Joshstrange

bruce johnson thanks that was what I was figuring, but it never hurts to ask. Thanks everybody for the replies and help.

sorry for not getting back quicker, day jobs suck. I am not sure if it's an 1889 or 1887 or something else. the only markings that I have found say JD Randall CO or RANDALL JD CO I am not looking at it right now. what I am wondering is if the top roller somewhere on the shaft is removable and could it be replaced with a different embossing wheel that is readily available on the market today. here is a pic it's not my machine but it's exactly the same as mine except the hand crank on mine is different. Thanks again for all your help.

I have one of the old campbell-randall leather strap creaser. it is hand crank and has multiple rollers that dome and emboss straps. has anyone had luck with putting one of the newer embosser wheels on. if so what brand did you use and what was the inner diameter and key size and outer diameter. I have not measured the shaft but it looks like it's 1 inch. I have not taken it apart or looked into taking it apart, is it difficult to take apart. Any input is appreciated. Thanks.

I agree with using tan kote Don Gonzalez has a great video of an oil finish tan kote for resist and then antique, its one of his multi segment videos cant remember which one for sure. I only use the pro resist when I'm antiquing over a flower that I have painted for example.

I have a cowboy 4500 and i believe that they have 7/8 in lift in the foot. I am using the standard needle plate with feed dog. I tried to sew a sheath that was 5/8 thick and i had to jam it under the foot and it sewed it just fine but that foot would not go up anymore. Is there some kind of adjustment i can make to get the extra little bit of lift. Thanks for your help.

The closet I keep my leather in is bursting at the seams. I am thinking about moving it out to my shed where it is cold in the winter and hot in the summer. Do you folks think that storing it in where there is no climate control will have adverse effects on it. The leather is veg tanned, suede, and upholstery leather. Thanks for any input.

What can I sew with the blanket feet on my cowboy 4500 I get that it is probably for thicker blanket material but can I sew fabric or thin canvas with it. Thanks

Can any of you fine folks point me in the direction of a tutorial of carving a mountain or mountain scene preferably video but anything will help. Thanks

Has anybody built a rifle scabbard and tooled it from the pattern pack tandy sells. I would really appreciate a picture of the tooling if someone has it specifically the goat in the montains or the floral but really anything will help. Thanks in advance.

I am going to buy a oblong punch to cut belt slots in holsters. I was going to just get a punch from tandy in 1.5 inch but I found that springfield leather sells an extra wide one (3/8 Wide) but they only come in 1.25 and 1.75 inch. So my question is when you folks are cutting the belt slot for a 1.5 inch belt do you use a 1.5 inch punch or do you go A litttle bigger like the 1.75 inch punch. I currently cut a hole at 1.5 inch. Thanks for the input.

Wiz would you recommend the consew 1206RB for doing lined belts/ slings/straps of that type. I'm not to concerned about wallet interiors hand sewing those is not a problem there pretty quick but the interior to the back is what i would like the machine for.

Thanks Tony i'm thinking that a sewing machine will sew best in the middle of the extremes and that a consew will be better suited I measured my wallets and knife sheaths that I made for shows and there under 3/8 there about 5/16. I have already tried and gave up looking for the unicorn they just arn't out there so i'm just looking for the machine that will do the bulk of my work and a big harness stitcher isn't it i'm thinking.

So I have been looking at the cobra class 3/4 and the cb3200 for a sewing machine and my question is do they like to sew the minimum of 6oz. I rarely do anything more than 7-8 oz in my wallets and lined belts and slings are 10-12oz. the thickest i've sewn so far is a about 5/16-1/2in thick in a knife sheath its not something I build alot of. I'm worried that the machine won't sew in its sweet spot. What do you folks think, is a class 3/4 to big for what I do. If so what machine do you guys recommend. I can only afford 1 machine right now and I know that I will be needing more than one, just looking for a machine that can do the bulk of my work currently. Thanks in advance.

I guess that's that he made a good point why reinvent the wheel veg tan is the way to go. Thank you.

is an oil tanned leather suitable for making a holster. I am looking for a fairly pliable and soft leather to do a flap holster. thanks for your help

What Kind of leather is this, it looks like a chap leather to me but i've never really worked with that kind of leather before so I am not sure. The customer wants a holster for the same pistol made from the same material, it is a 410 break action pistol. what would be a good leather to use for this as he doesn't want it real firm lie veg tanned that I would normally use. if it is a chap leather what weight would be used what type of leather would you fine folks recommend. is all chap leather chrome tanned. Thanks for all your help

perfect that was the perfect answer to my question I was hoping that Wiz would chime in, you are very knowledgeable Wiz. Just one more question on the CB3200 I am tall 6'5", is the table adjustable that comes with the head that is sold by Toledo, the table that comes in the package not the upgrade. would it be worth it to buy the pedestal stand that I am guessing is adjustable. is there anywhere in Washington/Oregon/Idaho/Montana that sells either the cobra or the cowboy machines Thanks again for you guys help

I am looking for my first machine I have it narrowed down to a cobra class 3/4 or cowboy 3200/4500. I do allot of wallets, knife sheaths, slings, a few holsters, and belts. My question is what is the standard foot setup that comes with the machine, is it the harness set up with a left middle and right foot and if so are the left and right feet removable so the machine an be used with either the left and middle or right and middle or is it designed to be used together with all the feet. What throat plate will I need my holsters are sewn flat before the are molded and I don't do stirrups, just guessing that is what the stirrup plate is for. I dont see any reason to pay for those plates because I don't do that kind of work, would I benefit from an inline presser foot. I know the difference in the machines are the arm length and the cobra's and 4500 will do 7/8" thick. I am just overwhelmed by the different options and if it would worth the cost of the premium packages of the cobras or will I just have a bunch of stuff that I payed for that I don't really need. The cobra premium is at the top end of my budget while the cowboy 3200 with work table is where I would be more comfortable. Thanks in advance.

What weight leather do you guys use for bullet loops I've seen where some have used 2-3 oz but that seems to light for a rifle round and 7-8 oz seems to be over kill i'm leaning towards 4-5 or 5-6 what are your opinions. Thanks in advance.

Thanks for the replies. I found a suggestion to mix the resolene with water 50/50 and letting it dry a couple hours and applying more for 2 0r 3 coats so i tried that and it made a world of difference so glad i can go back to using black dye. Thanks for all your help.

Handstitched thank you for your help but you are right the freight is 40 bucks to the US so not really a great option. Mattsbagger I may try that i just switched to using only Herman oak I havent been impressed with tandy leather I just have a little left of the tandy stuff so ill either stop using black dye or get some of that deglazer. Thanks for the advise.

I'm sure this has been covered but nothing is working for me it concerns leaching dye black in particular. I use fiebings alcohol based dye on veg tanned leather from tandy mostly. I have tried the resolene many times but I can still rub dye out until it leaves natural colored leather spots, it just wont stop and I am getting frustrated. Am I using to much dye does the leather I'm using just suck that bad. What advise do you fine folks have for me. Thank you.

I recently switched from tandy as a supplier for leather to a Herman oak supplier. I need knife sheath leather and am curious if I want to get 7/8 or 8/9 oz I do small to medium sized 6-9 inch overall and a variety of sheath styles ( scout, dangler pancake etc.) the stuff I've been buying is a double shoulder in 7-9 oz and it has worked well but i'm not sure what oz exactly I've been using due to the large range there. so what are your suggestions

I figured it was for the front pocket carry. I made a holster for myself and used 6-7 oz because i didn't want to wait 2 days for the heavier stuff to get in and it was just a small "purse gun" anyways. It works just fine, I have carried it every day for about a year and it still has good retention, it just looks like its 10 years old, granted i'm not easy on it either. If that's what the guy wants that's what he will get. The thicker leather just seems to hold up better to abuse.

That's how I got started. this time. I was sick of cheap store wallets so i bought the minimal stuff to make a wallet and now several thousand later and a lot of lessons learned I have started to sell stuff. I originally got started because I was sick of my cheap nylon knife sheath so I bought a 4 in 1 awl some leather and dye and made one, that was 10 years ago. those sheaths were primitive at best and I quit doing leather work for about 9.5 years and am just getting back into it. The good news is as long as you learn from your mistakes it only gets better.