SilentBobcat

Apologies to all reading this, the machine has gone way up in price since I purchased my Cowboy. Keep watching the Toledo site, maybe a sale coming up? They run ads in The Leathercrafters Journal, that's where I originally saw them.

Kay9, I've really struggled to reply...or not, because I'm no expert but I am opinionated. Here goes... Your grandpa is RIGHT ON about mistakes. To take this a step further, as you perfect your leathercraft, most mistakes will be seen by only YOU. Keep practicing and like everything, you will improve with each repetition. As you improve, the mistakes make the piece your own, special and unique. Every single handmade item ever made has mistakes and this is your "signature" of handmade quality. I believe some of your uncertainty is that you took on a fairly complex project for your first try. As stated in other comments, you've done some very nice work with this and many of the mistakes you already know about. My two best advice comments: 1) Simplify. 2) Don't allow your designs to be too "busy." Both comments are related, but not the exact same thing. Keep working and practicing, you are good and on your way to be excellent!

My opinion, tshaulis, save your money and buy a decent machine. Hand operated "heads" work ok, I believe, but in the end they are awkward and slow. I've got a Cowboy 4500, it'll run you $1500 or a bit more. Not a "high quality" machine, but it is a good one for the serious hobby leather worker. Also, check out Springfield Leather, they sell some decent machines and have some good youtube video's that help with technique. Don't be afraid to call them, they'll help you make decisions about what will fit your work the best. Think about service, a sewing machine is a "mechanical device that will fail." In the meantime, learn to hand sew. I still hand sew more than I machine sew, there's something to be said for a project that's totally handmade by YOU. The more you sew by hand, the better you will get and it won't take that long. Good luck!!