Agarbers

I make rattlesnake hatbands using a 1/2" buckle set. A few years ago, I bought a lot from a dealer that was closing their shop. The buckle components were stamped and plated. I am now out. I want to find something inexpensive to replace what I have been using. (I paid $2 for each set.) I have tried a few suppliers, eBay, and Amazon, with no luck. I appreciate any help finding what I need.

I ordered a Juki 1541S today. Fingers crossed I make my money back.

Goldstar has a Black Friday discount right now. I got the machine with servo and table, shipping, and tax for $2,000. That seems reasonable.

Thanks!

I have been shopping for a Juki 1541S and I see wildly fluctuating prices. GoldStar Tools claims to have them on sale for Black Friday at $2156 shipped. Compared to Amazon, that is a good price. Is there a better place to get it from?

Thank you. I will see what I can find locally for the Juki. It appears the TYPICAL GC-0605A is a clone.

I am late to the party but it sounds like the rotor is rubbing against the stator. Look for wear marks on both. Rotor: Stator: Or the bearing housing may not be true/out of round and allowing the bearing to move. Look for wear marks there. Lastly, like Northmount shows, the bearing may have been damaged during assembly. If it was driven on with a hammer, brinelling may have occurred. Installing a bearing takes special tools to prevent this. If the installer used hammer blows on the outer race to push it down the shaft, damage could have occured.

Weaver Leathercraft told me via text that their 303 machine will be part of their Black Friday sale. It appears to be everything I want for doing what I do. Do any of you own one to provide thoughts? I make rattlesnake hatbands, bolo ties, and belt buckles. I want to start making belts, guitar straps, and knife sheaths.

I have seen some western style gun belts for women that are curved. Any clue to how much curve. I assume I use a flexible rule and bow it in for a specified offset to make the curve.

My method is to pin the skin flesh-side up on a sheet of Styrofoam. As the skin starts to dry I start painting the 50/50 mix on. I do that a few times a day for a few days. When the flesh stops absorbing it, I stop. I sometimes even wipe off the excess and maybe daub it off with an alcohol soaked rag. I do not apply any mix to the scale side. I let the skin sit for a few weeks before using. Yes, sometimes it is hard to glue to a backer. If you're using the Tandy belt buckle kits turn the buckle blank backwards so the the flesh side of the snake is glued to the skive side of the blank. Keep in mind I live in arid Arizona so if you are trying to do this in a more humid place, you may need to adjust things.

Duct tape is the best way I have found to remove the scales. Just stick it on and pull it off. The skin looks much better and generally allows the colors and pattern to show better. I use Saddle Lac on much of my rattlesnake items.

How do I make this line? Two light cuts with a knife? A special stamp. A creaser? These roping cuffs were made roughly 120 years ago.