CdK

@AlZilla It's OK, it is only a flesh wound!

@TomETom, thank you for the kind offer. I don't need any for the foreseeable future as a quart will last me a very long time. I learned early on that the product must be used sparingly and with care or lousy outcomes will occur. I found that diluted 50/50 with water and sprayed on works well, dauber or brush, not so much. Gives me a satin finish with a lustre that preserves the natural texture & look of the underlying leather. This locks in the pro dye well and prevents smearing or rub-off. It does not totally seal the leather and NFO & balm will still be absorbed by the leather after application. I have seen too many completed projects that are shiny from heavy application and cracking and spalling off is often the outcome. Typical example where less is more. I have not witnessed discoloration of thread but then again I use bonded polyester or nylon for my sewing. I will remember your heads-up and will do a test first when I use different thread.

No, I shook the small jar to mix the solution and noticed it was off before I tried to spray it. Cleaning out a Paasche is not fun, ask me how I know...

...So there I was... Did you know that Resolene will curdle when you add rubbing alcohol to it? I was getting the airbrush ready to finish some holsters with Resolene. I thin it with water for better spraying, done this many times before and it has always worked well. Instead of going into the house to get some water I thinned it with some 91% alcohol I had on hand. Thankfully I mixed these in a small jar so the waste is minimal.

When I started with the craft I had spare time and broke, still in school. A cobbler in our small town set me up with an old diamond awl, some needles & thread and a piece of beeswax. He showed me how to use these. I used a modified kitchen fork as my pricking iron and a stitching pony I made from oak lumber scraps. Useful learning how to stitch using these simple basic tools and making what you need from the (old) gentleman. (He was a teenager during WW2 and learnt through necessity to do leather work making prosthetics, these were in great demand at the time.)

@Chef niloc This is what I did, started out with a low speed grinder from Amazon, $80 & sanding drum kit from Harbor Freight, $18. I turned a screw on arbor for the RH thread and pressed this into a block of cherry. I then turned the wood to add the grooves. I rotated the grinder body 180* so the rotation is away from me.

Sold & shipped to @Jbab

Status update: sale pending.

As mentioned above, sharpening and keeping your tools sharp are easy and a must. I often cringe when watching internet celebrity artisans use obviously dull tools. It takes just a few seconds to strop cutting tools and keep the edges keen.

Nice rigs. Just me but if I need to go somewhere and thinking I might need so much ammunition I would take a rifle with several large capacity magazines!

@Dominique Yes, this is still available.

@OleTan Yes, this is still available.

Nice older machines worthy of putting back into working order.

Very nice, you are much braver than I in taking on making your own footwear.

Very nice work. My hands ache looking at the nice lacing, remembering how much time and effort it took to do that kind of work years ago. I laced many projects at that time as I had not mastered finishing edges to my liking yet.