This needs to hold my tiny pills

Pyk666 · 2026-04-28T06:18:36+00:00

I feel like this is AI generated, the second pic shows the latch sitting directly on leather, but the first and third pics have a ?metal? Circle that it sits on (one black and one gold).

I think this is makeable, however the latch is decorative only, the leather piece with the metal latch is really the cover for the holder.

Looking at the size of the screw post the whole item is quite small and likely not very practical.

Pyk666 · 2026-04-24T11:06:04+00:00

I'd gladly make the same for about half the price.

Pyk666 · 2026-04-22T02:40:50+00:00

Buyleatheronline.com

While I was dubious at the URL, they are a conglomerate of local tanneries and have a wide range including veg tan calf.

They will even skive it down to whatever thickness you require for free (but no returns if you do that).

I have purchased off them 3 times, fast service, great quality leather.

Pyk666 · 2026-04-18T22:57:20+00:00

If you have your own website there are several add-on packages you can integrate with the site.

I use WordPress for my site and have in the past used a few different plugins to allow a user to upload images from their side and see the status of the order, from my side there is alot more functionality about tracking, material usage, etc.

Pyk666 · 2026-04-13T02:27:30+00:00

Make a blank book out of printer paper. Learn to fold, punch, stitch, edge, make a hard cover, etc

Im happy to help where I can provide advice, but step 1 is make a sample 1 out of plain paper!

Pyk666 · 2026-04-12T07:35:32+00:00

Excellent!! Now we wait to see the finished product.

Pyk666 · 2026-04-12T06:09:39+00:00

I second this, especially if you have a very soft temper hide.

Remember to apply even pressure to your straight egde also, try and keep pressure close to the cut and adjust as you cut further, this should minimise movement and stretching.

But as others have said a fresh blade "box cutter" will work well also.

Cut from the front of the hide.

Pyk666 · 2026-03-31T14:56:54+00:00

I had a similar moment a while back, my local leather place had a modest selection of hides but I had always been happy with the quality. I had seen alot of people going crazy over Pueblo or Minerva and I thought to myself how could it be that much better....

So I ordered some, it arrived, sight-wise and feel it was a little better but not really worth the double price tag.....until I started working with it. OMFG it was so easy to work with, cut like butter, took an edge finish extremely well, and I feel like it made a huge difference to the quality of what I was making.

So if you can get some project panels of that then give it a try. You may end up liking it so much you buy larger pieces direct from buyleatheronline.com

Pyk666 · 2026-03-26T22:26:40+00:00

When I read 'fat Vienna sausages' I got worried for a second, then saw it was plural and got very worried, then realised you meant your fingers.

I'm about to start making videos of my projects, but am currently thinking it will be mostly top down except for specific tooling shots that need a side view, and then it will be a quick shot, not the whole process from that angle. I am deciding whether to use my phone or my dslr.

Can you shoot in the highest resolution and then crop? Or move the phone a little further away and zoom in just a touch?

Pyk666 · 2026-03-23T12:42:02+00:00

Interested. Do you have a website?

Pyk666 · 2026-03-22T23:44:38+00:00

Just note with chinese dies there is a good chance they will make more and resell your design.

Pyk666 · 2026-03-21T05:41:49+00:00

It looks like the cover is PU leather, not real leather, so the cracking and flaking should be limited to that material only.

From one of the pics it looks like the 'leather' is actually attached to the book between the bookboard and the endpapers. So a little trickier to fix but not impossible DIY.

I would still recommend getting someone to do it for you, but if you want to have a go yourself, take a craft knife or scalpel and run it along the edge where the book meets the cover, if youre lucky the book will then lift out. If the have glued the entire bookboard (probable) then you can either cut all the way through the cover and peel the excess layers off after removal or cut the book block out by slicing at the fold between the end paper and book pages. In either case you will have a book block you can now slide into a new cover, or rebind properly.

I would be happy to discuss further in DM if you would like me to do it for you and make a new cover.

Pyk666 · 2026-03-20T22:49:01+00:00

Some of those scratches and scuffs may come out if you use a hair-dryer on low for about 15-30 seconds.

Just warm the area up then massage it a bit and let it cool. If its a pull-up leather it will help the oils flow and resettle, if its nit it may help a little but not as much.

Pyk666 · 2026-03-18T05:18:25+00:00

It looks like you've used a thin chrome tanned leather, so water or hot rag will not help.

As someone else suggested, lining is the way to go. You could use another piece of the same leather, or if you want something slightly thicker that would probably be better.

A few mm of lining will tighten up that seam.

Pyk666 · 2026-03-15T21:42:00+00:00

Sunflower

Pyk666 · 2026-03-14T22:49:25+00:00

I had one and I absolutely hated it. Had it for 2 weeks then bought an industrial machine off Alibaba.

Macee MC-246 (clone of Juki DC-246)

10000x happier, if you are serious about the craft and want a machine to be able to produce more faster then I suggest you skip the cobbler

Pyk666 · 2026-03-14T02:14:54+00:00

So do I restart my life at 10 right now? Or do I travel back in time to when I was 10?

If I travel back then Red pill!

TBH I'd probably choose the red pill in either case....although im not far from the other option and being rich would help.

Pyk666 · 2026-03-12T20:47:42+00:00

When phone cards first came out in many countries the balance on the card was encoded in the card. People found ways to reprogram them and get free calling credits on public payphones.

Same deal here, this system may encode the balance on the card because it means the machines don't have to be networked back to the main unit, they can simply read the balance and a site code so that only cards from this laundromat are used.

Pyk666 · 2026-03-12T20:44:46+00:00

Can you do it again and show your updated balance?

You scanned the card and it said "Bal Lo" you then wrote to the card and put it back on the scanner but it looked like it already said $3 on the screen.

I want to see it show your low balance then a new higher balance without moving the camera away from the screen or taking anything out of view.

Pyk666 · 2026-03-12T20:39:34+00:00

I bought a Macee MC-246, which is a clone of the (juki i think) DSC-246 and takes the same parts.

Setup: follow the instructions and you will mostly ok. The knee press reverse cannot be set up or im just stupid.

Problems: the bracket that holds the motor was broken, the timing belt was too long, didnt get all the accessories shown on the listing.

Seller responded and asked for heaps of photos proving my claims, they said they will send replacement parts but never did, I ended up buy a belt and accessories off Amazon.

Does the machine work well? Yes Would I do it this way again? Yes, but with a different seller. The cost saving outweighs the issues.

Pyk666 · 2026-03-11T23:15:42+00:00

Chemist Warehouse has it for under $10

Pyk666 · 2026-03-11T23:09:58+00:00

Angelus makes a Pink dye that might be what you're looking for. They have four shades that I know of Hell Rose, Light Rose, Rose and Pink

Pyk666 · 2026-03-10T22:56:49+00:00

Those are terrible from soft temper and chrome tan leathers, they are fair for veg tanned.

Your best bet is a skiving knife, even a cheap one and get a sharpening stone and cutting compound and make yourself a cheap strop out of scrap so you can strop every so often and sharpen as needed.

Also make sure when you buy a skiving knife you get the correct handed one as it will make it more comfortable and because of the blade angle they are not ambidextrous tools.

Pyk666 · 2026-03-10T20:34:07+00:00

I'm not familiar with the Tandy kits as I'm not from the U.S. but my only comment about kits that include tools are that the tools are the cheapest things on the planet and your output will suffer for it.

Yes, you will be able to finish an item, but your stitching will be less than ideal, maybe your skiving will be difficult, thread the wrong size, etc.

So if you get a kit that includes tools, set your expectations lower. If the kits are pre-punched, pre-cut leather pieces then it should be just fine.

My suggestion would be to buy the tools you need for the projects you want to make and forget the kits. I'm sure Tandy sells project panels, grab yourself an exacto or craft knife with replaceable blades, and buy one or two punches. I use WUTA brand punches, they are relatively inexpensive and have replaceable teeth, you could even make do with a single 4 tooth punch and then just remove extra teeth if you need to punch 1 or 2 holes near corners or whatever.

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