AlZilla

Wow. I didn't know such a thing existed. Definitely one of the best kept secrets in leatherworking. Thank you!

Very nice work. Lucky guy that you get to make it.

I struggled early on. Then I found that wetting the leather like when I'm stamping ended all my problems. Also, an advocate for dip dyeing, but not the 3 to 5 minutes recommended above. Just long enough to get the desired color. I did some larger pieces today and couldn't dip them. A wool dauber and applying the fiebings dye full strength worked fine. Wetted the leather first, of course. I applied the dye at a rate sort of like I was painting a wall - loaded the dauber and worked a section at a time. "Dipping" doesn't mean you need 5 gallons of dye, by the way. A large shallow pan will do or a smaller container that you work the piece through work fine for me. Then return the dye to a container.

I've only been at this leather thing a couple of years now. When I first started learning about leather types, one of the 1st things I read was that "genuine leather" and "real leather" are the lowest form of leather you can find. As above, they can be ground up leather formed into a sheet. That said, I just bought about 20 belts from Walmart on clearance for 2 bucks each because they had nice buckles. I'll incorporate the belts into some low wear/stress function. Maybe.

Good luck with it. The pricing is such that I could see it working for someone who wanted to spend their time tooling and finishing, especially with the free shipping over $50. I'm in the middle of punching 5 or 600 silly little holes on a project so the value of pre-punched is not lost on me...

The knob on the right, as mentioned, is a little pretension (which I suspected but kept quiet until it was confirmed). The bottom is to set your take up spring. That part I know because it looks a lot like a Singer 111 type of tension unit. The biggest difference I see is that pre-tension gizmo on the right - the Singer (and others) unit has a little flag with 3 holes to accomplish the same task. That take-up spring can cause you trouble if it's not just right, too. On any sewing machine. It's worth double checking. Have you tried it out on thicker leather? I thought Cobra had a pretty good reputation for sending their machines ready to sew.

Is Mom's pen and ink? Maybe on canvas? You should frame the 2 and hang them side by side. A hundred years from now the family might get a kick out of talking about great, great Uncle Stewart and great great Grandma's artwork.

Definitely like the dragonfly / lily pad one.

Post those pics here and the hive mind will tell you, and the rest of the world, exactly what you have. Right down to it's DNA sequence and a weather report for the day it was made.

I wouldn't abandon it. Hit it with the saddle tan and I bet you'll never see it. Try it on a piece of scrap.

I'm going to suggest you find some other leather that you don't care about to test on. To pile on Mulesaw's comment, I recently talked to a taxidermist friend about old hides. He says tanned hides can certainly dry out to where they're just not salvageable. I'll follow along to see how you make out.

Assuming that you started at the top in your picture and things deteriorated after you turned the corner, how did it look when you got back to 3 layers? Funny how it looks fine until you turn the corner headed down and then the tension looks unbalanced and gets progressively worse.

This question got me poking around the net (as you no doubt did) and I came across a page recommending "one of Aileen’s tacky craft glues" to reglue the leather down. No clue what it is, but it may bear investigation. Here's the page, in all it's splendor: https://throughavintagelens.com/2010/04/restoring-vintage-cameras-iii-techniques/ I was really expecting to find that recovering the cameras would be the preferred method, but apparently not. I can understand wanting originality as a collector but if a suitable leather could be found, I don't think replacing it would be too hard. EDIT: And here's a PDF from Kodak that says mild soap and then white glue to reattach the leather. restoration_inst.pdf

So, here's a thread that should get you on the right trail. There's even a link for a close-enough manual:

I've never bought sheepskin from these guys, but I've bought a bunch of other stuff and never been disappointed. https://www.glacierwear.com/buckskin-leather-hides-deer-buckskin/shearling-sheepskin-leather.html

Got it - rule steel. I'll read up on it and make it a winter project. I have a small hydraulic press. Thanks! EDIT: It looks like they're bending the stuff with nothing more than a push clamp. I can fabricate something that'll do simple curves and corners. Thanks for the push!

For me, a 441 clone set up with 277 and a 111W set up with 138 give me plenty of range. And a host of domestic machines. Just what works for me.

In my fledgling dyeing, I've found that wetting the leather down first really evens out the dye job. Dauber, dipping, whatever way I do it, it just works better wet. EDIT: Though I have to admit, I like the distressed look of those straps. Put some kind of a cowboy theme on them, slick the edges and give'em a shiny finish. They'll look like a million bucks.

Yes, early on some of the videos I saw featured a drum or belt sander and I grabbed right on to that idea. So, if the stitch line wanders from the edge a bit - move the edge!

That right there is one of my big concerns. I like your review of equipment. Those weren't the brands that had been on my reading list. I might well come back and pick your brain when I start edging in that direction again.

Another avenue of adventure. For some reason, I thought it was more akin to actual metalworking. Is there a particular gauge, thickness or however they're measured you recommend to do the type of work you show in the picture? Thanks for the tip off.

I'm not sure how you'd reduce it down, but if you're thinking to simmer it in order to evaporate the alcohol, be warned that the alcohol vapors are dangerously flammable and heavier than air. In other words, don't do it on a gas stove. Though I hear tell there's some kind of fancy cooker gadget that'll do the job.

I know that the die material can be purchased in lengths. Are you saying that it's easily formed around, say, a wooden cutout?

Yeah, a 3d printer is on my radar. Kind of confusing to research online only, but I'll get there.