dikman

Manilla folders, cereal boxes, whatever I can find that's free. It all works,

Have you tried going up one needle size?

Nicely done. Just curious, what type of printer is it? The finish looks different to my efforts.

Used the same method, just a bit of trial-and-error to get the length right (fortunately nails are cheap ).

Don't get discouraged, Greg. I'm not particularly creative, which is why I have to rely on already published patterns, but you don't have to be creative to learn how to carve existing patterns. It's a matter of understanding how the various stamps/tools work and the effect they have on the leather. I watched lots of vids on youtube and tried to analyse the individual cuts and impressions to see just why they were there. Forget about the scrolls for now as they're probably the hardest thing to get right, start with just the flower and practice on that. Make sure the cuts are deep enough so that you get a good impression with the beveller and make your bevels fairly narrow as this will give better definition to the edges.

They look fine. As he didn't give you any specific instructions I reckon he'll be very happy with them.

You're improving, Greg, keep at it! Unfortunately there are no shortcuts to learning to carve. My first carved holster is, in my opinion, pretty mediocre, particularly when compared to the carving efforts seen here but I've found people who aren't leatherworkers are gob-smacked by it. As for casing, I started off getting it damp under a tap and then sealing it overnight in a plastic bag until the colour was almost normal and that worked well, I've soaked it a bit and left it under glass to dry out a bit and that worked, I've dampened it using a sponge, wait a few minutes and repeat a couple of times and that worked ok but the one thing I haven't done is use soap, only water. I'm going to be applying dyes, oil, wax etc and I'm just not happy about having soap residue in the leather. I've no doubt the soap will reduce friction on the knife when cutting, but it does concern me. I've studied many youtube vids on carving leather and it's definitely not as easy as they show it! I am also struggling at getting smooth curves and I've found an angled edge blade (i.e. not straight) makes it easier otherwise I keep tilting the knife too much. Getting smooth scrolls isn't easy. Just keep at it, mate.

Well done both of you. There's something surreal about owning a brute of a machine that can punch through almost anything you can get under the feet!

Looks like a nice place, good for the soul.

Sorry if I've offended you, my comments are based on my experiences with a few clutch motors. You asked a question so I answered it. I also realise that I misunderstood what you were talking about, when you said 5-line I immediately thought of one of the old line-tables that had several machines mounted on them (hence my curiosity). I see now that you're referring to something like a 5-thread overlocker. Any "disdain" is for the clutch motor, nothing to do with the machine or table.

It must have been very discouraging having to abandon that workshop! Still, it looks like you're in a nice area and at least the building there has possibilities.

So much empty space! I predict it won't take long to fill it! Thanks for the tour PB. I built a small shed for my sewing machines and stuff, but it's now also used for reloading/casting etc. so it's a bit crowded.

Great post, I enjoyed it. I too use a centre-punch on wood in situations like that, makes it much easier to drill the holes in the right place! Good move making a new shelf with the slots, when I saw the first one I figured it wouldn't take much to break those fingers. I wonder how long it will be until you've outgrown this setup and need something bigger?

Sounds like a plan!

I found that by the time I had added on all the costs associated with shipping one of those machines from Aliexpress there was no (financial) advantage to be gained and potentially much to lose.

Why would you want to keep a clutch motor? They're not even any good as boat anchors (wrong shape). Seriously, any machine you want to use for sewing leather will be far better fitted with a servo motor. Got a photo of the table? Just curious what it looks like.

The two machines are, to all intents and purposes, identical. Probably comes down to whichever one you can get the best deal on (depending what accessories, if any, you want with it).

Looks like a bronze-gold sort of colour, probably going to be hard to match. The "usual" thing is to strip and paint the whole thing, so it's all one colour, but it's a big job. I did it once and I'm not in a hurry to do it again!!. It actually doesn't look too bad, imo, I'd probably leave it alone (I've had machines that looked worse).

Now that is something different for a wedding! I like it! Beautiful work there, something that I'm sure they'll all treasure.

Another cannon!! Nice work.

Bummer, I hate it when that happens and won't do it myself. I recently bought a couple of laptops at a good price, after I'd agreed to buy them someone else offered me two for free. I could have rung the first guy and told him I'd changed my mind but a deal is a deal! They turned out to be pretty good, better than the free ones so I'm glad I did the right thing.

Whilst I can't say categorically that it doesn't use an optical sensor I'd be very surprised if it did. None of the servos (different brands) I've bought over the last few years have used an optical sensor. You do know that you can buy speed reducers ready-to-use? Either the all-in-one big pulley/little pulley or box-type. If you want to make your own then you'll have to buy separate components and put them together.

That's quite a contraption!

Thanks for that video, I just wanted to confirm that you were talking about the "gradient" mod. As Sark said I doubt if you would find any motors using the optical control method these days. Unless you have an older servo it won't work.

I wonder if the monster at the back is for embossing belts? Whatever it is it's a great looking piece of machinery.