Wepster

Dirt track racing tires have fiber reinforcement but no steel. Folks who make recylced tire door mats use them when the racers are through with them.

"The flapping of the wings of a butterfly can be felt on the other side of the world." "For want of a nail..." It seems humanity has long felt the inter-relatedness, and how tiny things can have large results.

A bit off topic, but years ago I was trying to print something for a friend, my HP inkjet was not behaving correctly. Spent close to two hours on the phone with HP tech support. For my situation, windows (think it was 98) had a font that screwed up the printer. Was not even a font that was being used, just an obscure font tucked away. Deleted the font, and the printer was fine. Very strange.

Am I the only one who gets a little annoyed and disappointed when folks ask questions and never respond to the replys they get?

I know nothing of your machine, but if you need belts, here are a couple of options Here is a generic material used for belts: a lot of woodworkers use this for replacement / upgraded belts for saws, lots of options for purchase https://www.google.com/search?q=table+saw+linked+belt&oq=table+saw+linked+belt&aqs=chrome..69i57.4376j0j7&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8 alternative might work: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07L3YT12H/?coliid=IT4WH5S2IJLLS&colid=3QY048OY1KONO&psc=1&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it Info on the belt deep in this vid

a piece of corrugated metal or the fiberglass awning/shed/patio roof might give you a nice template.

So that would be the "engine" to pull your straps through/across the blade? That is certainly thinking outside the box! Love it. Now thinking in that direction, a come along at the end of your shop and a good clamp on the strap, block and tackle, two football players from the local high school.... (strike that last one, eat too much).

This may sound stupid, but anyone in your area with the equipment you could pay to do it?

For those who maybe interested in the 1x30 belt sander on Amazon mentioned by Dwight, I believe it is the same unit sold by Harbor Freight and probably Princess Auto. Here is a vid on setting up the sander to be smoother. I have added the better bearing, and turned the wheels, two on my lathe and the drive wheel in place. Much smoother. I have also placed a magnet in a small plastic bag behind the drive wheel, catches metal filings, hold the bag over the trash, reach in, pull out the magnet, the filings on the outside drop off.

Nice! what clamp did you end up choosing? Seems to be the right one!

I sewed some stunt kites, goodness that was nearly 30 years ago. Bought a couple too. I sewed up a bag with pack type nylon. Worked, but boy not nearly as classy as your case. Beautiful.

I would consider a piece of plastic wrap (ie saran wrap) between the leather and the magnet. It would confirm magnatism and not some surface tension/ stickyness from the finish or conditioning of the leather.

I have purchase CA from these folks several times. I have no experience with their flexible, but here it is.... https://starbond.com/search?q=flexible

the SDS for both the cement and the thinner confirms the above.

I read on a reddit that the thinner is methyl ethyl ketone (MEK). I do not know if that is correct.

Gonin down that long lonesome highway.... Takin a trip? Yeah...... the bag is simply stunning.

Found these looking for something else (of course), not the same, but same purpose https://www.amazon.com/Jdesun-Eyeglass-Adjustable-Connectors-Necklace/dp/B07SM679RR/ref=sr_1_122?keywords=cord%2Bends&qid=1687682617&s=arts-crafts&sr=1-122&th=1

the wrapping is how slingshots are done, with bands or tubes.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=slingshot+tubing&crid=6L0N7OBGG5GI&sprefix=slingshot+tu%2Caps%2C277&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_1_12

Guess I am not the only one! A professor I had in college told me stuff expands to fill the space available. Yup, and then some!

Thanks, I do think the keeper adds a certain finished look the piece. Maybe finished is not the right word, but they add a secure (?maybe?) look. If this were a purse I would think the keepers would add a big degree of difficulty to having the contents stolen in a crowd or hanging on a chair back in restaurant. Conversely I can see where they would add, for the same reason, an annoyance when retrieving documents in your home. With or without, a wonderful result for what I am sure was a lot of work!

Please share with us what you found, and your experience with it. Surgical tubing sounds good to me, similar or the same, Slingshot bands, tube type obviously, but they tend to be that tan color.

if you decide to make one, these toggle clamps from bessey auto adjust to maintain pressure over a range of thickness. Might be a good choice. https://www.bessey.de/en-us/bessey-tools-north-america/products/clamping-tools/auto-adjust-toggle-clamps

Wow, the accordion area is incredible! That is a serious amount of work that yeilded an impressive piece. To further my learning, where do you think you should have placed the studs? Lower? above the keepers, with the keepers lower? Not used studs?

I am curious, is the prohibiton on mailing blades, for the UK, just Northern Ireland, or local to where you live? I have looked at websites in the UK that sell knives ie https://www.georgebarnsleyandsons.co.uk/leather-working-knives?page=3