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Do you lift the foot slightly so you can turn the leather without it acting like a lever and pushing your needle to one side or the other?

you can also glue some leather on your clamps if they are putting out impressions.

I bought a bag of those clear plastic little leather clamps at hobby lobby. They work pretty good for not leaving clamp marks.

Yes! I got the Juki about…8 or 9 years ago? Something like that. (The brain is rapidly disappearing with age.) I primarily make masks for professional wrestlers, and the Juki has really improved my ability to make masks! The knee lift and the large amount of presser foot raise have really been a boon. It's worked flawlessly all this time, so now that it's acting up it's really thrown me for a loop. I do a little leatherwork, but I'm not very good at it. I just do it for friends and whatnot. I do have a Consew 206RB walking foot machine that I use with leather. I find it amazing that it can seemingly sew through anything and take needles that look like decking nails! It's nothing like y'all's Cowboys I'm sure. I'd love one of those, but I can't really justify it with the small amount of heavy duty work I do. They look like wonderful machines though!

I'm sewing canvas and leather bags. Which is best for the job?

I had no idea there was such a latch mechanism. I'll definitely investigate it. It definitely feels like the thread is being yanked past SOMETHING! Thanks for the suggestion.

I have the same problem, links at previous posts are no longer exist. May I use Chinese made standart 28mm roller foot with Singer 45k25. I couldnt find one consistent with GA5-1

Would love to be able to get into that section. Please sign me up.

That turned out nice!

Really nice work.

Also dont throw away the patterns or books they can be worth as much or more than the tools.

I agree thats a nice job indeed!!! I have picked up some good steel cheap at TS myself. Suggestions. if you were to use a belt sander on that sheath's stitched edge, it would be perfectly flat and would burnish beautifully. As well if you just glue it up before sewing, you won't need the clamps or the resulting marks. What i do if i need clamps i leave enough extra edge material that i can cut or sand off in the finishing.

I did just that, and it has taken over for a soup bowl that was used for holding our clippers and copper bracelets on the bookshelf. LOL it looks pretty cool there. Went to the mountains yesterday and managed to take a few pics, it was hotter than heck but we had a great time found some wild strawberries, caught a couple of brookies and had a couple cold ones , then went to the desert and grabbed some more clay.

thanks Fred!! from what i have read, good clay for pottery is hard to find here. I must have gotten real lucky or else no one has looked for it.

That's a handsome belt! I like the transition of the decorative stitching, continuing to the ends of the belt.

The two pieces which are "L" shaped can slide independently in the two tracks, one track in the front and one in the rear. They are locked down by tightening the two purple knobs in each track. When I'm not using the binding attachment I move the guide on the right side of the needle to whatever distance I need and lock it in the track. The guide for the right hand side of the needle has a cutout to prevent the tightening bolt for the needle from hitting it. Then I move the other guide on the left right side to the proper distance to guide the belt. I can remember seeing a binding tape setup where the binding attachment was mounted vertically rather then you standard horizontal just above and in front of the needle with the binding tape / webbing being feed down from the top of the machine. kgg

Yeah, mine also take a bit before that servo light blinks out. All of them. If I watch, they all flash "err 2". For me, "Off" means lights out. Especially on that 441 clone! EDIT: I forgot we were talking about those torque monster clutch motors. Absolutely, if that bad mother is spinning, it's "ON".

@chuck123wapati you did real well on those pots , and don't forget to scratch your name and date on the bottom in the wet clay , they may become sentimental items in the future 😀

@AlZilla I did a smple test whilst sewing today .I turned the machine on , let it run for a bit, then turn it off and hit the pedal without thread, the machine turned for almost 10 seconds after it was turned off. So I would still need to be careful after its turned off . I made absolutely sure my fingers were well away from the business end and kept my foot away from the pedal when adjusting , refilling bobbins etc. Lesson learnt HS

Hey guys, I have a cowboy 4500 & with a computer box ,which has needle positioning etc. When sewing and I turn my work & sew off in different direction, Most of the time I’m breaking a needle?? Any body no what I’m doing wrong please cheers

I'm on the second side now. I actually haven't seen the cut scars transfer to the grain side of the leather yet but then again, I don't often have it on there when wet. Perhaps and easier option might be to buy new when I think it's necessary. But a 4'x8' sheet of this stuff is near $700. I hope one day when room permits, to have a 4x8 work bench surfaced with it. This stuff is great BTW. Thank you to each of you who took the time to respond and share your thoughts and experiences. This forum is invaluable to a rookie at all this like me. There is truly an encyclopedia of knowledge here.

I have absolutely no experience with this kind of cutting board, but LDPE has a pretty low melting point, so could you smooth down those ridges using an iron? Possibly using some baking paper to protect it?

@thobgood In case you didn't know, Juki machines are top shelf for many applications. Yours is a top notch garment material sewing machine with a fixed foot and bottom/drop feed. Once you get the timing right, it will be a money maker. Many leather crafters on this forum sew heavy and thick leather projects on specialized machines we often refer to as harness or holster stitchers. Way back around 1986, or so, Juki came out with a heavy duty harness stitcher that they assigned the model name/number: TSC-441. I saw one that was still in a wooden carton in a sewing machine warehouse. At that time, the dealer told me that I could take it home form only just under $6.000. I didn't have that kind of money and they didn't do financing to individual buyers. Fast forward to around 2011 and a Chinese sewing machine company obtained a Juki 441 and disassembled it. Then they made molds and began casing new versions of that Juki. They gave them new model names and sold them to dealers who assigned their own brand names. I bought one in 2012 that I still use every time I need to sew a thick project. It is a Cowboy cb4500. My best friend has an equivalent brand, called a Cobra Class 4. Both have the same capabilities. Techsew offers their own model as a Techsew 5100. You can now buy one of these machines for between $3500 and $4400, with all manner of accessories! In contrast, I just found a new Juki TSC-441 for sale from a dealer for $9400 plus shipping. Enjoy your Juki!

Leather trade shows - we set up as venders at Prescott Az, Sheridan WY, Pendleton OR, and new show in Las Vegas next January. We are going to miss Waco this year but on the radar for next year.

When I feel two pops it's when the thread has not cleared the latch by virtue of the latch opening but rather by the thread being yanked past it. Maybe you can find out what opens the latch. Removing the bobbin case may help you see additional mechanisms at work.