Bree

I picked up a very nice 9"x12"x3" 2 ledge granite plate over at Grizzly at their Muncy, PA distribution center while I was on vacation. It cost me $23 and is very portable. Impulse buy. BTW I would not tool on it without a poundo board or something similar on top.

Barge for me. I like the original Barge. I have a good supply and will keep using it until I am out. Then I will reevaluate. I use whatever I have to be honest! LOL!

Should be fun selling those belts. They look real nice and I think the people will like them a lot. It's the Nice Price too!

I use a spindle and belt sander combo http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?s...ost&p=93084 Works great.

+1 I go all the way to the edge. I use contact cement so I get no seepage when the blanks are pressed together since my glue is dry. I am careful to paint the glue to the edge but not over it. Nevertheless, I sand it lightly anyways because even with a registration jig that I use to keep the alignment right when I am bonding the blanks there is always a little inconsistency. The sanding levels everything out in preparation for edging.

Needle gauge typically refers to the distance between a double needle setup. You might have a 1/4" gauge which means that there is 1/4" between the two needles and thus between the two seam lines. I would not buy a double or split needle machine as a beginner. It is hard enough to learn the intricacies of a single needle machine and how to sew. In my opinion, you should want a single needle lockstitch machine for your first machine. Here are links to info on thread and needle sizes: http://www.classicbells.com/verlane/sewing/thread.pdf http://raphaelsewing.com/blog/?p=11 http://www.tippmannindustrial.com/images/p...hread-Guide.pdf Now if you want to make saddles and gun holsters, I will tell you flat out that you should be thinking about a heavy leather stitcher. You are talking about very heavy duty sewing which requires a very heavy duty machine. You need to be able to sew with needles and thread several sizes beyond the capability of the machine you are considering. If you just want to sew single layer belts, you could do that with the machine but you will not be able to use heavy thread or "cord". Lots of folks use heavier thread just for decorative purposes on these belts. You won't be able to do that. That Sunstar machine is designed to use thread like #69 or #92 while the heavier stitchers use thread in sizes #138, #207, #277, #346, and #415. The heavy stitcher threads usually have three digits in the number while the medium class machines typically stay in the two digit range. The heavier threads are often called "cord". The machine you are considering is not really designed for "cord". You might consider getting the Sunstar medium weight flatbed machine and using it to learn how to sew and then if you still have the bug... get one of the big stitchers like a Toro or a Cobra. They are expensive but they are tools to do big jobs that none of the smaller machines can do. Yes I think that most of the saddle makers use cylinder arm machines. I don't make them but that is my understanding. There are plenty of them here who can tell you what they like best for that application.

That's class Kate! Great job! I love it.

Well Paul... I like your work. Very good stuff!!

I have one of Ivan's burnishers and it is quite good for getting a good quick burnish. It is great for folks doing production belts and the like because it is very fast. But there is no comparison between that machine burnished edge and Bob's edge. It's like comparing a machine print to a Renoir original. Bob has provided us with a technique leading to the perfected edge of a craftsman. It's an artist's edge. And he makes it happen over and over again in his work which is why he is one of the premier leathercrafters in the world in my opinion. We have great leathercrafters from all over the world right here on this system and Bob's work is right up at the top with the best of them. My $.02.

Looks like a Korean knock-off... basic medium weight, walking foot, unison feed lockstitch machine. It will max out at 40 oz of leather or about 5/8" though it won't like sewing through that much. Figure 1/2" as your max. Normal thread size will be #69 on a machine like this... maybe you can go a size higher. I have a Juki 1541S which is a similar machine... maybe a bit heavier in its construction and duty... and probably heavier in cost too. Mine is quite good for most sewing tasks and I'm sure this machine will perform quite well for most things. For thick leather... there is simply no substitute for a heavy stitcher like the Juki 441 clones... Toro, Cobra, Cowboy etc. These machines take thread up to 415 unlike the medium weight machines which are not triple digit thread machines. It all depends upon what you plan to sew with the machine. You need to evaluate your highest normal requirement. If you once in a blue moon have to stitch heavy leather, you can always ram that needle bar down... even if you have to flywheel it. But if you are going to sew tack, make gunholsters, or other heavy duty applications, consider a heavier machine. My 1541 is a big, heavy sewing machine. It is pretty imposing to look at. But the difference between the 1541 and my Toro 4000 is HUGE. If I put 1/2" on veg-tan on the 1541, it will sew it but it strains to do the job. The Toro goes through it like a hot knife through butter... all day long. The bottom line is don't skimp on sewing machines. If you have a big job, get a machine designed for the big job. With most machines you can go DOWN fairly easily but it is quite hard to go UP once you hit the design limits. Hope those comments help.

I bought my Toro 4000 LA-25 from Steve Tayrien and I can personally attest to what he says and vouch for his credibility. All the machines out there come from a small number of sources... mostly Asian. They are almost all good machines that will long outlast you and probably your children. Don't get the absolute cheapest or the most expensive. Get a good one where you have assurance that the company provides service. Sometimes these machines can be finicky. That doesn't mean that they have any defects. It means that they can easily be asked to perform outside the range that they like or are optimally designed for. Using #69 thread and simiularly sized needles on a big Toro stitcher is pushing the design limit of the machine. It LIKES sewing heavier thread with bigger needles on thicker material. Can it do it? Yes! That's what guys like Steve or Ryan are for... they know these machines and how to tweak them to get them to do what you need them to do. That is what you want to pay to get because that will have added value for as long as you own the machine and the company is around to service you. I would have no problem buying a Cobra, Cowboy, Artisan, Highlead, Sewmo, Juki, or Techsew machine. But I want to know who am I going to call when I need some help? The machines all work very very well. But what about the peeps BEHIND the machines? That's equally valuable... indeed in many cases, more valuable.

Call Campbell-Bosworth or try Cutsew http://www.cutsewservice.com/RIDE/Index.as...ls&id=70978 or better http://www.cutsewservice.com/index2.htm Click on Online Specials/ShuttleHooks/Part Number 81952 That will keep you in the frameset or the website. Just remember that the 29K60 is the LARGE hook machine with the large bobbin. The hooks are not hard to find. The large bobbins are fairly hard to find so stock up when you find them.

I hear ya which is why I don't have one! The electric rotary cutters are not as hairy as that thing... but the small ones stall in the real thick leather.

The amount of ferric acetate is what makes it strong. Active vinegar (acetic acid) in the presence of iron (ferrous compound) is going to generate ferric acetate. If you consume all the iron or all the acid, you can add more and get the process going again. The ferric acetate reacts with the tannins and that's what turns everything black.

The heavy stitchers like the Toros will go down to #69 thread with a little tension adjustment. If you need to go less than that you will certainly need to have 2 machines. I would say that if you go down below #138, you should be thinking about a medium size machine in addition to the heavy machine. The heavy stitchers are not as adept at sewing in the 2 digit thread size range.

Here is an example of what I am talking about: http://shop.raphaelsewing.com/index.php?ma...2667399f9079940 Basically a portable scrollsaw/jigsaw with a knife blade sharp as a razor.

I am using one of these on my Toro 4000 LA-25 http://www.verilux.com/clamp-lamps/shoplight-shop-lamp The full spectrum lamp on there is just terrific and I love it. They are cheap but they sure put out high quality light in quantity.

Take it back to Tandy with your photos and ask them to verify the defect by casing it themselves. They should replace the leather. You should not have to wash your veg-tan in acids or deglazers. Tandy should be providing a veg-tan product that is at minimum caseable. My $.02.

I have tried a lot of different tools for cutting leather. I like using a powered rotary cutter but they don't do well with really thick leather. I usually end up using a round knife. It helps to have a slow speed wet sharpener like a Tormek to keep them razor sharp. The design of the blade makes it one of the best tools there is for breezing through saddle skirt or similar thick stuff. That said, the round knife can be a very dangerous tool if used improperly. If it easily slices through saddle skirt, it just as easily will slice through human flesh. You push this knife. It is so very tempting to get that non-cutting hand or arm out in front of that knife. Don't do it! A single slip or mistake can have drastic consequences. For that reason I often use an Osborne straight knife pulled toward me and do multiple cuts that are less deep and then clean the edge on my sander. It isn't as simple or precise as the round knife but it is often a good deal safer for me. The band knife alternative is attractive but the blades are hard to obtain and they require mucho mucho care to avoid cutting yourself during routine operations such as installation or just folding the blade. Kevlar gloves are highly recommended when working with these blades. Another option is to use a knife blade on a scroll saw. These are much smaller blades and can be much safer to use than a bandknife since you can position an effective guard over the cutting edge. Problem is that you have to make them yourself since I know of no company that manufactures them. There are fabric-cutting power knives that function similar to a scroll saw with that up-down motion but I have never used one.

I want the hold down power all the way until the end of the job. So I am very reluctant to yank out the tape which quite frankly isn't all that easy to do in practice. The tape is usually not a problem to relocation unless it is several years old. It can get very gooey and sticky as it ages and is exposed to UV. It can take the top grain with it as you try to remove it. That's when a little Goo Gone or citrus type solvent works wonders... usually. Just to be sure, always test on an inconspicuous spot of the leather!! The trick to this patch business is to get it done quickly and with the least amount of effort. If you are doing production sewing as you would at a rally or a dealer event, you have a line of people waiting for you to sew their patches. It's genuine Greek Restaurant sewing... Eat, Pay, Get Out! Here it is useful to have a helper tape and position the patches while you sew and maybe arbitrate a price issue over a difficult patch with a lot of curves or high difficulty areas. Other methods are too messy or time consuming... or fail to maintain the positioning until you can reliably tack it in. My $.02.

Sorry for the delay. I have been recuperating in the mountains... on Piney Mountain to be quite specific. Didn't catch any fish though I had fun trying... came pretty darn close... but brook trout have an innate instinct to avoid impaling themselves on hooks!! Lots of good comments from the peeps. Not sure that I can add much. I have tried a lot of ways to sew on patches for bikers and I am always trying new things. What I have come to believe is that first you have to somehow immobilize the patch to prevent any movement as you sew. I used to use a technique I learned from an old biker leather guy named Ray Pruitt. He liked to contact cement down the patches. He would slap on some cement on the patch and then some where it was to go... wait 10 mins... apply it and sew. He also used 29-4's for his work. I changed that and applied the cement to the patch only and while it was wet pressed it on the leather in the position I wanted it to go and then immediately removed it. That creates and exact image of the cement. Wait for it to dry and apply then sew. I did that for a long time but it has three serious faults... first, it wastes a lot of time waiting for the glue to dry; second, it exposes you to a lot of VOC vapor; and third, you have to get the positioning exactly right in one shot or start peeling away the contact cemented patch and maybe start over. Fabri-Tac and similar permanent cements share similar problems. Temp solutions like rubber cement never stuck well enough to ensure no movement while the piece was being sewn. Often times I roll heavy vests and jackets to fit them under the machine arm and to maintain tension to prevent any "bubbles" on the front or the back lining. It also helps inadvertantly sewing something that you definitely don't want to sew that somehow sneaks underneath and you can't see it. That is a VERY expensive mistake as you may have to buy the customer a new leather. The way that I have settled on for the time being is to use carpet tape... double sided with a very thin adhesive layer. There are other kinds like wood turners double sided tape which is very tacky and very thick. There are tapes with essentially a film or cloth layer with adhesive on both sides. I want a very thin film or even glue-only layer. They are harder to peel the tape away from but the glue is unnoticeable, gives the right amount of stick, permits repositioning, won't move even when folded, and doesn't do any permanent damage to the leather especially when you remove the patch. You don't need real expensive carpet tape. I have about 5 different kinds on my shelf right now and the rolls I am using both come from Harbor Freight. I use 2" and 1" rolls. I tape all main boundaries of the patch as well as the center. I usually tape so most of the tape is about 1/2"-3/4" from the edge. I don't want to sew through the tape as it sticks to the needle and can cause problems and thread fraying and breakage. There are different ways to sew the patches. I prefer to sew exactly on the inside seam of the embroidered edge of the patch. That makes the stitch pretty much disappear. It also hides the holes well if you have to remove the patch and resew it on a different vest or jacket. I use special topstitching feet that have little spring loaded walls that allow me to run them along the outside edge of the patch and get that precise distance from the outer edge all around and usually right on the inside seam. The topstitch feet don't always help and sometimes you just have to watch what you're doing and follow your line with the eyeball. I don't like to sew in the embroidered edge itself. It is very noticeable and looks tacky when the holes are visible on a resew job. Also I take digital PIX of the patch placement and have the customer set the patches for the PIX unless they give me unlimited right to place them where I see fit. That saves a LOT of misunderstandings! I took some PIX of a large job involving a couple hundred dollars worth of patches. I had to key up the brightness to show some of the stitching. But you can see where I like to sew and how it turns out in an actual job. Note how sewing on the inner edge with black thread is invisible on the ASMI patch despite the white background. Saves making a thread color change too!! All these patches were sewn with the Juki 1541S. The customer paid and loved the work. That is what counts.

Bob... You can't argue with success. You produce some of the finest and most professional work I have ever seen. Your willingness to share makes you Best in Class as far as I am concerned. I have been using a different method... a simpler but less satisfying method. I think that I am going to try your method with the canvas. Thanks for sharing!

I'm heading out in the morning to the mountains north of Gettysburg where I rented a mountain cabin next to a creek. We are taking the motorcycle and the Dodge RAM and gonna have some peace, quiet, fly fishing, and maybe some fun fooling around with leather and such. See y'all in 10 days or so.

I don't add it. You would need a really heavy rig to call for the stiffener. Two layers of 7 oz leather is plenty strong. It holds my XD-45 without any problem and the XD is a moderately heavy gun. If you had to hold something like an S&W 500 Mag or an MR .50 Desert Eagle, you might require a stiffener since the guns weigh over 70 oz without ammo. But you might well need some suspenders to hold your belt up unless you have hips!! Those are really HEAVY guns and you don't carry them concealed.

That's a pretty darn good job for a first belt! She is going to be real happy with it... hand stitched, double layer, carved, and bling to boot!!