howlback

I use Tandy’s Premium Calf Lace. It is beveled, formed veg-tan calf lace that is light weight, extremely thin and fairly strong. I use it on ALL my lacing projects because when you’re looking at it vs. “Real Leather” brand, Tandy’s craftsman lace, etc. the others’ top grains get lost but the calf-lace keeps that continuity between itself and the top grain of the leather on your project. I don’t know if I’m describing it best so I will just tell that it looks WAY better. It’s sometimes cursed with bad splices and discoloration for being as expensive as it is but it’s great looking stuff on a nice project. I’ve never found beveled, formed lace like this before and I want to know where Tandy gets it or how it’s made so I can either make it or have it made for me in more colors. I use a lot of this stuff and even with Elite pricing it costs me $1.14/yrd

Good lord, it's already up around the price that a good tool refurbisher would sell one at. "Please note that photos are a BIG part of the description, please be sure to study them closely, so you are aware of condition of item." That statement kind of scares me. Having the Landis mojo would be cool but for a few more bucks the class 14 splitters gives a lot more options when it comes to the width you can split. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Leather-Splitter-By-Landis-Machine-Co-St-Louis-Made-In-USA-Model-30-Very-Nice/332599230640?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D50425%26meid%3D0afc1936674f475285b162cbf76924d1%26pid%3D100678%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D14%26sd%3D332599230640%26itm%3D332599230640&_trksid=p2481888.c100678.m3607&_trkparms=pageci%3A91737b66-3368-11e8-894c-74dbd180daef|parentrq%3A7271d0d21620ad4b371b21cbfffb2cf9|iid%3A1

Side note: I'm fairly certain the cobra burnishing motor is a modified motor from Porter Cable. However after buying/modifying a few things, IMO in the long run it's cheaper and a hell of a lot less headache to just buy the real deal. Buy once, cry once.

I've taped before casing successfully when doing smaller items. Larger ones seem to dry unevenly though.

I "made my own" by utilizing a Habor Freight 5-speed bench drill press and a drill burnisher from Pro Edge burnishers. The entire thing set me back about $120USD. Does it work? Yes. Is it ideal? No. If I'm burnishing a larger piece in one sitting, the motor gets extremely hot. I'm sure there are other drill presses that may not encounter this problem but in the end it's a drill press and I'm betting it wasn't designed to run non-stop for that long of time (not from Harbor Freight anyway). I will say I just took a class on finishing edges from a well respected member of the leather community. He brought pretty much every type of burnisher there is for demonstration. The Leather Machine Company Cobra Burnisher definitely stood out. It's quiet, it sands (two different grits if you mod it like his) and it runs in reserve. IMO, Leather Machine Co. designed products seem to have "all the kinks worked out" and deliver that extra convenience for leatherwork that some of the cheaper alternatives lack. You never really know what works for you until you try it! I will say that my drill press set up works great for small stuff but I'm counting down the days until I purchase something a little more heavy duty. I just looked at Tandy's website... 8,000 rpms! Good Lort!

I should note that I own a MT-900. Got an insane deal on it, otherwise I would never spend so much money on a foot press. I was looking for a die set to use wide leather staples in conjunction with it.

When I'm not stamping, I click out a two pieces with the same die and sew them together. However, when I'm stamping the top piece of a project, I noticed the leather changes in shape. Should I glue the stamped piece down to an oversized piece of leather and cut it out to match the shape? Side note, I know I can tape the back of the project but when after casing a project the tape won't stick and if I tape it before, it doesn't dry consistently. Just seeing what other do to combat this.

Here is a link to Weaver's... http://www.weaverleathersupply.com/catalog/item-detail/51863 Any other manufacturers I can buy from?

Tremendous interest before product has been fully matured = “Hype” Better than plastic though, I guess

Those SDS sheets can really throw you for a loop. Especially for a reader like me who had no idea what all the numbers and symbols meant, haha! After some breif research, I was able to get a better grasp on things. One of the more interesting topics to note when deep diving on this subject are the advantages/disadvantages of spraying products with VOCs vs their "low-VOC" counter parts. After speaking to some folks in the spray booth manufacturing industry, it's pretty typical of the low-VOC counterparts to be less efficient which at times can result in the need for more spraying or taking longer to dry etc. What I thought was interesting was that if the product has 5x less VOC content, but you need to spray on 5x the amount to get the same results as your standard dye than what good are you doing??? If the same amount of VOCs are polluting the atmosphere, you're really only hurting your wallet because spraying more = needing to buy more product to spray sooner. Or as @bikermutt07 pointed out, Car manufacturers, who spray more in a day than I'll spray in a lifetime, are having to invest in drying systems for the low-voc products in order to keep their production time lower = more energy consumption BLAH BLAH BLAH... Lucky for me, I don't even spray enough to require a permit. The whole thing is a real conundrum. There are some local laws to note when setting up a spray booth with an exhaust system. Especially when you're spraying flammable materials. I will share once I gather a bit more information.

I make belts and guitar straps. I'd love to invest in a custom punch that works for my needs (I'm sure belt dies are pretty standard but I would need customs for my guitar strap styles). Just seeing what everyones experience with self-centering punches. Any gremlins or catches to a system like this? (I guess that catch with weaver is that you'll end up broke, haha). Belt Punch Weaver

I’ve just began research on the risks of spraying leather dyes and finishes as I really like the results I’ve been getting. I started this search for two reasons, my health and the environment. I have been researching the advantages/disadvantages of spraying standard solvent-based dyes, low-voc solvent-based dyes and low-voc water-based dyes. I eventually want to continue the research on into the different finishes that are available but I figured dyes we’re a good place to start. Recently, I’ve been experienting with different types of dyes in order to find alternatives. My way of thinking (which I am sure is not the standard way of thinking) is that if I can achieve the same results with something that is less harmful to myself and my surroundings than I would much rather pursue that as an option, even if it means that there are potential drawbacks (i.e. more expensive, takes longer to dry). I can share what I find on this thread but I wanted to start a discussion in hopes that there might be some likeminded leather crafters out there who share a similar philosophy and have some information to add to the conversation.

I’d recommend getting a Saftey Data Sheet for all the products you use.

Have you had any bad reactions when spraying the waterstain? It says not to because it contains isothiazolinones. Some of the older labels don’t mention them but it still says not to spray. Just looking out.

Been following him for awhile now. Check out his Instagram. @fireexplorercraft The work is unreal.

So let me get this straight... the seller wants to unload this brand new machine, almost $3k under the retail price, rather than just buy $155 compressor? For the record, I have a CAT4610ac and my Juki clone is probably louder.

Oh, yes. Nice, I have the drop down one.

These are mostly all Fiebing’s pro and a couple standard leather dyes. There is definitely a difference. The colors you spoke of actually vary much more than their light tan colors. I have a lot of customers ask for ridiculous colors (i.e. “electric blue” not pictured) and as mentioned before, an airbrush is the only way to go. You can dip and dob all day long but you waste a ton of dye and have little to no control over how much dye you’re applying. With an airbrush, you can spray on a few light coats back-to-back and you’re finished. No streaks, no drips plus the leather dries much faster since it’s not being drown in dye. (Disclaimer: airbrushing is a learned skill, it takes time)

More info about guide please

Well, I'm just having a hard time consistently executing a straight border. My first time, I cut a nice one with a cheap knife and Tandy border tool but I wasn't paying enough attention to really re-create what I did. Each time after that I've run into various issues. I was just looking for some guidelines (get it?) on how to get consistent results. Sidenote: I did learn that I can hide those pesky "drag" marks along each side of the cut but running the smooth side of my modeling tool over top of them. I'm assuming they are from my knife not being sharp enough or my leather not being properly cased.

I have tried and tried and tried... Is it me? The knife? The leather? Anyway, just looking for advice on how to cut those long, straight borders on a belt.

I have access to Argentinian veg tan. I can sort through them and find what I want. It’s less than $5 sq/ft. I wouldn’t call any of it A-grade but I am able to pick out hides that work for me. I recently worked with some Hermann Oak and it seems like really nice stuff but it costs twice as much. I’m curious about the opinion of this vs. that when it comes to veg tan leather. Are you paying for consistency or brand name? Or so the dealer can make a buck?

Quick update, after seeing a Cobra 26 in person, I realized the Atlas didn’t come with a speed reducer pulley so I had to buy one and install it myself in order to get the speed down. I also had to get a smaller pulley to attach to the actual motor (one that came with it was 65mm). Atlas let me trade out the motor pulley and v-belts but for all the time/money I spent installing the reducer pulley, I could have just bought a Cobra 26 and called it a day. I even bought some of Cobra Steve’s presser feet cause they work so well. However, I now know worlds more about how my sewing machines works since I had to rip everything apart for the install. I’ll be buying leather machine co. from now on. After seeing them at Prescott, it’s clear their products are more than “clones,” like most other manufacturers. I did not notice immediately, but now I see each class of machine is tailored to work best for leather craft. Learned my lesson!

Any luck finding the manufacturer? I can’t find anything like it. Such a cool design

I was able to successfully/neatly sew/tack 8-10oz leather with #207 thread and a size 23 needle by first backing the primary tension adjustment and reconfiguring the thread path on the top of the machine. This way, the machine will comfortably sew 8-10oz leather with the primary tension adjustment all the way out. Before I tack, I increase the tension using the primary adjustment and the machine pulls the lockstitch up neatly on the bottom side. Don’t know if this normal practice but it’s working until I can get a tech out.