esantoro

Yesterday I was watching the Tippmann Boss Demo video and noticed that to change the bobbin tension on the boss required the turning of two screws. One screw to unlock the tension adjuster, the other screw to adjust the tension. Then I went to my machine and noticed that the bobbin case also has two screws. Must I also loosen one screw before I adjust the bobin tension screw. Weeks ago I was playing around with the bobbin tension screw without paying any notice to that other crew on the bobbin case. i was still able to change the bobbin tension. Thanks for your help, Ed

This is the problem I'm running into and I'm trying to find a way that I can make my leatherwork a fulltime obsession, passion, which means I've got to outsource some of the work if I want to sell 20 to 30 bags a month. Just today I was looking into getting a Tippmann Clicker for $3000, but I think a better way is to buy the cutting dies for about $150 apiece. I would need only four for two sizes of bags. Then I could buy 30 sides or shoulders when they go on sale and rent time on a clicker press somewhere, maybe $15 an hour. I could cut out all my major pieces for that month's work in just a few hours. Beez, you're making motorcycle bags. Do you think the brass jiffys are strong enough. If they're strong enough for your bags, then they've certainly got to be strong enough for my briefcases that will simply be carried by a human, not travelling on a bike going 60 mph or faster. My one concern about the Brass jiffys is that I will soon have an application that allows the briefcase to be slung as a backpack. For this application I need to rivet an O-ring to the top of the bag. Underneath the leather the O-ring will be supported by a 1/8" thick aluminum bar. The Jiffy rivet will go through the leather holding the o-ring onto the top of the bag (2 x 5/6 oz), the flap leather of the briefcase (1 x 5/6 oz), and then through the 1/8" thick aluminum support bar. I'm not certain a brass jiffy rivet is strong enough for such an application. I'm experimenting right now with the 350 jumbo steel tubular rivets and caps from Ohio Travel Bags. This might be the way to go for me. Thanks again for the picks. Ed

Nice bags, Beez. My bags also take me between 8 and 10 hours. I'm beginning to think about outsourcing some of the work but wonder how it would be possible to get quality work that's affordable. What kind of rivets are you using? They look like the Belgium Jiffy Rivets. I'm on the lookout for similar but stronger rivets. Ed

I've been reading up on Tan and Bag Kote, and it seems that they might be useful in providing a smooth finish to my veg tan bags. The final touch could be to apply Pecard's dressing. ed

Is there any advantage or disadvantage to using Pecard's Antique Leather Dressing instead of the original? If I do get some Tan Kote or some Bag Kote, would the neutral color be the best bet? Will the brown be too much like a dye or will it simply blend in to the veg tan's natural coloring? Thanks, Ed

Is Pecard's available only online, or can I get it as certain stores? Ed What about sno-seal? Is this also good to use? Thanks, Ed

I really like the way Bickmore's Bick 4 goes on and now have a pretty good supply of it. Would Bick 4 be a "leather balm"? Great idea, Major, to give the customer a small bottle of some dressing. Now I've got to find a source for small bottles. Thanks for the great advice? Ed

Dave, I got two sheets of the 1/4" regular neoprene from Foam and More. Thanks for the info. Works great. I'm now wondering if maybe I should have gone for the 1/8" neoprene, as the 1/4" may be a bit too thick for some applications I have in mind. Ed

What can I do to make my veg tan briefcases more resistant to water spots? I thought conditioning the leather with a 4-Way Conditioner and a couple applications of neatsfoot oil would be enough. Should I also be applying neatlac or something else? Thanks, Ed

Thanks, Kate. What do you use the fiberboard for? Ed

I'm trying to cut down the weight of my leather briefcases and thought that for some bags I might use a fiberboard support underneath the handle instead of an 1/8" thick aluminum stay. Does anyone know a supplier for thin but rigid fiberboard? Some of you may be interested in my supplier for the aluminum flatbars (extracted aluminum): Speedy Metals in Wisconsin Ed

Art and Clay, Thanks for the ideas for the pattern. They're just what I need. Ed

thanks, Dale. This is a great link. I've got to study it awhile to figure out what to do, but it seems like just the bit of learning I need to take on right now. Ed

I like the look of this Mullholland Brothers Briefcase. Does anyone have ideas for how to go about rounding the corners in such a way as to get a curve that is not circular? Is there a formula to follow, or a tool I can use? My next step is to graph out the curve and a lot of trial and error. Thanks, Ed

Whatever you do, do not use the L-3193. They will fall apart easily. I'm still looking for the same type of clip but quality. Ed

I think I fixed the problem. When I inserted the new needle, I didn't push it up as far as it would go in the needle shaft. Ed

Just recently I had to sew a full 3/4 inch for a new handle I'm making for my briefcases. I broke two #24 needles in the process of figuring out the design. Now I notice my machine is skipping stitches quite freguently. I'd say I can't sew 12 inches without the machine skipping a stitch. Is there a checklist I could go through to troubleshoot this problem? What are the possible reasons? Thanks for the help, Ed

Dave, I checked Foam and More and am going to go ahead and place an order with them. I'm not sure yet what thickness I should get or whether I should get the regular or the high quality. I'm going to use it to pad a shoulderstrap pad and to pad a compartment of my briefcase for laptop protection. I need to decide between the 1/8" and the 1/4". I'm leaning toward the latter but will probably end up getting both. What do you suggest? Thanks, Ed

--> QUOTE(Oscar B @ May 15 2007, 12:18 AM) Very nice work! Very nice work! Thanks, everyone, for the kind words. You've all played a big part in helping me improve my leatherwork. Ed

Here's my latest finished briefcase. I was thinking of pading the shoulder pad with 5 mm neoprene , which would go between the 3/4 oz layer of suede and the the 8/10 oz veg tan. Any other ideas for such padding? What's a good price to pay for 5mm neoprene? Thanks, Ed

Siegel of California has some white aluminum tan. I'm thinking of using it to make some white wedding book covers. ed http://www.siegelofca.com/itemdetail.asp?prodid=313

Hi Everyone, Does anyone have any idea of the energy consumption on a Super Bull/Juki 441 with a 1/2 hp servo motor and speed reducer? How expensive is it to run this machine steady for an hour? I'm trying to figure out if energy costs are significant enough to be factored into the pricing of my briefcases. I'm estimating that each bag requires two hours of machine stitching. Would you say this machine is more expensive to run than a computer monitor? Twice as expensive? Three times? Thanks, Ed

Hi everyone, Do any of you have any ideas for stitching patterns to secure pages into a soft 5/6 oz leather book? Here are a few pictures of what I would like to do. All I've found on the internet is a link to a basic pattern, which is good to gt me started. http://meisterin.katarina.home.comcast.net/coptic_book.html Perhaps, some of you may know of a good book for this kind of work. Thanks, Ed

I like using an apron, otherwise I'm always wiping my hands on my pants. Three weeks ago I finished my first Apron. Made it out of denim. I was thinking of making it out of deerskin but I wanted to keep it cheap. Now I've got all the right sized pockets in the right places. Ed

thanks Art and Bruce, I always oil the shuttle before I stitch, just a drop or two. And then Another drop or two for every hour of stitching if in one sitting. I don't oil everything else every day, only if I've been using the machine. I guess I oil everything for every four hours of machine use. If the machine has been sitting for three or more days, I think I've been giving it a once over with oil. I do seem to go through quite a bit of the lily white. I may even be over oiling a bit out of paranoia. If I'm in doubt I oil. However sometimes, if I stitch for twenty minutes one day, then twenty minutes the next day, I don't oil again, sticking to my oil for every four hours of machine use if in a two day period. I'm not using the WD40 in place of oiling. I use it just to be sure, in addition to oiling, probably once every two weeks. Once a week if I'm stitching for two hours a day, though I don't think I've ever had a week where I stitched that much, but I'm getting there. Thanks for the help, Ed