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RockyAussie

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  1. RockyAussie
    I just checked out a video on it and i think that should be a very handy machine. Having the guides adjustable that way will make different thicknesses a lot easier to do . Hope it all goes well for you. Brian
  2. RockyAussie
    Hi Matt S, I would love to give more time than I do but that's life I guess.The knurling does indeed help and generally every 3 or 4 years I have to refresh the knurl probably because they are only aluminium and fairly soft compared to stainless. The knurling tool was surprisingly inexpensive from the toy shop here, about $40.00 I think at the time.
  3. RockyAussie
    I made this machine quite awhile before my cad drawing days unfortunately but I will try and get you as much info as I can with regards to sizing and close up pics etc asap. As Bill rightly said I am flat out on some 300+hornback belt orders for a couple of more weeks to go to China and I cant be later than I already am. It is fairly simple but some decent welding ability is needed. The trickiest bit was working out how to make the wheels turn in toward each other but once I worked out to run an idling cog inside and used the back of the chain on the left wheel to drive it, it was easy. For the moment I will post a few still shots which may help a bit. The bucket and wheel on the right don't swing in and out but the right one does to allow adjustment for size widths and has a spring inside to allow to move in and out with tapers etc.The wheels were cut out of some 1" flat plate aluminium and some 1" round was set into that and welded on and then bored out to about 5/8" hole. Once the hole was done and the rods threaded it then was lathed and knurled. I will take a lot of pictures and measurements and try and put them together in as easy way to understand as I can. Thanks for the positive comments Regards Brian
  4. RockyAussie
    Just a word of caution, when removing or making a foot right or left be sure to leave a bit in the middle behind the needle and remove back more if needed. If you remove too much you will find the needle can want to climb up the side a bit and leave needle marks on the side. I made that mistake before. I took back one a bit too far for stitching the rope filled round handles and had a lot of trouble keeping it from climbing up the rope. Rope type handle in picture below and note the trimming happens after the stitching . Regards Brian
  5. RockyAussie
    Thanks Chuck .... I wouldn't say great but on the bright side I can only get better at it. Lets hope we get to see some other people sharing how they do it.
  6. RockyAussie
    Generally I have been able to get cheap standard feet and just grind them down until they suit the job I want it to do . Sometimes if I have to I just make them from scratch but that can take 3 hours or more sometimes. I don't know this machine type so some pics could help.
  7. RockyAussie
    In this short video I show part of the process of edging hornback crocodile belts with a machine I made for the job. It allows width of strips from 1/2" to 2" and thicknesses of strips up to 3/8". The thickness of the fluid edging can be adjusted thicker or thinner as required. Normally these type of belts get 2 pre coats and then sanded to smooth out the bumps and holes followed by another 2 or 3 coats and then some final hand edging is done where the machine sometimes can not get higher up on the bones. Normal leather belts generally only require 2 to 3 coats on this machine for a high level of finishing.There is a hand edging video as well on my you tube along with a few others. Here's the link -
  8. RockyAussie
    30 minutes on a plain leather style maybe but not with Crocodile unfortunately.Next video will show some of the headaches of working with croc and how I go about getting them to thickness.
  9. RockyAussie
    I have only ever done 2 at a time myself laying down or the folding but with these women working together ....well you now how it is...
  10. RockyAussie
    I'm way under the hammer at the moment but will get you some close up pics and some basic measurements with in the fortnight. Brian
  11. RockyAussie
    Cowonderboy??
  12. RockyAussie
    Congratulations its a Boy Looks like he'll be walking reel soon. Ha ha
  13. RockyAussie
    Here is a video showing off a device I made for quickly laying down wallet card pockets and getting them straight and evenly spaced. It is also used for lining up and attaching the strips to be folded and sometimes for line marking and pre creasing leather and cardboards etc. In it you will also see how I have converted a hand folding machine over to a foot operated in order to give better control and speed. I hope to load a longer and more detailed version showing more of the steps of the making of these wallets sometime soon. If you care to subscribe to my You Tube channel or follow me on LW here you will get notifications as new ones come up.Hope they help and please comment. Brian
  14. RockyAussie
    Must be a different set up to mine as it only runs a single 3/4 hp motor to run everything off belts and pulleys etc. Feed wheel is controlled by a clutch which as you can see in my video gives pretty good control. I just took a couple of pics below of my machine that could help..
  15. RockyAussie
    Yey jimi I think with the dog foot being on the right you would have to allow that, that distance would need to be enough for the job to feed as well. My guess would be about 8mm minimum?I think the 441 will get you a lot closer to the edge than that. Even with the dog foot in and a bit shaved of the left of the standard plate I can see 5mm is possible. It would be closer still with the holster or stirrup set up as Wiz shows above. Regards Brian
  16. RockyAussie
    I would say it is a vegetable tanned leather but like most things it may highly suitable for some uses and sometimes not others. Mimosa tanning agent is one of the most common and has a tendancy to go a light yellowy tan colour by itself and mixed with some oils this can affect the colour further and also these oils generally migrate to the surface of the leather and eventually dry out and need to be replaced. Most of the tooling type leather are not loaded with as much of these oils and fats and and will normally give no problems.The chemicals are probably helping in creating the rash but I would make sure that the knots of your thread are not giving you a problem. I notice they do not look well pushed in and I know the thread can create agitation as it does on myself. I have never used this type of leather onto a watch band lining before and I don't think I would now having seen this.
  17. RockyAussie
    What is that saying? If it sounds too good to be true it .......
  18. RockyAussie
    Wow I've never seen anything like that before. Can you post any pics of the watchband showing the lining in particular? Do you use any sort of body lotion that might be reacting with the leather chemicals and did you put any sort of a finish on the lining?
  19. RockyAussie
    I have to comment that it looks to me around 1.36min in that the second application wipe is no longer the same bit of leather. I wonder why?Brian
  20. RockyAussie
    Wow!!! I'm wondering what the freight from OZ to Oklahoma would be. About 25 years back I got an old retired boot repairer to promise me he would only ever sell me tools if he sold them. He died a few months back and his family tracked me down and advised me I am the only one allowed to buy them.A man of his word. Now I have an old 29k13 which badly needs some loving care.
  21. RockyAussie
    The most common failure is with the sole either wearing through or coming unstuck. Separating at the toe is common and back to the widest part as well. I have no idea what tools you have at present to work with and some pics would help. If you want to send them in a PM that is fine. You will need a common steel last and stand as you see at a shoe repair place or a steel plate for the base of the lasts your building.If you are not familiar with any shoe repairing I must urge you to get friendly with a good repairer and get him to show you how to use the tacks and how they clinch in the job. You will want some (a good handful) of the shorter tacks. I think they are about 5mm or less.Instead of the glue around imitation welt as in the video I propose using a full midsole tacked on which actually does most of the work in holding things together and the sole will adhere to this in a far longer and reliable way.You can still use an imitation welt as well if you like but if you can not buy it they are hard to make with out a lot of tools.I will go through an old shipping container here and see what I can find to picture that may be of help. Brian
  22. RockyAussie
    I thought about making up a new presser foot once but if you test that steel it is very hard and I think that whatever I could come up would not last reasonably long. The grit that gets locked in on a shoe welt really acts like a sandpaper. This is one part I need but I have plenty of other parts off of 3 other spare machines if you need anything.Can I ask what purpose you use the machine for? Regards Brian
  23. RockyAussie
    Is that not what tinker tailor has used in the pictures above? I personally think that 1snap would be fine.Brian
  24. RockyAussie
    I just love these Frobana machines. I still have 4 here but none that looks so pretty as this one. The only real problem I have had with them is wearing out the presser foot. In the picture here you can just see a little bit on the right side starting to wear. None of the ones I have here are anywhere near that good and unfortunantly last time I checked they were about $400 au and that was quite a few years back now. When this gets worn enough the stitches start to miss regularly but if good they do a magnificent stitch.BTW if you dampen the sole leather right you can bury that stitch right in and slick over it and hardly see the thread at all.Thanks for posting Jimi. Brian
  25. RockyAussie
    For the type of shoe you showed in the link I would think 1,5mm max depending on what lining thickness you have or want to use. As I doubt you will have a splitter I would look for what lining thickness you can get and try not to end up with more than 2.5 to max 3mm with the outer skin.(roughly 1mm lining and 1.5mm outer) Most leather sellers will tell what is the normal weight for a given application in footwear as it about the most common and largest part of the market.How well a shoe is built and how the wearer looks after them is a bigger difference than the construction differences discussed here. I was doing shoe repairs for more than 10 years before going into making shoes and that really lets you know where things could have been done better and what parts wear out and why.Done correctly these shoes will last longer than you would want them for unless you like walking in mud and water.
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