Tinkering To Save Cash...aka....keeping The Tool Budget Down

[TinkerTailor]

I have my eyes open all the time, and troll thrift stores. I have a couple close by so i do a quick route while walking my dog once a week or so. Couple months ago I found a cast iron treadle scrollsaw for a dollar. Cleaned off all the caked on oil and sawdust. Now i can put it up on ant treadle table, connect a belt and go to town cutting slots or scroll work in thin wood or sheetmetal. Its very similar to this one:

This week i was looking inside (what looked like)an empty tool box and found a handful of tool steel drill rods of various short lengths and diameters. 50 cents for the lot. They are hard......and hold an edge. There are hardening marked on one so it is hardenable, whatever kind of steel it is it is good for tools.

[Lee547]

On 5/19/2015 at 7:01 PM, suznu said:

Tandy sells Eco-flo for burnishing your edges. Eco-flo is gum tragacanth,watered down, save yourself some money and go to a bakery supply store or spice store,or even a middle eastern market. Ask for powdered astragalus root,which is the same exact thing,It comes in powdered and whole root form. Super cheap,Bakers use it to make fondants and it is so much cheaper buying it this way.It is also sold as a paste. But I prefer the powder version. All you have to do is scoop up a little powder,add it to a jar and add water. Put the lid on and shake to mix. Add a little more Trag. To get the consistency just right.Now you can have yourself a fresh supply on hand when you need to burnish your veg tan edges. And your saving money and time in the long run. Plus if your heading into flu and cold season,make yourself some soup and add a little astragalus root to the recipe,it helps builds up your immune system.so you don't get sick.I learned that from a Herbalist. That's got me to thinking and Now I'm wondering what would the effect be to use a thick piece of the actual astragalus root to do the burnishing. Hmmm.

By the way this is one of The BEST THREADS YET! Thanks to all of you.Like they say " Necessity is the mother of invention ".

 

Thank you for this. I bought a kilo of the powdered stuff from China, and I think it will outlast my useful life!

Cheers

[tnhomestead]

Dont forget Harbor Freight for cheap punches,  and even cheaper nitrile gloves -- usually 5.99 or 7.00 for a 100, and on sale all the time! Know someone with a lathe? Edge Burnishers are a breeze to make, show up with some dry tree branches for them and stand back as the shavings fly!  Know some Amish or Mennonites? I got about 3 or 4 pounds of beeswax for 7 bucks -- needed remelting and cleaning but so what? Dont forget yogurt cups for dyes and finishes.Dollar Tree is another place for cheap and useful supplies!

[BDAZ]

I'm afraid I ascribe to the "Time is money" school of leatherwork. To that end I only purchase top quality drum dyed leathers, the best machinery and tools I can afford, and disposable blades wherever possible. Obviously different for hobbyists where you can sell your time for a few bucks an hour. My challenge is to make lined, wet formed and stitched cases in batches of 25 that are priced wholesale and that my customer and I can make a profit on a good quality product.

Of course, there are times when one does feel ripped off. Like "acrylic leather paints" than can be purchased at $.50 a bottle at a hobby shop. I like the gum tragacanth tip and purchase some tools at Harbor Freight, when quality is not mission critical.

Another factor is that investments in quality tools and materials are written off at tax time.

Bob

[BDAZ]

On 5/19/2015 at 4:01 AM, suznu said:

Tandy sells Eco-flo for burnishing your edges. Eco-flo is gum tragacanth,watered down, save yourself some money and go to a bakery supply store or spice store,or even a middle eastern market. Ask for powdered astragalus root,which is the same exact thing,It comes in powdered and whole root form. Super cheap,Bakers use it to make fondants and it is so much cheaper buying it this way.It is also sold as a paste. But I prefer the powder version. All you have to do is scoop up a little powder,add it to a jar and add water. Put the lid on and shake to mix. Add a little more Trag. To get the consistency just right.Now you can have yourself a fresh supply on hand when you need to burnish your veg tan edges. And your saving money and time in the long run. Plus if your heading into flu and cold season,make yourself some soup and add a little astragalus root to the recipe,it helps builds up your immune system.so you don't get sick.I learned that from a Herbalist. That's got me to thinking and Now I'm wondering what would the effect be to use a thick piece of the actual astragalus root to do the burnishing. Hmmm.

By the way this is one of The BEST THREADS YET! Thanks to all of you.Like they say " Necessity is the mother of invention ".

I have been doing some research since this thread started unravelling, looking into alternatives for Gum Tragacanth. First off astragulus is NOT GT with a different name. Totally unrelated and is an herb made from a root, not a sap like GT. It may appear to have the same properties but is no way related. There is a huge Asian supermarket near me and I was able to find Katri Gum (Sterculia Urens), the Hindi name for GT in the Indian section. 100 g was around $4 and had a few dozen small chunks of GT. 1 chunk in 4 oz of wter left overnight produced a container of gel ready for application.

I did a little more research and checked on the Material Safety Data Sheet for bothe Tandy and Feibings GT offering, which I have been using for years. SURPRISE! It's not Gum Tragacanth but Xanthan Gum. Maybe it was GT once upon a time but not anymore. Seems Xanthan gum, easily produced in a factory, has become an inexpensive substitute Gum Tragacanth. My guess is that in both the Tandy and Feibings offerings, the bottle costs more than the ingredients.

I am going to use the real thing on my next project and see if there is any discernible difference. 

I also tested Gum Arabica and Agar Agar, and neither seems suitable as a replacement edge dressing.

Bob

[YinTx]

Let us know!  Had no idea we were being hoodwinked.

YinTx

[BDAZ]

Xanthan gum is around $10 for 16oz, real Gum Tragacanth is around $20 for 16 oz. Some bean counter at Feibings figured we are all stupid and wouldn't know the difference. Of course we all buy Coca Cola but the coca has been gone for a long time!

Xanthan is a byproduct of black rot introduced to typically GMO soybean or corn and then extracted. Gum Tragacanth is the sap of various sub species of a bush harvested a bit like opium and is mainly sourced from Iran.

Of course the leather doesn't care about GMO since that probably all it ate.

 

Bob

 

Edited May 18, 2018 by BDAZ

[kiwican]

Interesting for sure. Can you post a link to MSDS data?

[BDAZ]

Here is the MSDS:

http://www.weaverleathersupply.com/docs/default-source/sds/Weaver-Gum-Tragacanth-50-2075.pdf?sfvrsn=2'

And here is what the MSDS SHOULD look like:

http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9927628

Bob

On 5/19/2015 at 4:01 AM, suznu said:

Tandy sells Eco-flo for burnishing your edges. Eco-flo is gum tragacanth,watered down, save yourself some money and go to a bakery supply store or spice store,or even a middle eastern market. Ask for powdered astragalus root,which is the same exact thing,It comes in powdered and whole root form. Super cheap,Bakers use it to make fondants and it is so much cheaper buying it this way.It is also sold as a paste. But I prefer the powder version. All you have to do is scoop up a little powder,add it to a jar and add water. Put the lid on and shake to mix. Add a little more Trag. To get the consistency just right.Now you can have yourself a fresh supply on hand when you need to burnish your veg tan edges. And your saving money and time in the long run. Plus if your heading into flu and cold season,make yourself some soup and add a little astragalus root to the recipe,it helps builds up your immune system.so you don't get sick.I learned that from a Herbalist. That's got me to thinking and Now I'm wondering what would the effect be to use a thick piece of the actual astragalus root to do the burnishing. Hmmm.

By the way this is one of The BEST THREADS YET! Thanks to all of you.Like they say " Necessity is the mother of invention ".

I have been doing some research since this thread started unravelling, looking into alternatives for Gum Tragacanth. First off astragulus is NOT GT with a different name. Totally unrelated and is an herb made from a root, not a sap like GT. It may appear to have the same properties but is no way related. There is a huge Asian supermarket near me and I was able to find Katri Gum (Sterculia Urens), the Hindi name for GT in the Indian section. 100 g was around $4 and had a few dozen small chunks of GT. 1 chunk in 4 oz of wter left overnight produced a container of gel ready for application.

I did a little more research and checked on the Material Safety Data Sheet for bothe Tandy and Feibings GT offering, which I have been using for years. SURPRISE! It's not Gum Tragacanth but Xanthan Gum. Maybe it was GT once upon a time but not anymore. Seems Xanthan gum, easily produced in a factory, has become an inexpensive substitute Gum Tragacanth. My guess is that in both the Tandy and Feibings offerings, the bottle costs more than the ingredients.

I am going to use the real thing on my next project and see if there is any discernible difference. 

I also tested Gum Arabica and Agar Agar, and neither seems suitable as a replacement edge dressing.

Bob

[motocouture]

My latest addition was a slab of beautiful marble (?), for the princely sum of $20. Stopped by a local granite / marble countertop place, and they stack cutouts and smaller pieces outside. A quick cash transaction later (which I’m sure made it into the books ), and hubby and I took it home. Probably could have got some of the smaller / less evenly cut pieces for free, but what can I say, I’m fussy