Arturomex

I don't really like the self healing mats unless I'm using a rotary cutter. Then they're great. Otherwise I find my knife blades tend to hang up in them. Regards, Arturo

Or the Tandy Canada website 20/12/27 Veg-Tan Saddle Skirting Side - Chestnut $107.99 Sold Out Veg-Tan Saddle Skirting Side - Amerind $107.99 Sold Out Veg-Tan Saddle Skirting Side - Dark Brown $107.99 Sold Out Saddle Skirting Tan - $229.49

What were you doing immediately before this problem started?

And where ya at?

I have an oscillating sander that gets a lot of use. It will run with a 24 inch belt or drums up to 2 inches in diameter. I made a little dust collection system that picks the dust up as it comes off the belt or drum that goes into a shop vac. And while on vacuums, I bought one of those little rechargeable hand held vacuums that gets more use than I thought it would. It's great for keeping my work surfaces dust and debris free. I bought a cheap variable speed bench grinder with plans to use it as a burnisher. It was sold to me as a half inch shaft with 7/16 threads. Turns out it's actually threaded to 12mm which doesn't work with what I had planned. The vendor won't take a return so I use it with soft buffing wheels for my cutting edges. Works great. Regards, Arturo

I find the Aquilim doesn't seem to set the same way that Barge does. Not so much a problem when hand stitching but it seems to pull up on the needle when machine sewing. Little, snotty goo balls. I asked about this a while ago on the Sewing Machine thread here, my concern being what's going down into the machine. Since then I've gone back to using Barge.

A cylinder at 2 inches i/d and 4.5 feet long holds 2.79 litres.

LOL I hope you weren't under spousal supervision when you made that foray, Chuck.

Bob, I use Resolene in my airbrush diluted 1:1 with water. Usually two or three light coats. I've been using Golden acrylics for paint and they've worked very well for me. There are some other Golden products I'd like to try with leather but I haven't had the time to fool around with them yet. Regards, Arturo

Just to be clear, those two links are for draw gauges. Plough gauges are pushed, not pulled. And I think you can do a lot better on price than what they're asking for that Osborne draw gauge. Regards, Arturo

I prefer to airbrush Resolene at 1:1 on anything I've antiqued to avoid lifting the antique the way a brush might. At times I will "float" Resolene cut 1:1 with a foam brush on smooth leather. Two thin, light coats seals things up and doesn't give me a super glossy finish. I do this when the project is right and I feel too lazy to want to clean an airbrush but you need to be quick to avoid streaks. Regards, Arturo

I've tried it and I like it very much. Especially the black. SLC has a video about it somewhere. I'd like to get more but it's winter and I don't want to chance ordering something that might get frozen. I'll be ordering more in the Spring. Regards, Arturo

Thanks! Appreciate it. Arturo

I can't seem to find a burnisher attachment for this machine. Could you point me in the right direction? Thanks

Probably this. There seems to be a lot of confusion about "pricking irons" and "stitching chisels." My take on it is that pricking irons are used to mark hole placement and then an awl is used to pierce the actual hole while stitching chisels go through the leather to create the holes. Either way, 9~12 oz of leather is going to be a "challenge" for even a the best "stitching chisel." I suspect that even if you manage to get the chisel all the way through, the hole on the top would be big enough that you could drive a semi truck through it. If your alignment is really good you could put your top layer on top of your second layer and go through far enough to mark the second layer, then put the second layer on top of the third layer, go through far enough to mark the third layer and then punch through the third layer but it's an exercise fraught with problems and you're not going to be able to glue the assembly up properly. I made a little wooden tool that is "U" shaped with a narrow slit in it. If I find my chisel doesn't want to leave the leather easily I put the wooden "U" on top of the leather with an arm on each side of the stitch line, hold the leather down with that and then take the chisel out. Stops a lot of the "leather getting pulled out of shape issues. Regards, Arturo

I have a little two ounce plastic bottle with one of those cone shaped caps with the hole in the end like a small glue bottle. I put the Tokonole in that and run a fine bead down the edge before moving it across the surface with a finger tip. Regards, Arturo

"Micro-suede" is, I believe, a synthetic fabric. Regular sued is, well, suede. Regards, Arturo

No, the compound is not the same as 100% Neatsfoot. I've never used the compound but many people here have tried it and don't recommend it. You could do a site search and I'm sure you'll find some threads relating to that specifically. I don't tend to use Neatsfoot for a several reasons: It oxidizes and makes leather brittle over time and I question the provenance of even the stuff labelled as 100% Neatsfoot. I suspect it might have other types of fat (ie lard) in it and it darkens the leather. Neatsfoot is, I think, water soluble and shouldn't give you any problems with a Resolene finish. As to the Resolene - I get much better results applying two coats diluted at 1:1 with water than by applying it at full strength. Regards, Arturo

$$$ ???

https://www.weaverleathersupply.com/catalog/item-detail/63500-01/master-tools-cub-manual/pr_59274/cp_/shop-now/machinery/sewing/machines Page 11. Probably 277 thread.

I think Techsew only sells Organ brand needles, which work just fine. You could probably place an order and pick 'em up off the dock. A word of caution here... I ordered some needles online from the US earlier this year and waited just over two months to get them. If you do order from outside Canada, check to see how they're going to ship. If it's USPS to Canada Post, find another source or prepare to wait a long time. Regards, Arturo

Tandy... what a joke. Opened a couple of links in the Canadian email flyer last night. Items sold out. And some of these items were showing as sold out on their web site days before the big "Black Friday" sale even started. If you haven't got the goods, why advertise them as being on sale? This isn't the first time Tandy has done this. Last year I placed an order for a fairly big ticket item and had to waste time days later discovering that the item was out of stock but not marked as such when they advertised it and they had cancelled my order. No notification - simply cancelled my order. There are a lot of really good suppliers out there with better service selling better quality goods at fair prices who now get my money instead of Tandy.

I have a selection of swivel knives ranging from a "no name" (which isn't that bad, actually) to the cheapest Tandy, a Tandy "ergonomic" and a couple of Barry Kings. The Barry Kings are the ones I like best and use most. Something to consider is that shank sizes are not the same on all blades. For example, the Tandy blades won't fit the BK knives and the BK blades won't fit the Tandy or the "no name." IMO the quality of the BK blades is superior to the ones Tandy sells. Also worth noting that BK and Leather Wranglers sell blades that will fit Tandy knives which, I believe, are a 7/32" shank. I'd recommend getting something above the low end knives. It makes work easier, a lot more pleasurable and you won't be wasting money upgrading to a knife you'll wish you'd bought in the first place. Regards, Arturo

Or simply don't sell anything to UK customers. Jeff Bezos must be piddling himself with glee. Amazon, of course, is one of the "heavy hitters" that can deal with the new tax regulations. How many small vendors that want to sell in the UK will do it through outfits like Amazon to avoid the whole register/remit hassle? Simply strangle the small operators until they fall into line. I'm not really an "Area 51, Second Gunman On the Grassy Knoll" kind of guy (well, actually, I am a Second Gunman On The Grassy Knoll kind of guy) but I could almost see a government/big business conspiracy here.

I'm not terribly good at Google and I can't seem to find anything like this in 135X16. Does anyone make that? Thanks, Arturo