pepeunidos

Nice work on your Instagram!

Howdy y'all - so I've recently relocated from Austin, TX to Brooklyn, NY and I'm wondering if anyone has any knowledge of local suppliers for leather and tools, or any groups, guilds or meetups in the NYC area. Thanks for your help! PepeUnidos

Thank you!

Thanks! It took a couple of hours, but I did stop and go a few times. The 22" cord is cored with a round leather string, and braided with 4 strands, finished with a Turk's head knot.

Hello friends - been a while since I've posted or looked at the forum, but wanted to share a project from a couple months ago. Trucker wallet, tooled and dyed. Two gusseted pockets, zippered pouch, slots for cards, front pocket for ID, finished with a braided cord and antiqued brass hardware. Normally, I don't tool black on black, but I like the way this turned out. Made from 4/5 veg for the outside, interior from 2/3. Hope you like it!

Turned out great, @bikermutt07! Very rustic, and already looks like it's been around a while. I like Diesel Punk's YouTube channel as well, lots of good stuff there.

The frog looks great! This will last a long time.

Slick use of the nail decorations! Tidy work, too.

Very nice!

This is killer work and what a clever idea! I really dig it.

I use 2 plyes of craft paper (1 folded piece with the smooth side out, really) taped down with blue tape to a piece of heavy corrugated cardboard from some shipping box, and it works like a charm. Been using the same piece for months. Someone earlier mentioned that they ended up with dye being transferred from a previous project, but I've never had that problem as I only use water-based dyes, glues, and finishes and let the paper dry thoroughly before using it again. I don't know if that bit of info makes any difference but hope it helps out!

@AndyL1 This is really nice! Went to your website and checked out your Galway wallet and I noticed that it's lined. I've been thinking about making some biker wallets and using some printed cotton fabrics (bandannas, Hawaiian prints, etc) to line them and I was wondering if I could ask you a couple questions about the process? I was wondering how you do your edges with the fabric sandwiched in between the two pieces of leather, and the second is what adhesive and method you use to stick them to the flesh side? Again, very nice wallet and the laser is working great! Thanks for taking the time. PepeUnidos

Hi HS! I have the Bruce Grant book but this particular clinch/knot is not in there. However I did just order the “encyclopedia of rawhide and leather braiding” so maybe that’ll be included in there. I’ll keep you all posted if I find something. Thanks for your input!

Hi Smartee! I checked those out - I don't think that's quite it. On examination of these pictures, it looks like a single loop lace or a French whipping but I'm not sure if it's part of the braid or applied after the braid is whipped inside the coil. Thanks for your input! Anyone else? Thanks for your time.

Hello friends! I've been taking a little break from tooling and experimenting with making some braided cords, and I think I'm going to make myself a nice wallet with a lanyard. I figured out a way to make a nice 4-strand braid cored with 550 Paracord and it turned out really nice. I want to whip the ends with more lace and was hoping to be able to do this knot (pictures below) but haven't been able to find out what it's called or how to tie it. Any clues? Thanks a bunch!

Hello friends - I spied this on my local CL listing and was wondering if based on this discussion, this machine would be suitable for my first one? https://austin.craigslist.org/for/d/industrial-walking-foot/6709436556.html Thanks in advance

Thanks R8R - this is all excellent information. I did see these machines on the Austin CL page, but gonna have to let these pass by. I'm figuring out what my budget is and how much I need to set aside to make it work. There will be others, I'm sure!

The amount of knowledge on this site is staggering. Please keep it coming. I'm starting to come up with a budget for these machines based on everything that I'm seeing on this thread (har har! see what I did there? I kill myself sometimes). For my needs, I'm considering the following: Juki LU1508-N or clone of same (Thor GC-1508, Artisan 1508-10H) Consew 206 RB-5 or Chandler CM406RB-1 (to my untrained eye, looks like a clone of the Consew, but couldn't find enough specs regarding the feed to say for sure) Cobra Class 18 Cowboy 227R with some kind of flatbed jig/attachment Eventually, as a second, something a little heavier like a Cowboy 3200 for the sheaths and holsters. I don't ever expect to be doing anything heavier than that, like saddles or tack. A huge factor regarding the purchase is whether I can pick it up instead of having it shipped. Thanks to everyone for posting on this thread. I sure do appreciate it.

@bikermutt07 I saw the discussion thread and was gonna ask you about how that went! Other than the machine, were there some other goodies in there? Which Consew did you get? Pepe

Which would be the modern/new equivalent of these machines or something comparable that's all included in the box ready to go aside from making setup adjustments? As I'm looking these things over, I keep seeing these machines for sale for 600-800, but it seems like I will also need a servo motor and a speed reducer, some didn't even come with a table. I saw a video of one of these clutch motors stitching at full boogie and holy smokes that's fast. Not for newbs for sure! I'm wondering if a Consew P1206RB, Consew 206-RB5, Cowboy 227R, or Cobra Class 17/18/20 would be suitable machines for a versatile starter machine. I don't intend to give up hand stitching, so for thicker stuff, that's always a go-to. Thanks for the good info, everyone. I'm grateful for your knowledge.

Thank you, @Matt S

This is all super helpful. I hadn't even considered a walking foot flatbed as I thought that they were for upholstery and heavy duty fabrics. I see that they do that, as well as medium duty on veg-tan leather. Please keep the knowledge coming, I'm sponging it all in. Thanks @bikermutt07, @DonInReno, and @Hildebrand

Hello friends - So as a hobby leathercrafter that sells a few pieces a month, I'm doing research on what options are available to me for machine stitching. Since I'm not in a production environment, and understanding that there is no machine that will do it all, I'm trying to find the best possible compromise that will meet my needs as best as possible. I have a limited budget (no surprise), and a very limited footprint, these are very important aspect of selecting the right equipment. I also understand that one grows into their equipment as their needs change, so in this case, I'm thinking of first time purchase only. For my uses, I don't intend to build saddles or make boots/shoes, so I'm looking for something that would sew weights from leather for a billfold, case, or other small leather goods, all the way up to belts, holsters and sheaths, maybe some simple motorcycle saddlebags or tool rolls, and maybe a vest or some other simple garment. I don't project having to sew anything thicker than 1/2". For the most part, I work with veg-tan tooling leather, except for some exceptions, like for some shop projects like making a tool roll, or something along those lines. This has narrowed my research down to 3 options: Tippmann Boss Cowboy Outlaw Cowboy CB3200 Note: I've contacted one of the dealers for this machine and I'm finding out if I can get the whole package and have the hand crank option installed, so once I have the space for it, I can do the whole installation. There's extensive documentation on this forum regarding the Tippmann and it's idiosyncrasies. I'm a very patient person and mechanically inclined, so I'm up for tackling any problems with this machine until I figure it out (yes, I'm up for some punishment), and the people I've talked to who have this machine dialed like it quite a bit, but it does require a bunch of trial and error to optimize it for your needs. Regarding the Outlaw, it looks like a great machine, but haven't found enough end user experience to make an informed decision. I believe that both of these machines are needle fed, and hand-cranked, so I'm assuming the operating concept is the same. The portability is attractive to me, even though the Outlaw is a hefty machine with twice the mass of the Tippmann. I also understand about the throat clearance on the Cowboy is more convenient than on the Tippmann. I've had the opportunity to examine the Tippmann up close, and understand about the aluminum frame construction, that doesn't bother me. I do like the 23lb weight though, I will have to install this machine in the 2nd story. As far as the CB3200, it seems to have an excellent reputation with good support, and it has the triple feed mechanism that seems to be the most desirable for our craft. Solar Leather has a hand cranked option, which is also very interesting with a custom stand for the machine that will fit in my space. I intend to buy this equipment new with a warranty, unless it's such a screamin' deal that I just can't pass it up. So here's the can of worms, I'm grabbing the can opener right now LOL I'm sure the discussion will be most interesting. Thanks for taking the time.

Hello friends! Sorry about resurrecting this thread, but I was curious if a 4lb dead blow hammer from the hardware store would work for oblong and strap end punches, and setting hardware? I'd plan to cap the ends with some heavy leather to prevent marring my tools, even though the hammer is plastic coated. Thanks for your knowledge and insight, Pepe