All Activity

Needles should be system 88. Not sure which manual you have but this one (German Language) should be fairly close: Claes+Elastik+I+u+III_cleaned.pdf

It looks great!

RLTW

Added color. First time using the Eco Flo Hi-Lite stain. I like it MUCH better than the gel antique or the fiebing's antique pastes. Easier to get the pigments off the areas you don't want them with the Hi Lite. This is their Briar Brown.

I bought this Sailrite worker bee kit and Tandy big handwheel to go on my Consew cp206rl but the consew broke and I returned the machine so I do not need these anymore. Asking $275 for everything

My bottom stitches aren't clean when I start. I make one forward stitch, back stitch, then go forward to finish. I have a Cobra 4. The pictures are of the bottom and top. Any thoughts? Thanks, Randy

I've got several rawhide mauls an various sizes, and one of the little ones was worn down considerably so my Dad took apart to rebuild before he passed and I'd like to get it finished. I don't think it's an Osborne, as it has a handle made of stacked leather rings and the end cap washer was rivetted in place. Given the wear and beating it had, I went ahead and threaded the end to take a nut so it'll be easier to service in the future. I'm having some trouble finding the right rawhide refill for it though. The refill should have a 3/4" ID hole, and be about 1 1/2" or 1 5/8" tall. Diameter could be anything over 2". I think at one point the plan was to make a plastic head for it, but rawhide just seems a better choice, or hardwood if it gets down to it. Plastic works great for stuff, but I'd rather keep the old tools going as they were intended and make a whole new maul if I wanted a plastic one. Looking at Osborne's site, I don't see all the dimensions listed. It looks like the 393-2 would fit, being 1 5/8" long and 2 3/4" round, but there's no hole dimension listed. Can anyone confirm if it's 3/4"? We have a few refills on the shelf but they're all bigger and I'd prefer to avoid adding bushings and keep this maul appropriately sized. I know I could just call Osborne too, but I'm also wondering if there are other rawhide suppliers out there as I have an unhealthy tendency of fixing up obsolete tools and utilizing dated materials.

@Dwight Thank you it looks much better !

That last one is the one I had found on ebay too. I'd love to grab it, but I am leaving to Peru here shortly, and will be gone for a couple weeks. Figuring out transport logistics would be a hell of a thing.

Why not take this opportunity to replace the button with short straps and buckle arrangement which can be pulled up tight but also allow some change in the wearer's girth?

ok thanks.

Thanks for posting the links, it’s fun to see these sewing machines!

I'd normally agree with that Dwight. But in this case he's got an alibi. Shooting coats are designed to be restrictive. Usually having straps and hooks that can be cinched down tightly to more or less hold you stiff. I've personally broken a few straps on my jackets and haven't put any weight on...lately! I'd maybe use a 5-6oz piece as a backing plate and keep it all on the backside. Looks like a smallbore jacket? Smallbore shooters tend to be a more refined lot....But Service/HP shooters are a bit more grizzled. As long as the jacket is sound that's all that matters.

Hello everyone. I'm taking a break from leathercraft for a bit and am wondering if anyone on this forum would be interested in my lining leathers. I've got pretty much all pig in black, brown, tan, and cream. Reach out if you are close enough and I'll send you an inventory and you can make me an offer. I don't want to ship these, but if that's what I need to do, then I'll do it if you are interested (pics, and inventory will be provided). Just want them in good hands! Thanks!

After you have done every thing else to the belt . . . except deliver it . . . lay it on it's side . . . use a dauber . . . and lay on several coats of thinned Resolene . . . (50/50 with water) . . . if you flex the belt a bit . . . 1/2 hour after each coat . . . it won't seriously crack . . . and looks really good for a long time. May God bless, Dwight

Take a piece of 8/9 oz leather . . . use a splitter . . . run off a square piece the same as the thickness of your leather . . . makes the bolo stand out much better than any piece of woven rope . . . Just an opinion from a guy who has several of them May God bless, Dwight

Decided that I needed a bolo , not having any hardware this seems to work right now . Holds fine being new and not used much but don't know if it will for any length of time .

Hello! I finally found a reasonable sounding deal on a cylinder arm machine. When I went to pick it up the small parts that were pictured in the sale: Bobbin case, bobbin cover and presser foot, had all been lost. I had already paid for the machine and driven there so I took it home with me. I haven't found much info on the Necchi 840-100. Based on this thread on the very similar Pfaff 335, I ordered some cheap bobbins and cases online. They don't fit. The center hole for the bobbin case is slightly too snug to fit onto the center pin on the Necchi. The bobbin post on my rotary hook measures 4.4 outer diameter. These bobbin cases measure 4.3mm inner diameter. Could this be a matter of polishing the (cheapo) bobbin cases a bit further open so they fit? Anybody have advice, or know of a solid parts source for the Necchi 840?

i would pull the torn leather together and stitch it back together as well as possible. Then cut a piece of thin leather about 1/4" wider on each side of the original button hole strap sew and glue it on over the original fold it around the outer edge to cover both sides then sew it up around the edges and sew the button hole, then cut it out.

This morning, I brought in a colleague's belt for a repair. It is a Kore "Full Grain" Leather belt with a suede liner and is fitted with some type of a ratchet latch/buckle. It only needed restitched around the last few inches which I did straight away. I noticed that where the belt runs through the buckle, the edge had worn just enough you could see the layer edges so I hit it with dye, let that dry and then followed with Gum T for about three coats burninshing to my limited ability. I noticed the edges (belt is four or five years old) looked perfectly pristine almost like they are formed with epoxy or something yet not cracking or wear seen except where it passed through the buckle. My edging looked ok but would never compare to that factory edge. Is there some process where the maker molds those edges. They've sure held up well but are too difficult for me to duplicate. I'm not so much asking how to duplicated it as I am what in tarnation does the maker do to make that gloss slick (after all these years) edge hold up and look so good? TIA.

Mine was finding out how efficiently a chainsaw can remove teeth. We were cutting firewood all day and I had one last log to finish. Caught the tip on something and it kicked back and got me on the chin and front teeth. I have had saws kick back but never like this one. I had removed the tip guard on the chain thinking it was just in the way. That was a dumb mistake as the saw didn’t have a hand brake as found on all saws today. I soon got me one that did have the hand break. After a couple hundred stitches done by a plastic surgeon and some replacement dental work, I was good to go. I actually was very lucky as it could have a whole lot worse.

Thanks a lot everyone. This will help. Dwight, your idea might help he most🤣🤣🤣

Hi all, I recently acquired an early Claes bootpatcher, badged “Hugo Wertheim Melbourne”. Its in great condition for such an old machine, filthy but no broken or missing parts, and I have managed to get it stitching with the help of an old manual in German, and the manual for the newer machines, in English. It came with some needles that are too short, I had to slide one needle down in the needle bar till it worked. I am interested if anyone has a manual for these old machines that’s in English. Also and more importantly, I would like to find a source for the proper needles, which I suspect is system 88, or even just the length of this type of needle.. If anyone can help I would be very grateful. Thanks in advance!!

Some Puritan machines have been in service for a century, or longer. Parts wear out over decades of use. Finding replacement parts may be difficult. I believe that Redwing repairs their Puritan machines on-site and probably manufacturers all needed replacement parts, or out-sources them to local machine shops. Here are some references and videos of Puritan Machines in action. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMWAPPEucMI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOVaDCN-BEI Here's one (currently) for sale on eBay, in Pennsylvania.

They won't. Working them wet . . . you will take them out . . . and when you do they will shrink . . . Nature of the beast. May God bless, Dwight