BeefSupreme

Normally I go through Weaver for all of my die production, but they are out of stock and have a long backorder on belt punch dies (buckle/billet strap ends). Does anyone know of a die maker that will make dies for the Weaver Strap Punch machine? These dies: https://www.weaverleathersupply.com/catalog/item-detail/65-6682-11-2/billet-end-belt-die-for-master/pr_35279 For this machine: https://www.weaverleathersupply.com/catalog/item-detail/65-6680/master-tool-self-centering/pr_35232 Already reached out to Texas Custom Dies and they do not make these.

Weaver BFCM deal started today. 10% off almost everything Rocky Mountain Leather has a few odds-and-ends on sale for BFCM now.

I hear you, and I've been doing the same by-hand method for awhile now. However, I'm at the point where making 10 belts a day by hand becomes tedious, a tad boring, and really putting some strain on my wrists. It's about saving time for me at this point, and the 1 out of 100 times I slip and make a mistake by hand. Sales have been going well for some time now, so I think a die is in the cards for my business.

Anyone here use a belt tipping machine? If not, maybe you know a die supplier for this. I have a Tandy/Craftplus belt tipping machine, and I'd like some custom dies made. I've heard weaver will custom make dies for their belt tipper, but I don't know if weaver dies would be compatible on a Craftplus tipping machine. https://www.ivan.tw/products/craftplus-tipping-machine Anyone have experience swapping out tipping dies? Think that's something Texas Custom Dies would tackle for me? For example, here are some of the Weaver dies (not sure if these would work on my machine): https://www.weaverleathersupply.com/catalog/cp_/shop-now/machinery/master-tools/self-centering-punch

Thank you Spyros! You are spot-on with those pictures of the nut-inserts. I can confirm the BuckleGuy cutter uses the bad one that spins, and Ivan/Tandy uses the larger one that stays put. And, the comment about the bevel/curve/groove in the wood is super important, too. I found this out on a bad Tandy model that somehow missed the beveling step during production. A simple dremel sandpaper grind is a quick 60 second DIY step to add the groove to any strap cutter that doesn't have it. Some cutters will apply the groove to both sides of the handle, other brands only do it to one side (so customer assembly left/right position is important), and sometimes it just gets left off on accident. But, like Spyros said, the curve in the wood is a must have on the side facing the leather. I need to research Ivan's more. I thought they were an extension of Tandy for some reason. Their websites are similar and many of the Tandy branded machines (ex: belt tipper) are 100% the same.

Does anyone remember if Weaver or BuckleGuy has black friday sales? Remember what they were last year? I vaguely remember 5% or 10% from Weaver (one day only). I guess we can also use this thread to share BF supplier sales as they pop up next week.

I've gone through a few of these cheapie strap cutters now. I have a few thoughts that may help someone out: The issues: - The top nut that tightens everything down is usually the part that breaks. It will loosen slightly and then your strap gets wider mid-cut. Really sucks when you are working with expensive leather to make a belt. - Cheap soft wood is not ideal for holding the top nut in place. - The more often you change strap size, the more times you'll need to crank down on the nut. Each time you do this, the nut insert starts to spin and tears apart the soft wood. Some solutions: - Look for a strap cutter made from hardwoods. - Or, buy 2 or 3 cheapie cutters, and dedicate each cutter to one size. Ex: 0.5in, 1.25in, and 1.5in (if you are a belt maker). Crank down the top nut of each cutter set to the right size, and then NEVER change the size again. For cheapie cutters, I've found BuckleGuy's to actually be the worst, surprisingly. I really did like the design, but it was cheaply produced. Tandy's is my go-to for cheapie cutters now, though it uses thin blades only. I still need to try Romanov on Etsy.

I have nearly the same hot foil machine, but without the T-Slot holder, only the screw mounted stamps. Overall, it's great and well worth the money. I'm thinking about getting a second cheap one now. I believe the T-Slot holder is best for stamping letters/names/etc, and the Screw-Only version of the machine is best for aligning stamps. If I had to pick just one machine, I'd probably get the TSlot version first. The only setup you'll need to do is re-align the 4 posts, as the flat hot plate isn't exactly flat when it arrives. Example, if you stamp a long name like "Jonathan", then "J" might be lightly stamped or not show up at all, and the last "n" will be very deep in the leather. Watch Geordie Leather on youtube to see how these 4 corners adjust in height. Also, fwiw, those Etsy shops are selling the same machine you can get in a lot of places. I'd recommend checking out Vevor.com for the machine itself, and LeatherStampMaker.com for the alphabet set. You'll get a better price on the machine with Vevor, less shipping time from their US warehouse. And LSM makes really high quality stamps compared to some of those Chinese Etsy reseller stores.

I thought Herman Oak only offered one style of English Bridle, but it looks like Weaver and SLC are selling two very different sides of HO English Bridle. Can anyone shed some light on quality differences between these two? In the pictures, Weaver has a finished flesh side, while the SLC flesh side looks undyed or less treated. Weaver also has a Herman Oak style number stamped on it. At a glance it looks like Weaver has the nicer leather, but wanted to hear from anyone that has used these before. $250 /side from SLC: https://www.springfieldleather.com/Hermann-Oak-Bridle-London-Tan?quantity=11&leather-thickness=15 $330 /side from Weaver: https://www.weaverleathersupply.com/catalog/item-detail/02-180s-10-12/hermann-oak-english-bridle/pr_26819

Yep, and that's what I've done so far. Just a text annotation. That's probably what I'll go with now to have the first die made, but long term, it's kind of a pain because that dimension text won't auto update as I make changes to the pattern. Another issue, as I add more details to a pattern, it becomes harder to describe which side/shape/line I'm talking about. For now I'll try to put the text as close as possible to the line it's describing. Not sure if the die maker even needs the dimension lines, but it's nice to have the visual confirmation on the intended size. Also, thank you JayEhl for the suggestions. I gave NanoCAD a try. It has a steep learning curve coming from the Adobe product line. It's been a hot minute since I've used AutoCAD, so basic tasks require research. I also tried exporting a PDF from Illustrator, and using the "Measure Tool" built into Acrobat Reader. Acrobat PDF Reader is pretty bare bones, it has a measuring tool exactly like I wanted, but it doesn't let you specify precision or edit the text labels after you draw a dimension line. I'm guessing they want $$$ for Acrobat Pro.

I'm looking to have a handful of clicker dies created and I want to design them myself digitally. Today I used an old copy of Adobe Illustrator to make a pattern, but this version doesn't have a dimensions feature. I'd really like the dimensions to show up on the PDF pattern I give to the die maker. Showing length/height in mm, radius of corners, diameter of the circles, etc. How do you all create die patterns digitally? Are there any free tools you'd recommend?

I could use some experienced perspectives here to make sure I'm considering the right machine features, and to make sure I'm not buying total garbage. I'm in the market for a low-end hot foil stamping machine, which led me to these two options. Both are on Amazon, but I've found it is significantly cheaper to purchase directly from Vevor or ZoneSun (manufacturers) directly. Of the two cheapie brands, these are the nicest machines they sell. #1 Vevor Machine $168 #2 ZoneSun Machine $179 Some Questions: 1. The ZoneSun has a screw-on mount to the hot plate. It allows a brass word tray (with handle) to slide on. The Vevor doesn't have this mount, so character trays have to be bolted on each time. It seems like a big time savings to be able to slide word sets on and off without shutting the machine down to cool first. Is my thinking correct, the ZoneSun has a leg up here? 2. With the ZoneSun's alphabet tray mount, do I have to use their letter holder? Will other alphabet sets fit in the letter holder? 3. The ZoneSun has a slide-able work tray on the bottom. Is this actually useful? Does it cause any accuracy issues with not sliding back into place exactly? 4. Are these machines actually worth buying or just hot garbage? 5. Has anyone purchased from Vevor or ZoneSun directly before? I won't have the return protection Amazon offers. I'm somewhat worried about getting a broken machine and SOL. 6. ZoneSun seems to have a number of different domains and webshops. ZoneSun.com ZoneSunTech.com, etc. Super sketchy to say the least. Experience buying from one of these? 7. Anyone own either machine? Lessons learned, things to avoid, upgrades to make, etc? 8. Any features I'm not considering? Any reason to go with a higher end machine? What would be the next step up?