RockyAussie

Very good effort considering you used no lining. I think a thin lining would have made the stitching more easier to control.

Hi Josh, have you tried H. Leffler and sons in Melbourne?

To many here it is obvious but for a beginner I must point out that not only has the hammer got to not bounce but more importantly the bed your hitting down onto must have no bounce. many use 2'' marble and granite and such.

Note below pic shows the feed stone is near to level with the bell edge. If the gap on yours is too large a gap at the front you will get what your pic shows. If you have the front of your presser foot to much angled down at the front you may also be able to get this to happen but as I've said before some pictures close up of the machine would help anyone to see the problem better. These are a machine with a lot of adjustable parts and take a few years to master well and without knowing the machine and how you have it set up we would all be guessing here for end-um.

Not sure about the 4th one but does the base cylinder move up and down on a spring perhaps? I'm thinking that if there is any nail size holes in the top part, possibly you put in nails and bring the top driver down to push the nails up into inside of shoe to attach heels on. the skiver /cutter could be very useful but the rest for you not so.

Just an after thought on this. Some prolonged sharpening and the sparks produced whilst doing this means that the pvc mouth area would need some heat paint such as used on motors and stuff.

Are you sure the nickel plating has rubbed off and they have not just picked up some colour? I ask because if they held up OK to be attached together I would of thought that they would take a bit more than a slide on a table. I know from experience they can pick up dye seep and so on easily. If a good rub does not remove the colour then I guess you will have to remove them and maybe cover new ones with some clear paint or nail varnish. I have to paint for one customer a urethane paint all the snaps in her belts to match what ever the colour is and being a 2 pack trust me it is a major pain in the ....

Looks pretty nice but I'd go 1 more stitch on and over your top pockets next time.

Hi Colt, I like the deer skin lining on the strap it gives a very nice contrast. I found when using this colour in deer skin suede that it looks good with just about any other colour. I used it as a lining in some briefcases I made a while back. Unfortunately the supply here got too difficult. Here's a couple of crappy pics I took.The closure fitting is a Franzen fitting I imported from Germany I think. Hinges from Spain. Ply and timber shell from myself and I think I remembered now Why I stopped making them. TOO much bother. Has the stitching on your strap got to much top tension?

I would say any upholstery supplier should be able to help. There are many types like seat belt webbing etc. If that's close try your local wrecking yard maybe.

Very nice work Michael that should be one flashy dog. It looks like there is no adjustment for length, is it a made to fit size may I ask?

Toowoomba saddlery has great service and ask for Terry and remind him I said he would help you (Normally business). East Coast leathers in Brisbane are pretty good and a fair range. New South Wales Leather Co in Sydney ( ask for Claud and say I said so) Lefflers and sons in Melbourne for a very large range also. Mac Lace in Brisbane are good for lacing quality and cost.Let me know if you need something specific. Regards Brian

Just up the road in Rocky. Drop in for a yak if you're up this way sometime.

Looks very good work + hope to see more.Which state may I ask?

I have found that if I mistakenly try to download too large a file, meaning more than 1.46mb it then continues to to treat all other files as too big. I found it best to go back to forums then return to the message. The message wording is not lost it comes back again, and then you can put in the smaller file size OK. Hope that makes some sense. Regards Brian

Well for a start it don't look 30x40, its way to tidy, think if other members wives see this for *#@ and at least I don't see the sewing machine in there ,I guess you got rid of the wife instead? Get rid of the other chair You don't need someone looking over your shoulder. Hope this helps. Regards Brian

One more thing if the vice grips are not able to attach well, I use a pair of small nail pullers a lot for similar situations. Hold in the direction you would a screw driver and grab outside of screw head and turn anticlockwise of course.Something left over from years of shoe repairing I guess.

I think the hook would need to be of the end like the machine here. Landis have something similar I believe.This works great for sidewall stitching but I'm not sure about through a hard thick sole.

I am so sorry you have a no suction skiver as that can wreck a lot of good and expensive leather. I had one once. Maybe consider you could make up a suction method by following my pictures here. I think you can get a pvc elbow around 65mm nb for vent pipes. A bit of playing with a heat gun should produce some results I think. Don't forget the recess for the dressing stick if you decide to try it. Run the pipe into a box where the trash goes and use a gauze like mozzie mesh to stop any getting through to a vacume pipe set up high going out of the box. Pvc fittings can normally be pushed together and removed quite easily for emptying the box. Also don't forget to take and post pics of it as many others here would appreciate it I am sure.The idea of the roller is mostly to allow better feeding without friction and no scrape marks on the glazing. This helps to stop the rolling over, as the croc skin goes in and out of the scales.The roller I made but I think you can buy something similar nowadays I'd check first. If not and you want further "how to" let me know. Is the feed roller on yours stone or a rubber? A fine stone feeder is sometimes good to lightly remove a nasty burr after sharpening. As for the splitter I would think you should be able to pick up a good 2nd hand one around 4 to 5 K and sell your other to help recoup. You can split a bit with the skiver but thankfully for bag work you probably wont need to very much. Hope this helps and let me know if you need more. Regards Brian

If the suede side is good coin purses and card holders may be good. Depending on thickness they may be good to attach together for some things that need more stiffness such as the little hair clips below. I checked your web page and did not see any clicker press or sewing machines. Does this create any limitations. As I mostly work with Croc skin I tend to get down to itty bitty pieces a fair bit as you see in my yellow duck bracelet picture I guess. Hope this gives a little inspiration. Regards Brian

Hi Chris, what size bits have you got to play with. Maybe a laid out pic would help.

Looks excellent for your first band. Area's to improve I guess you already know the hole spacing and I would think the buckle slot too small if that is what it is. I would prefer to not polish the lining but would not think of it being a big sin either. Depends a bit on the leather used and what it looks like.

Sorry what electrathon is correct if I had thought about the boots above I would have realised the were of a welted construction. Although in the past I've made a lot of shoes I never made a lot of true welted style boots or shoes.

Most last have a steel plate on the bottom and this allows the tacks to curl back in and clinch down. This then get covered with your insole.

Had a similar problem once trying to work out why my tension at times varied and stitch length was all over the place. They can be adjusted further out of the way but you still gotta sit like a chick a bit for some reason or other.