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fredk

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Everything posted by fredk

  1. fredk
    It looks very nice Stamping looks nicely done and quite quiet yes, it is a pity about the stitching wandering a wee bit but its a hand made sheath after all
  2. fredk
    Resolene will make the sharpie ink run and blur. Diluting the Resolene with water will make it even worse. In this case I would simply coat over the writing with bee's wax; rubbing it into the leather with a bit of linen or denim. But I'm not 100% sure that even this will not affect the writing
  3. fredk
    Egggcellent find; it looks quality made whoever the maker might be
  4. fredk
    Not exactly the same; https://www.tandyleather.eu/en/product/craftool-pro-edge-dye-roller-pen But I got one from china for about 1/7 the regular Tandy price http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DIY-Leather-Craft-Top-Edge-Dye-Oil-pen-Applicator-Belt-Strap-Finisher-Tools-New-/132163089188?var=&hash=item1ec588b324
  5. fredk
    Where are you based? Leprevo in England have two types; http://www.leprevo.co.uk/leathergoods.htm Look at the bottom section - Folio lock and Tucktite [it says not lockable but I bought a couple and they are lockable] or here; http://www.gdltradingnz.co.nz/shop/Example+Category+2/Locks/Folio+Lock++KA0131A+and+KA0130A.html and http://www.saddler.co.uk/shop.html?cr=2471&cdesc=tucktite_clasps_for_bags_and_cases
  6. fredk
    I take your point My sewing machines only have two wires coming from the foot pedal to the motor. The drill unit has two wires from the trigger to the motor. My father did a sort of reverse to this; he wired up an old s/m foot pedal to his vertical drill stand switch unit, so he could control it whilst using both hands on the work
  7. fredk
    I made for myself an end grain block. I use it when I'm punching holes. The punch can go into the end grain, it doesn't take any bits out of it and the edge of the punch is not harmed I use a block of granite - household heat proof counter top protectors - when I'm stamping by hand & hammer For general cutting I use a bit of cheap hardboard as my cutting board; when its all covered in cutting scars its goes into wood recycling. A new piece only costs a couple of $$ at most. When I started I had a very expensive very large self-healing cutting mat. It didn't really self-heal and I thought it was a waste of money.
  8. fredk
    Can't say about a sewing machine, others will know Should be no problem sewing by hand. Prepunch the leather, attach the webbing with double-sided tape or contact glue - just to hold in place, use a 1mm thread and an appropiate sized sharp glovers needle. If you are sewing near the edge of the webbing - eg say the end of a strap, I'd double over the end [or edge] so you are sewing thu two thicknesses
  9. fredk
    you could cut it in the same way one would cut a long thong; start from a circular hole in the hide, using a strap cutter of your choice cut it out by enlarging that hole from the inside. Once cut out, soak it in water and stretch it straight by attaching the ends to something solid. It should dry pretty straight. added; if you start with leather thicker than you really want, you can then take it through a skiver to bring it down to a uniform thickness
  10. fredk
    I've actually seen that switch in action. I used to help out at a Special Learning School and it was used in the craft room by certain pupils. Not only used with a sewing machine but with a vertical drill stand and other power tools as well.
  11. fredk
    Would the trigger mechanism from a [cheap] mains powered multi-speed electric drill [ or even a sabre saw] work? It has a speed reducer built into the circuit, a finger trigger and a push button [usually] to lock the power tool on. I'm thinking; just saw the handle grip off the drill unit. You have the mains power lead already wired in, from the trigger unit run the power leads, which would normally go to the motor unit, to the sewing machine motor. Cap the top cut off part of the drill handle with a bit of plastic or even a bit of leather. The trigger can be made into a multi-finger one by attaching a large piece of plastic or aluminium to it. With a wider or longer attachment to the trigger the handle unit could be mounted somewhere close to the s/m so it can be operated by an elbow or a fore-arm New cheap drills can be bought for as low as $15, even cheaper at car boot sales, a couple of ££, it doesn't matter if the drill actually runs, as long as the trigger parts are intact.
  12. fredk
    Interesting design concept. Personally I'd go for a spiral wrap. Edges flush to each other. Skive and overlap the end joins; hide underneath and it'll look continious. Plus, maybe, doing different shades every so often - to make a feature of the colours of the leather.
  13. fredk
    oddly enuf, I came across this just last night; http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Vergez-Blanchard-LIndispensable-Flat-Leather-Cutting-Tool-Cutter/231956741566?_trksid=p2047675.c100009.m1982&_trkparms=aid%3D888007%26algo%3DDISC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D43782%26meid%3Da062a1b25a534160b112c287ea2b73ac%26pid%3D100009%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D1%26sd%3D162429787557
  14. fredk
    Interesting design One thing I'd do is to end the cut line of the front panel with a cricular hole, to reduce strain on that part
  15. fredk
    Also I learnt that a cobweb was made by a male spider. The male spider being a cob, the female is a hen. Ancients* thought only the hens could spin the perfect web and that the males could not, thus the messy type of web, typically used in the old horror movies is a cob-web * Ancients as in the ancient Greeks who believed that the shepherd's daughter Arachne was turned into a spider to spend her days never-ending spinning near perfect webs
  16. fredk
    Not shure about that. I learnt it was because it was shaped like a bird's head. Now the half-moon shape doesn't look much like a bird's head, but if you look at the original leatherworkers' knives of the Roman to Medieval period they do look like a bird's head. On these the cutting blade is just over a quarter circle and on the opposite side is an awl tang; this makes them look like they have a beak and a comb.
  17. fredk
    Well, thats a nice little quickly made piece
  18. fredk
    To re-enforce the above; if you need to apply heat you are only warming the leather and the mix - you are not taking it up to cooking temperatures
  19. fredk
    How soft is your mix? and what is the [roughly] temperature at which you work? Bees' wax melts at a very low temperature. My mix is like very soft margarine. My working area is quite cold, about 18 degrees C [64* F ?] As you rub the mix in both wax and NFO will be absorbed by the leather. The NFO will go deeper tho leaving the wax nearer the surface, to be burnished. I have never yet heated either the mix nor item to get the mix into the leather, just rubbing it in is enough. Rub some mix on a bit of thick scrap, then cut thru it and you'll see how deep it can go.
  20. fredk
    Yes it does discolour. Mine, when fresh is a very, very pale honey colour, old stuff has darkened to a tobaccy-stain colour. If in doubt, throw it out; it might be contaminated with dye or somat else you could try a bit on some scrap and see what happens. If we don't hear from you again then we'll know it wasn't good stuff
  21. fredk
    I wuz jes teason
  22. fredk
    looks very nice whoa there; today is June 1st - for Christmas?! are you early, late or using a different calendar?
  23. fredk
    very nice I don't make anything really big; but I have lots of scrap upholstery leather and felt which I put under anything I'm working on if necessary to protect it from too many scrapes and bumps
  24. fredk
    tidy, neat,
  25. fredk
    There will be some subject where you will be the more knowedgeable and can add and further our learning. Remember that bit in 'Smokey and the Bandit' where Burt R basically says 'how stoopid you are depends where you come from'? You know guitars - I know nothing about them, but I bet you don't know how to strip, rebuild and tune up a 1930 Austin 7 Ulster racing engine [actually - I don't either, , ............................just kidding, I do know ] yup, some people want to keep their 'secrets' to themselves. Come across it lots. Sad innit? When I come across anyone enjoying a hobby/subject I enjoy and they want to learn I'll happily share any info. They ask questions; I answer if I can or direct them to someone who knows the answer if I don't
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