dikman

As chiefjason pointed out, wet-molding and dyeing strips the leather and hardens it significantly, which is why most give it a coat of neatsfoot oil first, to add a bit of oil back into it. There's nothing wrong with using straight beeswax other than it needs to be warmed up to make it workable, as you said. In my experiments with various wax mixes I came across one chap who said to mix pure gum turpentine (NOT the manufactured stuff!) in with the beeswax to make it softer. Yes, it worked, but over time the turpentine tended to evaporate out and leave a black gunk in the container. Not good. I've also seen mention of using Pine oil but have no idea how effective it would be. When you've finished your project let us know how it went.

Well, my tallow has been sitting in an unsealed container for quite a few years, stored in a shed that gets bloody hot in Summer and very cold in Winter, and hasn't gone off. I've got several concoctions I've mixed, using tallow, and likewise had no issue with deterioration. Just sayin'.

If you want to soften the beeswax mix in some tallow and neatsfoot oil. Tallow doesn't go rancid.

Except if you look at Constabulary's machine it has a feed dog.

You must be a magnet for these machines, they always seem to find you!

Thanks mate, great photos and quite remarkable that the buildings not only survived but can still be used. If you didn't say where they were taken that "industrial style" of building could be anywhere in the UK.

Yep, I tried a couple of programmes I found on the 'net with my little burner but to no avail. One that did work was simpler than the stuff that came with it!

At least you're honest! I think it's safe to say that many of us were the same when we started.

For a first attempt that looks very good to me (my first attempt was plain, no decoration at all!). You done good!

Dwight, the gun control crowd here in Oz would go into screaming hysterics at the thought of a pastor wearing a concealed firearm in church! I love it!

I was about to ask the same thing. And " makes em solid as a Republican judge. " made me laugh.

Fair enough. What about using those double-cap rivets instead? Might be easier and quicker than stitching and be decorative too.

Dwight, normally Single Action stages use 10 rounds for pistols and 10 for rifle, so a loading strip holding 20 rounds is used to take the ammo to the loading table (firearms are only loaded immediately prior to shooting the stage). It also ensures that you have the correct number of rounds to load - I once accidentally loaded 11 in the rifle, which only left 9 for the revolvers. Most use a loop of leather/lace to hang it from the belt or the hammer of a revolver. Noob, did you stitch between each loop? I've never found it necessary to do that as once it's fed through the slots it doesn't move.

They're all what we call upholstery-class machines and should be fine for what you want to make (other than thread size). The max. they will take is #138, which is significantly smaller than your hand stitching thread. All this means is that it won't look the same as hand stitching but will still work fine. The servo is definitely a must have and the one on the Singer looks good but the machine is obviously priced accordingly. Parts for he Singer/Consew should be easier/cheaper to get and extra feet for those are readily available. Everything for the Pfaff will cost more. I'll have to leave it to others to comment on whether they're good value as I have no idea of pricing etc in your neck of the woods.

When you said hogleg I wasn't expecting to see a flintlock! The bag looks very nice.

Sounds like another "mission impossible". To the best of my knowledge only industrial machines (which you said you don't want) can handle thread that thick. Even for #138 you really need an industrial machine, I don't think many domestic machines would be very happy with that size thread. I've picked up used industrial machines that can handle #138 thread for less than $500, but I haven't found anything that can handle anything heavier without a significant jump in price.

I like it! It can only work with that particular style of reducer, of course, but it's a very neat solution to mounting it.

That looks better! As Brian said it tends to hide any slight inconsistencies, being a "busy" pattern.

Now I can see what you're trying to achieve and, correct me if I'm wrong, I reckon you'll need bigger holes and slightly wider lace?

kgg, I think you'll find it will be more complex to modify a servo than what Gymnast has done. Universal motors are much simpler to work with. The first thing you'd have to do is figure out how the electronics in the servo actually interprets the input from the speed sensor that is being used and then make a unit that can output the same signals to the main control board. Then you would need to make a new sensor that has a greater range of sensitivity and is compatible with the new unit. I'm sure it can be done, but it will be a lot of work and in all likelihood will only work with that particular servo. Whilst it is annoying that most of the servos don't start from 0rpm in reality it's probably not a real issue for most hobbyists as we tend to fit various types of reducers to give us the slow speed we need. Most of us don't need high speed when sewing leather, but if you need to start at 0rpm and still have max. speed available then one of the servos like Wiz uses is the obvious solution.

Would narrower lace be better? I've no experience with lacing, just wondered. And yeah, there's something about lever guns that just looks "right". I have a Winchester 92 saddle ring carbine, made in 1897. It shows it's age, of course, but has a wonderful patina on it and still shoots well (plus another 3 levers). I love my lever guns.

They're still being sold via those TV selling channels. I wouldn't mind a set but as you say $$$$!!! Mrwatch, I reckon it could be quite useful, particularly for knife sheaths. If I ever see one cheap I'll grab it.

I think you'll find that they've changed the design of the motors since that was written and many of them no longer use the optical method of speed control.

or should that be . I use a soldering iron with a fine tip, no flame and it gets in close.

If I had a 3-phase motor I wouldn't mess around with rewiring it I'd buy one of those magic boxes that lets you run a 3-phase on single phase and also acts as a speed controller. Perfect solution, in my opinion.