Sprocket

Coming back to this - got a suggestion for Resolene Thoughts? Thanks all

Wax - Hmm - would bees wax serve? Thinking out loud as I have some on hand for other uses. Thanks for the response

I've been task with making a Dread Pirate mask that will be made from 3-4 veg tan - the color needs to be black and it will be worn against the skin. What products would you recommend to seal the back side of the mask in contact with the skin? I burnished the flesh side of my prototype with black Tokonole - turns out the color bleeds with water... At least the surface is smooth. The plan is to dye the front black and then finish the whole thing with "something" to seal against sweat and prevent color from leaching into the skin. I'm just sort not quite sure exactly what to use. Thanks for looking and responding.

Thank you for that info - if it's a brushless motor, would there be a module or other indicator? I'm not exactly sure I'll be able to get into the motor that far - I may have to do some disassembly of the machine to verify. I'll certainly look at an electronic controller.

Thank you Bruce - this should be enough for me to be dangerous. The $$ I'll spend on belts and supplies will probably afford me at least one new punch but hopefully I'll develop a new skill - or at least rule it out.

To clarify: My machine is 120V 1phase 60hz, 1200W - a bench top 1x30 sander from Harbor Freight - not an expensive unit (approx. $40). Closer to a vintage sewing machine than not. A rheostat controller can throttle the current flow and moderate the motor speed much like a vintage sewing machine - for about $30 shipped. No lighting dimmer switches need apply - not rated for the job - but a motor controller appropriately rated. Compared to an industrial machine at 3phase of any voltage utilizing an electronic VFD - a completely separate piece of equipment there. That's more of a professional knife maker or metal fabrication shop item. Northmount - following the cone, yes - not true horz/vert but a general orientation of the part to the belt. Oltoot - Thank you for reminding me about temper and heat. The experiment continues... Thank you All for your input. appreciated.

Hi All, I'm still searching the interwebs looking for a template to make a wallet to hold a 7 point star badge - specifically the badge part. It would all be so easy if I could trace out the badge but the plane fare and vacation time required is cost prohibitive.. Does anyone here have a source for a template of the star cut out? My research has shown me that they come in so many flavors it's boggling. I'll take a 3x3 but the one I'm building this for is in 2-3/4" flavor. Thanks All.

Thank you again Bruce - I'll PM if I get stuck. In the meantime... I was thinking of adding a pedal control like a sewing machine - or some other rheostat controller to control speeds on the belt sander. - I wonder if a dimmer switch would work? Once I get the speeds managed - do you hold the part horizontal or vertical to the belt? I can see creating a "grain" by holding the part vertical - in line with belt travel vs horizontal/perpendicular to belt travel. Can you expand on keeping the part rotating? I get the concept but do you use a jig, etc. to keep the part moving? Or is it more of a feel with just your hands? After that, it's just going through the grits to get a polished face? What about squaring up the mouth? If you look close you can see the irregularities there. Am I overthinking this? I do that - often...

Thanks Bruce - is there a service/vendor where I could send them out? Otherwise they will get put in the "Trust your gut" box of mistake purchases.

Hi All, I was able to score these round punches for a low price - I try not to buy obvious junk and these look like they could be rescued. I thought about using my bench top 1x30 belt sander to polish them back to life but before I went and created paper weights, I thought I'd ask here... Can someone point me to a "how to" for sharpening these? Or possibly someone that can refurb them into working order again? Thanks for the help and inspiration I find here. helps if I include the photo...

Hi All, I'm struggling with finding a way to cut goat skin into flat lace - The skin I have is soft, approx 1-2 oz. I've tried using the plastic rod style lace cutter with very limited results. My goal is to make 1/8" +/- wide lace for sewing, etc. I've done a lot of searching here and the interwebs for information but still coming up short for a solution. I don't have the resources to get a Hanson type or other commercially made cutter, although I see the usefulness. I'm a hobby maker and can't justify the cost there right now. Is there a tool/jig/method for cutting soft leathers into lace - a DIY rig from hardware store parts? My immediate solution is to just buy lace but the end goal is to make it myself or frustrate myself trying. Thanks for your help, Sprocket

Thank you for the kind words. It took probably far too long to make but I'm learning and was being fussy with spacing, etc. Antler button was considered - I'm going to replace it with a carved/stamped leaf, green in color. The leaf is an element that will be used throughout the costume for buttons and other decorations. I'll post pics when I get there - for now the disc will have to do...

update: I went with a sort of button - 2 pcs of round, 1 slightly smaller to allow the thong to get behind the larger. Next step is to dye it black. Any comments would be appreciated.

Thanks for the list and comparison - what I don't see is state tax (I'll have to pay regardless of mail order or not...). Local to me is an Agway store, TSC and a couple other garden/feed-type co-op stores that are similar to Agway. Sometimes the pennies, sometimes dollars, premium is worth it because I've saved the P&H costs associated with mail order. Knowing I'm "within range" of a price is always a consideration though so the list is very helpful. Complete aside: Another consideration with shipping liquids is freezing - I live in New England and frozen product can be a thing with shipped goods. My local Tandy store manager explained why she orders when to avoid frozen products - mostly dyes and the like. Frozen buckles aren't a concern but some liquids are unusable once frozen...

Thank you for responding to my post!

One of these: https://www.georgebarnsleyandsons.co.uk/product-page/japanese-skiving-knife I already have one of these and like it very much: https://www.georgebarnsleyandsons.co.uk/product-page/half-head-knife

That's a good approach - As a n00b here too I've done pretty much the same - I've studied a lot of vids and looked at a lot of projects, made a large list and started focusing on a project to learn stuff. As far as stitching goes, the vids by Nigel Armitage are excellent - the recent series on saddle stitching gives a lot of "why" and also "when" which can be more important than just "how". I use a Japanese style knife a lot and for lots more than just skiving - vs a French style skiver that is something of a dedicated purpose. I'm eyeing a Barnsley knife as one of my next tool investments - they are UK based... Advise I was given (as mentioned above), and see the value in, was to pick a project - gather tools, etc and build it. A notebook cover or wallet to practice all things hand stitching were a couple I did. Dog leads for belt making, etc. - again, practicing the strap cutting, edging and cutting slots for braids, hole punching for rivets, etc. Right now I'm working on projects that are laced together vs stitched - I very much enjoy the doing and getting the results I want from the projects. An "Ah-ha!" moment when the lessons learned from stitching vids gets applied to the lacing - my work looks so much better since I started, mostly due to applying what I've gleaned from literally hours of watching vids. Good luck and show off your progress.

Thank you - I think I need to be a bit more - delicate - when setting the lace in the needle...

I've been doing some lacing and using the typical c.s.osbourne #41 lacing needles with the 2 prongs - I've been dealing with pull-out and splayed sides. One thing I haven't figured out yet is how to reset the prongs once they get flat... Is there a method to push the prongs back up once they get a little flattened? Thanks

Hi All, Here are a couple project pics of a sheath that I'm making - it's 3 sided based on the object it will be holding. I used lace to join the panels together and secure the belt loop to the back of the sheath. It's 1/8" lace with 1/8" flat holes punched in the leather, panels were beveled on the inside to help get a tight seam. My first pass was double stitched but the client didn't like that much. The aesthetic of the piece is to not use metal, just leather, so no snaps, post studs, etc. Think "something a Viking might wear." Of course I forgot to include the hold down strap for the top flap... I'm wondering what the best way to secure a 1" wide strap from side to side - I was thinking of just lacing an "X". Undoing the lace would be problematic given the way I did it. Tucking the flap in won't work either due to the fit of the item, no room... I also had the idea to lace on a leather "button" and use a thong on the flap to wrap around the button for security. I'm still not settled on a method yet so I'm hoping the collective here can offer some solutions - Any ideas are welcome. Thanks ok - pics to follow when I figure that out... back picture

Hi Folks - I've been lurking around a while and thought it time to get a little more formal. You can consider me a hobby-ist and n00b - I got started because my dog needed a collar fixed - and a great friend needed a dog lead and it went off from there. My projects are mostly belt-like and pouches - some braiding for decorative binding - pretty simple stuff really. Thanks for all the resources and answers to my questions - I've been surfing here pretty hard trying to get solutions to my issues and so far I've learned a ton and stayed out of trouble I didn't know I was headed towards... And saved some $$$ not buying tools, spent some $$ buying the right tools and all around enjoying this new hobby thing. I'm gonna try not to ask too many dumb questions but bear with me - Thanks Sprocket