dikman

Good stuff! But the reason it finally worked is because the cat put in an appearance. Everyone knows that cats are magical/mystical creatures.

Possible out-of-balance pulleys shouldn't be an issue if using a servo as the speeds are generally not fast enough to cause a problem. I have quite a few various size (generic) pulleys I've bought off ebay and none of them have had balance problems.

Nice job on the belt, looks like a lot of work. I use head magnifiers - a lot! I have a pair in my lathe shed, a pair in my garage, a pair in my leatherwork/reloading shed and a pair in my computer room. And two pairs of glasses, one for computers/reading and one for distance. Getting old is a bummer, but better than the alternative.

Could be a feature, to ensure it doesn't go floppy when made? As Chuck said, keep going, at the very least it's all experience. Working with leather is a bit like shooting black powder, there's an element of unpredictability involved.

Toxo, could you elaborate a bit, please? All I see is a long piece of wood with a couple of clamps on it.

I agree with SUP. While the quality of some of the bits in those kits may not be "first grade" they will be more than adequate to start with. As you get a feel for leatherwork and a better understanding of what's involved you will also learn which tools need to be upgraded. I still use cheap punches off ebay (I have better ones but the cheapies still work) and a set of cheap stamps as well as better quality ones. I bought one of those cheap wooden strap cutters and it works fine, same with strap-end cutters, they're pretty rough in their finish but they cut just fine. Mauls I made myself, stitching pony I made myself and as for knives - I have a somewhat eclectic assortment including re-shaped kitchen knives! If money is no object then by all means buy the items you have listed (there's something to be said for owning quality equipment) but few can do that and usually start off on the cheap end of the scale.

Fred, they look good and that's a simple and effective way to make them. I'm fortunate to have a couple of lathes so it's no big deal to turn the nylon to the right size. Howie, that's an interesting way to make one.

Frodo that is basically a drop hammer you're describing, as used in the very early days in factories and often driven via a waterwheel. The noise from them operating must have been deafening! We won't get into the politics here but suffice to say when it comes to firearms, knives and even bows we are heavily constrained. In my State (South Australia) Airsoft toys are banned and gel blasters have to be registered with the police and you have to be licensed to own and use one. One guy even had to register a Nerf gun because he fired gel blaster pellets from it! I kid you not! If you carry a pocketknife and the police stop you for any reason you can be charged with carrying an offensive weapon. The chances of changing any of this is probably zero. $40 for a damascus blank seems very cheap considering the work that goes into making one.

Vaseline is more likely to cause problems with leather than neatsfoot oil. Most commercial paste waxes use highly refined mineral oil (baby oil) to make the beeswax in their products soft enough to use. Generally, flat/satin finishes are somewhat permeable compared to gloss finishes so Tan-kote is likely to allow oils through - BUT I haven't tried it myself because I don't use Tan-kote. Or Resolene.

After reading this thread I got interested in it - until I found out the cost of a decent laser. Likewise resin printing, already having a filament printer, which is adequate for my needs, I have now lost interest.

I made one out of nylon, pretty easy to make.

Nice work Chuck, certainly looks a lot better than the original. Your idea to hang it off a belt is interesting. Fred, yes, when I first looked I was expecting a "conventional" quiver. I consider these to be arrow holders, rather than quivers, as Chuck said they are normally mounted on the bow itself and are popular among hunters. The arrows can't rattle, like in a quiver, and are less likely to get caught up on something.

Search for "chinese shoe patcher" (also known as a tinker's delight) there have been quite a few posts on here about them.

Yes, I've read about that process before, it certainly has its uses - just not on my coat.

The two threads appear to have overlapped a bit. Doh. I don't think Otter's wax is available here in Oz. It took a heat gun to melt this into the fabric so by the time the sunlight gets hot enough to melt it I'd be crispy-fried!

I used xylene (because I had it handy) and it worked fine. I use Sika contact cement, it's already fairly thin to start with and dries quickly.

Looking forward to the end result, and remember, it only has to suit you so it doesn't have to be perfect, just functional.

Talk about thread drift! From holsters to fishing, via a discourse on cooked snake.

That is very generous of AlZilla. The grips may not be quite long enough but a couple of bits of contrasting wood to fill in the gaps should work. First glue the grips on then file them down to suit. Easy. Cocobolo is pretty resistant to water but waxing the handle should be all you'll need.

Another possibility is to glue a couple of pieces of hard leather to each side of the handle, to bulk it out, shape the corners with a knife or file then glue a wrapping piece around it, using thinner leather. Or just glue a piece of wood each side and file to shape, finish off with linseed oil, or wax or polyurethane.

I concur, if you don't want the 335 to use as a binder then you will be better off buying a "conventional" cylinder arm machine, one with reasonable clearance (at least 3/8") under the feet. In the long run it will be more versatile and a better investment.

Chuck, it's not something I will wear on a sunny day! Being black it gets bloody hot in the sun!!!!

I have an old-model 335 that was used as a binder when I bought it. I bought a set of "normal" feet, needle plate and feed dog to convert it to a non-binder unit, although as Wiz said the feed dog still only moved back and forth. I managed to get it sewing with #138 thread but it wasn't really happy with it. The limiting factor with these machines is clearance under the feet, it's normally 8mm/5/16", I increased mine but had to readjust the needle bar and disable the thread release when the foot is lifted. It was an interesting exercise but not worth the effort, I've since restored it to a binder as that is what it was designed for. If it's cheap enough then it might be handy to have, but if you want to use it as a conventional cylinder arm machine you will find it pretty limited.

Just finished waxing my coat (4:1 paraffin wax/beeswax). Took just over 2 hours and I suspect the coat had never been re-proofed since new! It is now noticeably heavier and stiffer and is hanging in the sun. Next thing is to buff it with a soft cloth and then crumple it up to break it in! The slow cooker worked great for keeping the wax molten. I started using a sponge, like Barbour's do in their video, but quickly learned the wax is too hot and burned my fingers! It's obvious that the stuff they use has a lower melting point than my brew. I then went to a brush (note to self, don't use synthetic bristles, they don't like hot wax or a hot air gun . Doh.) which worked ok. I made 6 blocks, using a silicone soap mold, and used 3 of them so a fair bit of wax went into the coat.

I'm not sure how you got the idea that "the real deal" isn't much more expensive than the clones. The reason the clones are so popular is because Juki's are expensive.