RusticLeatherShop
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Everything posted by RusticLeatherShop
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For leather "many years" is not good enough since a peeled off edge is uggly. I would not trust any paint as edge material. Most likely if will crack and fall off within 1 month. Indeed those look like an binder has done it's work there.
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Thats done with an binding Attachement to the machine. Or it's glued on with some sort of rubber edge. I have such an chair with rubber glued on. It falls off and peels off after about 1 month.
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Lets please continue the discussion on Burnishing leather with an bench grinder here:
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Hi, I have this availlable for burnishing edges. An 3450 RPM DeWalt bench grinder with 2 sizes of sanding Stones (one fine and one medium coarse). In the fotos it Shows 4 layers sewn together 5 oz cow leather using Vaseline as slicker Agent (the item is an pocket Holster + mag pouch for any mouse 380 ACP pistol). The fine sanding Stone was used and so it has clogged the outer Surface with leather material from "burnishing" leather as such as it's now not sanding anymore but rather it's a Slick Surface. What do you think? How can I use an bench grinder for leather burnishing? Any more ideas? Any experience using an common bench grinder as an burnisher?
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I just did another Experiment according to the Video by turning the grinder on and Holding an simple bathing Soap which contain glicerine, at it so it's clogged with bathing Soap. I ran the Holsters edge through it and afterwards moisturizing the edge with water. This makes the edge shiny and sealed. That seals the edge but IMHO does not look so nice as the "ply Wood" look of the Vaseline Version. I can get here Petroleum Jelly as well for slicking. Dunno if that improves the burnishing.
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Well that Cobra burnisher is again 450$ and it has similar RPM as my common DeWalt grinder, which is 3450 RPM. I would Need just an propper burnisher wheel which fits to the grinder. As well I figured the clogged with leather sanding Stone will act as a burnisher the more it is clogged. Somehow that works to a certain Point. What else is "burnishing" than hardening the leather by applying friction heat coaling it (hence burning = burnisher) partially. Best is to find some method of burnish effectively (btw beeswax is not availlable over here nor does saddle soap).
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That "burnish" Experiment with the bench grinder may be a cheap alternative of the expensive binder attachment. Indeed the "burnish" Looks a Little like pressed plywood. It gives a bit better finish than leaving the edges raw. Tell me guys what you think about the "burnish".
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another Close up foto of the "burnish" with an bench grinder using an sanding Stone (used for sharpening knifes as well). This is an pocket Holster for an 380 acp pistol.
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Meanwhile I have found some sort of middle of the road solution. I rubb in the sewn together 5 oz edges (in this case 4 layers of 5 oz leather) with Vaseline and then sand it with an bench grinder. That smoothenes and evens out all layers and burnishes it partially. Without water or Vaseline the leather gets dark quickly as it coals easy (gets to hot from the sand Stone).
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Yeah I guess that is about what it is. An Cowboy dealer told me that as a binder >>it can use 1 - 2 oz binding materials. 5 oz binding materials it cant fold. But it can bind These materials (1 - 2 oz) to "heavy materials" << Basically you can bind an 5 oz Piece of leather with an 1 - 2 oz Piece of binding material. I guess the more "doubfull" the Client stays, the more eager he gets to find out and orders the binder to his surprise afterwards that it binds at most normal leather for handbags and such 1 layer leathers. As well that what Cowboybob said lets me Standing a bit in the rain with even more questions. 1/4" intake or Output? I understand that if I use 5 oz leather as binding material, I can bind with that only another 5 oz leather or the like. No such Thing in that case to bind 2 layers of sewn together 5 oz leather layers.
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Hi, Since I have no leather splitter, the binder must handle about 5 oz thick leather as binding material. I guess the 450$ binder is made in the USA from solid stainless steel, otherwise it has an arm, plate and another arm as well as an presser included. So ys it's more complex than the Amazon type binders. But if they would offer them on Amazon.com I believe the Price could drop easily to 250$. Besides that who knows how reliable they work. In the Video that flagship of binder is binding only thin leather (1 layer) and with Ultra thin leather as binding material. If it does only up to that, it's way overpriced. But yes one could bind arount the Piece and THEN afterwards sewing it together (as in my Picture). But that may have an awefull appearance since the Piece is double sewn with heavy thread.
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Thanks Wizcrafts, I am not a fan of buying "chinese made" or any dubious "Special orders". It must be made by the manufacturer of the sewing machine. Otherwise if an known brand (Singer, Brother, Juki, etc) make a Fitting one, I will go for that since they are reputable. I can see that for binding an 7/8" leather one Needs a spring loaded (fits all sizes) binder (the 2 binding arms has to be spring loaded of some sort0 in order to adjust on-the-fly for any leather material thicknesses. Otherwise as far as I can see the triple feed mechanism will pull the binding element through with ease. So that should not cost a fortune neighter at least could be easily made of thicker gauge stainless steel (spring loaded arms) for an final Price of under 50$ I would say. I wonder if the binding Attachement is not very popular since it seems nobody is using it. Maybe few people are demanding it since the leather business is not all that economically feasable. But then again one could bind like this in the photo 1 layer of leather and then sew the bound layers together. How the thread would look onto the leather (maybe a mess) is another question.
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The question is is it worthed? I have seen Videos were it is not working as perfect as it ought to do. As well on the Hightex Germany site they Show These with ONLY 1 layer of leather. So if you have sewn together 4 layers of 5 Oz leather then I would want to bind those 4 layers with the binder Attachement (totalling 4 + 2 binding edges = 6 layers of 5 Oz leather). Would it do that? I have never seen more than 1 layer bound with These. If it's only for 1 layer of leather, it's not worthed it. It must be capable of about 3 inches of material (entrance) so it bends the leather to 1.5" on each side. That way one could sew about 7/8" of leather so still on each side is 1" of binder and on the binding part as well 1" about totalling 3" broad binder. Important is as well the binding leather material can be about 5 oz thick leather since I dont have an skiver. If it can handle only the thinnest softest leather, then it's not for me since locally such leathers are not availlable (and I dont have a skiver or leather splitter). Since business in leather area is not going very well over here, the 450$ is not worthed the Investment if it binds only 1 layer of 5 Oz leather and not more. Even with an capacity to bind effectively 7/8" of sewn together leather, it's too expensive.
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I tried burnishing with putting an metal pulley wheel on an 3500 RPM bench grinder. That did not give me any good results. Leather is 4 to 5 oz veg tanned leather from cattle but I switched to pig leather for it being here higher Quality. Yeah, for 450$ by Toledo machines for an binder which costs at Amazon.com (although for another machine but still...) 10$ to 13$. According to all I learned about the binder it's Overall just an bent Piece of metal which folds an passing through leather or Cloth in half so it slides underneath and on top of the leather material to sew. Dunno how that can cost 25% of the entire Cobra Class IV machine Equipment. 450$ for a bent metal seems to me a sort of rip off. On Amazon one may see if an Standard binding attachment is not Fitting These machines like those sold by sail rite. Obviously one is not able to bind with These 7/8" leather saddles or similar.
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I have no skiver nor locally leather glue is availlable. I hate using glue on leather so I avoid it completely. Has anyone experience with that leather binder Attachement?
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Hi, I cant make it work to burnish leather edges so I am looking for alternative methods to finish leather edges. I believe I have seen an attachment for the Cowboy 4500 to fold over leather over the edges (and sew it on in the process) as such being an method to finish the product nicely. Has anybody such device? How does that work? It's supposed to call HT-BF01 Hevy duty leather binder attachment as in here https://hightex-germany.de/cowboy-cb4500-leather-stitching-machine-and-special-sewing-equipment/ Whats does that device exactly? Is that availlable in the USA as well?
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Over here tanneries are not the Problem since many small Family based businesses make the leather in an handcraft Fashion. They are never registred as it seems and Dump any toxics into the rivers as they please. Well in Southamerica bribery is common and a solution for many to stay in business. Leather shortness I believe is here not the danger, but dangerously low leather goods Prices kill here people like me. Niche markets are the way to go but from that it's not possible to make a living. My employee is an latino and he is selling now his motorcycle just because his seat is gone (the rubberish faux leather), and in order not to fix it, he sells the motorcycle passing along to the buyer the seat Problem (in order to buy a brandnew motorcycle which comes along with a new seat. Basically he buys a new seat which comes attached with an new motorcycle. A new motorcycle is About 1400 US$ worth). To Shell out 50$ to fix the seat people are hesitating to do.
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I second that. Didnt know that Columbia (near my Location) does lots in leather works. Over here in this coutry, the very latin fellas are the biggest competition (I myself am of an German offspring and I am Canadian as well; so I am part of the White minority here) and so latins are even happy to live with 5 to 10 US$ per day (thats were Smartphone robberies come from over here since to shoot a Person for their used 100$ Samsung, over here the strongest brand, and sell it for 10$ is a viable income for many people as such as to rob 1 Smartphone per day gives them an reasonable living) while members of the White minority that will not even cover the costs of an CB4500 (I am sure I am the only Person in this Country who has this machine over here). But then... ...I could never find the exact Holsters, Smartphone cases and pouches in reatail stores I was looking for. Thats the reason I said "I am gonna do it myself from now on and not gonna waiting for Amazon or local retailers to have it". Local Holsters and Smartphone cases made here are often riveted which scratches up your phone and precious weaponry once the Fleece/Cloth inside is gone (from weak thread or rubbed through due to use).
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Thanks Sioux and Joon, I sencond all you said. I bought a new CB4500 hoping the market would honour it but to no avail. But yeah the expectations and posibilities the machine gives me is satisfaction enough. But just for economics sake, IMHO it's a downfall.
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Yes it is true for here (Southamerica) that waste water and such is not controlled that much. Nobody really cares here About Environment issues. On the other Hand, one local "leather shop" does all it does is repair works. I sell here some items on a one-to-one Basis for About 17 to 35 USD (like Holsters I offer on Etsy.com as well under RusticLeatherShop). But economically the machine will never pay itself off. On the other Hand for sure I make for me all items myself which truly "you just can't find these in the shops any more" (at all) and there are allways people who ask for an bespoke item (specially Holsters). Speed of sewing is a true factor with a machine since I would never gotten into the leather craft if I had to handsew a Thing. So even in the US leather Workers are poorly Paid?
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Some interesting ideas you guys said. Over here in Southamerica, wages are somewhat similar to chinese wages as far as I know (Minimum wage is about 360$ to 390$ depending on the Exchange rate, at the Moment it is 375 US$). The products they offer here last Long but then for example belt buckles are allways chromed metal so it starts to rust after a while but they are Hand decorated. Sometimes 2 pieces of leather are sewn together for a belt with #138 thread at most; but mostly they take only a thick (no split leather) leather, form it (no sewing), Punch holes, make decoration and rivet the buckle on (about 20$ belts have here bronce buckles as it seems). We are talking here about latin american small shop which is the competition here. These belts will last you most of the time about 5 or more years (so they are not neccesary cheaply made but have really low Prices). I was betting as well on this: "you just can't find these in the shops any more"; but that has not come true over here yet as because of that people would order items. How much that might be true that one can not find anymore that easy Quality products in retail stores, people want it still for cheap.
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Thanks battlemunky, I was just buying the CB4500 in expectation that the local market would appreciate durable and "higher end" products but I seem to be wrong. Niche market is here the way to go as well. But most certainly I would never be able to live from leather shop, nor do really well local small Family business leather Shops; [one is a church guy and does leather part time and the other shop around here does faux leather seat reapairs but mainly lives from cattle growing (which here is mainly free grasing so not much work implied but meat Prices are high)]. People here say directly they aint buying it for that Price since somewhere else they get it for 25% of the Price (mainly products made by latins who work often for a few Dollars per day and "obtain" their leather from illegal cattle slaughtering and other third Hand resale criminal activities, thus leather is somewhat free for them). Quality as well seems not to be important but Looks very much impresses the consumer. Example: an full grain precut unfinished (no dye, no decoration) leather over here for a belt (legally bought leather) has the same Price as an finished belt. That Shows me there is something terrible wrong with the market. An over here, the "animal protection" stuff didnt even arrive yet. Not to imagine if that s**t arrives here. It's more like people dont appreciate nothing anymore and the leather business is more or less an "answer to an question nobody asked".
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Hi, How economically feasable would you say is to buy an leather sewing machine like an Juki TSC 441 or it's clones like the Cobra class 4/CB 4500? I have heard stories from "just with 1 saddle repair you can pay off a leather sewing machine" to "it's more like a Hobby since Prices are to low for leather goods to justify an sewing machine". In my case it's indeed more an Hobby since I make only one-to-one personal sales despite I am on etsy.com. I have seen here an constructioners harness (for hammer, nails, screwdrivers, etc) made in Mexico (Truper brand) seemingly real leather for about 6 US$. Well constructed, lots of rivets and sewn with about #69 thread. Clear is, for that Price I would never make the harness. I would rather have an Price of 49 US$. Whats the real leather market about? Considered big retailers, Made in China and local leather shops as competition.
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Cobra 4 presser foot leaving marks
RusticLeatherShop replied to aaron8771's topic in Leather Sewing Machines
I have the Cowboy 4500 as well. When I tightened more than recommended (I believe normal is 3cm of sticking the turret from the machine) I got marks as well on softer dyed pig leather (4 oz). So if you screw out the black round adjuster a bit, the marks will not be present anymore. NO NEED TO GRIND SOMETHING. I would never grind something on such a expensive machine. -
New Techsew 2600 Walking Foot Sewing Machine
RusticLeatherShop replied to HardenGoods's topic in Old/Sold
to me the Techsew 2600 is more comparable to the Cowboy 3200. Or even inferior in much Features (can not Handle thick thread and needle sizes). The CB3200 is just limited to presser foot/needle lift being all other Features equal to the CB4500.