AlZilla

Amazing feat.

I get that these things have a following. But I just can't make myself buy something when the seller and I both understand that it doesn't work.

I'm going to kind of pile on to @Wyowally's answer. I have one of those great old Supermatics. You could probably manage some light upholstery work if you limit it to #69 thread. I wouldn't want to punch much leather with it, though.

If you can find out what the actual bobbin tension is supposed to be, this cheap scale here will help you ballpark it: https://www.amazon.com/Manual-Postage-Kitchen-Mechanical-AMWHAND-BLK/dp/B003STEJ8O/ I'll attach the actual pic so that when that listing goes away, this post will still have relevance. On domestics, about an ounce of bobbin tension gets me in the range and it's worlds better than guessing. If a person wanted to spend a LOT more money, actual purpose built bobbin tension gauges are out there. For our purposes, this little one works fine. It's a little fiddly, but who cares?

Tubes might be expensive overkill and maybe the sheer mass of the tube might draw moisture if your humidity got too high. The cardboard itself doesn't seem to pose a problem. Here's an article more applicable to commercial storage but I think we can draw from it. Most of us probably don't need industrial steel racks: https://www.worldofleathers.com/leather-care/how-to-store-leather-correctly-leather-storage-complete-guide/

OK, I thought maybe I was missing something about the design of the sandal. I suppose 60 years ago my feet were well designed for walking. Now a set of Nikes is my best friend.

@deboardp, I have a question about something you said earlier in the thread. You mentioned something earlier about wanting to make sandals for people who had foot problems. I find flat bottomed shoes of any kind make my feet hurt and my knees/hips are none too happy either. So, how do the sandals help with foot problems? I'd think without arch support, they'd make more problems, not less. Any insight?

Nope, just measure around the head above the ears, straight horizontal, and go from there. Very much trial and error. Since leather doesn't have any give to it, it's pretty unforgiving of too small. Oh, the hole has to be an ellipse, since that's how your head is shaped. I'll have to think about it and try to remember where I found the formula. Maybe the Mad Hatter will chime in ...

I'll let OP answer since it's his thread. I'll just point out that you have a little wriggle room since you'll probably be adding a sweatband inside and you can vary the thickness. The first one is tricky.

No, all that wavy and curling just happens. I'd like the sides curled up a bit like you'd expect a cowboy hat to do. But it just has a mind of it's own.

No, I Leather N' Rich everywhere, inside and out.

Those little stitch line inconsistencies will disappear with practice. Overall, very nice work. It's always impressive when a person can turn out handcrafted work that looks like it was machine made. But what's the point of that?

Missed this part. I kept forming the hat into the shape I wanted as it dried . Just kept coming back to it. Once it was dried, it stiffened up and has held it's shape, except for that pesky brim. I hit the inside with Leather N Rich, too.

I look rustic and used, too ...

I'm thinking verdigris might be a problem with copper. I've got a half hearted eye out for stainless wire.

So, I wore my hat out in the rain today and meant to grab a picture of how well the water beads up. I waited too long but there's 1 big blob left on the right side. I was inside maybe 7 or 8 minutes. I looked at it when I first walked in and it was beaded all up with rain. I probably haven't hit it with anything for close to a year.

By belly, I mean the belly portion of the hide. See how the brim of my hat is a little wavy? It kind of potato chips and curls on me. I think if I had stayed in the upper part of the hide, it wouldn't do that. If I run into a piece of stainless wire that will take a bend, I might do a binding around the edge with the wire inserted. As to cleaning, I wouldn't have a clue. Leather n' Rich is marketed as a leather cleaner, which I use it for on things. The hat, I just hit with some antiquing gel, some saddle tan dye and the Leather 'N Rich a couple days later.

I'm guessing you mean in the bobbin area. I've done it a time or two. You should be able to get it out with tweezers, screwdrivers scissors and assorted pointy things. I'm thinking it's under the hook? I've never had to pull the hook to clear one, but even that's not too hard. A couple of screws underneath, if I remember right. You'll get it. I've had the hook out of mine a couple of times. It's a good exercise just to give you a better understanding of how the machine works.

Blackrocks Leather N' Rich has worked on mine for a couple of years now. Been rained on a few times and wipes/dries right off.

Outstanding and congratulations. It's a tough project, isn't it? The hat in my pic was the first bigger project I did. I made a rookie mistake by getting into the belly for my brim. I constantly have to flatten it back out. Looks like a 1 piece crown? I used 2 pieces, sewn front and back. Then I made another with a 1 piece crown and it just doesn't sit right. Never came back to it. How about a pic of the inside?

Pic requires a login. Please just upload it here and make it easy for us. EDIT: I didn't realize you'd tagged onto an old thread. Also suggest you start a new thread where you'll get more action.

Great. So another manual on the forum.

I grabbed the copy Tejas uploaded and I see all the same graphics as the copy MikeRock got for me. I don't think anything is missing.

Hey, that's interesting. Turns out I misunderstood and the copy I got was 10 megs. Is yours 121 pages? If it's different, I'd be interested in looking at it.

@stelmackr, I appreciate the effort. But notice the result ends in -24. I wish search engines wouldn't serve up best guesses just to fill pages. Even adding the "+" symbol didn't help. MikeRock fixed me up and it turns out the file is 10 GIGS! No wonder it's hard to find ...