RockyAussie

Uwe's and dikman's advise is great but just a thought sometimes the best of us has put a needle in back to front and this in my experience this will show the same problem at least in hitting the hook,but please follow dikman's advise and As Uwe said, best thing is to have someone who knows what they're doing look at it. That is a big needle in there. Regards Brian

Here as promised are some of 3d molds I said I would take today. If you look carefully you will see a recess hole to accommodate the small internal zip slide and the older mold done in layered Masonite. Near to impossible to make without a 3d printer as you see the newer model comes with extra support legs to aid in keeping the whole purse supported when attaching the outer zip to the internal. For the little crown zip purse you see the advantage of printing molds that be uncliped and even with finger recess to make removal easier. To the left at the top you should see a outer piece for pressing in all the edges at once on the zip when pushed downward. The crown is what we call the center piece on the back of the crocodiles neck/head. I guess a lot of my fun is developing machinery and tools that make the making easier and more profitable. Just found this link which is also interesting. http://leatherworker.net/forum/topic/66260-3d-printing-and-leather/#comment-430777

Have you looked at the fiberglass tent poles? You get 4 in a pack for about $12.00au. Rays camping and heaps of others online local. Best of luck Brian F

Same as Ferg said Great work. Brian F

Interesting and nice and I like the bee and hive theme. perhaps a strange lid choice but it makes a strong contrast between refined and rugged. PS. I just received a whole bunch of fittings from your country (Sun Enterprise) in case you don"t know them already.

Pics worth a thousand words they say. Mostly as I am a contract manufacturer I need to produce things in larger numbers like 20 or a hundred at a time and I need to have therefor a large number of molds. The advantage once the drawing is done and converted to an stl file I can set the printer to print the mold or molds while I can continue to work on. To line up zips straight in a product when you put them is a lot easier if you have a mold inside with a center line mark to follow. The lipstick pouch and the key purse and coin purse mold are done in 2 clip apart sections so the zip can be folded over onto 1 lining then uncliped and then folded over the other side lining. I don't do much casting type stuff but the advantage here is 1 the multiple molds all the same and 2 the ease of making the outer cover section to press down over the leather. Imagine having your logo pressed in at the same time as the rest of the casting.(no good on croc skin unfortunatly). I will try and get a couple of mold pics for you tommorow or at least this weekend. Look up shapeways over there they can print steel brass and all sorts and you can find the pricing there as well. http://www.shapeways.com/how-shapeways-works?li=nav. Or yeah to answer your question I use a press for some things and a roller for some others. Regards Brian F

Hi llucas Sorry to see your still having problems. I mostly don't use a lot of the veg leathers like English bridle but it occurred to me that that these leathers are a lot more oiled than I am used to and contact glue can stay quite tacky for ages.Do you have thinners for the barge? Like Madmaxx22 I also spray and usually I have to thin the glue by about 1/3 thinners to be able to spray it. Some veg jobs that in the past I have had to repair are still sticky after years. The thread I use is a polyamide multifilament called strongbond and is perhaps worth a try. It is good to burn off the ends and is very strong and long lasting. If your leather is waxy or greasy your crepe will only be good for 1 or 2 wipes. If all else fails get some silicone spray and give the belt a very light coat before stitching. (crepe will not work at all then) Best wishes Brian F

Hi Bikermutt, For what it is worth I would encourage your son to get interested and adept at 3d drawing. No matter how many robots there are taking over jobs you still have to have people create art and that is to be able to conceptualize something and find the best ways to create it. The bloke who has heaps of robots will still prefer to pay for some artists works than any robots work. Your carpentry and your wife's art skills will assist him greatly in time and with arthritis coming on perhaps your self as well.I use 3d a lot these days, to make moulds for casting leather with the 3d printer and jewellery designs to receive inlaid crocodile pieces and supports for zippered purses and so on. Think about printing the outer part mold with all of the pattern on and pressing it all in one go. I know a lot here would be horrified at the thought but when a basket weave punch was first made was it then considered that it would not be right to do the whole stamping in one go in the future? The future can be bright and I believe the concept as a whole and quality and affordability of the end product is what is most important. As for marketing I do very little as I find that mostly they find you if your worth finding. Most people don't know me and that is my preference but I can proudly say that I contract manufacture crocodile leather goods for some of the biggest brand names in the world and have done so for years. I wish you and your family better luck in your future. If you are interested to see any pictures let me know. Regards Brian F

How much logo stamping do you need to do? The embossing machine Sonydaze shows here is a good investment for small stamping and as you mentioned getting a plate done with logo on, it would be best to use a machine like this. We have 3 embossing machines that get quite a lot of use and many customer logos for different products and so for us it is for sure the way to go but if your just starting out you could get your plate/ stamp made and with a press, stamp your logo into some veg leather. If you have a clicker press this quite easy. Cut out your piece and sew it into or onto your product. A bit of heat on your stamp can help to darken it but not as you have said about heating your leather with a heat gun. Stamping leather like the soft leather pictured in your skiving problem will be very difficult without an embossing machine and also a very well spaced lettering etc particularly with foil application. Hope this helps for now Regards Brian F

What type of skiver have you got? A picture of the machine close up to the foot and the feed wheel would help a lot to best answer your problem. Soft spongy leather will often not feed through without occasionally gathering up and doing this problem. A (little) silicone spray will help.I have a fortuna and a fav but because of the scraping I got with normal feet on glazed crocodile I have adapted up feet to have a brass roller at the front part of the foot shaped opposite in shape the feed roller. This then rolls instead of sliding and helps a fair bit with soft leathers as well. Also I have replaced the steel grooved feed wheels with the fine stone type. After sharpening and before skiving soft leather get some middle firm scrap and very slowly take it through this help to smooth out any roughness a bit like polishing your knives after sharpening. If you need pictures let me know. Hope this is of some help. Regards Brian F

Hi Tom G I suspect that the leather shown is perhaps quite stiff and can sometimes be difficult to get the bottom to pull through and sink in nicely. If it is hard and dryish try dampening the leather a bit first or oiling the day before. If it feels supple enough try tightening the top tension 1/2 a turn but I would try tightening both top and bobbin tensions until they pull together better. AS Ferg said also a bit more foot pressure could help also. Hope this is of help and Regards Brian F

Hi Jimmy Eng I am up in Rocky and have 1 or 2 of these machines. I have always found very helpful, Peter at this address http://www.wmcjackson.com.au They are in Victoria and I have always found very reasonably priced. Say hello to Wayne senior at brooks for me and he will let you know who I am and how to contact me if you like. Regards Brian F

A fortuna skiver is a very good machine but in my experience without an aspirator (a sucking device that pulls the leather away from the bell knife) they will continue to jam up regularly. I have had several including 1 without an aspirator and I was most glad to be rid of it. Keeping the flesh side of the leather a little waxy or siliconed up does help but if you want any serious production get one with an aspirator.

Several problems... The needle size looks a little to large which makes the drag of the knot too easy to pull to the top but from my experience the design is more the red flag. Always on thinner type products design where you stitch to be of a similar thickness. Either skive around the outer edges of the 2 credit card pockets or whatever to about 1/2 thickness if you have a skiving machine or design a bridge section into the middle of the same thickness. Most of my wallet designs have a short filler at the bottom of wallet (skived a bit and tucked under) and a full length strip about 20mm or 3/4" inch wide at the top. I hope you find this of help and note that softer leather liners will help a bit also. Regards Brian

Toms answer does work pretty well but I always allow a day or two before I stitch my belts as the speed is often fast and the heat on the needle activates the contact and sticks to the needle which can even lead to missing stitches. As I mostly only work with expensive crocodile leather and if I am in a hurry I prefer to give the belts an initial polish which acts to lubricate the needle and stops the glue lifting and missing stitch problem as well. Hope that helps and better luck in the future. Regards Brian

Hi Yanni, This is my first time on any forum but for what it is worth i think Eric is most correct Spongy spots and hard spots will often cause this problem, but further a new needle will often solve it. The tip can have a very slight twist and deflect sideways away from the hook. Next the hole in the needle plate should not be too enlarged out as this allows the softer leather to go in and hold the thread elastically against the needle and miss the hook. The gap on the foot being too large will create the same problem. Check carefully for any catching on the thread return spring and polish up any bits if needed. Last try lifting the foot by hand upward and if it feels grabby work out why and fix. Silicon spray if you must. Best of luck Brian