esantoro

Hi Luke, I got my #3 and #5 creasers yesterday. Was playing a bit with them and was wondering if a #4 is quite handy as well. Which creaser do you seem to use the most? ed

i got the jerry stripper yesterday. I little more fragile than expected. Smaller ,too, but this i like. I think this tool will work very nicely for chrome tanned leather especially. I'll try tonight to get 3 1.25" wide strips out of a 4" wide template cut, which leaves me a waste margin of .25", but I think it's doable. I think the tandy strap cutter will work fine for all the stiffer and thicker leather. Ed

It seems too soft, too, though it does apparently have a good bond. I may have to return this thread to Ferdco. ed

Thanks for all the help and advice regarding Silicon thread lube. I found a vendor but had to purchase a minimum of five gallons. I really only want to keep about two gallons. If any one is interested, I can sell some to you for $.25 an ounce, plus whatever the USPS charges, approximately $7 for a 2lbs box across half the country. ed

I'm sot so happy with this American and Efird thread. I've finally gotten back to stitching, after a bunch of setbacks, related and unrelated to leatherworking. Just now I was stitching with the A&E thread. I was trying to set up a routine with 346/277 and 277/ 207 threads. At first I kept coats 207 in the bobbin and put AE 277 on top and had problems. I realized that the AE threads are thinner than their Coats counterparts, so it was like using 277/277. I then put AE 207 bobbin and AE 277 top, problem solved. I may try the thread exchange, even though they have Eddington in only 207 and 277 and the 346 in USA threads. I'll call them tomorrow. By the way, I'm using chestnut thread and no one seems to have this in Coats, which is why I have to go with a different vendor. ed

Hi Art, I checked with my credit bank, and there has been no charge yet. Either the merchant hasn't yet put through the charge, or they were unable to get the machine and have not yet notified me. I told my credit bank to flag any charge from this merchant. I called the merchant today and left a message to cancel my order. I'll call again tomorrow. This merchant has been having trouble getting what I've ordered and doesn't think to call and tell me what's up, making me wait unexpectedly. I found another merchant who promises to deliver within a few days, so I went with him. ed

If I want to return a 40lbs machine, may I simply refuse delivery of the machine and ask that UPS return it to sender. No additional shipping charge was paid, but I suppose I'll have to ask about restocking charges.

I just wanted to add my voice to this thread. There may have been a few times where I didn't receive what was expected from Siegel, but they were always very professional and helpful. I'm very happy with their service, and I know of no other company in existence that has their satisfaction and return policy, which alone should allow Siegel the benefit of the doubt. Ed

When using the tandy strap cutter, i usually trim the top of a side of leather so there is one long, even edge and then use the cutter to take off individual straps of the width i need. Thicker and firmer leather comes off the most easily. 5/6 oz chrome tan requires some edge trimming when I glue the two layers together prior to stitching. I'm hoping the the jerry stripper will be work a bit better. I have been wondering about how much extra leather I should allow with the Jerry stripper. For example, for 5/6 chrome tan, I need six 1.25" wide strips, each about 50" long, for a shoulder strap and two bag straps. For my bag gussets I have aluminum templates of 4", 5.25", and 9.25" widths. I've been thinking it would be nice to use the 5.25" template to cut off a section and then run that through the jerry stripper to get 4 1.25" wide straps. I would have a .25" wide or a bit narrower strip left over, depending on how accurate my cuts are. I'm pretty anal about trying to save as much leather as possible. My main question out of all this is a .25" margin ok, or should I play it safe and have a .5" margin? ed

Thanks , Spen. I'm glad to hear it works well. I've been thinking it wold be much better for me to use my aluminum templates to cut out a 5.25" x 48" section of leather and strip off 1.25"-wide straps and belts from that instead of taking a draw gauge or tandy strap cutter to a whole side. ed

I don't understand how Ferdco's needle guide can guide anything with so much of the steel removed to ensure the needle doesn't crash down on the guide, though I have only Ferdco's website picture to go by. ed

Hi Russ, What's the thinnest leather you've ever sewn with your 3000 and the stock blanket foot the machine comes with? ed

My wooden strap cutter works fine for veg tan and other stiff leather, but not so well for chrome tanned leather. Siegel's does have the blades for a fair price, and I've had good luck sharpening my box cutter blades, which look similar. i'll keep you all posted. es

I'd like to look into 3m 90. barring that, I'd use nothing other than leathercrafters white glue. ed

https://www.siegelofca.com/itemdetail.asp?prodid=475 I like that one is able to use both hands to manipulate the leather while pulling it through the jerry stripper.

Due to the need to find a more efficient and cost effective way to make straps and belts, I've gone ahead and ordered a Jerry's Stripper from Siegel's of California. Fortune had it that Siegels had them on Friday special at $23 , and extra blades (5 pack) $1.50. I've decided to go with this rather than a draw gauge. Anyone have experience with a Jerry's Stripper? Ed

Can you deduct startup expenses from 2006 if you officially started your business in 2007? If not, is there any way to deduct earlier startup expenses? Thanks, Ed

Actually the center foot should already be installed so that it descends all the way to the needle plate. The bar that holds the outer feet is the one I had to adjust so that the outer feet descend all the way to the needle plate. ed

with the 3000 and 3oz leather, make sure the center foot descends all the way to the needle plate. with my 441/4000/2000 I got better results with the blanket foot on thinner leather, still better with the dropped center foot. ed

I put a drop or two on the shuttle race every time i sit down down to stitch and every couple of hours of continuous stitching. ed

Is it better to think about the different sizes as setting the crease farther or nearer the edge or rather relative to the thickness of leather being creased? I imagine the answer will be a little of both. ed

Hi Jordan, I know what you mean about getting things set up. It's taking me a while to get back to making my bags, after having spent time getting used to new attachments . I asked about the thread size, because it seems to be more difficult on the 441 than on the model 5 to use a range of thread sizes. Ed

I need to put in an order with siegels and want to include some osborne tl21 edge creasers. there are five sizes. I was wondering which size creaser would be good for 5/6 oz leather and which one for 8 oz leather. Thanks, Ed

I can't go back and reproduce my series of questions that helped me troubleshoot the problems I was having with setting consistent, predictable, and reliable bobbin tensions, but I can repost the end results from all the help I received. For a while I was tightening and loosening bobbin tension only by the tension screw on the bobbin case. The result was that I could tighten bobbin tension pretty consistently but was having problems loosening bobbin tension. The reason was that to loosen bobbin tension appropriately I had to loosen the tension screw so much that the tension clip would be loose enough to wiggle around. sometimes the bobbin thread would even slip free if the forked tip of the tension clip. Also, the tension screw was backed out so much that the top thread would catch underneath the tension clip tongue that screws down, seriously freezing the machine. The fix: It was simple, very simple. I had been adjusting only the tension clip tongue that screws down. Instead I should have been ever so lightly bending the forked tip of the tension clip. Problem solved. Thanks all for the help. ed

great inventiveness with this press.