dikman

There are a few videos on youtube about spraying leather, and many, many more on using airbrushes for model-making. The inexpensive airbrushes are actually quite good, and with a bit of polishing of the needle work well. The external-mix siphon feed will work fine for spraying leather and are easier to clean but you won't get the fine control that you have with a double-action brush (with a 0.3/0.35 needle). You also need to consider your air supply. Their are a few options available, a small air compressor with a tank is probably the best choice, they are fairly compact and quiet. The version without the tank is cheaper and works well but unless you live in the middle of a hot dry desert you will need a small water trap on the airbrush itself as the compressor will produce moisture in the airline. The tank version tends to trap the water in the tank. External-mix brushes need a slightly higher air pressure to work, probably around 20 - 30 psi, while a dual-action gravity feed (paint bowl on top) can run at 15 psi and up. Obviously with higher air pressure more dye will be atomized and blasted out and probably wasted. The key to using an airbrush successfully is getting the right consistency in the stuff being sprayed and that is where using dyes makes it easy as the spirit/oil based dyes are already thin enough to spray as is. If you want to thin them you can, which should help with colour penetration in the leather (but you may need to apply extra coats to get the final colour you want - it's all about experimenting). Just a few thoughts to consider.

The thread would have been thicker than the material! Seriously, that is a pretty good effort.

Photo??

That's what I thought, in the picture it looks like smudges of something on the leather.

That just may be your best video yet,

Belt??? I still have to make a couple more holsters first but it's all come to a grinding halt as I can't come up with a design I'm happy with. I've also been thinking about the belt and looking at various designs. My feelings at the moment are no edge tooling, carving only, maybe just flowers and leaves. Scrolls fall into the same category as basketweave for me - while I can appreciate a well executed pattern they don't have a lot of appeal for my projects.

Maybe they raised the feet to give extra clearance for a specific type of job? I did it once on one of my machines, it just meant it didn't work too well on thin stuff.

I didn't realise you are Road Agent Leather, I've been watching a few of your videos, good stuff.

And just looks.......right.

That's a bit different, very elegant. How about including the youtube link in the post?

They look very nice, but I particularly love the handles and bolsters. They should age nicely with use.

You did a great job on that holster, the finish looks very nice.

Pretty much the same as mine, the swivel base is great for adjusting work angles and putting my feet on it keeps it steady. Only difference is I made a lever toggle so I could tighten/release the jaws quickly.

Beeswax is used as a moisture repellant (and lube) for good reason - it works exceptionally well. It is almost impossible to remove completely once applied. Bullet casters use it for lubricating lead bullets, but if they decide they want to try something else after lubing then the only way is to re-melt the bullets as nothing else will stick to them one the wax has been applied. Casters have tried all sorts of solvents to remove the wax but these are not what you would want to apply to leather. Shoe polish should work, but permanency will be the issue as like shoes it will probably have to be constantly re-applied. Toxo's/Tom E's idea is probably the best, if you can find a dye that can withstand the 125* wax bath.

Unlikely to work. The modified plate/feed dog will let a big harness stitcher handle #138 thread, and thinner material, but I doubt if it will suit what the OP wants (plus it would be well outside his budget!). I believe it can go down to #69 thread but getting suitable needles may be an issue. The Singer 4411 is a domestic machine (described by some as a "heavy duty" machine, but this is only because it has a bit of metal framing inside). If you've got one then try it (and good luck) but if you have to buy one then don't waste your money.

https://sunvalleytrading.com.au/ Located in Qld, they ship all over the country. Great people to deal with.

Olde saying "necessity is the mother of invention". Vicious looking attack dog you've got there!

I think that tool is a lifter, used to give a more pronounced 3D effect under parts of the petals.

It's really the first place to start if you're new to industrial sewing machines. It's a complex subject, trying to work out which machine will best suit your needs. A general rule is that there is no "one-machine-will-do-everything". If you want to work with light materials a heavy duty machine won't work, except under specific circumstances, and a light-duty machine won't handle heavy stuff. That's why many on here have more than one machine. Read through that post, preferably several times, and it may help you with working out exactly what questions to ask.

What a beautiful old piece! A nice bit of history there.

I wondered that myself. I found his use of the skiving knife fascinating to watch.

Sounds to me as though you're lucky that ink didn't transfer. if it had I don't think you would have had very sharp lines! Thanks for the explanation of your laser process, when I used it for making PCB's heat transfer was used, an electric iron (as used for ironing clothes) was used to transfer the toner onto the board. Same basic idea as your process. Using an iron might work on leather too, as it won't be hot enough to burn the leather. And yes, the "traditional" way is to copy the pattern using tracing paper and then use a pencil, ball-point pen or stylus to imprint the pattern onto cased leather.

If you've got 30 minutes to spare watch this. A (young) Japanese chap making boots entirely by hand. His skills are remarkable!

Damn, Keith, that is so beautiful it hurts my eyes!!!! Makes my effort seems so........inadequate.

I made one years ago to use with a WD40-type bulk oil. I soldered a stem onto the can, so it was pretty solid and pumped it to around 30 psi, I think, mainly because I had no idea what pressure it would take. It worked, but tended to slowly lose pressure. I've still got the can but I don't use it for anything, I found it easier to re-use plastic trigger-pump bottles.