Search the Community

Guys & gals I have finally saved up enough money for a Cobra Class 4 & ordered 1 Tuesday. Also ordered Patrick1 accessories just in case they are needed. I will be using 277 thread top & bottom most of the time. My question is: Does anybody have photos of sewing samples with the different leather point needles? Like the D, S, & LR needle points in a #25needle. Also does anyone recommend any wear items/parts or additional accessories, I would like to hear about them. I have been reading & watching lots of videos on that machine. Do any of you guys & gals reccomend any. I'll take any advice given. I am hoping if I run into a bind someone will be willing to help out. Thanks.

Guys & gals I decided to make another money clip wallet. Its stamped/tooled with a dragon scale # e803 from Zhong Jiang. It's a bit off, but also the very 1st time of using it. The leather is 4-5oz premium select Quebracho from tandy. It is sponge dyed with Fiebings light brown pro dye. You could not distinguish the dragon scale very good after the dye dried. So I decided to antique it with Fiebings dark brown gel. Looks better to me now. Then I decided to get fancy or something like that, LOL. & added a plaid sheepskin lining. Its glued in with 3M spray adhesive. I got to decide about putting some tooling on the card pockets, something simple. Then dye them. Then I'll add the spring bar money clip in & stitch it up. Couple questions: Should I have not ran my dragon scale stamp soo close to the stitch border? & should I have maybe used a camouflage stamp all the way around with the dragon scale stamp? Let me know what I'm doing right, wrong or indifferent. Thanks. I'm all ears.

Guys & gals I'm wondering if I should buy a skiving machine. I make lots of belts, & wallets, & want to get into making bags at some point. I'm looking at this consew dcs-S4 skiving machine. What is some of my benefits to having this machine? Where is a machine like this most helpful & what can be done with it? What can I all do with it? Will this machine be ok? Or are there other/better options out there? Thanks any & all help will be appreciated.

Even though the raw materials for my maul have arrived , it's still far too cold in the shop to even think about machining it. Thus, I've been learning about stitching ponies as I know I will need one, and i have a few questions. how wide should the jaws be? I've seen them as narrow as 2 inches and as wide as 8. Is it just personal preference? what's with the 360 degree rotating base? I understand being able to tilt forward & back for ergonomic reasons, but I don't get the rotation, nor have I seen someone actually using this feature.

So I have a chance to buy a Toyota J34 demin sewing machine. It shows that it is capable of sewing through several layers of what looks like upholstery leather.I make holsters, sheathes, and heavy duty dog collars. I typically use 4-8 oz leather for my projects. Would this machine be up to the task? I came to you guys first, since you all are a plethora of knowledge. Thanks in advance!

I had a customer ask for a custom set of suspenders. And he want it to have a holster under one arm and 2 spare mags on the other. He does not want a chest strap and wants to have the holster an mags detachable so he can have just to suspenders. I have tried to make patterns and I basically am lost. Any and all help will be deeply appreciated.

I bought a singer 153w for doing binding on heavy canvas and vinyl projects. I am going to set it up as a designated binder machine. I have some questions that I am hoping some of the members might be able to answer for me. First off, I am confused about why the button for changing stitch length on a 111w is on the 153w because it has a dial on the side? does this serve another purpose? I am going to make a custom bracket and use the KHF2 from kwokhing, does anyone know of a higher quality binder head? This screw (below) adjusts some thing that makes circles, what is it and how do I adjust it properly? Does anyone have a motor recommendation for this machine? I realize that I am bombarding with questions, but any help would be nice. I am also wondering, does anyone with a 153w have this cloth stuff under the feed dog?

Hey guy's So I'm newer to leather work and want to start making my own designs instead of just using kits. however when stitching in the past the holes have always been there. Now I have a few ideas in mind where I'll have to punch my own holes but I'm not sure what tools to use or how to go about it. Thank you

Howdy folks; New member here, first post. My name is Harvey Haines, I'm from Connecticut, and I've always wanted to try my hand at leatherwork. I'll be taking a hiatus and moving to Minneapolis in October, but for now I run a small glass and steel fabrication company. My current project is crafting banjo and guitar stands, an important feature of which is the intended use of heavy leather as padding at all contact points. It would be best to use leather from the U.S., but I'd go for an English leather if necessary. I've been thinking about getting Buffalo leather instead of cow, but I'm not knowledgable enough in availability, origins of materials, merits of different animals, etc. So, I figure I'll ask the experts here! The framework of each stand will be welded steel, with the leather being bolted on and largely stationary. However, the neck support will be, on at least one model, a 2" or 3" leather strap spanning the 4" or 5" gap between two pieces of steel. Rust, antique, or reddish-brown leather would offer a lovely color contrast against my steel frames, but I'm open to any good earth tones. My questions are these: Where can I reliably get American Buffalo leather in 8-10 oz? Is there a place to purchase S.B. Foot leather online and in small quantities? (My first big commission came from Red Wing Shoes, I've got a soft spot for the company.) Does anyone have an idea about the abrasion resistance of leathers? I've read that Chrome tanned leather has higher tolerances, but I'd like to stick with veg-tanned. Am I being too sentimental about the old-timey nonsense? Most of the cuts will be with a strap cutter, but I'll need to notch each piece of leather a few times. What would the optimum tool be for cutting a few 1"-2" straight lines? Head Knife? Shears? Alright, done babbling for now. I appreciate the help folks! Harvey

I made my first wallet today, which is my second finished leather project to date. I designed It myself. I know it is nowhere near perfect, and I have learned a lot in the process, but I still have a few questions: Im pretty sure the reason why the dye on the edge transferred to the other side of the wallet on the inside is because I didnt do a final burnish with some gum trag (second picture). As far as I know that helps the dye from bleeding/transferring. Am I right? The wallet is really thick, probably because I used what I am assuming is around 3 oz leather (I dont have a thickness gauge, I should probably pick one up) It wont stay shut by itself. What oz leather do you think would be best for this style wallet? To finish the wallet, I applied a couple of coats of neatsfoot oil, then topped it off with 50/50 acryllic resolene (only on the outside), and then some obenaufs leather preservative(also only on the outside). However, I didnt do any of this until after I stitched it all together. Is that the recommended process, or should I have done something different? I dont really like the glossy looking finish you can see on the outside (you can see in the third picture). What do you think is giving it that look? I like leather that looks more satin than glossy. I also noticed the color on the backside has a slightly pinkish hue. Is there anyway to remedy that without using dye? I know, I ask a lot of questions. I am a perfectionist, and as you can probably guess, I am pretty frustrated with the outcome of this wallet. Thanks! Zayne

So this is what happened to my poor sofa when it met the front door handle! It didn't even make a noise, it took someone to actually *see* the damage to stop the process, and keep the entire panel from being ripped through. But, I'm staying positive, mostly because this is the way it looks right now, when (almost) assembled (It's a 3 piece sectional) However, I would like to triage this just a bit. It's not of CRITICAL IMPORTANCE that my fix not show at ALL, but of course minimizing the visibility of the fix would be nice. Also, trying to halt additional damage due to normal usage is on my mind. I took a few more photos to make it as close as possible to "You've been in the room and seen the problem yourself": The edges of the rip *can* be held together with some help: The foam inside is pretty squooshy, and can be displaced: Here's a look at the backing and structural stuff inside. (Obviously, this is NOT an artisan piece, but a factory furnishing. MOR, to be specific.) Here's a look at the factory stitching And a couple of views of the thickness of this leather: AKA: Not very thick. At all. And apparently it rips like butter. So, what do you think I should do? I have some seamstress experience, but not much, and no leatherworking experience at ALL. My husband even mentioned "Duct Tape" but I don't think that has to be the only solution, haha. The leather seems so rippable, that sewing it back up sounds like a dubious process, the thread might rip through the material as readily as anything else. But I can't be suuuuper sure of that. I'd be fine with a glue-type solution, or even a patch-type solution, but I don't know ANYTHING about them. But I'm not afraid of them, I feel capable of following instructions. INPUT PLEASE! =D Another problem this sofa has, is that it smells a little teeny bit like dog, and is probably filthy, but I can't see it through the brown. I know I need to get a leather cleaner and buff all that off. I've watched a few "How to use leather cleaner on a sofa" youtube videos, so I feel like I know what goes into that, but what do y'all suggest? And where in blazes does one purchase Leather Cleaner locally? ( I know I can get it online, but I'm in a hurry, and don't want to wait a week for delivery) Like at a Hardware store? Tack Store? Should I bother with a leather guard or a leather conditioner, considering the cheap-o nature of this leather in general? ANOTHER problem with this sofa is that someone sat on it in the SAME place. EVERY time. and it shows. I'm going to need to fix this area, possibly with stripper, colorizing agent, sealer, and then conditioner/guard. I've seen youtube videos like this before, too. The areas that need this work are relatively small compared to the size of the sofa, and are circled in the following photo: I hope there's a small kit I can buy that won't be WAY more product than I need for this size job, what do you guys think? I might be able to order online for this, in order to get precisely the amount I need. But if there's likely to be a way to get something locally, you guys would let me know, right? =) One last note is that I wish the sofa was black, and thought it was when I bought it from the guy. After a little more research, I know I *could* change the color, if I wanted to spend 2-400$ on product, considering the size of the piece. Not in my price range, probably ever. Oh well. Thanks to anyone who posts any kind of helpful advice! I realize that this sofa is pretty much a piece of crap, and is factory made, and not at all up to the calibre of the sorts of projects you awesome folk usually work on, but I thought this sounded like a great place to get some frank advice, even so. Thanks for reading!