RockyAussie

Note: I will try and get a No5 chain nylon and metal guides done over the next couple of weeks. I got a lot of bags to catch up on first. Brian

With the purpose made guide It is inserted into the hole and marked around the edges onto the back as shown. The width is the same as the outer edges of the zip. This is shown on one of the line up cardboards that is used for lining up the clicker knife when cutting the inside slot hole but this is what is done on the leather backing prior to gluing in the zipper into place. With the new guide the leather can be lowered over the hole to attach or leather can be butted up to the guide on each side. I found that you can hold the unit in one hand and apply with the other but this was hard to photograph by myself so ...... If you are not needing to glue into place it can be done by most sewing machines by holding the guide up against the foot and feeding in the leather against the guide as it goes through. I did a wobble first try but once I learned how to hold it it went quite easily. Other side is easier still As shown below the guide hangs on quite well but can pull out when you want to easily as well. That's it for now except here is the stl file ZIP JIG3 chain ny.stl Please if you make it and use it.... post some pics on here for other to see. Brian

Awhile back I was asked about what guides were available for installing zippers into handbags and the like. Over the years I have made a huge range of jigs and guides for various different products but I knew of no multi-purpose type tool that could do this job with out making up special tools like my line up table I've detailed somewhat previously on this forum. What I have come up with no doubt will be improved in time but for my first effort I can say that this guide has performed better than I expected and for those that would like to make copies for themselves I will attach the stl file needed here which you are welcome to use for your own private use. If you just want to buy the parts let me know but I would like to offer it to @Uwe for his rights to sell within the US (if he wants it). This is due to the fact that I admire his contribution and help to so many on this forum and is just my own way of thanking him from us all. Also he has now the equipment for making this stuff and his integrity to service and quality I would trust. For those that want to print it out I will attach some pictures as well. In this first pic it shows the orientation I recommend to print as it give good strength to the 1mm legs and it works pretty well. I decided on a 30% fill using pla. In this case the 3 pieces took about 17 minutes I think. Bit rough and would be better on my old thing a bit slower perhaps. This is what it looks like finished on the platform. Bit rough above the holes but they work strongly anyway. Each piece I cleaned up with a knife and some sandpaper on a flat surface. This takes about 2 minutes to do well each. Now showing after cleaned up and ready to try out. A few more printed and cleaned up and pressed down onto No3 YKK nylon chain zip. Once the guide is pressed on the lot can be handled well as a single unit to work on. In the picture above you can see another printed guide made specifically for that length zip to make the position on the back for gluing the zipper into place. These bags linings below were all done using that method I will show more of further down. This shows what is wrong with doing good quality work......toooooo many bags to make. Over 50 croc bags in this lot and probably near as many to follow next month. Sorry I went off subject there a bit. I will load this now and have a coffee and be back shortly.

Hey Jeff ...you know that's off topic now in this forum? You gonna get us kicked back into the sewing machine section again as there is no wood work section that I've seen yet.. I been thinking about your drawing and the only thing that bothers me is the lack of seeing the colour clearly of me bobbins and with my bad shi memory I would not know where the hell I put that colour unless I painted beside the top or something like that. You being into holsters and guns and stuff I came up with this idea I have called Jeff's Bobbin Revolver The pic on the left shows both pieces assembled and able to revolve and the pic on the right ...blah blah. This pdf file below should open in a 3d way if you click on the picture when it opens. Unfortunately there is some little triangle thing you can see that I have to work out to remove maybe. I will give it a trial print tomorrow and let you know how it goes. I would have done it today but the printers been busy doing the new click together zip line up guide and more dam ring boxes. I'll post the zip stuff tomorrow as well in the sewing machine section first. They'll move it for me probably Jeffs Bobbin Revolver1.pdf Brian

Filament quality and even different colours can give a lot of variable results so I tend to do mostly work with this silver colour and run it on the hot side. Keeping the room warm can help a lot with that also. I'd like a large Perspex box over the top but that's just another on the gotta do list.

I thought about a lid but to be honest the cylinder machine that it will live with gets use every day and changing bobbins happens a lot so I thought it would just be a waste of time. with its flat base I don't think knocking it over is going to happen but I guess it could be stuck in place with double sided tape or something. Pla and a heated bed run at 65 degrees C. The plate is cleaned well with Isopropyl alcohol before every new print. Constabulary's idea looks good but I don't think the magnets should be needed at least if the 2 ends were blocked off. Might be a bit easier to knock over and lose them though. Yes ...that was my thinking as well and I suppose it should be there as well perhaps as a link or something.

Not sure if this would be best in the 3D printer section or here but I thought I would share this bobbin rack case that I made up today. I have attached a stl file so it can be printed out if you like. I used a 20% fill with .8mm shell thickness settings on the printer. It uses 108 grams of filament at that and in Oz that's about $4.00 worth. It holds 49 bobbins and the L is 172mm x 125 W. The hole size for a bobbin is 12x23mm. BOBBIN CARRIER.stl 2mm thick base The hatch area is the gap area needed between bobbins to get your fingers onto each side of the bobbin to remove and replace easily. Works good .....I think I'll make one for the big Cowboy ones next. Am working on a snap together zip installation guide at the moment which all going well I will finish this week end. Cheers Brian

If your really stuck you could just make one.I have in the past made many with various pipe pieces like this one in the picture. I try and remove any seam bur inside the pipe a bit first then find a bit of metal the width I want the hole to end up in width. I squeeze the end in a big vice and hammer a bit until I get what I want. AS you get close to the oval put in the metal piece to help keep the width right and in shape. Sounds harder than it looks. Normally I find a bolt to fit in the top hole and hammer down on it.

Stick the cardboard to the feet? just kidding......answer I think is just get wider feet under there.

Is it possible to use the blanket foot set with the teeth ground down smooth on that job? I would hesitate before reducing the foot pressure spring too far as in my experience the small foot footprint is likely more the problem. On that sort of thickness you could run into the job lifting up with the needle if you reduce the pressure too much. Another alternative is to get a wider foot from kwokhing like in this pic of mine and grind the side bit off if you don't want that guide part of it. http://www.kwokhing.com/ It is right on the last page in their catalogue from memory. First pic shows small contact area of the standard feet 2nd pic shows the kwoking feet with about twice the amont of contact area The picture below shows most of the range but you can get a wider front foot for a bigger gap and that may be a better one to cut down. You may find some thing more about these feet in this post I did awhile ago. Brian

Very nice work there. I think you have done it well and in great time considering you hand stitched it. $150 would be a bargain for that sort of work and construction as a 1 off for sure.

I've been using a couple of band knife splitters for many years and I doubt I could do my business without at least one. Keep in mind that they can pay for themselves fairly quickly if you offer the splitting service to others as well. My main belt competitor in Australia I have been splitting their belt backing and cutting the strips as well for many years now and I think I get more profit from that than making my own belts. They get around 1000 strips every 2 or 3 months and that normally takes me a couple of week ends to get done. Something to think about.

I think those may be the Adler 69 type of which I have one here. They are pretty similar to the Pfaff 335 type. I prefer the smoothness of the Pfaff. I'll give you a call shortly.

That is correct I am not selling any machines but it could be worth coming to see the various machines like splitters and skivers and all sorts of sewing machines. I do see many people buy a less than useful machine for their needs when starting out and a good understanding of the type of machines that would be best for the product you want to produce can save a lot of money and frustration. Some pictures of products can help but to actually feel and discuss how they are made is a real worthwhile advantage. If you check out wildharryaustralia on instagram you can see some of the wide range of products we produce. I cant seem to put a link to it on here I'm sorry. Brian

Not sure where in QLD you are but I have a 441 type machine here as well as a stack of other probably more suitable size machines you are welcome to come and try out and see what they do if you want. I am near to Rockhampton. I suspect the size machine that would be more suitable for your needs would be in the 335 style but would not be sure without seeing some pictures of the type of stuff you want to make. 0.3-1.2cm leather is an extreme variation and I doubt you would often need to go that thick on the type of products you mention.

Hugely Wertheim .......all those hours of beautiful restoration. Congratulations

Good idea. I think we should start making a pair in a new post though. I will need to finish these bags I'm working on here first so give me a week to line up some stuff and we will get into it. Please advise me what tools and machinery you have available...lasting pliers etc. Nice looking lasts BTW.The scalloped out section on the wooden ones is strange to do that to a last but would have been done to give a metatarsal lift for one of them common foot problems.

Do your thick and greasy stuff in multiple passes. I often just run the same setting but hold the article back so it is only doing half the depth on the first run. If it still slips you may need to sharpen the blade. On really bad stuff you can let it sharpen a bit as as you feed it through as long as your not doing large amounts for any length of time.

I;d love to do some croc holsters but I don't ever seem to attract them customers. I might have to find some time to get down to the rifle range and ....who knows!!! Hi Gigi, great to hear from you...especially as your saying all that nice stuff and all as well. I hope to see some of your fantastic work here soon...

Hi Alex, I have in the past made many custom made shoes or more precisely shoes for problem feet. That is about 10% of the population unfortunately. Although I was pretty well equipped I was spending more time measuring feet and taking orders than the time it took to make them. I could not get any staff with any sort of experience be that I even advertised throughout Australia for nearly 3 months. Still got most of that machinery packed away but I found the leather work angle was far easier and affordable to train people and a lot of the same machinery is used. Anyway that,s all history ...What sort of shoes would you like to make? Post a picture here of the style of shoe and the lasts as well and I'll try and lead you through a pair. Fear of starting is always the biggest problem.

I think that you will find that you have made a wise investment. Just ask here if you need any help.

I have a couple of skiving machines and the Fortuna one that looks the same as this one is my favorite. If the machine is working alright I would say that a price from $1000 to $1500 would be great but I would pay $2000 easily if it is in good condition. Note I do put a high value on the dust extraction part. You mention small leather goods and that often involves soft leathers that the dust extractor helps the leather to pull through without getting could on the feed roller. Check my you tube videos to see a little bit on this.

Thanks for the kind words Gene and don't you just get a bit cranky when like yesterday ya spend 2 hours searching for a little pattern piece to only find that it was where it should be all along? I'm still working on the 3 remaining croc bags taking generally 3 pics to get 1 that looks ok. Should be some new stuff to load soon now I hope.

I have had my own or customer logo ones made up before of a similar type of thing. As I am in Australia I doubt my contacts here would be much use to you but ....what I did is contact a badge making company and had them attach to the back a 5 or 7mm post as is used in a speedy rivet. This was soldered onto the back of the brass badge.It is important that they do not allow the solder to fill the speedy rivet post as this stops it from collapsing as it should when pressed into its receiving part. I have also had very high quality badges I designed made in Japan but are quite expensive there. http://www.metalhouse.co.jp/english/ Somewhere in their blog they show how that made a fitting I designed for Atelier Mason M . Hope that is of some help. Brian PS check their blog page first as it shows quite a few of the soldered on speedy rivet post now.

Thank you all for the kind words and @billybopp I don't think selling leather work to leather workers is ever going to pay off but the thanks is always worth more to me.