RockyAussie

Yep...

Seen them before but haven't tried them yet. I'll get one and try it. Thanks for sharing.

I use a couple ...for black it is OMAC Lux semi matt OM 357556 which I think may be the same as Giardini maybe, and for colours I mostly use Ares (Italia) S.R.l -AR 6350 which Neutro Denso Lucido which should be the same as Fenice AR 6350 to which I mix in pigments to get whatever colour I want. For the crocs all sorts of bait can work...lawn mowers ...Coca cola....chain saws...

Thanks to my wife's fantastic photography skills and the new light tent I built, I am able to show a few of the 100 croc dress belts I finished off yesterday. Other than the tips which I sanded off to shape I was able to do them with NO sanding due to thin edge and the use of a couple of machines. The second picture shows an edging machine that I use for the belt tips and wallets and such and the next is a you tube link to an edging machine I made for the sides of straps. I was able to feed the keepers through with the same machine and method as well. Note in the small edging machine picture I am showing a brush that I replaced with a piece of aluminium to get a finer more consistent coat.

That is some awesome looking work there and I'd be tempted to put a sign on my car boot that says custom leather work and sandwich that in when I close the boot. That should soften the fold line up and when you get enough orders (probably a couple days) then whack it back into a bag. Hey ...just trying to help

On thin edged products this can work OK but is more difficult to keep the edging from going over the edges. It does take several coats and sanding to build up the rounded bead if going that way on thicker edges. The extra coats of paint are not as strong and long lasting as a rounded off edge with fewer coats. With the costs of labour I think Giardini are making mileage of the fact that with edging machines it is quicker to just build up the paint and save the extra preparation sanding time. For those new to edgecoat edging, I warn not to slick the edge smooth without further sanding before applying the paint as it can peel of in a long strip fairly easily. I don't bother with any slicking at all myself as I want to be sure of maximum adhesion. Lastly thick coats in time with most edge paints crack up a bit and are more noticeable than the thinner ironed in coats. Brian

I don't know this machine or how the mechanism works on this one but normally the tension discs push the rod back when the foot is lowered. Possibly the pin is broken as I would have thought that it must have some way of going right through even if in 2 parts. @Constabulary is normally up on Singers and may know.You may have seen these you tubes but in case not this fellow has loaded a couple that might be of some help.Best of luck

I do use a variety of different methods for applying edge coats and I have found for me, for small product pieces a foam piece trimmed down like in the picture below works very well. The advantages are that by loading the edging up in the foam and wiping the edge off on the egg cup edge it holds plenty enough to not need re dipping constantly but has a broad enough surface to stop from getting the edging from going over the top. I made a video for the tube awhile ago that shows how I use this technique for doing belt edges. Note that the edging can be watered down by up to 10% to help give a better flow if needed.Although I sometimes use a soldering iron that is temperature controlled by a light dimmer switch it is not always necessary as some quick sanding between coats will often work as well.I have also put a few pics up of products I've done using the above method. Here is the video link- Hope that is of some help Brian

Which Cowboy sewing machine are you looking to buy and what sort of items do you want to make??

Thanks @KingsCountyLeather that price sounds a whole lot better to me. I will give it a test and get back.

OUCH That hurts. To Australia I guess must be a real killer. Any one here in Oz know?

Now that is something different. Never seen that one before and I look forward to seeing your journey as it comes back to life again. Brian

Thanks @bullmoosepaddles. Arnold Schwarzenegger thought one was good enough to buy of the rack when he was down under awhile back. Haven't heard if he had any trouble with loose screws

Thank you for the trouble @bullmoosepaddles Thank you as well @Sonydaze They look like they could be quite useful at times though perhaps a bit slow and cumbersome to use. I just use a crepe rubber sheet and lay the belts over and press down into when I do them up. Indeed as @fredk pointed out they do loosen up due to shrinkage so I re-tighten them again at least a day later and normally get another 1/2 turn tighter. Yeah and I don't use any locktite-glue or whatever. Made thousands of belts over the years and only had 3 maybe 4 say they came loose. They were many years after the sales and I always been happy to replace for free. Fishy customers soon learn they gotta pay more as well.

Gee thanks, I am still curious to see what the Weaver screw clamp is/looks like. Could anyone post a picture please?

c. Mine is a Cowboy though and the reducer is all in a metal box frame so it behaves a bit like a bell. High foot pressure makes it more noticeable.

HI Tom, probably no surprise but I often make up tools to suit a particular purpose. Here below are an example of some of the cheap pliers I drill holes into and bend into weird shapes and so on. I looked up to try and find the weaver screw clamp you referred to and could not find it so in case it could help..... The blue handle pliers work wonders when you need to grasp anthing of a round shape. As you see at the end I have shaped it to be able to push down over the head of a screw to hold but not damage the leather beside it. From left great for holding any small tubular shapes but made to help make it easy to join the melt together belts for some machines. 2. Little tuck in at the tip helps to open up those small 5mm split rings. 3- plastic tube over to stop scratching. 4 Holds crocodile teeth when inserting into caps as well as to squeeze the cap tight. 5. rivet and screw removal and tube holder.

I think a 4mm (3/16") hole would be best as the tongue has a flat back and they tear into a narrow hole more. The crew punch most likely would be best at 4x25mm or 3/16 x 1". I prefer when the strap is going through the buckle that the tongue can swing back enough to not need to stretch the leather any. To be sure I generally get some scrap of the same thickness and fold it over to see. If at 1" there is a visible gap then I would drop it back but if the leather is less than 3mm (1'8") then 20mm or 3/4" will do.

Yes it allows me to do heavy leathers pretty well but on stiff hard stuff I normally go about that by doing it in 2 stages. The roller will allow heavier leather way more so than the standard feet will. On thick leathers it is often necessary to take the bell back away a bit to get the feed to grip better. That can make a big difference.

Here is a link on where I show how the ring boxes are made for this customer. I keep a stock of them here and monogram them almost daily for her.

I have sent you a PM. 95% of the products we make is with crocodile for a variety of croc farms and such but we do use other leathers as well for other people such as the leather ring boxes for this customer https://www.amonie.com.au/collections/leather-boxes/products/light-grey-leather and pouches for the prisons and so on. If you can fill me on the products you want I may be able to help further one way or the other. Brain

I cant say whether it is good or not as I am not sure if the handle would give you the leverage for good embossing into leather. Take into account the voltage difference 110 against 240 if you haven't already. There is a member on here from Adelaide @dikman who is quite helpful and may know someone there he could suggest could help with some training on embossing.

Nice work

Sorry My bad....https://www.ebay.com/itm/Kingsley-Hot-Stamping-Machine-Type-Holder-LOT-fits-a-single-Line-Machine/173132396868?_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D50543%26meid%3D5560113a07d24188899cb4ad89fe337a%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D9%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D253584348622%26itm%3D173132396868&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851 I think with the letter sets it will work very well for pressure and definition. I do have a pneumatic one with a timer and all and to be honest it is in storage as it takes too long in use and the transport system for lining up is too slow as well. By hand pressure you can get a feel for what is right pretty quickly and the mucking around and testing to set how many seconds and how much air pressure etc are just a pitb. For what you are wanting I would go with the Kingsley. If you need to do very large numbers of repetitive steps then the one I have I could part with. You are welcome to come up and spend a few hours learning how to do this embossing if you like. Brian

I just had to look .... I have to wonder if this extract above were translated back into Chinese whether it would make any more sense?? I think that the machinery and engineering may have many good points and benefits but without much understanding of the manual as far as the English language goes, I am quite hesitant in buying I am sorry to say. Please take no offence Robin as that is not my intention, it it only to point out the importance of having clear communication with your customers. Your efforts in sales could be vastly improved with a better translation. I would be interested in the SP 168 sidewall stitching machine but I would like to see the manual first and what the costs for the transport would be to Brisbane in Australia. Regards Brian