McJeep

This may just be what the doctor ordered - and I mean that literally. I've got rheumatoid arthritis and there are times when the hands are so knotted up that it's impossible for me to roll anything resembling a smooth curve - this style looks like I could avoid all the twisting and just keep a nice firm grip on the knife itself The thing I do not see is adaptability in height? Ditto to pondering ... strongly Thanks for posting Sylvia!

Welcome!

Ayup - 'cobblers kids always go barefoot

For uniformity of the gusset you are forming, I would build a simple form right off the start. One piece the size and shape of the gusset, on piece to mount that to, and a female piece to clamp down over it makes a simple effective mold. Glue/screw the first piece on to the solid backer board. then once you have the leather nice and wet place it skin side down on top of the mold - use screws or clamps to hold the female piece down over it and leave it for a day. I've used this setup a couple times for small camera cases etc and it's pretty effective AND cheap ;0) Just make sure all of the wood contacting your leather is sanded smooth so as not too leave unnecessary marks on the hide. And yes, I do this with 8 oz leather. Should give you a nice stiff gusset for the case once yer done, and the lack of flexibility should help keep things in shape while stitching I think. Lookin forward to seeing it - planning one for myself as well I can take and post a quick pic of my mold if my description isn't clear - picture worth a thousand blah blah blah ;0)

By *peeling* I think you are meaning the fact that you can see the bottom of your swivel cut in a couple places - just need to get that beveller in closer to the cut. I usually start with a smooth beveller before my checkered beveller - the smooth one seems to run down into the cut better where my checkered one takes a grab. Once I've got the edge defined I can get the checkered one in nice and tight - hope this makes sense??

All I know is that i want your layout table and the space to keep it in my shop! And agreed - skiver is my next big tool purchase

Absolutely has a grain - every time I edge something I find that the leather will cut better in one direction that the other - strange, but true :0/

"Instead of spending $100 on a beautiful, expertly-made dog collar, I spend over $1000 on supplies to learn to do it myself. At this stage, at least, I'm not trying to turn it into a business. My leathercraft hobby has turned into something of a money sinkhole so I'm hoping to make enough profit to pay for my supplies." Welcome aboard

What he said - learnt THAT the hard way LOL Choo gon' love love love having a machine bud - there are some minor limitations to them like not being able to get tight into some spots due to feet etc, but overall, awesomeness :) :0 Congratz!

Actually, ya might find the midway belt loop to be just what the doctor ordered - I have a leatherman that's still in the original case with high belt loop - It's pretty comfortable there right up till I get in my truck - when I mold one up, it's gonna have a lower loop to sit higher on my waist and not get in the way of seatbelt, center console etc. Everyone's a different fit ;0)

Yeah, it's not the mexican basket weave if that's what you're meaning - simpler than basket weave - nice tho

Going around tight curves/corners involves running your lace through *some* of the holes more than the usual amount of times. Sorry, don't have a picture or directions for the details on line but I know I've seen them here. Yer gonna have a real bugger of a time even trying to cover the point of it - if it's even possible. Cheers R

Ditto on welcome aboard - 'missed yer original intro I guess :0/ Anyway - Welcome!

"Admitting that you have a problem is the first step" is exactly what went through my mind when I read the post Hehehe I say that knowing full well that I've been using crap blades since I started with leather and *NEED* to dedicate a full day to learning how to sharpen em up properly

Nope - Weaver does so I just ordered about a thousand years worth of rivets and caps while I was at it ;0) Settled for nickel over brass so still no rust or corrosion concerns

Confirmed The cap die from Weaver does indeed fit the Tandy hand press - which is cool because Tandy apparently does not want to deal much with tubular rivet caps - they don't sell em and they don't carry the dies Real happy with the cleaner look of the caps on these, AND the fact that other than cosmetic uses I'm done with using flippin speedy rivets MHO only, but everyone needs these! Thanks again for the measurements Art

you just reminded me that I got a nifty hole punch die with the press that I bought! hmmmmmmmm ;0)

That's the type of thing I was thinking of - thanks for the name - will search it out

pretty tight spacing - the spot die is only for 1/2 inchers and the hole in the rivet die is even smaller :0/ I refuse to use steel hardware just to see the nickel crack and start rusting :0/

just took delivery of these to use with my hand press. The dies are not too bad for construction - they do include magnetic holders as well. Problem is that I try to only use stainless materials sooooo magnets no worky :0/ Thinking I may have to use some type of gummy putty or other to make spots etc stay up in the driving die. Any suggestions as to just what will work best?? Thanks in advance as always Rob

nice catch - I see the two downward seams now - thanks

Great dunhill video Question: How are the corners on the gussets formed - it looks like the gusset is one piece that wraps around the whole case but there also seem to be seams at the corners??

http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=26467