TinBadgeLeather

Hobby Lobby has a 10 pack of the poster board for less than 3 bucks. I fold them in half and spray 3m 77 spray adhesive to make hem double thickness. I then take the paper pattern., spray them with the 77 and attach them to the double thickness board. Cut them out and you a cheap, long lasting pattern. I’ve used some of these for 10 years or more and they’re still holding up.

I do the same thing (veg tanned) as Halitech other than dipping it in 50/50 Resolene and water. After its thoroughly dry I then put the eyelets in and then lace it. The Resolene will gum up the eyelets at times and it's a bear to get the laces through!

Greetings! i recently purchased an American Straight Stitcher that was being used in a saddle shop but had set for a couple years after the maker retired. Got the 500 lb. behemoth in the shop and hand turned it with beautiful stitches. Ordered new needles, awls, leather belting, thread wax, owners/parts Manual, etc. In the meantime, I went through and cleaned the grime and dust off and lubed every port. Occasionally through this I would fire up the Landis motor and run it without needle or awl to disperse all the lube. I found out during this that the clutch was slipping but the discs looked fine but glazed so I wound up giving those a good cleaning with brake cleaner. That helped tremendously. Soooo.... I got the needles and awls in, set them in correctly with the tolerances noted in the manual, and threaded it. Also I had made a flat plate for it out of 1/4" 6061 aluminum. I hand turned several stitches and then turned the motor on. I got to about 2-3 feet of stitching admiring all my handy work and then BAM! I found that the loop opener for the thread had worked loose and inched out into the bobbin case area. This caused it to lock up and when it did it broke the cast arm where the needle block rides in/on. If there is anyone out there with a parts supply or a donor machine I would appreciate it. I have the part numbers available that I would need. My thoughts are to get this up and running to use on the heavier cowboy holsters/belts/sheaths/bags,etc. im in the process of contacting Campbell Randall here in Texas to see if they would have a source for it. Thanks in advance for your help! Dale www.tinbadgeleather.com

You are correct. Lockstitch.

Thanks! My main machine is an Artisan Toro 3000 with bonded nylon or polyester #346 on top and #277 in the bobbin. I also have several vintage hand crank Singers that I use #69 and #20 needles for lighter flat goods. I just bought an American Straight stitcher a few weeks ago and going thru it for hopefully something that can do some of my SASS rigs.

I'd love to be closer to those! I just bought one for $475 and have been going through it the last couple weeks. It's the red model. I call her "Louise" for her being a redhead. Lol. New belts, needles, awls, lubed up and also built an 8 x 10" table out of 1/4" 6061 aluminum. It has #346 thread too and bottom and doesn't hesitate to drive through two 8/9 layers of veg tan. And then....last night the thread loop shaft decides to come loose. Sooo.... I'll figure that out. Awww the joys of older machines!

Greetings all! I'm back on this site after a few years absense. Couldn't even remember my old user name, probably because I'm older!!! My leatherworking has hopefully improved over the last several years and I can't wait to see what other members have done too. I'm now retired from law enforcement and am able to spend more time improving and promoting my shop. My mainstay is custom on duty, off duty and concealed holsters from plain to exotic leathers. I have over 60 different molds and still building that inventory. I also do knife sheaths, buttstock covers, guitar straps and rifle slings, journal covers and pretty much anything that presents a challenge. If you'd like to see my work and past reviews, go to: www.tinbadgeleather.com Right now I'm with an Etsy shop but plans are in the works for a dedicated web site and shop. Just a few weeks ago I purchased an American straight stitcher and am needing some extra parts, donor machine and/or to pick someone's brain on this. I'll also post this in the sewing machine section. Thank you! Dale