New to leatherwork, need help!

[ArtWerkOrange]

My wife has a very nice Husqvarna sewing machine. It is in the attic and I have recently become handicapped and the attic is another one of those challenging places for me. Does anyone know if the better sewing machines by this manufacturer would have capabilities to work with light leather? I assume I would need special leather needles at the most minimal of standards and, of course, it may not even be possible. If I wanted to proceed by hand, what would be a good starter basic list of items to experiment?

Any tips would be most appreciated.

Regards,

R. Craig

 

[farns005]

What type of things are you hope to make?  Thickness of leather?  Most standard sewing machines have very limited capabilities for sewing leather useIng heavier threads.

[zuludog]

I would have thought that unless it's really cheap and lightweight, most domestic sewing machines could sew lightweight leather such as garment leather, say up to 1mm thick. I have a Janone machine that I use mainly for tents & rucsacs, but I have also sewn garment leather with no problems. I just used the same heavy duty needles I use for rucsac fabric, though no doubt others will come along with their recommendations

Your question about how to get started, and a tool list is often asked on here, look at past Threads in the Getting Started and Leather Tools sections

There is a lot of information on YouTube, both techniques and  how to make particular items. These channels are good - Nigel Armitage; Ian Atkinson; JH Leather. Geordie Leather has a dozen videos or more  on tools & techniques aimed at beginners. Search for 'beginners tools for leatherwork' and there are several videos

What would you like to make? Belts, wallets & cardholders; knife sheaths; belt pouches are popular, but I'm guessing you are interested in guitar straps. Search YT for  'how to make......' and you'll see how other people do things, both the methods & the tools they use. Remember that the same techniques, such as saddle stitching, edge finishing, and so on are used on different items.  

Have a browse through some suppliers websites, you'll see the sort of things that are available, and the prices. I only know of Tandy, Rocky Mountain Leather Supply and Weaver Leather in the USA, but if you tell us where  you are, perhaps American members can suggest a local store

Here are some suggestions for tools. I am assuming that you want to start simply & cheaply

Cutting mat; they're not that expensive, get the biggest you can manage

There are many types of knives for leather but a utility/box cutter is simple, cheap, easy to use, and you may well have one already.  A rotary cutter, such as Olfa, is good for thin leather

A steel ruler, at least 12"/300mm long

Wing dividers to mark the line of the stitching. I got mine from the secondhand tool stall on my local market

Stitching chisels. These have long diamond section prongs and are intended to be knocked through the leather to make the stitching holes; they have largely replaced awls. A 2 prong and a 4, 5, or 6 prong with 4mm spacing will get you started, They can be improved by polishing the prongs with fine wet & dry paper Don't use a steel hammer as that will damage the chisel; instead use a soft mallet such as wood, hide, or nylon.

There will still be times when you need an saddler's awl. The blade has a diamond cross section, so they are often known as diamond awls. Traditionally you bought the blade & haft separately then fitted them together and sharpened them yourself. This is a right tedious job, so buy one ready made to use, such as Blanchard from RMLS. Or get an Osborne haft with a chuck/collet and a # 42 or 43 blade. Even so you'll probably need to do the fine sharpening & polishing whatever you get

A scratch awl aka round awl. used to mark out patterns on leather, stretching stitching holes, and general poking & prodding; they're cheap enough

The cut edge of leather is quite hard & rough so we do a few things to round it off, though edge finishing is a subject in itself

Edge beveler to remove the corners. A cheap one for about $12 to $15 will get you started Ideally you need a range of sizes for different thicknesses of leather, but one intended for 2mm will do for most

An edge burnisher/slicker/polisher; just get a cheap wooden one

To thin down/pare/skive  the edge of leather you can use a special, very sharp knife, but a safety skiver is easy to use, cheap, and uses replaceable blades

You may as well as start with good needles such as John James model L3912 size 002; again, they're not very expensive

Thread - there  are lots of different brands but your main choice will be linen or braided polyester; try a reel or two of each and see what you like. You want size 18/3 linen, or 432 in the French system. and 0,5 to 0,6 mm dia for braided polyester such as Ritza 25/Tiger thread

A lump of beeswax; for waxing thread and various other jobs in leatherwork

I'm bound to have forgotten things, but I think that will be enough for the moment

Edited May 12, 2020 by zuludog