ArkieNewbie

Beautiful!!

That's interesting. To make my duck totes I use 8/9oz harness leather for the main strap and my Atomstack A30 cuts through it in 3 passes at 800mm/min at 80% power. I will usually have to do a little trimming of some fibers but it cuts everything pretty cleanly. I use 5/6oz vegtan for key chains and it cuts cleanly at 800mm/min at 70% power. Where I usually run into issues is cutting softer chrome tanned leather. My hypothesis was that the denser leather and lighter color absorbed the laser light better and then yielded a cleaner cut. I only use the focus piece included with the laser to focus my beam. Maybe your laser head is too far away.

Thank you sir! Thanks! It is super nice to have! I have made myself files for these notebook covers so they are completely engraved and cut on the laser. Great repeatability!!

Thanks, Joel! The computer and laser can definitely make you look good haha. You should get one, you can get into a decent starter one for around $300. The possibilities are endless! And it's really fun, another good creative outlet.

I would definitely put a big brand on the front or back of a bag or brief case if the customer liked it. I love the character! As far as your belts, as long as the brand doesn't create a weak spot, I see no reason at all that you shouldn't include the brands.

I made these bookmarks for some of our homeschooling friends. I'm happy with the way they turned out. It kind of makes me chuckle every time folks are so impressed with the laser engraving.

Hey everybody!! I made this notebook cover this week as a gift for our pastor's ordination this weekend. It is made from an awesome buffalo leather from SLC, the clasp is a solid brass quick release from Rocky Mountain. You might notice the loose stiches on the bottom left, this stitch crossed over the spine that is a single layer. I went back and cut that section of stitching out and restitched it.

I appreciate the input! I agree a zipper would be a nice addition. I am still a little apprehensive with zippers.

The Class 26 is my first machine. I went to it straight from hand stitching so I don't have any experience with a flat bed to compare it to. I went straight to the cylinder arm because I make a lot of leather patch hats and the cylinder arm was essential for those. I do LOVE the cylinder arm though. As you alluded to I just have such great access to stitch things on it I just couldn't do on a flat bed. Thank you sir! I appreciate it!

Morning Jim! I didn't have a ton of trouble but it was much more difficult to turn than a chrome tanned bag. My technique for this was to work the leather a little before stitching, bending all of the panels back and forth to soften them up a little. Then I started at the bottom seams and worked it about half way out by pushing with my fist in each corner. Then I grabbed the top of the bag and push with my thumbs where the bag was rolling over to get it rolled the rest of the way. I did that on each side and it seemed to work pretty well. From this experience I won't be attempting a bag like this with veg tan heavier than 4/5oz. I think it would end up being too stiff to roll without popping some stitches.

Thanks! I got a Class 26 a few months back and I've been slowly getting better. I used size 207 thread on everything on this bag for durability and for the look on the flap. Thank you! Thank you sir! Thanks! I agree! Solid natural brass is my go to. Thanks so much!

Hey everybody! I finished up this bag last weekend and wanted to share it with y'all. The body is 4/5oz. veg tanned and the flap is a double layer of the same leather. All hardware is solid brass. Hopefully this will last a lifetime for whoever winds up with it. Let me know what y'all think!

The dye job looks great! Super even! The snap would be very frustrating to me. I hate getting to the end of project and something stupid causes a flaw! Your stitching looks really good. I'm not a fan personally of the larger round holes but everybody has their methods. Great work!!

Thank you sir! I had made a hat for someone else with the same message and she saw it and had to have it on her canteen. Thanks so much! I appreciate the kind words. Totally agree! I try to talk folks into leaving veg tan natural all the time. Thankfully Mrs. Delma gave me full rein on this one. Leaving it natural to me completes the "custom made" because no one else on earth will have the same patina as she gets.

Thank you sir!

Thanks, Chuck! I almost dyed it, but then thought better of it. I did coat the body and strap with Feiblings Carnuba Creme.

Hey everybody! I finished up this project over the weekend. My customer keeps this canteen with her at ALL TIMES!! She finally wore out her original cover she had for years and years. This is her replacement. This is 3/4oz veg tan with horse hide laces. The loop on the strap is to go around the horn of her saddle. I stitched the bottom half on the Class 26 and then punched holes and laced the top together in case it ever needs to be removed. Both sides of the cover were laser engraved. What do y'all think?

Why not order glue from SLC's website? They usually ship small things like that pretty quickly.

Just finished up this notebook cover for a customer. I'm really happy with how it turned out! This is made from a buffalo leather I got from SLC and a quick release clasp from Rocky Mountain. I have gotten to where these notebook covers are really pretty quick to make. I have made a file in Lightburn to laser cut them. This allows me to be super accurate with the cuts and to place the engraving exactly where I want it.

SLC has a who section for upholstery leather. The goat may perform just fine but a soft 3/4oz upholstery leather would probably be better. https://www.springfieldleather.com/shop-now/leather/chrome-tan/bag-upholstery

I run the thread out of my bobbin on my Class 26 clockwise and don't have any issues. If you run it out counter clockwise it will add more tension to the thread because of the sharp turn it has to make. How many times do you have your thread passed through the post on top of the machine? Another thing to look for is if your thread is getting wrapped around anything or if it is getting caught on itself coming off the spool. I had a spool that was apparently spliced together and the thread kept getting caught on that splice knot and when it did BOOM, knots sitting on top. This is a good video. https://youtu.be/SyM-13KFIKc

WOW!! That is incredible!! I us almost exclusively fountain pens for my writing and love anything that has to do with them!

Three whacks is all I do with the domer to get this finish. Yes, it's a little annoying to have to use two different tools but I do like the results.

I use this to dome brass and copper rivets after driving the burr down with a cheap setter from SLC. This $13 domer does such a great job and in my opinion leaves a much better finish that the domer on the SLC setter. https://www.centaurforge.com/Nordic-Forge-Rivet-Set-Punch-with-Concave-Face/productinfo/305/

WOW! This is awesome to see!! The folks at SLC are the best!