RockyAussie

1. is it just the same leather and or job application? Sometimes I have run in to a leather or a particular job section where this might happen like turning a corner. 2. Would it help to increase your foot pressure a bit? There are a lot of reasons as well which may include a dulled off hook or slightly out of timing. I'd try a little more foot pressure first then also if it happens mostly in the one area of a job see if your needle is being deflected to the left a bit. If it is alter how you hold it or go for a bigger needle perhaps. If it happens just anywhere then check you timing and be sure the loop is well formed when the hook is getting to come through it. Does your tensions stay constant when stitching or is there a tendency for the tension to come high when it misses? Brian

No I wish it were stainless. Bunnings hardware price here in Australia on all but the scissor jack. And people wonder why our prices barely compete.

Thanks @Double Daddy I hope to get it done tomorrow and load some pics by Monday. I would have liked to use the vacuum but I don't know how to do it then keep the shape compressed while drying while I do more. Minimising the leather usage and lining up are other issues as well. I said earlier 38mm was close enough to 2".........I was tired ......I meant to say 1+ 1/2". Sorry. Regards Brian

Looks good jimi and well done. Thanks for sharing. Just a thought ......A little dust coat of silicon spray can help with some leathers sometimes as long as it is not going to interfere with any to be glued areas. Outer edge of a wallet ...no problems and can help with the latter sewing as well.

That is a nice and strong looking press there @plinkercases. sort of looks a bit like you've used a step tread the other way to what I'm thinking. Here is the plans for what I am thinking and a list of the parts and costs so far. In the second picture you see - 2 x 3' threaded rods at 3/4" round = $31.80au 16 nuts to suit =$11.04au 16 washes to suit =$6.72au 1 x stair tread at 4' long by 2" thick hardwood (Very dense) = $34.40au Scissor jack from the wreckers ( short one for Honda civic) $10.00 au Total so far $93.95 Still to get 1 of 3/8"x 2- 1/2" bolt and nut and 4 screws to attach jack to moving board. I will do some pictures of the making this weekend. Brian PS. I know I didn't draw the thread on the rods or even the jack either .........SO WHAT .... and 38mm is close enough to 2"

I guess we can just keep asking. Someone has to have one there somewhere needs a new home.

Like you I have mostly only ever done moulds with wood and I have not done any with pla before. What worries me is the very tight fit for such a high wall. If it fails I will try a little wider opening and make it a little higher and more rounded off. I hope to have it work out as the advantage with the 3d printing is that although it takes hours to do them they all come out the same and you can keep on working on other stuff while that is happening. If that fails I'll probably just get a heap of outer shell parts laser cut out of aluminium or something. Thanks for mentioning the quick release I will check for that in my design. Regards Brian

Noted. I still would not mind getting one except I'd have to keep it out in another shed and the hydraulic action I think would be a bit slower than I want.. The cost here is about $300+ and probably need to be ordered in. Thanks again.

Here are some pictures of the pla moulds I intend to try in the press. At this stage in the drawing I have not included any clips for keeping them attached together. I think before I go that far I will need to test the strength of the pla print in the application first. I have done a jpeg to show for all but if you want a more detailed look in the pdf file you can click the picture to activate it and then you can get the mould to spin around to whatever view you wish by just holding+ moving your mouse button. I have seen Dwights press previously when doing my homework on this and there is a lot of good ideas in the construction of it. I think so far what I am likely to do will be quicker and cheaper and have the advantage of being able to down and up with minimal effort and time. I will have some draft drawings and pictures as I go soon. My goal on the press is to cost under $100 au and 2 hours to construct. It will have the leeway to allow for various pressure methods and stronger if needed. Did not say it will be pretty. Thanks for thoughts JD62, I hadn't though about stacking them on top of each other as the moulds I hope will be a quick in and out process. Good idea though I think. Thank you everyone for your inputs so far. Regards Brian HANDCUFF POUCH 3Da.pdf

Are strap cutters rare over there?

Thanks Stetson912, I have a vacuum press but 1 its not big enough for more than say 2 at a time and 2 once the membrane is down I cant clip the moulds together to take out and dry. TBH I have only ever used the vacuum for one off type casting with leather forming. With plastics moulding they cool off within seconds and therefor no problem as such. What I have to allow for is although I may only get an order of 100 to start with that can easily go to 200 and so on. That often happens with stuff I make and it is best to think what is the next step. If it takes of I will dig out a large pneumatic press I have in storage and remake with that. At present it is a back part moulder as is used when forming the back part of shoes surrounding the heel counter area. Weighs a ton and chews up a lot of floor area. Thanks again for now. Brian

Thanks Mikesc, I am tempted to look at the scissor jack idea. It would probably be quicker to make up and I would not need any great turning handle. Would make packing away later a bit more tidy as well. Will see what other ideas come by the end of the day. Brian

Thanks Itch, I had considered something similar but over here the price is maybe 3 times that delivered. The hydraulic part of it makes me think a little slow for getting it down but maybe not.Another against it a little is floor space. I would like to tuck under a bench when not being used.I might just get 1 anyway. Brian The mould I am hoping to use is a pla printed shape that I hope will do the job. One for the inside shape and one for the outer to force down over. As long as I can get these 2 to come together enough I hope to have clips in the bottom mould which clip up and hold the top mould in place. Then the plot is take it out of the press to dry and start a new one again. I haven't finished the drawings of yet but I will try and load up something later today. For the trial/prototype version it wont have the holding clips. I have loaded some pics of a pouch that is a little similar to what I want to make (the leather one) and the fabric one they presently use along with the 2 styles of hand cuffs that the pouch must accommodate. The larger set are 27mm deep (bit over an inch).

Recently I made a lot of personal alarm pouches for the local prison here. They now want a heap of other types of pouches, starting with handcuff pouches. As I have to be able to do 100 or more at a time I will need to make a quick change press able to apply a fair amount of pressure. The moulds I hope to be able to print out on the 3d printer and in such a way that they can clip together once they are pressed down. More on that later. As they will need a fair time to dry out I will need to have quite a few moulds. First I have to have this prototype ready within a week so this press wont be pretty but must be strong. The press I am thinking of making up is a bit like a book press in operation perhaps. At this stage I am thinking of a 4' stair tread cut into three and 4 pieces of 3/4" threaded rod to strap them together. To apply pressure I am thinking to cut up an old office chair which has a nice large thread under it that allows for height adjustment. Its nice and heavy and should be strong enough I think. The second thought is to screw in a car scissor jack and fast turn it with a socket and battery drill. For now I have loaded a couple of pictures that I found online that give a rough idea of what I am thinking. I would like anyone's thoughts and examples if they have any before I go ahead. As I said time is short so I will need input by Thursday if you have any. Thanks ahead for any help offered. Brian

I would put the feet through as whether the are fold aside prongs or screw through or even the hammer in type they all will sit better if they have something to support them on the side edge. That will stop them bending over in the hole etc. Most types allow for a fair bit of thickness. TBH I hate the bloody metal ones caus if you ever had a shp with glass counters it is a supper PITB when some come in and slap them down like nothin or no one is more important than them. That is why I like to cover a lot of mine over one way or another. Brian

Hi Matt S, Perhaps you have some particular type of project that you would like to achieve and would like to have the best machine for the job. I think for this thread to have some good reference value it would be an idea to ask people to post pictures with comments on how close they can stitch from the edge with a particular set up. Say you want to stitch a 1+ 1/2" veg tan ring that has one end blocked of with no flex in it. I want to stitch in 2 or 3 mm from the edge. Most machines except a patcher will not work. If I wanted to do this perhaps I could make the end thin and flexible then glue in a stiffener later after being sewn. Probably on my 331 or 335 Pfaff or 69 Adler but any of those would work on a 2"(50.8mm?) ring better. The important point I am trying to say is that on some machines like with a holster plate just because you could say I can stitch ? mm from the edge is not true if the article is not able to fit over the cylinder diameter in some cases. If it were a straight job than being a cylinder might be irrelevant anyway. I think if I remember in another similar thread it was suggested that a machines needle was only this small distance from the end of the cylinder which at a glance sounds good but if the machine is fed by the dog foot and the dog foot is only to the right of the needle then what is the use of that? Maybe think up some parameters (thread thickness,leather thickness etc is the end to be blocked off as in a gusset end?) and challenge us to come up with some answers then. For an example I will load a picture of a tubular tool bag to further explain. Hope that makes some sense. Brian

Maybe a top and bottom on a dog collar which then become front and back........

I think a picture of the watch and the bracelet or a drawing would help if possible. Is it to dangle or attach like a watch band on both sides?

Very nice looking work so far as usual. I am a bit curious whether you have put a stiffener into the base this time or not? Normally if I am putting feet on I insert a stiffener to stop the feet just pushing up into the leather. Thanks for posting the pics. Brian

I've been using these Chicago screws on a lot of belts over the last 20 years and that is many thousands of belts. I have never had any negative feedback on the use of them other than over the years some have come unscrewed. I make a point to be careful not to burr the screw head when doing up. BTW that is a nice and very durable belt you've made there Dwight.

Hi WillieO , in answer to that it depends,some do and some don't. I always do with pocket tops be that the fabric I use does not fray anyway. I get the fabric I use from Italy from a company called TABRU. If you check out the link here following you can see a video where we are making and attaching some pockets for some wallets we make. The advantages of using this method is that the fabric can be cut with a clicker press and there is no fraying. Takes glue with out fraying.The thickness is about .2mm and way stronger than leather at even twice that thickness and it enables a fairly even edge to get the stitching to give the best results with regards to tensions etc.The video was made to show the line up device I made but shows enough of the construction to help I think. Here is the link-

They well could be, but that is just a part of the fun of this is it not? You just raise the bar and keep looking at ways to raise it higher and better etc. I find a lot more fun in designing these things than making them in the bulk orders that invariably they lead onto. I have orders for products to last some years to come yet so ... Some I know like to keep with the past traditional ways of doing their leather work but I get bored easily and love finding ways to stretch the boundaries all the time. Keeps me better amused.Participating in a forum like LW and occasionally seeing something new and interesting helps us all to become better at what we do and sometimes love. Brian

Glad you enjoyed it and I hope the video does a more entertaining view of the process. Just go an order for another 60 of them so The video will probably get finished some before Christmas. Brian

Nice looking work. Interested to see how the chain link one does up. I wish you the best in your new direction. Wish the price was a little more south for me.

I wish I had a brother like that. That is a nice looking bag and the embossing font looks excellent. Well done. I'm pretty pleased with myself today as I just found out we have made a sale into China on a ring box. Normally we only get products made from Croc selling there. Brian