dikman

Thanks, I was very offended.......... I like to think it helps keep my mind somewhat functional by doing things the hard way.

Progress! Much cutting, grinding and welding later and I have something that just might work. The handle is a bit long but it gives plenty of leverage and the linkage works better than I expected. The potential down-side to pushing down on the handle is the force may cause the front to lift, we'll see. It needs a bit of fine-tuning with the grinder and the next thing is to make some bending tools to actually try it on the banding steel.

Yep, and if you want to cut out multiple items a die will be far more efficient. My 10w cuts leather ok but 'tis a wee bit slow. I'd like a bigger (better) one but the pre-built units, in an enclosure, are for me prohibitively expensive. Anyhow, I've been spending much time (including with Lego ) trying to figure out the best method of getting suitable leverage for the bending end of the jig. I've discarded several ideas (I really wanted to use a cam arrangement but I don't have any steel big/thick enough to make a cam) and think I've got one that should work. I was going to make the handle upright and push forward but looking at a commercial unit they have the handle sticking out the back and you push down, which looks like it might be more comfortable,. Tomorrow looks like welding day.

You're quite right, of course, Dwight, but playing Devil's Advocate here, once someone has a clicker die and some means of applying the needed pressure then it's very quick to cut out multiple pieces and you don't even need any power (or computer) to do so. And not everyone wants to mess around with lasers and such, which is precisely why a colleague is teaching himself how to make dies. Me, I've got all that computer stuff, 3D printer, laser and small cnc engraver, but I'm currently getting a headache trying to build a die bending thingy. The only reason is 'cos I haven't got one and want to prove to myself that I can make dies. It's a problem I have, once I get an idea into my brain........ But for getting a design out fairly quickly yeah, your method is great.

Answers in no particular order (), a fellow member of my shooting club also dabbles in leatherwork (I think I got him started!) and has found a source of die rule, although only in 1 metre lengths - but it aint cheap! Nor will the postage be! You are right, by the way, about getting things here, it's not like the US!! The banding steel I've got is high tensile and if I use the method of making the shape out of wood (backing block) and screwing the steel band to it I'm pretty sure it will stand up to the pressure of the press. Case hardening, an interesting idea but the steel band is factory coated to resist corrosion and it could be difficult to remove, also heating the thin steel to the necessary temperature is likely to deform the shape once made. Forges, I have a coke and a gas forge so heating it is no problem and I have several different size anvils, rather the problem is how thin it is (0.7 mm), I've managed to burn/melt much thicker stuff in the coke forge!! If the info I found is correct (and I think it is) the banding steel has 0.2% carbon, 1.2% manganese and a small amount of sulphur. So tough, ductile but can't be hardened, and it's very springy. Anyhow, I appreciate you taking the time to think of possible solutions.

Looks pretty good. I think you're getting the hang of this leatherwork stuff!

I have had several industrial machines over the years, mostly Singers of various types (eg 166, 154 etc) a Pfaff and a Seiko, I've lifted them and moved them around while building/fitting tables and never had any trouble lifting them - and I'm not particularly strong. I've just about met my match with the CB4500, however!!! The arm through the gap, as Al suggested, has worked for me.

What do I want to make? No idea yet. I've watched many videos on how the die steel is shaped using bending tools/machines so figured I needed one. Me being me means I have to make one. The concept is simple enough it just needs three things - a means of applying sufficient force to bend it, (force applied to the end of the sliding tube by a lever/handle), a means of keeping everything square/vertical while bending it (hence the square tube to prevent any twisting of the die) and the right shaped dies to get the bends (right angles, curves etc). The shapes needed can be determined by watching the videos. Bear with me, hopefully at the end you will be able to appreciate the full extent of my genius - or realise that I just confirmed I'm an idjit with no idea!

Scratching around and this is what's coming along. the base is a lump of heavy channel iron, the blue piece will be welded to the angles which will give it some bottom clearance, the rusty square tube will slide inside with a handle on the left. I'm not sure whether I will need to make a compound linkage for the handle. The little square piece on the right will hold one part of the die and will slide into the other piece with a locking pin to hold it. This way I can make interchangeable dies. The other half of the die will be attached to round stock and will fit into a hole in the channel base. At least, that's the theory. Worst part of the job next, removing all the rust before welding, wire wheels and sandblasting I guess.

Harry Rogers used one of those but I didn't know what it was called, apparently designed for jewellery work. It looks like it's for material about 25mm high(?) but my stuff is about 32mm. They're also very expensive here, maybe $600 or so. Temu have a version for $35 but it looks like it's even smaller. It wouldn't be hard to make something that operates on the same principle but it depends on what I've got in the scrap bin.

I played around with a piece of the banding and it looks promising. It's pretty tough and springy but can be hammered into a right angle without snapping. Heating it to anneal it makes no difference, as does heating and quenching. It can be filed to give a sharp edge but obviously won't be quite as hard as the proper steel rule. I also have a hand tool that is used to punch/crimp the banding to the steel house framing (I had no idea what to do with it but for $5 at the time it just looked useful ), it punches a rectangular hole but I should be able to make a new pin and anvil to punch a small round hole. My biggest challenge though is to make a bending jig/machine to shape the stuff. It won't be difficult, just a matter of digging through all my "stores" to see what can be re-purposed.

Thanks Northmount, I tend to get sidetracked sometimes - I'm also very good at hi-jacking threads.

Even that is proving problematic, Australia is a strange market......I'll try the banding steel, it may not have enough carbon in it to get a hardened edge but should still hold an edge adequate for cutting leather. It's cheap enough ($5 a roll) to experiment with.

Haven't used it yet. But the Vevor is a nicely made tool, built like a tank!

I have a couple of small dies for cutting out key fobs so I thought my arbor press should work - it did, but not very well. So I tried a block of wood and a hammer, it also worked, sort of. Next was a bench vise and a couple of pieces of wood, that worked ok. Use a plastic chopping board under the leather as it will be better for the cutting edge. One of those shop hydraulic presses should work well but will be a bit slow if you want to cut out a lot of stuff.

Looks good Larry. The best thing with a natural finish is to leave it in the sun for a while to speed up the darkening, it will eventually get that rich look of old leather.

Not dumb, kgg, it took me a while to figure out what IWB, OWB and such terms meant and why the holsters have funny shapes. This forum was my first exposure to them. While the holsters wouldn't be illegal here the small handguns are, so there is literally no market for such holsters, which is why I knew nothing about them. They look like interesting things to make.

The bobbin case isn't fitted properly, that tab sticking out is supposed to fit in a notch under the needle plate to stop the case from turning.

Did the problem start straight after you damaged the cable? It's a bit of a coincidence if that's not the cause. IF that's the cause then the chances of getting a warranty claim is unlikely. As far as the manufacturers are concerned these things come under the category of "disposable/non-repairable", I've never heard of anyone carrying spare circuit boards for them. Much like the speed control boards in mini lathes, mine died pretty early and the Chinese company offered me a partial refund as they didn't carry spares. I eventually sourced a speed controller on ebay and adapted it BUT I doubt you could do that with a servo. I agree with kgg, if the board is damaged then the simplest/cheapest option is to buy a generic servo off ebay unless the dealer is willing to help out. As Al said no-one appears to have bothered doing any work on these (probably because there's zero information available about them!).

Some nice work there yuma.

I've used that method myself to get even spacing of my stitching holes. Just used an ordinary needle and then followed up with an awl for saddle-stitching (used an old Singer hand-cranked 201).

Did you see the add at the top for Ohio Clicker Dies?

Being a moderator on a forum is a selfless task, often having to deal with all sorts of numpties! If that's indicative of Redhorses's attitude then I wish him bon voyage and good luck on whatever forum he goes to. Unfortunately for him this is the forum he really needs.

Something else that might work is shellac. It's used to stiffen felt hats, dissolved in alcohol (I used methylated spirits) and sprayed on the hat. I haven't tried it on leather but it might work on floppy leather.

Always hard to tell from a mic input as sometimes they can be overly sensitive but definitely better than before!