dbusarow

I don't know that there are any "tricks". Just practice. Keeping the awl holes in the stitch groove is just the first step. You also need to make sure that the angle of the awl (the angle one of the flats on the awl makes with a line paralell to the stitch groove) remains the same for every hole. And you also need to make sure that each hole is punched perfectly straight (perpendicular) through the layers. I think this last one is the hardest to get right. I'm getting better but I still really need to concentrate on this one. Once you have the hole stabbing down then you can start working on improving the consistency of the stitches themselves. Dan

TwinOaks, Not sure where you got that list of things to give up but I think it is a do-gooders fantasy list. About 10 years ago I went in to a new chiropracter for an adjustment. As part of her standard for all new patients she did a mini-physical. Height, weight, pulse, BP etc.. She left the room after taking my BP and came back a few minutes later with the address of and directions to her personal physician. Who she had just called and who had agreed to see me immediately. My BP was so high she was concerned that I'd stroke out on the way to the MD! I left the doctor's office with a prescription which I filled on the way home. A followup visit a couple of days later showed that the BP medicine was doing its job. I was text book normal. The MD suggested I give up smoking, but for general health concerns, not for BP reasons. I didn't, I just cut back a little. I did switch from regular salt to kosher salt. Get it in the canning aisle at your grocery store. I love it. No one ever even suggested giving up caffiene. If they had suggested giving up bacon I would have laughed at them. Long story short, I started taking the blood pressure medicine religiously, I cut down on salt and also switched from regular to kosher salt. That was it. Stop worrying, take your meds and be happy. Dan

If there was a "View New Content" link I'd use LoFi when I'm on my old Mac iBook. It (iBook) works with the fancy version but is pretty slow. I'd happily give up most of the window dressing in exchange for the snappy load time if I could just get the new posts. Dan

Bronson, The distance from your original, perfect stitch line to the inside edge of the welt will be 1/2 the thickness of the welt. So with a 1/2" THICK welt the inside edge of the welt (closest to the gun) is 1/4" in from your original stitches. But since you want to have the stitches in the middle of your 1/2" WIDE welt you need to move them back out 1/4" and you are right back on you original stitch line. Imagin a welt the full thickness of the gun and where that would put the inside edge of the welt in relation to your original stitch line. Dan

Get an Awl Haft and an Awl Blade I used links to SLC but Tandy, Seigel and probably everyone else carrry the CS Osborne line. I like the hafts with a chuck. Not for changing blades but because the flat on the chuck gives my thumb and finger an index when stabbing. Get the smallest blade which is the one I linked to. Dan

You are probably descring Lift the Dot fasteners. I remember first seeing them on army surplus gear. You can get them here, http://seattlefabrics.com/snap_fastners.html#Lift%20The%20Dot%20Fasteners Dan