Michellleatherworks

Great info! Thank you for the reply. I haven't looked into the accessories from bluegun but I'll check it out. Dave

Good advice! Do you have any suggestions on how to deal with add-on like lasers or optics? I had one guy that wanted a holster for his decked out glock 19 (once again an online customer) and couldn't figure out how I would accommodate the weapon with all the gizmos without having it in hand..

Hello All, So I am a complete newbie at the business end of leatherwork but I am looking to expand and grow my business. I have an etsy shop and so far that is all, besides word of mouth. I have some higher end work that has been getting noticed more and more lately. I offer such a high level of customization that it is very difficult to contain the possibilities in a etsy post. I do holsters and knife sheaths primarily. There are some customer items that I must have in my hands to make a quality, accurate product such as oddly shaped blades or highly customized firearms. I have received several requests now for custom orders for very unique items from online customers and I am struggling with how to respond to them. It is worth mentioning that I work out of my apartment and if I were the customer I wouldn't want to send my high dollar item to some guys apartment that I found on etsy. All that being said I have some questions about how to handle this: 1) Is receiving customer goods from online customers a safe practice? (lawsuits/ legal trouble) 2) How do I receive customer goods in a secure way that covers both the customer and maker from loss? 3) Do I need to be a FFL to legally take a firearm into my possession? 4) Is etsy a waste of time for this type of work and should I opt for a website before receiving customer items? Any help is greatly appreciated here.. I don't want to lose out on customers but I certainly don't want to end up in trouble and wreck my reputation and livelihood either! Thanks for reading and God bless! Dave

Does anyone know where I can find 2" double tongue roller buckles in black? I have been looking around and the only ones I have seen (not many) look low quality. solid construction is preferred and most are not. Any advise is appreciated!

Thanks for the info Zulu. Sounds like that is the way to go. I have to agree about it being one of the most dangerous tools.. Aside from round knife

Hello all! So I had an incident with my French edge skiving tool the other day.. I recently moved up to using top grade hides and the level of toughness compared to the Tandy special is amazing! But... That being said my edge tool is no longer refined enough to cut the high end hides and I ended up slipping off the leather and getting a nasty gash on my finger. I like to keep my tools sharp and up too this point I thought it was sharp enough. I strop the bottom edge and use Dremel buffer wheel with green compound to get to the hard to reach upper edge. Upon closer inspection I realized the top bevel isn't even and I need to do some significant material removal to true up the edge. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can't modify the bevel without ruining the tool? Any sharpening and honing tips would very much be appreciated! Thanks and God bless!

Thank you everyone for your replies! I will definitely be building a vent Hood for my projects. I think it should work nicely. Do I need to look for a certain cfm rating for this kind of thing? I want to be sure I'm moving enough air. I will likely make a 2-3 foot wide Hood that sits on a table top and draws air out to the side of the project.

Hello all, I have been doing leather work for a few years now and I do it out of my apartment. I have tried many different adhesives on my work and ended up preferring barge glue over them all. I do large amounts of glueing, as I glue liners on all my work. The trouble is that barge glue stinks up the entire apartment even when doing it next to an open window and forces my wife and son to breathe the toxic fumes as well. I have considered buying a respirator, which would protect me but not my family, so that's out. I have also considered a vent hose the sucks the fumes through a window to the outside, which seems like the best option. My concern is that barge is flammable. From the reading I have done, it has been recommended that 'spark resistant' or 'explosion proof' fans be used when venting flammable vapors... But they cost and arm and a leg! I don't have that kind of money to spend but need a vent solution for the glues and dyes I use. If anyone has suggestions I'm all ears! Thank you for reading and God bless! -Dave-

I adjusted the feed dog down and that nearly eliminated the problem! It's sewing like a champ now, even with the left harness foot on. It just needs minor adjustments and I think I'll have it dialed in. Thanks again to everyone for the helpful advice!. Cheers

Thank you all for the great advice! And yes I did sand edges before hand, unfortunately.. lesson learned! I will give the harness foot a go with some extra meat on the edges. what is the best way to trim material that thick? I have a trimming knife but am not confident with it by any means. Any suggestions?

Hello all! I'm a new member to this site but have been researching topics as a guest for some time. Mostly since purchasing my CB 4500, since they have a steep learning curve for a beginner. I recently was doing a custom knife sheath prototype. It is a welted sheath about 5/8" thick. Everything went wrong when I went to stitch it on my machine. I used 346 thread top and bottom with a #26 needle with fairly high thread tension to sink the stitches into the stitching grooves. The front stitches turned out beautifully but the stitches underneath were all over the place! It was enough to make one sick, as any leather craftsman would know. Also, as a note, I'm using the left harness foot (that leaves unsightly marks on everything) and my machine is a cylinder bed which I suspect is part of the issue. As I sew, the project tilts side to side slightly every time the front presser foot comes down releases. There is no way a stitch will be able to stay true through that much material with the amount that it moves. My Questions are these: Is there something I'm doing wrong(most likely)? Would a flat bed attachment help this? Is there a adjustment on the machine that can help this? How do I reduce the appearance of pressure foot impressions on the leather, as my presser foot pressure is already set pretty low? Any help is appreciated! Thanks for reading! David M