"No One Will Notice!"

[Mark Garrity]

Eric,

Looks like you solved the problem and this is concluded, but in the event of a similar future dilema, the question I always ask myself is "Would you want this one single item to be a representative sample of your work, if the customer that purchased it was showing that one item to a friend and potential future customer?" If the answer is "No" then time for a re-do, or in your case here a re-stitch. Beautiful work, by the way.

[particle]

Thanks Mark - I agree completely. I tend to be overly critical of my own work. In a business situation, this isn't always a good thing. Good for obvious reason, but bad if you are overly analytical and it ultimately affects the profitability of the company. I felt this was one of those times when it was best to fix it than to ship it out

as-is. My wife didn't agree, but I'm glad the good folks here did!

[abn]

I suppose I'm in the minority when I say that I expect every single thing I produce to have at least one minor flaw. I've learned to live with and even admire these flaws as tributes to the imperfect nature of doing handwork using natural materials. I call them "birthmarks" -- since everyone on earth is born with a minor blemish or two. That's what makes my work "human" -- if I were interested in perfection, I'd let a machine do my work for me. Now, I'll draw the line at major defects, like design flaws or functional problems, but I let some of the cosmetic stuff ride. Perfect is no fun... It's much more interesting to be unique.

Which brings to mind the story of a famous woodworker -- I believe it was Sam Maloof -- who produced a masterpiece dresser that was perfect in every regard. He finished it off by driving an ugly iron nail into the interior and smashing it down into a twisted knot, much to the dismay of his shop staff. That single act turned "furniture" into art. Something to think about I guess when considering the concept of defects and how they're seen by others...

[whinewine]

I suppose I'm in the minority when I say that I expect every single thing I produce to have at least one minor flaw. I've learned to live with and even admire these flaws as tributes to the imperfect nature of doing handwork using natural materials. I call them "birthmarks" -- since everyone on earth is born with a minor blemish or two. That's what makes my work "human" -- if I were interested in perfection, I'd let a machine do my work for me. Now, I'll draw the line at major defects, like design flaws or functional problems, but I let some of the cosmetic stuff ride. Perfect is no fun... It's much more interesting to be unique.

Something to think about I guess when considering the concept of defects and how they're seen by others...

Some artists always leave something unfinished or undone in their works- some sort of flaw, if you will, that sets their work apart from being machine made.

[abn]

Some artists always leave something unfinished or undone in their works- some sort of flaw, if you will, that sets their work apart from being machine made.

And I've heard the practice is fairly common in the Muslim world. The expert craftsmen who do the tile and glass work in the mosques apparently always add a misshapen or off-color piece into their massive designs... The implied message is that only God is perfect.

[Rickey]

Resew it, it will nag at you forever.

Rickey

[sueforizzle]

As silly as this will probably sound(and keep in mind I have very little knowledge) I would dye all the stitches black....... I see in the picture where the stain dripped and I like the way the black on black looks....and It sounds easier than re stitching it.....

[JohnBarton]

Okay - I'm a perfectionist by nature. As I was dying my edges, some dye accidentally dripped down onto the backside of the leather and I didn't notice it until I flipped it over to finish dying the edges. My first thought - I need to rip out the thread and re-stitch the perimeter. My wife? "it's on the back side - no one will ever notice!!" Uh.... Let's just say she's not in charge of my quality control department...

The edges still need to be burnished one last time, and it needs a couple coats of sealer before I mask off the stitching and apply antique to the tooling.

So, here it is - would you yank out the thread and re-sew it? Or just cut out the affected portion and re-sew that portion only? I'm afraid it'll be pretty tough to sew since it's already been formed and hardened (oven-method). It'll have to be hand sewn - I tried sticking it on the Boss and there wasn't enough clearance without smashing it down a bit and dinking up the leather with the presser foot / stirrup plate.

Oh yeah - this is for a customer, so someone is paying for this item and I personally feel like they deserve a blemish free item. My wife thinks I'm being too picky... What do you think?

I see it as a marketing opportunity. I would dye the stitching black on the back and tell the customer that this is so the normally white stitching won't get grimy looking from being held to the body. Might start a new trend and become your signature :-)

While the above is halfway kidding, I tend to fall MOSTLY on the side of take it apart and do it again.

Here is how I view this:

I imagine myself having spent a lot of money on a case and sitting at home admiring it. I see myself going over it inch by inch to become very familiar with it. Almost a sexual experience....... I would be very disappointed to find any spot which screamed "carelessness" at me. I would hate to have anything that diminishes my pleasure of owning this case. I would hate to have to think to myself that it's perfect except for....... and I also hate to have to make excuses when I hand my wonderful case to a friend and he sees the flaw.

Sure, most customers are willing to accept small issues. But that doesn't mean that they feel good about it.

Why let something hang in the air if you can avoid it? Because you are screwed either way. If you don't tell the customer and he finds it then you have to backpedal. If you do tell the customer then you have either hope he says no problem or give him a discount. Either way it's never "perfect" and sticks in both of your minds.

For me I'd make another one or repair this one and forget it. I have plenty of "oops" pieces in my shop. We recycle them as we can on other cases and often the result is a great piece. Win-Win-Win no one has something gnawing at them.

[Rayban]

I believe the stitching should be done in black in the first place. White thread against black makes it look like.......well, like you didn't have any black thread, so white will have to do......just a peeve of mine.......good, got that behind me.........

Speaking of stitching...I count 7 stitches along the belt slot which I'm assuming is 1-1/2"(?)........I hand stitch at 6 spi........can the Boss do 6 spi?

I ask because I'm seriously considering buying a Boss.

[particle]

For those that are just now seeing this thread, the mag pouch was fixed and shipped out a while back. I took out the stitching, and hand stitched it - looks as good as the customer was expecting when he placed the order for white thread.

Regarding the use of white thread on black - some like the detail it adds to the overall look of the holster. I'd love to buy some red thread and add that as an option - I think red thread looks fantastic on black leather. I'm all about giving the customer options, within a given set of parameters. They feel like they're getting a custom holster, while I'm simply giving them options that don't force me to deviate much (if any) from my standing workflow.

I'm not really sure what the max stitch length is on the Boss. I know it will go much shorter, but I 'm not sure how much longer. It's super easy to adjust, but hard to get exact, as I believe it varies slightly based on the thickness of the leather you're sewing because the thread tension has an effect on stitch length (to my understanding - if someone knows different, please chime in). That being said, it's easy enough to mock up a couple samples to duplicate your project's thickness, run a test sewing strip, measure the stitch length, turn the dial to adjust the length, sew some more, measure again, etc. until it's "perfect". I say "perfect" because you don't want the presser foot too tight because it will mar the leather. Too loose and the leather will slip around a bit as you sew. It's all a trade off. I'd much rather spend a few minutes machine sewing a holster instead hours doing it by hand.

[Art]

Thread tension should not affect the stitch length. If it does, then the top/bottom tension combination is too tight and is overcoming the presser foot pressure. Either apply more presser foot pressure, or back off the bobbin tension and readjust the top till it stops pulling the work back when bringing the needle forward for the next stitch.

Art

For those that are just now seeing this thread, the mag pouch was fixed and shipped out a while back. I took out the stitching, and hand stitched it - looks as good as the customer was expecting when he placed the order for white thread.

Regarding the use of white thread on black - some like the detail it adds to the overall look of the holster. I'd love to buy some red thread and add that as an option - I think red thread looks fantastic on black leather. I'm all about giving the customer options, within a given set of parameters. They feel like they're getting a custom holster, while I'm simply giving them options that don't force me to deviate much (if any) from my standing workflow.

I'm not really sure what the max stitch length is on the Boss. I know it will go much shorter, but I 'm not sure how much longer. It's super easy to adjust, but hard to get exact, as I believe it varies slightly based on the thickness of the leather you're sewing because the thread tension has an effect on stitch length (to my understanding - if someone knows different, please chime in). That being said, it's easy enough to mock up a couple samples to duplicate your project's thickness, run a test sewing strip, measure the stitch length, turn the dial to adjust the length, sew some more, measure again, etc. until it's "perfect". I say "perfect" because you don't want the presser foot too tight because it will mar the leather. Too loose and the leather will slip around a bit as you sew. It's all a trade off. I'd much rather spend a few minutes machine sewing a holster instead hours doing it by hand.

[particle]

Thanks Art - I just looked up the PDF owners manual on the Tippman site, and this is what it said.

When the material thickness is increased, the stitch length shortens. Length of stitch is proportional to thickness of material. To maintain an even stitch length adjust accordingly. Turn the stitch length adjustor approximately 1/4 turn clockwise for 1/4 inch climb (increased thickness).

I think I must have assumed that the stitch length was being shortened because the thread was traveling further through the leather, in effect shortening the stitch length - once the needle feed hit tension (pulled tight) on the thread, it stopped pulling the leather through the machine. Maybe thread tension was the wrong term to use. But I honestly have no real idea what actually causes shorter stitch lengths with thicker leather. I just assumed it was a unit of measure determined by the thread's passing through the leather somehow.

[Haystacker]

Cool idea, red thread on a black holster. Yellow may look good too. Now you got me thinking.

[Rayban]

Thread tension should not affect the stitch length. If it does, then the top/bottom tension combination is too tight and is overcoming the presser foot pressure. Either apply more presser foot pressure, or back off the bobbin tension and readjust the top till it stops pulling the work back when bringing the needle forward for the next stitch.

Art

I watched the Boss video, which follows the instruction manual. where they addressed the tension combination deal that has to be adjusted for thickness/stitches per inch.

The specs say it can do from 4 spi to 16....so there's a 6 spi in there somewhere!!

[BWL]

Okay - I'm a perfectionist by nature. As I was dying my edges, some dye accidentally dripped down onto the backside of the leather and I didn't notice it until I flipped it over to finish dying the edges. My first thought - I need to rip out the thread and re-stitch the perimeter. My wife? "it's on the back side - no one will ever notice!!" Uh.... Let's just say she's not in charge of my quality control department...

The edges still need to be burnished one last time, and it needs a couple coats of sealer before I mask off the stitching and apply antique to the tooling.

So, here it is - would you yank out the thread and re-sew it? Or just cut out the affected portion and re-sew that portion only? I'm afraid it'll be pretty tough to sew since it's already been formed and hardened (oven-method). It'll have to be hand sewn - I tried sticking it on the Boss and there wasn't enough clearance without smashing it down a bit and dinking up the leather with the presser foot / stirrup plate.

Oh yeah - this is for a customer, so someone is paying for this item and I personally feel like they deserve a blemish free item. My wife thinks I'm being too picky... What do you think?

The artist or craftsman is there on worst critic. I have a box full of projects, not for sale, I call it my practice box. With that said the average person will not see the blemish.