koreric75

Your welcome, i have used similar methods...but found that the edge even if you get it looking good doesn't hold. The burnish easily get fuzzy and eventually you can't tell it was done. The soft floppy nature of the the bag leather lets it move too much to stay. Heated iron with attachment held the longest, but still didn't hold up to use/manipulation. For my totes I stitch them inside out and flip them so the seam is inside, if you're looking for an outside seam that shows off some hand stitching, you could try a french or flat seam, it's going to double (maybe triple if you had stitch the first seam) your stitches though. I haven't tried this yet but have been considering it. I think it would look interesting if the inside flaps are consistently punched/spaced. The pic below was machine stitched, but still looks good, it was functional more than for looks as this particular piece of leather was not wide enough for the application but had plenty of length to double so I cut it in half and stitched together using this youtube video for flat seams as a guide. I didn't have staples for my stapler so i used some binder clips and it worked out ok. Another thing you could try rather than rolling the edge would be adding piping around the seam of the tote, that would look nice as well. I haven't tried this one either, but in my mind i would stitch inside out (grain sides together) then glue or pin the piping to the front panel part of the seam, flip inside out and then stitch right along the piping on the outside...I may be incorrect on that process and would need to do it to make sure...lol. post up some pics of whatever you decide/come up with... https://i.imgur.com/iQGAsjym.jpg?2

i think folded edges or binding are your best shot if you don't want to do edge dressing...chrome and even some veg don't burnish, they tend to be a more supple feel but the edges are usually finished in a way that you don't see them. What are you making would be helpful info...there are many stitches and techniques for this leather type but really depends on the application. Here's a leatherworker.net search for finishing chrome tan site:leatherworker.net how to finish chrome tan edges

I've messed with the boss up at the store...I couldn't see paying the price when for a few hundred more I could get a machine. I mentioned that and the response was, well it's portable and doesn't need electricity... My cowboy is just as portable since I don't need to bolt it to a workbench to keep it from jumping all over, and mine is on wheels, and if the power goes out I could handwheel it I guess lol. I haven't seen a price on the outlaw yet, but if it's even close to the boss I'd be curious to see what market they target.

That's a foul on the tandy sales folk, it's on the tandy website...think that would be a mandatory employee training thing... https://www.tandyleather.com/en/leather-buying-guide.html

You can, I prefer to airbrush something like that for uniformity...some colors blend easier than others and if you're mixing custom colors an airbrush will help your dye go alot further than daubers or sponges

Check around for trade/craft fairs, some will allow you to setup a table for a nominal fee...not sure where in AZ you are, but in Sierra Vista they had a flea market every weekend just outside of town, when the carnival would come they would have a ton of booths/craft tables setup out in Veterans Memorial Park, also some farmers markets maybe. The main thing is get out there and start networking, see if you're products catch attention or interest. Also you could setup an etsy store or something like that to broaden your reach.

same here, i'll airbrush some acrylic diluted with water after stain has dried completely and before resolene/finish. I mainly use it to touch up or highlight colors and since it doesn't absorb in like dye it works pretty well...still practicing on "best methods" but so far i'm happy with this way. After it's done and dried, i spray resolene also diluted with water for a finish. My first attempt at an avenger, wanted to put something on the reinforcement panel, used some orange & yellow to touch up around the flame and face...

Yessir, i removed the feed dog (#6) & screw (#4), that is what i smoothed out last night, there was a nick in the feed dog inner loop, this helped some but it's still fraying a little, i compared the two videos, before and after smoothing the burred screw head and feed dog nick...it's still fraying some, but not as bad. I wanted to talk to solar leather before doing any more to it, don't want to void any warranty or anything. If it is the little eye above the needle mount, i'm definitely not ready to try deburring that...lol, maybe some jeweler rouge on a piece of thread?...lol I am going to take a look at it and try just pulling the thread through that hole without the needle eye threaded to see if that does it.

So I'll have to hang on another day until alexander gets back to the shop, in the mean time I'll let this percolate in the back of the brain and focus on getting a few patterns drawn up and laminated...I really can't express how appreciative I am of everyone's advice and willingness to offer up ideas and personal experiences...Y'all have a great Monday!

that screw was like a saw blade, burrs on both ends of the slot and proud of the recessed mounting location, also, the feed dog itself had a burr that i didn't notice until taking it out. the back of the hook was smooth and nothing in the race path that i could find...here's a pic of the feed dog inner loop, the thread probably does run along here, but after smoothing this off and putting it all back, the fray is still there, i'll have to compare to see if it's less or not, but still noticeable. does this look like the needle may have hit/glanced off of it? I checked rotation before taking it out multiple times to make sure i had the needle in correctly and it never touched...same after putting it back together.

Yessir, I removed the bobbin cover and rotated by hand last night after swapping threads and needles, before doing a re-oil/clean. That is what I was doing earlier with better light, but the point where the thread goes from the front of the case and pulls up behind the case I can't see in motion, that is the point the thread is traveling back up the needle with the thread take up lever. I've went over the back of the bobbin case and any corners that i can see, but the thread is in tact until it goes behind then when it comes back up through the feed dog and foot it's frayed...I've also swapped type and thickness of leather thinking maybe the stiffer leather was crusty enough to cause it but didn't affect anything. I went back through the manual and videos and looks like i can remove the hook assembly and bobbin case as if i were swapping out needle plates, this should let me get a good look at the back side...brb...lol

No worries, i does rotate on a round bar with 2 small allen set screws, i tried rotating a smidge counter clockwise,,still frayed, tried a tiny bit clockwise and same, i can't go but a hair either way without the needle contacting the inside of the circle or butting up against the walking foot or walking foot bracket.

Yessir, swapped from white thread (was more pronounced on white) to black and brown, but all have the same result. I can't feel any nicks along the shuttle race or hook (where i can feel with out disassembing), used a soft cotton swab and gently ran across the areas that are reachable, no roughness or burrs, I don't think removing the hook/bobbin case would void the warranty, but with the needle plate off (knew this was a safe one for me...lol) i can see/feel most of the edges...only sharp area is the end of the hook, but didn't have any nicks or burrs that i could see or feel, got out the soldering station magnifier glass too...lol. There is a point when the loop goes behind the bobbin case that i can't see while it's moving that i am suspicious, it seems to line up with where the frayed thread comes up...it's just the backside of the hook right? is there anything else in there to rub against? oh i think i understand, rotate the foot to the right on the bar? I'll check and see if there is a keyway or notch that would prevent that...brb.

I don't know, it's solid mounted, the hole is in the presser foot, it's solid mounted..don't see any adjustment to move it...I'll research some more, been watching cowboy machine videos most of the morning, rewatching others...haven't found an adjustment for that, did just watch one for adjusting the travel of the walking foot/presser foot and height ratio...

I'm not sure i understand the question, are you talking about the presser foot or walking foot? Not sure how to move either side-to-side...there isn't any free play in either tho

I'm using a #25 sized needle and #277 thread top & bottom when holding the thread at an angle the needle will glide right down it ( i think it was you that gave me that tip discussing the 78-1 singer I've been trying to get up and running?), I dunno about the presser foot, I backed off the presser foot adjustment as far as i can, it still leaves an impression but slighter, still getting the frayed thread tho.

Here is the link to the video on my youtube, and pics below... https://youtu.be/mg4-mOMZYg4

The Tanner's bond is pretty quick to stick if you let it sit and dry first... If you join while still tacky/or right after applying you can move it around a bit depending on if you peel off the flesh with it.... Then you'd just be smushing two pieces of unglued leather together. You can touch up with a little dab in these small spots and be ok for a belt, also provided your liner doesn't stretch...

This is possible, I can't say for certain that it is a new problem, I just never noticed it before now...I only have the small pack of needles I got with the machine, I reckon I can order a small pack of another MFG just to be sure... I've only used the machine for a handful of projects, but I've put new needles in for each so I only have a couple of these left. I did try one of the previous needles that was only used to stitch a holster, it was the same out come. Problem with this is with the needle out of the machine I can't run the thread through it at any angle and get similar results, but I haven't put tension onv the thread doing this either.

Yessir, I thought maybe I had put it on cocked at an angle, but it's perpendicular to the direction of feed and on the left side... I'm going to setup the tripod so I can get a pic and vid of it... Using a piece of straight scrap to pad the walking foot toe to reduce impression marks along the stitch line... Lol, what he said... I just did a couple lines to test if the cleaning did anything, but still fraying, on a happy note, the shim worked great, just gotta get used to it so I don't wander off with the stitch line. Thanks again.

very nice, haven't had a chance to use any HO yet, I know that a 7/8oz doubled over was a rigid belt for sure. Did you skive down the tip at all or leave it full thickness through the buckle and keeper? Just wondering, i was having a hard time keeping it from sticking out by the time those layers stacked up on the front. Did you stitch the keeper in or use rivets/etc? I can only see one little bitty tiny spot with any impression marks from a presser foot, I discussed this recently and am looking forward to trying to get a better looking stitch line.

So, was going to practice with the 3200 and some scrap to try out a technique @JLSleather had mentioned keeping the walking foot impressions off your work... , i didn't even get a few practice runs in, started one and was really going slow and paying attention to where things were lining up and noticed my thread fraying after each stitch was made when the needle was pulling back up from the bottom .....just one little length a couple of inches on each stitch. So i changed the needle, didn't help, changed it again thinking maybe i got a bad one, still didn't help...double checked size #25 Organ needle 794 that came out of the pack that came with the machine. Changed thread, changed bobbins, no joy... So then I researched some, especially here via google, re-read the manual, went over the machine and checked for dust, dirt, burrs, and did a thorough cleaning and re-oiling by the manual. I couldn't find any thing that would cause this. I did find one little burr on the underside of the presser foot toe, right side middle of where the hole starts up the side on the outside. It was enough that if thread was pulled across it with light tension it would fray and break. I don't think this is in the thread path during stitching but smoothed it off jic and still same problem. I am thinking my next step should be to remove the shuttle race and bobbin case assembly to check for anything i couldn't see or reach with the small brush but not sure whether this will affect anything? The instructions in the manual make it sound easy, but this is under the "how to adjust feed dog height" part and that's not what i'm trying to do. I don't want to do anything that will cause @SolarLeatherMachines to say..."didn't i tell you not to do this"...lol. The last thing Alexander said to me was, it's all setup with #277 thread, #25 needle to sew belts, holsters, harnesses etc (as we discussed), just sew with it and don't dick with it...(not verbatim, but marines always have a way of saying things that make the bottom line stick in your brain...lol) I did a good spray of aerosol gun oil last night to let it sit and am going to wipe it down and see if anything comes of it, but wanted to post up here for advice/ideas if it doesn't. I'll get a couple pics and a video this morning of the affected area as well and post back. I mean, it's not enough fraying to break thread, and you can't see it when something is stitched. I hadn't noticed it before last night, but it is worse on the white thread than black, stitch length didn't seem to change it, forward or reverse didn't seem to matter either. Tension loose as a goose or tightened to where the know started getting close to the top didn't change it as well. First time i've tried stitching a line and cutting along the tops of the holes on the stitch line to see exactly where the knot lands so I have learned a couple things I'm tagging(not all inclusive, as a ton of folks have shared info here that has proven valuable) a few of y'all that have provided advice on others, and saved me a headache or helped me better understand how the machine makes the stitch as well, I feel like it's when the thread comes up the back side of the bobbin case and back up through the feed is where this is happening but i can't for the life of me "see" it when it's happening. If I can't figure it out today, i'll give solar-leather a call in the morning. @CowboyBob, @Uwe, @Wizcrafts

Dang-it, my head's going to explode with all this knowledge pouring in...lol, but i ain't complaining...I have really wanted to try a double stitch, saw a feller made a saweet looking holster with W/C a few days ago...can't remember the name, but the double stitching on that really popped! and with your technique i think it would be a good reason to practice both...I may be incognito for a few days...lol. I just made a shoulder holster/harness today and haven't made a holster for my full size yet...

If you were closer, i'd gladly let you swing by and check it out...I don't know anyone in your neck o the woods that has one, but i bet there is. I picked mine up in dallas,tx, after discussing with Alexander at @SolarLeatherMachines, about a 4hr drive. for me..i think the closest I know of would be @CowboyBob in ohio which is a haul, there is a sheridan show? that travels around, maybe others that would have a cbXXXX to check out...could be worth checking into. For the used/old machines...good luck finding a used CB...seriously, and if you do, they aren't going to want to let go of it much cheaper than you could buy new (likely they have a few options/accessories) Nothing against them, I wouldn't let mine go either...lol. It was tempting to take $500 or so bucks and try to find an ebay steal, but I managed to work through and keep hand stitching the big stuff and relying on the home machine for light stuff until i could scratch together enough. If you must/have to have something now, call @CowboyBob, they have a large inventory of used machines and if you tell him what you're looking for he may have a solution for you. Before i called solar-leather I made a list of items i've made, been asked to make, and wanted to make but haven't because I didn't feel a hand stitched item would look correct or the idea of punching through the thickness didn't appeal I still hand stitch, alot!, but if i'm working a belt, holster, harness, where it's very thick, or long stitch runs, i'm stringing up the cb.

This...unless you want to make it harder. I've disassembled quite a few handbags and everyone of them that had screw/post hardware had to remove the stitching from the lining before i could get to the back of the screw, and most were sealed with a sort of hot glue from what i can tell...kept them from turning but peeled off fairly easily once i got to them...a couple of them were superglued, maybe jb welded...lol