CdK

@Nadiri I added the WorkerB package from Sailrite to my machine to improve the speed control & torque and keep it portable. I have also added feed dogs and presser feet better suited for leather work along with a stitch length plate. Member kgg here sells a nice kit for this. My starting point was a cheap generic base machine that turned into something useable. In this journey I spent considerable time and a lot of money to get it to where it is now reliable and with utility. Not recommended for those not mechanically inclined and not prepared to learn how to tune this machine.

Simple and elegant tool & method described here, I’ll lodge this in my mind if I venture into doing this kind of project.

How you apply anything to the leather matters less that what you apply to leather. Consider dye, a range of tools and methods all produce dyed leather. The range is from dipping to spraying on with many methods, techniques and tools yielding the results we are after. If a tool or method works for you, use it. Outcome needed or desired will typically determine the material, method and tools used.

Some good advice by a number of members here so not much to add except the story of my latest adventure. Ramble warning ahead… i don’t do social media and don’t have need for it, YMMV. A piece of advice I got from a member here that has proven its truth is not to become fixated on what you like and what you would buy. Backstory, I recently made the plunge and invested a lot of money into equipment, materials and supplies without a full business plan except that I knew I did not know enough yet want to craft and sell leather goods. I did not borrow money or incur overhead that could get me into trouble. Worst case I sell off what I have and reset. As part of my adventure I have spent a lot of time and effort to master the equipment and learn techniques new to me. Tooling and holsters & belts I am very familiar with but this is not my current focus as I know that only accepting custom work will not generate sufficient work or revenue. I have witnessed too many people fail trying to do this but even though they are very skilled and produce excellent products or services, failed financially. Mastering, I use this term loosely, sewing machines with types of leather and designs I am not familiar with has been an interesting journey. Making small zippered bags has kept me occupied for the past few weeks. The early examples were atrocious in my opinion, but slowly I got over the hump and things started to come together. I no longer have any fears of zippers or making bags. Some of the bags were in colors and designs I would not choose for myself yet they all sold without leaving my house, no social media, no website and no friends & family sales. I had one long time holster customer visit me with a new to him pistol for a holster. His wife saw the bags hanging in my shop and she bought 2. She also took photos without me knowing. Within a few days all were sold. This type of pattern has repeated itself a few times already so not a fluke. Based from the feedback I got I learned a few things of importance, my color choices are different to what others prefer, qualities and properties of products that I would not have considered are important to know. This also proved my assertion that I must have ready stocks of items ready to go as impulse buying is alive and well and having these will lead to more sales as well as adding custom orders to my to-do list. Oh, have a selection of leathers on hand, this leads to more business. A catalog or photos won’t get the same traction, this is from customer feedback.

I have started to use my 801 quite a lot to skive waxy pull-up and soft chrome tan for bags. I don’t have a vacuum, just a plastic shoebox mounted under the opening to catch the trimming. Ditched the steel feed wheel as the stone is superior for these leathers. on rare occasions small pieces came up the feed wheel but had no damage to work pieces. I like the 3d printed pickup Wildharry made and I’m thinking to do something similar and use a small shop vac to remove the scraps. I don’t think adding any covers or such will be needed to make this work considering that most of the scraps just fall out already. I will post something once I have done this.

The glued shut screw caps can be prevented by lightly coating the threads with Vaseline or grease.

I stopped using it as it is not available locally and shipping it in was a mess due to leaking containers. I use Weldwood contact cement and results are good and the local hardware outlets have it available, There may be applications where Barge is preferred but I have not come across any limitations yet. I don’t do footwear so it may not be suitable for that use.

@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.

@MarshalWillThank you. @Northmount Thank you. I must compliment you and fellow moderators for keeping this forum a civil and friendly place. Almost done with some small mods and tasks to go, like a swing down guide and belt cover on the 441 and cleaning up the wiring on both.

@dikmanShe is my late mothers cat and sometimes I think reincarnation occurs even after the cat was born. She is my QA/QC individual with an extremely critical eye.

@kggThank you for your kind words. Yes, I was sent a pedal and rings and I got that part taken care of. The knee actuated lifter somehow did not grow on me and a few times I stomped the sewing pedal in error and had to clean up the rats-nest around the bobbin.