esantoro

Do any of you know any tricks or techniques for getting a stuck cap off a Duall's #88 can? Any recommendations for a plastic glue dispenser? Thanks, Ed

This post deleted because the answer to its question was in the first sentence of Art's post, about Eddington threads.

What do you allthink about putting down a strip of 220 grit emory paper as well as 600? Ed

Great idea. The same with the stropping leather? Would 2 to 5 oz chrome tan be good for the stropping cloth, or should chrome tanned not be used at all? What leather should be used? Thanks, ed

I don't have the Artisan 618-1SC but I do have a machine very similar to the pro 4000 and a machine similar to the mach1 and baby bull. Usually these machines come with the bobbin tension set so you don't have to do much readjusting. However, it seems obvious that if the bobbin tension works well with 69 thread but is tto tight and pulling the top 138 thread down when you have 138 thread in the bobbin, than originally the bobbin tension was set too tight for the 1387 thread. There should be two top tension adjustments you can make to the top thread. have you tried both? Ed

I found a decent price on Coats bonded polyester thread. I was looking for size 138. This spool is listed as DB 138 and TEX 135. It is called Ultra DEE Z twist. I'm sure it will be fine for what I need, but it seems to be different from the other 138 bonded polyester I've been using (don't know the brand), which seems to have a more natural looking appearance. This Ultra Dee appears to be a tighter twist and has a more synthetic appearance, even though it is a synthetic thread. Do any of you know what "Ultra Dee" and "Z twist" mean? I thnk the latter might be what gives the thread the appearance I'm not completely fond of. Is Coats a reputable brand? Shoud I be looking at some of their other threads? Ed

I like pulling down the magnifyng glass and using it to make sure the backstitching on my Super bull is accurate. The lamp is also great for when I have to handstitch, and I have 20/20 vision and don't use glasses ordinarily. Ed

I just got two magnifying lamps on Ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...15065&rd=1&rd=1 While there is a risk that very few of these lamps may need some kind of basic rewiring, they are excellent lamps. I'm glad I bought them. Ed

I watched the Stasiak video on sharpening, and now want to make one of those boards with sandpaper, leather lace with rouge, and strip of leather with rouge for polishing. Have any of you ever made one of these and made modifications? I wnt out to a $.99 store and bought a hardboard clip board and took off the metal parts. These are the steps to follow from my understanding: 1. glue down to one side of the hardboard a 2" wide strip of 600 grit wet/dry emory paper. 2. to the other side, glue down a 2" wide strip of leather, flesh side up, to be impregnated with rouge. From the video, it seems that chamois leather is used. I don't have any. I have veg tanned and chrome tanned. Should I get some chamois leather, or just use the fleshiest leather I have on hand, which at this time is probably 8 oz. veg tanned? What about 4 oz. suede? 3. Cut two strips of veg tanned lace and glue them in the space between the emory paper and the stropping leather. I understand I should use 8 oz veg tannned lace for this, one rounded one not. But how should I glue down the laces? Should the grain side of the lace be glued down and the flesh side up, or should the lace be glued down on its side? Thanks, ed

I buy bonded polyester thread whenever i can get a good deal on it. The result is I now have years worth of thread that is drying out, so I;ve decided to set up a lubricant reservoir on my super bull. What kind of lubricant should i get: silicone based or emulsified parafin? One thing nice about the emulsified parafin, which CB told me, is that it can also be used to burnsh edges. Ed

Jack, Thanks for the photo. I noticed you use the force-fit rivets on much of your work. Do you use brass or steel. I also use both of these rivets but I have a few applications that call for tubular rivets. These rivest are normaly peened; however, if both ends will be visible I like to put a cap on them. This cap is a self-peening cap. Have you ever worked with these? Again, beautiful craftsmanship on your work. I'm going to make 1/32" clearance a rule instead of 1/16" or 1/8" which I've heard. I think too much clearance on my rivet sets have been my number one reason for unsatisfactory sets. Ed

Those are beautiful cases. I use the T1317 and other sizes for the jiffy rivets. But now I've started flattening the heads on these rivets. A regular hammer has too big a head and scuffs the surrounding leather. I just got an olympia tack hammer but it's head seems a bit light. I need a good tack/rivet hammer to set the steel tubular rivet caps, 11-cap and 40-cap on pages 4 and 5 of OTB catalog. By the way, when these tubular rivet caps are set, should they be able to stil be turned, as long as the male post is flared out into the cap? I'm trying to determine the best method for setting these caps. How far past the surface of the leather should the male post extend? Thanks, Ed

Can anyone recommend a good rivet hammer for the Ohio Travel Bags 310, 275, and 252 tubular rivets with caps? Thanks, Ed

My guess for the brackets is spring steel, but I'm not sure. Strap steel may also be what is used for such a bracket, but again I cannot be sure. I'm also tring to lookfor good material for a metal support for a handle on soft briefcases. Would you want to use aluminum? I'mnot sure if it's a good idea but I know of a good supplier if you want to by six or more six-foot length pieces, otherwise just try Home Depot and Lowes. Ed

Nice work. How would you describe that metal flatbar? I've been looking for something like that for my soft briefcases. ed

If any of you have the PDF of Hidecrafter's February sale flyer, could you email it to me? I purchased some things from them but they sent the wrong items and charged the wrong price. Thanks, Ed

I couldn't agree more with not taking short-cuts on hardware. I love using solid brass D-rings on projects and would like to find a good wource for solid silver D-rings. Right now the best wieght and aesthetics I've found are the Tandy welded but D-rings. Can anyone recomment a good D-ring source. I've already had several companies send me samples but nothing has impressed me. Ed

I need to buy some size 138 leather needles for my super bull 2000/toro 4000. The needle system is the Schmetz 794. Does anyone know a good source for these needles other than Diamond, now in New Jersey? Ed

I'm in a position right now that when I find the leather I need and the price I'm willing to pay, I need to buy about 20 sides. However, it will take me some time to use up all this leather. Is it ok to store the leather rolled up in the boxes it comes shipped in for a considerable period of time, say. six months to a year, or should the leather be stored outside the boxes? This leather will be 4 to 7 oz veg tan and chrome tan. Thanks, Ed

I've been using 1/8" thick aluminum for my handle supports on my leather briefcases. The aluminum bar is situated between the inside suede lining and the external flap leather. The handle D-ring tabs are riveted to this bar through the leather. I would like to use a thinner metal for this support. I've heard this metal called spring steel but have been unable to find a supplier. Might any of you know where I should look? Thanks, Ed

So, then, would I be able to use the Fiebings Edge Kote, or is that only for traditionally burned edges? I bought a wonderful soft briefcase on Ebay cheap to see how the handle was constructed, wonderful design. Now I need to stictch it back together and reapply the light brown flexible edge coating. Thanks, Ed

I think it's actually something else. I use the gum tragacanth. This is actually some kind of dyed gummy, flexible finish I've seen used on edges of softer leathers. Is Edge Kote flexible? By the way, is it just as effective to use saliva as it is to use gum tragacanth? Thanks, ed

I've noticed that some high-end biefcases/handbags have a gummy type glaze on the edges, especially edges that contain layers of thin leather. It's also used quite frequently on chrometanned edges. Do any of you know what this is called and where it can be purchased? Is it simply edge kote? Thanks, Ed

Have any of you ever adapted a round Tandy slicker to be used in a drill and how did you go about doing it? Thanks, Ed

Art, Thanks for the picture. Ed