LumpenDoodle2

Now that looks like a very handy addition, and you’ve put a lot of thought into the design, as usual.

I’m no great expert, but I cut 3.4mm (about 8-9oz?) leather all the time, and any choppy curves are usually caused by me stopping and starting a cut, rather than keeping the ‘flow’ going. That, and on the odd occasion, convincing myself I’m too busy trying to cut the leather, rather than be sensible and stop to sharpen the blade.

My preferred way is to use a leather silver marker around the template, then with the template removed, follow the line with a round awl, then either use a round knife, or for lots of curves, I use a small Stanley knife. Doing it this way allows me to tweak patterns a little bit for a bit of personalisation for each item, but it also stops me getting into a bit of a rush,, and so not wander off the line. I also think that it’s important to make sure that whatever knife you choose, it fits comfortably in your hand. It’s way easier to follow the curves if you have full control of the knife, and it’s proper sharp. Stanley knife blades are disposable for a reason, and starting out with a few minutes stropping my round knife is quite relaxing.

Never even noticed the date. my mind is obviously on higher things.

Not to ruin this for anyone, but tippman boss machines hold their value well, so do a bit research first on google, and add some photos. cheers Maureen

I use a great big 2” thick slab of granite, on top of a very dense (and heavy) 1” thick anti vibration type rubber block. This all sits on a solid wooden bench, which sits on four offcuts of the rubber block. I’ve done the same with the bench I use for punching holes, and suchlike. All a bit of overkill, no doubt, but since I moved my workshop from a room with a concrete floor, to a room with a wooden floor, I became aware of the possibility of sound travelling through the floor. It makes not one jot of difference to the sound of mallet on stamp, but I feel happier about cutting out as much unnecessary noise as possible. The rest I can live with.

I have one of those machines at the back of the shed somewhere. If I ever have some spare time, I plan to totally refurbish it, but like Constabulary, I found even the fine tooth feed wheel marked the leather too much to be any real use to me.

Many thanks, I may have to do that, as these things have form for getting very silly, and very nasty, very quickly. Unfortunately, being a political animal, when I hear someone (metaphorically) kicking a dog to make it howl, I have difficulty walking by. But life is too short to get dragged into the same old, same old..... If only the temptation was taken away, she sighed.

Plus 1 Maybe if you feel the need to have political posts, treat them like the adult section, then those who worry bones can just do their thing, well away from the leatherwork. Nothing worse than seeing another political post, then biting your tongue rather than waste time out of your life replying. It’s like having a wee nippy dug as your neighbour. You know you would never wish it any real harm, but by our Lord and Lady, it just doesn’t know when to stop.

Yup, ebay cheap and cheerful purchase of about 5 years ago. Worth having in a drawer somewhere, and has been said, they work great with an arbor press, and a magnet to hold them in place. Just don’t press too hard, as the magnet has been known to break (don’t ask me how I found that out).

I have a set of those shaped cutters, and they’re handy to have for that ‘one off’ occasion. Cheap as well.

No, sorry, I don’t want to contradict you, but I have extended quite a number of belts this year, which have shrunk while lying in the back of a wardrobe for 20+ years. Same with working with customer over the interweb, to whom I always say “did you breathe in when you measured yourself, and looked down to see the tape?”. Back on subject, it does sound like the buckle fold, and the thickness of the new leather blank may have been underestimated measurement wise. Something that is very easy to do, even to the best of us.

You’ve put together a good bit of kit there.

Been there, done that..... it’s so easy to forget to check the simple stuff, and dive into faffing about with tension/timing/whatever. A timely reminder.

That is a nicely made belt, and a good choice of buckle. My wee brain gets addled with Celtic designs, I start to lose my place with them, so yes, well done on that alone.

Over the last couple of months, the majority of my customers have been from America (at its peak, hitting 20 orders for rigs in 4 days, so I know of what I speak), and the delivery rates have varied from 5 to 20 days. Again, keep in mind that this is from Scotland to most US States, so my parcels are moving through a lot of hands to get to their destination. With the longest delays, I can see via tracking, that parcels can sit at Heathrow Airport in England for up to 7 days before any further tracking movement. Some can then sit for another 7 days at the main sorting hubs, before going out to local sorting offices. I have to say that this is usually the worst case scenario, and changes from week to week, but is still frustrating for everyone. Throw in a US Customs check, and your beard grows grey waiting for delivery. Having spoken to a couple of neighbours who work with Royal Mail, I very much appreciate that everyone is working hard to keep on top of backlogs, caused by stuff outside of their control. Doesn’t stop some customers from doing the equivalent of “are we there yet.....are we there yet......are we there yet...?”

I have made a full buscadero gun rig in pink for one of my regular customers. She loved it. Me? Mehh..... Fredk, I agree with that woman. The only advantage to owning a set of pink tools is you are guaranteed not to have them stolen.

Spyros, I agree with you, it’s very easy to get bogged down worrying about pricing, and pushing items that there isn’t really either a good market for, or is too expensive to make. I have a couple of ‘bread and butter’ items which sell very well. My customers tell me they are priced at the low end of the scale, but I am under no illusion as to the fact that I feel I am a ‘jobbing’ leatherworker, selling to a niche which suits my style. I have slowly crept the prices up to where I am now happy that everything is covered, and have gained a number of regular return customers over the years. I have very low overheads, and have been lucky enough to source materials at very low prices (including sewing machines), and buy stock in bulk when I can. My two standard items cover all my bills, and gives me a wage, and where I push the boat out is with customers who asks for a personalised item. These are where my heart lies, and although I have been told I still do not charge enough compared with others, I charge what I feel my ‘niche’ will support, and still have cash in the bank. I have in the past, been contacted by 2 leatherworkers who have complained that my prices are too low, and I should raise them to be compatible with theirs. My answer to them is that if their product is of a higher quality, then they deserve a higher price. My niche is the ‘utility’, cowboy of the 1800’s, with no frills. Sort of the Black & Decker drill, compared to the Makita, both drill holes, but everyone has a Black and Decker hidden in their shed somewhere. At the end of it all, as important as making and selling an item for a profit is, I have found that finding your niche market helps the pricing side fall into place way easier.

Earlier this year, I moved my leather stamping workbench out of the conservatory (concrete floor), and into another room (wooden floor). I wanted to make sure there was no chance of the sound travelling along the floor joists, and annoying my next door neighbour, so I put thick anti vibration pads under the legs of the stamping block. I also put a big pad of the rubber under the granite block itself. Being a bit anal, I used a decibel meter, to test the difference, and these measures did noticeably deaden the ‘air borne’ noise. As to noise travelling along the floor joists, my neighbour says she never noticed anything prior to my noise dampening anyway. Made me feel happier knowing I had made the effort though.

I’ve found that the Singer 29 is one of those machine that may not be used too often, but I’d miss it if I got rid of mine. Its ability to get into tight spaces has saved me a fair few times, but it is limited on the thickness of leather you can sew with it.

Personal preference would be LeProvo too.

I think I’d have to get round to dusting mine before posting any pictures.

It’s always a pleasure to read (and reread) your machine building threads. I have some decals for a Singer 221 ( the featherweight/light? model) I have resurrected from an up cycler’s silver paint job, but I haven’t had the nerve to tackle the decals yet.

Very nice, you’ve got the shape and colour nicely done.

I especially like ‘understated’ look of it, it’s so easy to get carried away with decoration. You’ve balanced it well.