dikman

Using any sort of solvent (which is normally what you need to remove glue) is likely going to be unsuccessful as the softened diluted glue will be able to penetrate the leather even more. An eraser like Frank suggested might work, other than that you're probably stuck with it. Put it down to experience.

Thank you both for your efforts, it's given me peace-of-mind about using mineral oil (the good stuff) in my leather treatment concoctions.

What are you referring to specifically? If it's labelled sewing machine oil then yes.

I think your first sentence summed it up. The few manufacturers that need low speed (for leatherwork machines) overcome the issue with large handwheels and speed reducers. For everyone else the motors are fine for their requirements so no need to make them any more complex/expensive than they are.

With our current crop of "leaders" there's no chance we can emulate the US. So, Japanese hardening but without the clay. Just had a thought, why didn't you make an antler handle? That would put it into another class.

Ta, I'll give it a try.

I suspect most (if not all) solvent contact cements are pretty much the same formulation. I have started adding a bit of Xylene to mine occasionally if it starts thickening in the can, seems to work ok. I'm currently using Sika brand but I have a can of Selley's for when that runs out. I was going to pour it into a smaller container but haven't bothered, instead I glued one of those cheap "acid brushes" into the lid to use as an applicator, it's working ok so far. The down side to the Sika is it has a screw cap and a couple of times it got stuck!

I don't want this to seem political or racist but it's the truth and the only way to answer Chuck's question - immigration is out-of-control here and there are certain demographics that are the problem (primarily from Africa), the kids form gangs and their weapon of choice is the machete. There have been deaths and injuries as a result and attacks in shopping centres. The government answer is to ban machetes and swords and carrying a pocket knife without a valid reason is also an offense (has been for a while). Axes aren't banned - yet - give them time. So, back to the post, a machete is actually a very useful tool in the garden, handier than an axe due to it's light weight and thin blade. I had to replace the handle on mine and it looks very much like Chuck's. That should serve you well for many years.

Nice looking caps, Dano, I can see where hand stitching those could be a chore! My beard was that colour once, now it's sort of white.

Good job Chuck, looks the goods. Deer in the front yard, that's a bit different, all I get is the odd rabbit and koalas using it as a thoroughfare to get from tree to tree. As an aside machete's have just been banned in South Australia, they are now a prohibited weapon. Buggered if I'm handing mine in, I'm going to shorten the blade with an angle grinder so it's no longer a machete and use the off-cut to make some small blades.

Yep, a slippery slope that leads into a rabbit hole!

You did good, got a real bargain there. They are good solid machines and it should serve you well.

Ah, I just noticed the date in your quote, I missed it before, my bad. Makes more sense as I thought it odd that you being a mod and all would reply to a 13-year old post. But it did seem funny at the time.

Hey Bruce, is that a record - 13 years to answer a question?

Finally finished it, made a new handle/pivot, took me two goes to get the right length linkage but the beauty of this design is it's pretty easy to modify. It is much better to use with the handle like this. And please ignore the crappy welds, there's nothing wrong with the MIG, just the operator!

Looks good. I often think isn't it a good thing Singer made those frames to last forever! They can be very useful indeed - and they look cool! My Pfaff 335 is on one.

Yep, I don't need another one but over the years I've realised I'm happiest when I'm making something. I forgot to mention that another improvement is the knob on the left, it's so I can clamp the lefthand tool to stop it moving around.

Yep, I didn't have any more of the smaller channel iron, this one was about the same length (so I didn't have to cut it) but is considerably heavier (it's been sitting in my forge for years!). I sat down for some time staring at the handle/pivot area and came to the conclusion that the design isn't very efficient when it comes to applying force and transferring it to the slide. So I'm redoing it similar to the original, shouldn't be too difficult, just some more cutting/drilling/welding. Hey kgg, don't you ever sleep?

I made another die bending jig. I had the idea to make one with a simpler linkage so just had to do it. Unfortunately while the linkage looks simpler it took a bit of messing around to get it to work, and the angle of the handle is too high which meant I had to put a hefty downward bend in it to get it to a comfortable height. I might re-make the handle linkage as my original idea seems to work better. The other difference is the push slide, the original square tube sliding in a square tube has a bit of slop in it, the rod version is quite a snug fit, but it meant attaching the fittings to it was more complicated. I now know how to make an even better one - but I won't as it will require too much machining and there's nothing to be gained.

You folks get to own some cool firearms, which gives you an excuse to make some equally cool holsters.

I'm not sure about using an impact driver but the idea of tapping the screw with a hammer is good, sometimes it can loosen a screw just enough to start it moving a bit, then work it back and forth. As for heat if you're using a small pin-point butane torch I doubt if you're going to get it hot enough to affect the hardness.

A straight-sided carbide burr to try and get a deep slot with a flat bottom and parallel sides. Try heating the screw again and then hit it with a freezing spray. Drill through the screw, sometimes this can relieve pressure on the threads and allow it to move. Doing this first and then heating should allow better heat penetration to the threads and then a screw remover tool. Just a few ideas, of course the screw will need to be replaced and if you can't get a replacement then re-tap for an allen-head grubscrew.

Nice setup, I knew you'd find some way of 3D printing something for it! The holder is very neat, by the way, if using jars it should be better than the hook-type thingy I have. Amongst my airbrushes is a Paasche like yours, very simple to use (and clean) and great for general use. It does require a higher pressure to run than internal mix units but for coverage work, as opposed to detail, it's a better brush to use. Rather than use an air splitter I fitted quick-release adaptors to all my brushes, simple to swap them and I only have one hose to avoid tripping over! Good writeup.

I wonder if that slit Bruce mentions is actually the result of a narrow sliver of leather being removed? If that was done top and bottom it would allow the leather to be pushed together to bulge up a bit, then stitched and finally wet formed.

You might be struggling but that came out great! Very nice work.