esantoro

I'm gonna go run to my mini punch right now to see if it fits my drill. Ed

I've seen the Scharf-fix on the net for around $325. It seems that someone would be selling a used one for around $75. I guess quality items really do manage to maintain their value. Ed

Is it possible to get a manual hand-pressed die, where if the cut isn't as complete as from a hydraulic press you could easily go around the edges with a knife? I just checked out a die making company of Ebay and asked what they would charge to make a 15.5" by 11" cutting die. Eveything else I need can be cut with a strap cutter. Is $85 a good price to have a die custom made? Do these dies last a long time and allow you to keep sharpening them. The company is also selling something that allows you to make a die yourself, but I'm not sure what kind of additional equipment is needed. **** STEEL RULE DIE CUTTING BLADE KNIVES NEW CLICKER PRESS This Auction is for 5 strips of 2pt .937 (15/16") high center bevel rule. Each strip is 30 inches long= 12 1/2 feet of brand new die cutting rule. Need to fix a die during a run or wish to create a new die yourself? This is the rule we use ourselves in our custom dies. It is professional grade rule and tempered to accept bends made with proper bending equipment. Please note die rule is extremely sharp by nature and should be treated with respect when handling! *** I really like Rob's idea of finding someone who will let me use his die or at least charge a fair usage charge, as long as I bring my own dies. Ed

Do any of you know wehre I can get a paring machine that is used in the bookbinding industry? This seems like it would be a good alternative to the motorized edge skivers. Two names I've dug up in my searches are Brockman and the Scharfix Paring Machine model 2000. For protability I think I'm going to start getting serious about looking for the Scharfix. ed

A while back, I bought several slender punches on sale at Tandy. Just the other day I realized why that was such a good investment. I stumbled upon the idea that I could put them into a drill and make much cleaner punches much easier. At first I wondered why they were so slim. Were they designed this way for the purpose of being used with a drill as well as a mallet? Now I'm trying to find out where I misplaced my #3. Ed

thanks Rob. It's so nice to get feedback on such issues. I also don't want to trust anyone to cut up my leather. I thnk I will have to start using hides dedicated for certain parts. It seems to make the most sense and cents all the way around. Last night I was thinking that one hide could be used for all straps and 36" x 6" or 4" gussets. Perhaps one reason I haven't done this yet is that my production has been small to where I'm buying only a couple sides at a time. One side for one bag and the scraps used for other things that come up. I really need to find a source I can commit to for 10 or mnore sides at good prices. How do clickers work? I imagine they would not be used for straps but larger blockish type pieces. Thanks again, Rob. I'm now more certain in this one area. Ed

I'm reaching the point where I need to find a reliable leather source and purchase 20 sides of leather (especially the next time Siegels has one of those crazy sales) I really like and then spend time cutting it all up into parts for my briefcases. My question is does it pay to have someone else do the cutting for you or should you do it yourself? Also, would it be best to cut all briefcase parts from the same hide or dedicate some hides for straps, gussets, and buckle assemblies, others for large rectangualr pieces? Something tells me it will be more efficient to dedicate certain sides for certain parts of my briefcases. This might be more time efficient and economical as well, as I'll have a more straightforward method for getting parts cut and ready for assembly. Once I find sides I can really commit to, I'll buy 20 sides, cut up 10 sides into my main parts, and then start cutting into the rest for the other parts. Currently I'm spending too much time cutting indiviudal 26" straps for individual bags when I could simply cutting up the entire length of one side into straps. Any suggestions? Thanks, Ed

Maybe what I'm looking for is a latigo 5/6/7 oz. Would latigo be good for a soft leather briefcase?

I'm bidding on a plastic magnetic lube pot that also clamps to the metal pin on the baby bull. I've taken Ferdco's advice to spray my spools of thread once a month with liquid glycerine saddle soap to keep them from drying out, but someone told me I should get a silicone based thread lubricant forthe pot. I've got loads of neatsfoot oil around, synthetic blend and pure. ed

I like the tubular rivets with caps too. Which ones do you recommend? I'm using OTB 310, 252, 275, but am having a difficult time with the caps. I will be experimenting with the force fit caps for these rivets, but I'm skeptical about the holding power. Ed

I stitch mainly with white and black bonded poly, 138 to 277. I'd like to get some deer/beige/tan poly in 138, 207, 277. Is the best price I'm going to find the $20 per 16 oz spool ant Campbell's. Also, since I don't go through all this thread that quickly, I think I'm going to start using thread lubricant in the lubricant box atop my super bull. What's the best lubricant to use? Campbell Bosworth's got some stuf for $20 a gallon. My baby bull didn't come with a lubricant box. Any suggestions for a magnetic one? Thanks, ed

I was stitching with my Super Bull last night and doing a bit of handcranking and I guess it isn't so bad, just heftier than the Baby Bull. Ed

Which double cap rivets does everyone like the most, taking into consideration size and strength, brass or steel? Ed

I'm getting up there too. The super Bull doesn't give you clear view of where the needle pierces the leather. The center toe has a round cut out that the needle goes into. three milimeters of metal obstruct the view of where needle meets leather, which is enough to miss a hole in backstitching by a couple milimeters. I suppose with time one just adjusts and is able to anticipate appropriately. I'm waiting to receive my work lamp with magnifying glass. With my Baby Bull, I'm able to see clearly where the needle enters the hole, which makes backstitching easier. I'll let you know how the new work lamp works out. Ed

Do any of you have any tricks or techniques for getting a good look at the needle entering the leather on a walking foot machine where the needle goes through a cutout on the center toe, such as on the super bull, artisan 4000, juki 441? Perhaps there is some other kind of toe that can be put on the machine. I find it difficult to get a good look at where the needle is entering the leather especially when I'm backstitching. I just bought on Ebay two magnifying task lamps to help me with this. Ed

I just now set the mst beautiful jiffy rivet on a bag strap (after screwing up four attempts and removing the rivets). This time I used a 1 oz leather spacer so that the post just barely peaked the top hole and I used a rawhide mallet I received in the mail just yesterday. I have been using a yellow poly mallet from Tandy, but now I'm thinking there must be some advantage to the rawhide mallet, but am not sure just what that is. Anyway, the mallet I have has a 1.5" face, which I think is a bit too small and light for setting rivets. What size would be good for setting rivets on two or three layers of 6 oz veg tan? Ed

Do any of you know of a good supplier for dry oil-treated chrome tanned sides. I need a steady supply of such sides for my soft briefcases/satchels. My mainstay is veg tan and I buy it up when I can get a good price, but I'd also like to work with 4-06 oz oil treated sides (but not too waxy). I'm having a difficult time finding a supplier. I'm also looking for baseball glove type chrome tan. Thanks, Ed

I over oil if anything. I like the idea of using Ballistol and the hydraulic jack oil/ prolong additive combo, especially on areas away from where the leather will be. What ratio should the mix be? On the Super Bull to you oil behind the face plate, or just greaseonce a year. Whenever I oil there, some oil runs down the needle and onto the leather I'm working on, though I do use stainless machine oil on anything close to the material area. I like the idea of using a tin oil can that spurts out a measured amount. I've got the squeeze bottles. Can anyone post pictures of oil cans they like using? Ed P.S. Aren't we in the sewing machine forum?

I've had a super bull 2000 for about a month now and am wondering about how many hours I can sew with the machine before needing to adjust the timing? What are other maintenance issues that will routinely come up with this machine? Thanks, Ed

Great replies. Thanks. I think the super glue is a better idea than contact cement, as it will dry instantly.

Yeah, I know what you mean about that feed dog. That's why I went with the Walking foot Super Bull. I even tried filing down the feed dog on the Baby Bull. It helped to some extent. I'm going to experiment more by finding someone who can grind down the feed dog 3/4 of the way. i think it will work, even though it is solely a bottom feeder. On the Baby Bull I can actually spin the flywheel and have it do a few stitches. For the money, i really like this little guy. It's got spunk, where the more expensive machines have the power and the mechanics Ed

Hoyden, On Ebay right now there are a Highlead (similar to the Artisan 4000 and Pro 2000) compound feed and a barely used Juki 471 that should go for a bit under $2000. Ed

Bruce, I also have servos on both. So, really, your Pro 2000, is easy to hand crank with the pedal lightly depressed? I can do the same with mine. It's just that it's not as easy as with the Baby Bull, which I really like for this reason: ease of going between powered and manual stitching. I'd like to change wheels on the Super Bull. Put on one that's more like the Baby Bull's. Ed

Pressing down a tad on the pedal works on my Baby bull wonderfully (one reason I like this machine a lot), but not on the Super Bull. It's good to know that the speed reducer should have nothing to do with it. I'll poke around and see what I can find out. I've had the Super Bull for a little over a month now. ed

I use a tunafish can for all the rounded corners on my bags. Now I'm going to try a CD.