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After seeing one of these on Road Agent Leather's latest video I just had to get one! Although I have a couple of belt grinders this one looked ideal for leatherwork - it's fairly compact, portable, uses 1" x 30" belts and is variable speed. This one is sold by Vevor and the quality looks very good. It uses a sewing machine servo motor (550w) and a modified control box. It's got some grunt behind it, I pushed a piece of steel into the belt -hard - and it didn't slow down. Impressive. 4"contact wheel, platen and best of all it can be tilted horizontal. First thing to do is make a larger base for it and then make a longer tool rest which will be better when it's used horizontally.

This reminds me of a song here in Oz by Paul Kelly , " I've done all the dumb things" . and so have I . Not putting belt loops on a case , only realising AFTER I've assembled it , and lots of other pre-assemble mistooks and silly injuries HS

I split this off that 8 year old thread and into a new topic for you. Let's see if someone can help you out.

Hi is there a seam guide that can be attached to the Singer 153w102? Thanks Monica

Is there a way to machine sew molded cases like shown in the image? I have seen some recent discussions on special feet. I am guessing that with the proper foot I could sew close to the raised portion of the case, perhaps leaving more leather for the foot to walk on and then trimming after sewing. Any hints on how to do this and/or any special feet needed would be greatly appreciated!

BlackDragon, that looks like it might be a heavier duty version. Nice. A long time ago I bought a rechargeable scissor-type cutter set, I found it was excellent for cutting long strips of material for making patches for my muzzleloaders. Great for cloth material but no good for leather.

We don't have Aldi here but Lidl might have something similar in sometime I don't need one . . . . . but its another toy for the toy box so I'll probably buy one if they come my way

Yup, did that a few times last week. Not concentrating on what I was doing, talking too much

Looks like a 3 layer design. Flat backer, wet molded belly over a flat backing, a topper trimmed to the wet molded edges sewn down. That is my best guess.

I aquired this a couple years ago from an estate sale where I bought a few things. Honestly I've only used it a couple times. I'm not in a hurry and my knife works well enough. If I was cutting large amounts of thick leather I can see it being useful.

Be real lucky to sew 3/8"leather on this model,it is more suitable for vinyl & canvas than leather.

I was working on a prototype on Friday and did this three times in one row. Admittedly I was using thread thats to thick for the project. Just keep one keeping on.

Thank you!

I’m calling a Mulligan. Just pierced my thread on the first backstitch. Im going back to bed… Catch y’all on the flip side, — AZR

This is what I do. I use 1/4" (6mm) double sided tape, if you don't have thin tape you can cut wider tape down the center long ways.

Nice piece of work! I like the non-shiny finish.

That turned out nice! clean edges and good stitching.

The sample image is very grainy, but I'd say the edges look skived and rolled.

Finished up a phone holster, came up with a good idea by accident. Kinda put the logo a bit too high, didn't want the strap to cover it, so I flipped it over and secured it to the back. So now I have an "ejector strap" which works out kinda nice!

The way I learned it is with double-sided tape (the narrowest you can find; I use 3mm), but stick the tape to the outer edges of the zipper's fabric tape and (machine) sew next to it. _________________________________________ edge of zipper tape ========================================= double sided tape ......................................... stitch line ----------------------------------------- edge of leather """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" zipper teeth So you basically sew next to the double-sided tape instead of through it.

@TakashiOkada. Here is a photo of the guard. It is aluminium. it slides over the shaft and covers the blade it can be moved left or right using the allen key screw to only expose the amount of blade you use . It's not hard to make if you know a machinist . I get my blades from Leffler in Melbourne Australia . They are the Landis agent here . The link is an example of what they have . search on their site for Landis sole trimmer blades. They have many variations . They also have various size trimmer shields for when the blade loses its diameter because of sharpening https://www.leffler.com.au/trimmer-sole-5mm-/ There is also these guys in the UK . I am pretty sure that the british standard sole trimmer blades and the Landis blades are compatible with each other https://www.standardgroup.co.uk/shoe-repair-machines Keep in mind that i know for a fact that Chinese blades only fit Chinese machines . the internal diameter is different . The made in china machines are actually pretty good to use . The only drawback is the blades and brushes are only available direct from their factory and not interchangeable with British , American or Australian machines

The 5/8" is when the feet are lifted up by the foot lift pedal or knee lever. The needle must be fully up at TDC in order to lift that high. This high lift is so that thick seams and fur linings can clear the feet and needle when you position the work on the machine. Once the foot pedal/knee lever is lowered, the feet will alternate about 3/16ths of an inch up and down as you sew. The alternating action maxes out at about 3/8 inch with System 135x16/17 needles. Trying to sew thicker stacks may cause the bottom of the needle bar to hit the top of the inside foot, or even the outside foot if they are a narrow set. This limits the useful sewing height despite the specs referring to a higher lift number. I experimented and found this to be the case.

LOL, so true. Sometimes a straight run is harder than a curved one.

Looks good finished. Thumbs-up!

Thank you, it was a nice change, beveller and backgrounder only. Finished the field notes, Gini liked it when I showed it to her, started adding things to make it special. Each symbol has various meanings.