Arturomex

I think Don is on the mark here. I've already got the measuring tape out. LOL Regards, Arturo

That link doesn't, anymore. I'm pretty sure there are a lot of people here on the forum who have pieces they've treated that are ten years old. Anybody have anything that old they could comment on? And how they finished it? I'm also going to give that a try. Look forward to your future input on this, Matt. Chuck, I'm curious about what kinds of wood you're using this on? It'd be a ripper on oak. Regards, Arturo

Tandy has their Craftool Hand Border Tool: https://tandyleather.com/products/craftool-hand-border-tool?_pos=3&_sid=896dd2549&_ss=r It's not bad but you have to watch your depth. Barry King has a few options that work in swivel knives: http://www.barrykingtools.com/swivelknives.htm These work well. For about $15 each, inexpensive Tandy swivel knives dedicated to each blade size aren't a bad investment and saves fiddling around changing blades out each time you want to change sizes. Going that route brings the cost up to about $45 per blade which I don't think is that bad for that kind of tool. And, of course, there's always the swivel knife itself. Regards, Arturo

All good advice. Are you sure your thread is feeding off the bobbin correctly? In the right direction? And it wouldn't hurt to make sure the hook is timed correctly to meet the scarf. Regards, Arturo

Techsew also has a 1341 clone listed as the 4800. I have one and I'm very pleased with it. They also have some videos on Youtube about this machine worth watching. The 1341 clone is a little beefier than the lighter machines and has some features like an on-board bobbin winder and an adjustable presser foot climbing mechanism. If you really don't see yourself going higher than 138 thread you might also want to check the Cobra Class 26,, CB341 and Techsew 2750. Not hard to compare specs on these machines. Regards, Arturo

Glad to hear it. Techsew has some good videos on Youtube on the 4800. Regards, Arturo

I have these: https://leathercrafttools.com/item/11813/ in sizes 24, 36, 42 and 48mm. I spent a few hours resetting the bevel and working up the edges on each of them. It was worth the time. The handles come unfinished and I put three coats of clear, water base Varathane on each of them, sanding lightly between coats, before I started working on the blades. I'm not sure what the initial bevel was on them but I now have all of them at about 18~19 degrees which is just about what it takes to keep the handle off the strop. The 24 and 36mm knives came set perpendicular to the handle. The 42 and 48 mm blades were a little off and I corrected that as well as part of the sharpening process. They take an very sharp edge and will stay that way for quite a while if stropped regularly. These are my "go to" knives these days and it's a joy to use them. At $26 ~ $36 each, they're a bargain. Another case of not needing to spend a lot of money to get a good quailty tool. Regards, Arturo

Hi, I have a 4800 Pro and I'm very happy with it. For the most part I'm sewing #207 on top and #138 on the bobbin with it but I've gone #277 on top and #207 on the bottom on occasion. This machine will sew that #207 top/#138 bottom all day long and I'm sure it would do the same with #207 top and bottom but there's not a lot of room for #207 thread on that M size bobbin. The machine arrived sewn off with #69 and while I haven't done much with that thread size I've done some work with #92 thread and was happy. Realistically, #207 is about as high as I'd want to go for regular use on this machine. If I was going to do a lot of work with #277 thread I'd be looking at moving up to a 441 clone. My dealings with Techsew have been nice and smooth. I also bought a SK-4 bell skiver from them. I can't speak to the "American experience" as I bought and shipped the machines in Canada but there's a fellow on the forums here under the name of "veryoldpilot" in, I believe, Florida who just got a 4800. Hopefully he'll see your post and respond with more information. All in all, I'm very happy with the machine and Techsew. Regards, Arturo

No English translation or sub titles on this but none really needed. Some crazy stuff going on with skiving machines. Quite educational. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCShXi3rXPM Regards, Arturo

I don't know what's going on with this. I was hoping someone who did know might reply and educate all of us. Somebody? Please? I have the same experience with some veg tan that's sold as coming from a European tannery. It's not attributed to any specific country. It cuts, tools and stamps very nicely. I miss the darker bronze as a reference but a small light mounted at a low angle across the area I'm working on gives me enough contrast to see where I've been and where I'm going. I'm antiquing the stuff I make with this leather and things show up just as desired when finished. One of my complaints with the Tandy leather is that if I put water on the edges for slicking, the "color" in the leather will sometimes run a little off the edge and onto the face of the leather. Not a problem if I'm going to dye dark. Not so good if I'm looking for a lighter color. It also creates a mottled effect on the edge that precludes leaving a homogeneous natural edge finish. This doesn't happen with the type of leather we're asking about and I appreciate that. I have found that if the edge I'm working on is short enough to be manageable, tilting the Tandy leather at a fairly steep angle when applying water for slicking helps alleviate the problem of color running. The European stuff I'm using takes dye (Fiebing's Pro) very well and the edges finish nicely. I like Hermann Oak for tooling/stamping but availability and price can be an issue at times. When I can't get HO I'm quite happy to use the European veg tan . It's a nice, clean leather that holds a crisp impression and finishes well. (Sounds like damn wine review. LOL) I'd like to know more about where it comes from. And I'd still like to know why it doesn't bronze up. Or, why other veg tans do. Regards, Arturo

You might want to read through this: https://leatherworker.net/forum/topic/93398-amazon-shoe-patcher-machine-frustrations/ I'd be inclined to save my money. Regards, Arturo

I'm not familiar with the course you're working from but 0.5mm chrome tan calfskin lining leather is pretty supple. I don't think it's going to hold a crease. You probably need a stiffer leather to accomplish that. Regards, Arturo

An older farmer decided it was time to retire so, while he continued to live on the place in his own house, he turned the operation over to his son who lived in another house in the yard. After several months of idling the old boy was bored and decided he needed something to do so he bought himself a pen of feeder pigs. The son's wife wasn't happy about the stink from the pigs and, complained to her husband. The boy approached his father and said, "Dad, the wife is complaining about the smell off the pigs. Could you move your pen downwind in the yard?" The old man obliged and twice a day he went to the chop bin, filled a couple of pails, walked all the way across the yard and dumped the chop into the feed trough. Then he walked all the back to the chop bin, filled the pails, walked all the way across the yard and dumped the feed into the trough. Not being a piker, he'd bought a fair number of pigs and this necessitated quite a few trips back and forth. One day his son was watching this and said, "Hey, Dad, why don't you move your chop bin closer to your hog pen?" The old man asked, "Why?" "It would save time," replied the lad. The old man gave contemptuous snort and responded, "What's time to a pig?"

That surprises me. I was reading a while ago that linseed oil oxidation has a detrimental effect on leather. Can't recall exactly where I saw that but I'll try to track it down. Regards, Arturo

Mike - As Ron has already answered your question I'll only add that the TechSew videos on the 'net are excellent and well worth watching. I hope you're going to be as happy with your machine as I am with mine. TechSew has been great to deal with and my 4800 performs very well. Regards, Arturo

Agreed. But I find there's a difference between a round knife and a head knife. Having said that, I find myself using my Japanese leather knives more and more. Not terribly expensive and if you're willing to spend some time putting an edge on them they're very sharp. Regards, Arturo

True, but it's the Craftool stamps that I want to replace. And Tandy has burned me once too often. I won't deal with them again.

I'm looking to replace some Craftool camouflage stamps. Specifically the C425, C431 and C433 stamps. I'd like something sharper with better line definition as close to those sizes as possible. I've been looking at a couple of the smaller Barry King lined camouflage stamps but it's a little difficult to estimate sizes. (Would it kill vendors to actually measure stamps and put that information on their sites? I exempt Sergey Neskromniy from that comment - a tip of my hat to you Sergey - I wish you made what I'm looking for.) Not fixed on the King stamps and would welcome any recommendations you can offer. Thanks, Arturo

I'm happy to hear you and yours are OK. Thanks for the reminders that life is indeed short and that we need to share our love. Regards, Arturo

Yes, harness leather is veg tanned but it's stuffed. The oils and waxes prevent the leather from absorbing water. Regards, Arturo

Nice, Dwight.

I have a Badger 150 siphon/bottom feed that came in a "kit" labelled "Professional 150-7" that included a color cup, a couple of bottles, three needle/nozzle assemblies, (fine - .22millimeter, medium .50 millimeter, and large .75 millimeter) and a hose, I'm using it with a Badger "Breeze" air pump which, according to the specs on the box, provides 10.0L/Min with a pressure of 2-15 psi. As ScottWolf points out, it's a nice, middle of the road price point for a good product. I think the kit cost me about $118 and the pump was $85. I haven't felt the need to buy anything else to supplement this set up. My specific reason for buying this was to apply finish coats of Resolene 1:1 on antiqued leather without smearing the antique. It works well for this and, of course, applying finish on other types of leather as well. I don't use it for dye base coats because I like more penetration but I have tried a few airbrush "effects" over the base dye using Fiebing's Professoinal dye and they turned out as expected. I'd like to get some Golden airbrush acrylic and work out a nice application system for putting that on leather. Hope you get what you need. Regards, Arturo

Yes, more or less. I usually go about 5/8 of an inch from hole edge to hole edge.

I'm in agreement with JCUK regarding the rivet and he's correct about the concho. It's just a Chicago screw with lipstick on it. I've used the "tie" method regularly. Two holes, thong and bleed knots. You want to check the soundness of the thong and knots regularly. Regards, Arturo

Chicago screws can "undo" themselves at times. If you do go that route you might want to put a drop of Loctite down. Regards, Arturo