. I would highly reccomend Steve and Cobra if you are intersted in a new sewing machine. I just wanted to say thank you. PS , Jerry,(owner of Artisen) if you are listning, your customer service needs some attention. Randy

I have bid on a few of these on ebay from time to time, just thought It would be neat for my collection, but I have refused to pay over 40.00 and they always go for more than that.

I have bought white crome tan from Hide House but it's not near 6 oz more like a 3-4.

Just got my order in today, 1 side of Latigo and 2 sides of suede all wrapped together and a second box with some silver, qt die and saddle soap. the total on shipping was 25.00 so I did not think that was too bad. But I am in Kansas so it's not that far from Ohio. I have always been pleased with what I have gotten from Weaver but I don't buy much leather from them. Randy

Well the pasted finish on the back is just what it says, it's pasted down, kinda like being slicked. You can save your self some money and do it yourself. Like when you have a belt that is not linned. I wet the back side and apply some bag coat finish and use a pice of canvas or denim and just slick it down like you would the edges. When the bag coat drys it will paste it down so it will stay. You can also use any number of products with the same results. Saddle soap will work but you must seal it with a finish to get the paste down effect. You can use any type of top coat finish for this. I also use the drum dyed as the dye seems to be struck better and tends not to rub off. Good luck Randy

Never mind I found it. It is Konomos Distributing 5629 Truman rd. KCMo 816-483-9388. They are the only supplier for shoe repair in the midwest other than Chicago

There is a supplier in Kansas City Missouri by the name of Nacomas Supply. But I am not sure of the spelling, they are mainly suppliers for shoe and boot repair shops. I have lost the contact info as I used to order different suppies through a local shoe repair shop that has went out of business. If anyone knows the correct spelling or has the phone number or other contact for them please pass it along. I know they are a small business and do not have a web site. I am considering going into the shoe repair business as there is nowhere else close for people to go. Randy

Tandy is the only sourse for those 3/4 inch letters. At one time I had a request for 2" silver letters on a guitar stap and could not get anyone in the silversmith community to make them for me. rc

Myself and son Riley will be in sometime on Thurs, will be staying at the Mill Inn. Randy

I bought a Boss when I first started out and man was that a mistake, if you like to tinker then you will love a boss. It is a constant battle to keep it adjusted. I was neve so glad to see something go a when I sold my Boss. Do your self a favor and buy one of the machines listed above. I have an Artisen that I bought several years ago when Steve was still with them, I have no regrets. I have also got a flatbed machine I bought from Steves new company. I have no regrets with either machine. I love both of them. RC

I like it. I am sure the next one will look even better. There is a saying, "there are 2 kinds of guns, those you show your friends and those you take to battle" I carry a glock every day as I never know when I will go to battle...all the others I take to the range to show my friends. RC

I have done business with them several times in the past and have never had any complaint.

I will give some input here, but no expert on eco-flo. As I have heard eco-flo is a water based product, which under the right conditions will sorta kinda work on veg tan. But not on crome. To test the theory take the crome tan and apply water. If it is true crome tan it will not readly soak up the water, it should just sit there. So it would be my guess that eco-flo will not work but I don't have any to try. I know the sprit or oil dye will work just fine on crome tan. Dye it all the time. Randy

Most duty belts for Law Enforcement ar 2-1/4 inch wide.

I find that the best way to get your name out is to get involved in the community. For one I have the group of guys that I meet with almost every morning to drink coffee with, I call them the rusy zipper club. I get more business from that bunch of guys than anywhere. They tell everyone what I do. Also I teach leather craft classes to the area 4-H and boy scouts. Become a 4-H or Boy Scout leader. Volenteering costs you time but it pays you back in ways you cannot measure. That is time and money well spent. It really gets the word out. Also having booth at the local fairs, chili cook offs and any other event that draws people from the community together. I too have spend money on adds in the local paper without a single phone call. But pass around something I have made at the local coffee shop an the phone starts ringing. Hope this helps. Randy

My vote is for sides, that is what I use the most of. But I do not do holster work exclusivly. I do all kinds of leather work. I do like HO the best for making holsters as it is a firmer leather and holds the holster shape better than other. But you will find some hard spots because of that. It makes it hard to cut sometimes. I would not use the shoulders as there seems to be alot or waste around the neck area. The best buy would be the backs as most will be usable and you will have some good strap material for belts etc. I use the sides and the bellies are used for the kids in my 4-H classes to practice on so mot much goes to waste. You can trust the folks at Springfield, just tell them what you are making and what grade you can afford. RC

Most of the tools that have the Weaver name on them are hand made by the Amish in the area around Mt. Hope. The ones that I have seem to be of a high quality and seem a very good tool for the price, I do not have one of thier round knifes so I cannot say one way or the other on the round knife. If they are like the punches & french edger etc that I have it should be a quality tool for a good price. I have never been disappointed. Randy

I have ran into the same thing, last year we went to "WESA" aka Denver Market and were able to contact people from several lines we would like to have carried but we too were required to have a store front and had to supply profe, picture and tax statement if we owned the building or rental agreement if we rented. Since I work out of the house we could not carry those lines. What we were told by a couple that everyone who carries thier line buys at the same price and is required to sell at the same set retail price. We were told if it showed up on ebay or some other internet site for a lower price we would loose the right to buy from them. This way that could control how many retailer were selling thier products. They did not want several retailers from a single city competing so they would not sign up a retailer if they already had one nearby. It's just the way they do business. They just don't want thier stuff showing up on ebay.

To solve one of the problems mentioned above about the expanding of the leather. You can do the following. On the flesh side put one or two layers of 3-M packing tape to the flesh side. The 3-M is the best and will hold very good while stamping and will not allow the leather to warp, stretch or any thing else while you tool. The tape will come off with some effort after you are done. but let the leather dry before you remove the tape. I make quite a few duty belts for Law Enforcement officers as I am one myself. The belt should be about 12 oz with a 2-3 oz linning. These belts have to hold up about 30-40 lbs of equipment. Also dont scrimp on the billets that hold the buckle and the holes for attaching. It's is my experiance that an officer will think he can sintch up his 38" waist into a 34" belt and then the holes give out with the weight and extra tightness. I always line the billits also and do a figure 8 stitch around the holes to give added support. Have not had one pull out yet. As far as the time to basket stamp a 2 1/4 inch belt you should be able with some practice do 12" or more every 15-30 minutes or so. But it depends on a lot of factors. One other thing is that Wickett & Craig sells english bridle in black double shoulders that is very good for making duty belts. Good luck Randy

It sounds like you may be hitting the rivit too hard or too many times to get the rivit to set. Make sure you are using the proper anvil for the stud. Set the stud in the anvil and place the rivit through the leather into the stud in the anvil. I use a saddlers hammer with a long face to set them. Just tap the rivit until it is set flush with the leather. If you beat it in it will cut the leather and the stud will fall out or pull out the first couple times you use it. Also another tip when punching the hole for the flap piece that the stud will hold, punch it from the back side so the taper is on the back side of the leather and the flat side of the hole is on the top. This way when the flap is placed over the stud the taper will help if slide over the stud better and the flat side will hold it in place. I use these all the time now and really hate to use snaps anymore. Randy

The last time I was in Sheridan for the show there was a man there that had several stitching horses that he made for sale, they were very nice and solid but they were very high end priced, not saying they were not worth it but for the money you could have a very nice down payment on a sewing machine. Not sure how many he sold. Also the Weaver Cataloge has a stitching horse in it you can buy for a reasonalbe price. Randy

See the above post that says "it sold" Yes, it is still sold, I do not have it anymore. RC