Spyros

nice, nice

Danne, about toolholders: I used to make toolholders for every single tool, but over the years I realised they sound (and look) much better than they actually are. The thing is, tools change all the time, you can never predict exactly what shape and size holders and holes you will need, and sooner or later you end up with tools that you have nowhere to put, and then you end up permanently building new holders. Also they're just not practical, you have to reach over for your tools, and then to put it back you have to remember what goes where and which hole is for which etc. I don't know if you've seen my workspace thread but this is my solution for storing everyday things and keeping them from rolling around: I have another strip like that on the left hand side of the white HDPE, I just can't find a photo right now. Just some wooden borders, that's it. As long as you can bolt them down somehow on your bench/desk/table so they are stable, that's all you need really. But the main thing is they are right next to my hand, and when I finish with a tool I just drop it back in without thinking. And they're also very low, so if I have to roll a hide over them to cut it they are not a problem. Add some magnet strips on the wall for whatever can go on the wall and you're done. I've had workshops all my life and I found those are the most practical and space saving solutions. Toolholders look nice but they're really just a pain in the butt.

Ahhh if we were closer by I'd propose a swap: make me a wallet and I'll make you a nice tool holder from Huon pine and Tasmanian blackwood Unfortunately it would cost an arm and a leg to ship to Sweden, doesn't make sense For the punches, it's really the high carbon steel and the shape of the tip i was looking for, that's all I need. I can tell from the colours he has hardened the tips so the guy obviously knows what he's doing and has a good rep generally, and the price is right, so yeah it's probably worth taking a punt. But I'll let you know when I receive them.

Nah, too many punches for me, I only really use 5 or 6. Plus too many features I don't want to pay for: Hexagonal handle (don't care, I've made built in bins for my bench specifically so things don't roll around), black finish to prevent rusting (don't care, no humidity where I am, never had any tool rust on me), sharpening & polishing (don't care, I do those things myself), wooden rack (keep it, I'm a woodworker) This one however is just perfect: https://www.kevinleathertools.com/products/basic-hole-punch-set-1 I just ordered it actually, I'll let you know what it's like when it arrives Thanks for the tips!

wow, that last one... I mean if you need it you need it, right? Problem is I don't really, I hardly ever cut such big holes. And when I do need one or two odd-shape holes I have this cheap set of cutters, I pick the one i need, hold a piece of wood over it and give it a good smack. Does the trick. KS Blades... I love the chisels i bought from them, but for hole punches it's probably overkill. Plus it took a very long time to make and receive from Korea. I like the ones you linked on Etsy, they have a good shape. Hmmmmm

Nice, man roo is easily my favourite leather, you never have to skive it, tough as nails, nice to the touch, ages beautifully, what's not to like? Have a look at Austanners too, they have lots of colours and they emboss any pattern for free for larg-ish orders (3 or 4 hides or more, from memory). They also have glazed kangaroo which is what I made a wallet and sunglasses case for myself: Actually here's an idea for yourhides... colourful cases for sunglasses! Make yourself a nice pattern or die and churn them out, very quick to make and with summer coming up they will probably sell by the bucketload!

So I battled over this decision for many months, I actually saved the budget for a Tormek, but in the end I went for the German (probably Chinese) Scheppach instead, plus the jigs in the background. Price difference from Tormek for the machine+jigs was about 70%. I did however inspect the Tormek thoroughly because I woodworker friend has one, so I was able to make some comparisons. No doubt the Tormek easily beats the scheppach in many little (and not so little) things. My question was how important are those things to me. So here's some observations after sharpening a few dozen different tools on the Scheppach: - Most people believe that all those Tormek knock offs that the market is flooded with are all the same, but that's not entirely true. Many (most?) of them, especially the smaller 2000mm ones have a worm drive system with the main cog made out of plastic. I wanted to avoid that and having to replace the cog over time, so the particular model I picked has a similar system to Tormek, ie the motor axle mounts on the bottom of the stropping wheel and drives the whole system from there, which (I believe) is much better for maintenance. Here's a view from below: - The Tormek is somewhat quieter. Not an issue for me, I work in my shed which is insulated for sound and I run much noisier power tools in there anyway. - Vibration/dampening. The Tormek runs very smooth, the Scheppach not quite as smooth but more than acceptable, it has a good spring for the motor as you can see in the photo and some nylon washers on the mounts, good enough. - The Tormek has a stainless steel axle and washers, the Scheppach not (that I can tell) which is a bit of an issue, but after some thought i decided it's not a deal breaker for me. Worse case scenario something rusts after a few months or years, a SS washer is $1 and an axle is $10. For sure an annoyance for a heavy user, but I'm really not that. - Setting the toolrest height. Tormek is awesome in that regard, they've added a thumbwheel that sets both bars at the same time while staying square to the wheel. I have to turn two knobs instead and then check for square. This is where you have to have some experience and be aware of your actual needs. Me for example, I will hardly ever adjust this thing. I always make any height adjustments I need on the jig that I mount on the bar instead, or I simply freehand many of my tools. So I can see how it can be a convenience but it's also kind of irrelevant for me and the way that I use this machine. - Wheel running our of true/out of square, wheel run out, wheel not flat etc. To be honest I didn't notice any differences with my friend's Tormek, the Scheppach wheel was running just fine straight out of the box. Maybe I got lucky, but here's the thing: If anyone believes that buying a high end grinding machine means they will never have to deal with wonky, uneven and scratched wheels, think again. It will absolutely happen overtime, and you will eventually have to learn how to set, flatten, adjust and generally finetune your wheel. the sooner you learn the better, that's just the nature of wet grinding. - Jigs: Again, Tormek is the industry standard. You pay through the nose for jigs (and parts) but there's one for every use, designs have been finetuned for decades, everything comes with clear instructions and everything works as expected. The Scheppach has also built up a decent range by now and I was lucky that it covers most of my needs, and they are also cheap, so I bought a whole bunch. I haven't found a drill sharpening solution yet, but there's no way I'd pay AUD $500 for Tormek's drill sharpening jig anyway. - Just little details everywhere. With the Tormek everything feels better made, a little more accurate, almost ridiculously overengineered to stand the test of time. With the Scheppach you have to trust your eye and your hand a little more when turning screws and adjusting things. In my mind, we should do that anyway, personally I don't mind it but that's up to you. My opinion in general: Is Tormek the best? Yes by far. If you are a pro sharpener or a heavy-use woodworker/metalworker who sharpens tools every day, should you get one? Absolutely, start saving now. All those little differences and features add up to a big thing that will save you time and money. Are you obsessive-compulsive with all your tools and details, do you want to upload videos on youtube of yourself shaving your arm with a chisel you just sharpened? Start saving for a psychiatrist. Get well soon. Are you a light user with some experience in sharpening and tinkering, and wondering if you can you make do with a cheaper alternative? Yes, you probably can. It's a question of understanding your actual needs and how much each feature that you are paying for is actually relevant to you. Chances are, not all of them are, so maybe there is an opportunity to buy a cheaper, less refined machine and do your job just fine. It's up to you, I'm happy with mine.

Because of the shape of the tool I don't find it hard to sharpen, I just mount it on a drill and run a sandpaper on the outside and then clean the burr on the inside with a roundjewelers file. Takes me a couple of minutes per tip. My problem with those tips is that they literally break if I'm not VERY careful what I punch and how I punch it. But somehow I got used to it.. I like how I can have the whole "system" in a small container next to me instead of having 10 "real" hole punches of different sizes, I don't know... I think my future is the same thing but from a better manufacturer, I have to research it.

Is that the silver one with the set of black screw-on tips? I bought this thing too, I broke a tip the first day, and broke another one the day after, they just broke in half. I was so ftustrated I got nervous laughter :D Then I don't know what got into me but whenever I shopped at Tandy I kept adding replacement tips in the basket, like it was somehow my responsibility to keep this tool functional, so now I have a collection of random tips in overlapping sizes. And the funny thing is I keep using it a lot. Occasionally a tip breaks, I buy more. I could've probably bought a nice Osborne set by now with how much money I've spent on it

Frodo, you know you HAVE to build yourself a wood lathe, right? Buying wood burnishers, come on now...

Personally? i don't mind if it stays a niche industry with some thousand craftspeople around the world, a couple dozen online vendors, and a few chat rooms and youtube channels to exchange ideas. Works for me. I'm stuck in COVID isolation for months anyway, I've learned to live without physical shops. I have nothing against Tandy, everything I bought was cheap and I got what I paid for. Those type of products have a purpose and a place in the market, but I've moved on and it's not for me anymore. Having said that, I appreciated the organised website and the fast shipping to Australia. Good to see they're bringing in (what looks like) some more high-end stuff, I might try something. Or, I might opt for the cheaper Etsy shop instead. I have about zero shop loyalty

So basically high end Chinese tools Could do worse than that.

I made my own wooden tips for my rotary tool, then I made more for my drill press because the dremel was running too fast. I haven't tried a burnishing machine because I prefer the vertical orientation of the drill press. But in the end my favourite machine for this task is the electric edge creaser with a heated brass tip (about the same shape as the aluminium ones above). I found it to be the fastest and most convenient once you find the right temperature for the job.

Heh, good research Retswerb!

Τandy pro tools are back apparently https://tandyleather.world/search?type=article%2Cpage%2Cproduct&q=TandyPro*+Hand*+Tools*&trk_msg=5OCU0M08F1G4R047KJ809JBRQ4&trk_contact=UB651GRD1KE45D0S4D5TKSK5OK&trk_sid=BSQ399HSTDSSHMSAHVE2BQ84BK&utm_source=listrak&utm_medium=email&utm_term=https%3a%2f%2ftandyleather.world%2fsearch%3ftype%3darticle%2Cpage%2Cproduct%26q%3dTandyPro*%2bHand*%2bTools*&utm_campaign=Introducing+TandyPro®+Tools!

Good call mate, I will do that thank you

My old boss used to say if you can't make it good make it big, and if you can't make it big at least make it red I think my boss should meet your boss they'd have a lot of fun LOL I mix my dyes with Carnauba cream because I can't get the damn dye to spread evenly otherwise, then immediately a coat of (undiluted) resolene, and that's all I do. Dye, condition and seal all done in 10mins. I haven't had anything bleed yet but I only started a few months ago so we'll see.

I spent about $10k for my first chair in woodworking, a couple of k on my first wallet... probably saved more than that on psychiatrists, doing something creative keeps me sane. Welcome aboard!

Mechanical accounting machine? I want one, does it do taxes? I always thought a punch or setter should be heat treated as you would a knife, hard but with a bit of flexibility built in, neither soft nor brittle as a file. I guess a setter or punch is small enough to take a blowtorch to it until it's cherry red, quench it in something, and then pop it in the oven for an hour, but it would have to be a big torch.

What about hardening though

Yeah I get it, there are other crafts that are cheap but these are more hobbies than anything else. Leatherworking gives people the ability to make legit sellable products and even a small business for themselves for a very small investment. And I only mention the word "sellable" not because this is the end all - be all target for all crafts, not at all, but just to highlight the quality and significance of the end result. In leatherworking the ratio of the value of the outcome versus the financial outlay is very high.

wow!

Scares me a bit to see what would actually make you happy Looks awesome to me!

Oh yeah I forgot, I flipped over the top layer of my middle (black) bench to get a clean surface. Before: After: This material is called form ply, basically construction grade plywood with this black composite film on top that nothing sticks to. They use it in construction to make molds to pour concrete into. They beauty of it is that you can pour epoxy, wood glue, leather glue, dyes, anything at all, you can just wipe it off, or if it's dry you just push it gently with a hard spatula and it comes off. Perfect for glue ups and dyeing, I used it a lot for both leatherworking and woodworking. If you don't scratch it (which is the mistake I made before) it lasts and stays clean forever. Love it!

And finally I made a quick tool wall for some wood working tools that needed a home. Just rivets and eyelets, quick & easy. And a quick catch all for keys, glasses, phone, because they always seem to find their way exactly under my leather when I want to punch a hole. aaaaand that's it, I think I'm done making stuff for the shed