SonderingSusan

Hey, I hope you don't mind me shouting out a few of you on here that are masters for your help/ advice- @RockyAussie @Art @Sonydaze

hey @KingsCountyLeather, id say its a cow hide leather. its just not a "through dyed " leather. this is something you should watch out for when buying, simply because a through dyed leather will be the same colour the whole way through and is easier to work with as a result and usually better quality.

Hey Everyone, if anyone can help me achieve a better finish than I'm currently getting , i would be so grateful for all/ any advice I am making a bag flap, with a curved seam up the centre of it. My method is skiving the two seams but not into the seam- skiving about 0.5 mm off each side , so the seam is still in the thicker leather. Then i cut sort of long triangle shapes out of the seams as an attempt to remove bulk. Then i used rubber cement not he seams, and hammered them out with a cobblers hammer, on a marble surface and on my cobblers last- photographed below. My seams are a bit wobbly and not as smooth and flat as i would like. I found i had a better result when didn't glue the seams, but then after a few weeks the seams started to turn in on themselves a bit and didn't look good. Any / all advice on how i could construct this flap better would be so greatly appreciated. When i didn't skive the seam at all, i found there was just too much bulk in the seams. Many thanks for all you generosity of sharing your knowledge with me.

hey there @fredk, do you know any websites where you can get the brass stamps mentioned above? many thanks . ann

Hey Everyone, I am looking into getting a zipper jig. I see one online by c.s. osbourne. it says its for ykk zips. Anyone know will it work on other zips ? or where i might get one which would work on various zips? Thanks !!!

Hey Everyone, I am looking into getting a zipper jig. I see one online by c.s. osbourne. it says its for ykk zips. Anyone know will it work on other zips ? or where i might get one which would work on various zips? Thanks !!!

Hey everyone, i would just like to thank you all for your advice and input on this topic. I weighed up all the info you each had given and in the end decided one of the tables above, i also took your advice @RockyAussie, and asked that the table be made without the front beam- which they kindly did for me. I am genuinely thrilled with my new table and really suffered the last two years working at a table not the right height but thats all made up for today. Just wanted to say thanks and show my bench !

what does everyone think of this bench? its 195 euro/ compared to the others? all opinions welcome ! @brmax? wb5.tiff

hey @Matt S your products look really good on etsy . nicely done ! would you have a picture of your workbench by any chance? it sounds legit.

hey @brmax the second unit comes with the metal top on the table - and its 200euro I've just moved my studio, and the space it would fit would be in the centre of the room. i would go for the legs from global, but i think they are only based in the USA and it would take some time for it to arrive and maybe a nice bit extra to ship making it not such good deal. the third work bench comes with everything you see in the picture. and , it is expensive / but if it worked well i would be happy with it. and its not much more than the one in the second picture really ?

thanks @JMcC for the feed back. what do u think of the second work bench btw? its just located more conveinintly to me. i think you are right the 3rd one is the best though, think i will go with it - thanks again its lovely to hear what other leather workers think. hey @alpha2, well thats okay then, you could always do your hammering over the legs of the table? it looks great btw, wow , very cool you made it yourself , very impressive!

thanks everyone for sharing, what do you all think of these workbenches.... the first one is basic and i wonder would the top really take much hammering? the second one looks more sturdy than the first one i think, the third one looks about the best for my needs but opinions and advice are really appreciated ! @Earl Ash- i would do what you did with he legs but I'm assuming that is america? it would be good for me to get something in ireland @alpha2- i love the look of your work bench, but i would imagine those casters would take some abuse really after a bit if hammering. and perhaps the wood too? @brmax- what do you think of these three work benches i have my eye on? your advice sound great, i will definitely see if i can get a rubber mat for my bench. thank you all very much! work bench.tiff workbench2.tiff workbench 3.tiff

Hey Everyone! i've just moved home and am setting up my leatherwork studio again. i had a solid table in my last studio but its not mine. i need to buy one and i was wondering what kind of work bench or table you all use to do your leatherwork on? especially all the hammering and tooling. pictures would be very helpfull and all comments/ advice welcome ! thanks for your time and advice with this, s

great tutorial rocky, thanks for sharing !just one question, where can u get that open ended knife piece that cuts the shape of the tab? thanks,

wow, they looks so so good. thanks for sharing !

HI All, I come from a place of pure fear and desperation this morning, with a commission to make a pork -pie hat. Any ideas of where i might find a pattern? Anyone know of any helpful youtube videos? Any tips at all ? Also,would anyone have and idea how i would go about shaping the brim of that hat? I cannot thank you all enough for taking the time to share any info you might have with me, Best, Susan

Hey @Mattsbagger, No, I'm using the same blades as always from the same company ! it just won't screw in place anymore like it used too !

Hey Everybody ! I;ve been using these two clicker knifes for about two years now. I am just wondering do they stop working after a time ? When i am changing blades now , i can't seem to get the new blade to fasten into the knife handle anymore. Is this a common problem and do i just need new ones or am i doing something wrong ? Any/ all advice welcome ! Thanks, S

Hey Harry, thanks so much for your detailed and thoughtful reply. You , and a few others on here have been my lifeline to solving big problems that no one else can help me with so thank you so much genuinely. it is such a massive help to me ! I have not seen you skiving videos i don't think. DO you have a link to them ? I use SCHMETZ needles - Canu; 37:20AX1 Size 22. I was told by the company i buy off that AX needles were good for leather making a sort of diamond cut as they pierce the leather. I would definitely try other types of needles if i though they might be better for some jobs though! Im going to look into getting a heat gun and using it as you explained ! thanks again for all your help ! Best, S

Hey @RockyAussie / Brian, Thank you for your input and knowledge here, i really am so grateful and delighted to have someone to show this too that is a master of the trade. Brian, can you see from the last image above, the way my stitches are sort of leaving holes in the leather as it goes down the seam? would you know how i could sew this to minimize this effect ? I am sewing on a cylinder arm "highlead" machine. The pictures above are of the seam, which as you can see has rips in it, i skinned the seams and stitched them, then hammered out the seam inside and out. Below is some examples of the seam done again. this time, i used amazed stitch, and skived the seams less and did not stitch in the skive as much as i could avoid- Thanks again for your adviice on this Brian ! Best, S

hey @RockyAussie, thanks for the tip. I have to say I'm not sure what i want to do really with the seam. Its kind of a complicated curved seam- i can post picture on monday when back in the workshop. To be honest i don't have much knowledge about stitching leather and what conditions produce what results. Would you know of any good books or youtube channels about stitching leather seams? Thanks for your reply ! Happy St Patricks Day from Ireland! Best, S

Hey Everyone, I skived a seam yesterday , and when i sewed the seam together, i noticed that there was one of two small punctures on the surface of my seam. I am now wondering, what does everyone else do regarding skiving and stitching seams. Do you stitch on the leather that is not skived/ in a bit further from the skive/ or did i just skive too deep ? Any/ all opinions welcome and appreciated ! Thanks, S

Hey @gigi, i tried fratelliaberti- but i have to put in an oder for over a hundred euro just to get this one thing i need !

Hey Everyone ! Would anyone have any idea or experience with the tool in the picture below? It is for taking the "birr" off my skiving machine bell. As you can see it is quite stained from use and it doesn't work very well any more. Is it posable to clean or sand it ? Is it still useful ? Any / all advice would be very welcome. As always, i cannot thank you all enough for the help and advice you have often given so generously in the past. Thanks, S