dikman

I suspect our firearm regulations make Canada's look good! I shoot primarily Single Action so reload pistol cartridges (.38sp and .44-40), the Dillon is for the .38 as progressive presses tend to destroy the thin-walled .44-40, I use a Lee turret press for those. I modified the Dillon to use a 4-tube Lee case feeder and a 4-tube boolit feeder, plus a vibrator on the powder hopper as I was getting uneven powder loading with the DuPont powder I got hold of. Bob, I usually have the door open unless it's raining but you're right, it's probably the last remaining bit of free space, I'll have to give it some thought, I should be able to use it for something. PVC tubes for leather rolls might work......

That looks great, I wouldn't have known it was a home-made job if you hadn't said so.

Ah, you guys are funny. The roof isn't that high, plus the fact that under certain weather conditions I get condensation on parts of the roof so moisture could drip on anything stored there. kgg, it's a modified 650 press, I managed to get one of the last ones here in Oz before the 750 arrived. I had a Lee Loadmaster before that but I got tired of the primer problems it had so swapped to the Dillon, it's a great press. What on earth do you do that requires 3 1050's?

Toxo, this is what I'm working with. The shed is 15' x 9', the largest I could build without involving the council. In hindsight I should have gone a bit bigger but I had no idea how this would evolve, originally it was only meant to house a few sewing machines as I was blissfully unaware of just what else leatherwork could involve. The blue tool chest holds most of my leatherwork tools with the lockable lower section for storing gunpowder and primers. The two-drawer filing cabinet is full of reloading stuff, assorted dies, several hundred empty cases, loading blocks etc. Next to the cabinet are three more sewing machines stored out of the way. The shelf to the right is more reloading gear. The bench on the right has a Dillon press permanently sitting there, underneath are four more reloading presses that get bolted to the bench when needed, there are two electric pots for casting boolits, on the floor underneath are 17 boolit molds and a box of spare parts for the presses. Various knives are attached to the back of the bench. Looking to the other end the table on the left was originally for lead casting but that was soon needed for other things. First was a 3D printer, then came a laser engraver (enclosed in a wooden box with exhaust going up to the roof vent) and more recently a little CNC engraver (sitting on top). The 3-tonne arbor press only just fits on the edge of the table! Underneath are boxes of buckles that were given to me, a locked container for my shotgun shells, a small air-fryer (I kid you not!) for drying washed cartridge shells, a metal box for 3D filament, a floor heater and fan - it gets hot in Summer and cold in Winter. Not clear on a corner shelf are a radio/cd player and the PID units for the casting pots, assorted hammers and tools on the wall and various cutting boards on the floor. The cupboard on the right has dyes, chemicals, including the stuff for coating the cast boolits, more assorted tools, paperwork/manuals for things and misc. stuff. on the wall to the right is storage for sewing stuff - needles, rivets, buckles, spare feet, all that sort of gear. My Pfaff edge binder is up in the main garage 'cos I ran out of room!!!!! If I put anything else in there I won't have room to actually do anything.

It does look pretty "chunky" but it is a small holster, which probably accentuates the look. Mind you, some people will probably like that look.

Looks like you've threaded it with small rope! Swapping out the motor and wiring is a smart move as given its age there is a possibility that the electrical insulation could break down, plus the capacitor is probably dried out inside.

Maybe it could start a (w)hole new design trend.

Toxo, no room on the walls! Behind the drawers are a couple of whiteboards, above head-height (which you can't see here) is a long shelf, virtually every bit of wall space is already in use. Where I put the drawers is (was) the last bit of open space available. Rolls of leather are stored under the table as well as a couple of rolls on top of another cupboard. If I didn't have the reloading gear in there too it would help, but there's nowhere else for that to go. And before you ask, I'm not allowed to build another shed.

That little "deep" spot could account for the resistance you're feeling, basically it's just the change in direction (roller going down then suddenly going up). If the track feels smooth then I reckon your best bet is to just start using it.

My little leatherwork/reloading shed is a bit, umm, messy, I had about 7 boxes of various sizes holding various off-cuts, pieces, belts etc and at least two were permanently sitting on the table in the photo - the table that I use to cut leather on. Very annoying, moving stuff around. So, in the top of our wardrobe were three sets of Ikea plastic drawers, most of which had been empty for a while. Time to re-purpose them. They are 4-drawer units and can be stacked, so a bit of rudimentary woodwork to make a top and bottom, four casters on the bottom and Bob's yer uncle. Pretty much most of the bits and pieces fitted (didn't realise what I had in the boxes) with the exception of several pieces that are too long for the drawers, still trying to figure out where to put them. Part of what drove this is I've ordered a Vevor Leather cutting Machine, basically a small manual clicker press, and it will have to go on the table, which it couldn't do before.

If you mean the black "stripes" if the leather has a pronounced "grain" pattern, meaning the black bits are imprinted into the leather, then dying the leather first and then going over it with an antiquing paste should do it.

Thanks mate, I've been faffing around with a logo using Inkscape and getting into all sorts of strife!! Similar process, guess it's just me not learning enough about Inkscape.

Don't worry about the old motor, replacing it with a servo is a smart move.

Try and feel the area where it's "catching", as kgg suggested, and if you find a slight high spot/roughness then rubbing it with some fine sandpaper might fix it. Oil, every forum that uses machinery inevitably has lots of oil discussions! The simplest way is to get Lillywhite sewing machine oil, if not a light hydraulic oil is very similar to it. Try and keep away from motor-type oils, including 3-in-1, while they will work long term could be an issue as Northmount said.

I thought that hole was a necessary part of it.

Welcome aboard. That's a very nice bonus. Best thing to do is read the manual (more than once) and get familiar with how it operates, watch the movement of the various parts and don't force anything if something feels like it's binding. Fun times ahead.

Todd, I'm curious about your process for making that stamp as I'm assuming you either scanned the logo or photographed it? How did you turn it into the .stl file?

I can see where the one on the right could work well, the curving edge should allow for an easier/smoother slicing action. I might have to pinch the idea.

Let's not forget the ego element, I find it very satisfying knowing that I know how to saddle-stitch something.

That line made me laugh! Good idea, some of those putty knives/scrapers are thinner than I could make a blade, I'll have to look into it.

Well, my efforts were not exactly a success. First leather I tried cracked at the fold for the pin. I then tried kangaroo leather as it is thin and tough, unfortunately it is still too thick, next I tried some chrome-tan as it's thinner but two different types proved to be too soft at the fold. I finally got a piece to stay in place around the pin but it has too much stretch to use as a watchband, I don't think buckle holes will last long. The problem, I finally realised, is the watch, it has recessed parts in the body where the pin/strap fits which severely limits the thickness of the band material. Probably why they use synthetics for all the bands for these I guess. Ah well, it was an interesting experiment. As I have a strap hanging off one side of the watch I'll use it as a fob/pocket watch instead. Me hats off to you, Jim of Calgary.

https://dn790008.ca.archive.org/0/items/TheAshleyBookOfKnots/the ashley book of knots.pdf Over 600 pages! That's a lot of knots.

That's some very nice work you do. I recently bought a sort-of-smart watch real cheap and needed a watchband for it so naturally it was going to be leather, after all, how hard could it be? Turns out it's easier making holsters!! These are fiddly little beggars to make.

Thanks Al, this has obviously been gnawing away at you for a while. I reckon ease of handwheeling with a speed reducer depends on the size of the handwheel. The smaller handwheel on many of the older machines might require more effort but my 4500 has a large handwheel and it can overcome the speed reducer pulleys without much trouble. I've replaced the small handwheel on older machines with a large pulley and found it much easier to handwheel.

My thoughts, find the fittings you want to use, preferably a brand that has lots of different choices to allow for future needs, then either make adapters or ream/sleeve the tool so they fit. I was given, amongst other things, three Carr Fasteners presses along with an assortment of dies, anvils etc for them, some of which didn't fit (I still don't know what they're for). I had to make up adapters for some of the fittings which is no big deal for someone with a lathe.