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My suggestion would be to cut your teeth using a flatbed machine with a standard inline Single fold binder attachment and Double fold binder attachment then experiment doing the edging on various scrap cloth and leather. For this you can buy inexpensive binding attachments off Amazon for about $10 to $15 and you will not need to change the feed dog or presser foot or the needle plate. Size your folder based on the width of the finish tape size you need. Example: 10mm fold over i) you need a 20mm tape and a Single fold binder attachment tape to get you approximately 10 mm fold over on fabric (depending on thickness of fabric)with a raw edge. ii) you need a 40mm tape and Double fold binder attachment tape to get you approximately 10 mm fold over on fabric (depending on thickness of fabric)with a raw edge. The most important thing I can say is make sure that the material you are trying to edge stays snug up against the tape in the folder and the space between the needle / presser foot and the edge of the binder is keep to a minimum. Slow sewing to maintain contact in the binding attachment will help prevent binding tape wonder. I have a set of the 90 degree binder attachments that I never use. I use the inline style (Single & Double fold ) binding attachments (1/4" to 3 1/2") on both my flatbeds and cylinder arm machines. For what I do I never have found the need to change the feed dog or needle plate to do binding on a cylinder arm. As a note: The main advantage a 90 degree binder attachment has over the inline is the ability to do tighter turns. kgg

Pictures, front and back, are definitely needed. Some of that old gun leather can be worth a few bucks, more often under $40. @Rednichols hasn't been here in quite a while, but maybe this tag will send him an email and he'll chime in. Need to get pics up soon! If Red happens by, he'll know exactly what you have.

I'm lost, need some advice I have several gun holsters different names different designs, example: Police special Lewis 38 4 blk leather holster - Bucheimer, speed loaders etc, I am wanting to sell as my father left me these, he passed away in 2021 and worked Sheriff's Dept. and I'm ready to let some of them go but not sure where to look as far as pricing, can someone give me advice..? I don't want to just post and guess at pricing. Thanks in advance

Being a complete novice I wasn't even sure if it was ok to use other than leather on leather handbags. In my head I was picturing a double fold with nice turned edges but in my experimenting but I'm realising how many variables there are including single/double, material, size, thickness of the material being binded and probably more. I won't be doing enough to warrant a dedicated set up but with a few pointers and plenty of trial and error I'll end up with something usable. I do have roll of bigger synthetic gold stuff that I'll probably never use but I can see where being stiffer with sharper edges will allow it to go through a folder with more control than a piece of soft chrome tan.

Sean had long heard the story of a family tradition. It seems that his father, grandfather and great-grandfather had all been able to walk on water on their 18th birthday. On that day, they would walk across the lake to their local pub for their first legal drink. So, when Sean's 18th birthday arrive, he and his friend Mick took a boat, rowed out into the middle of the lake, and Sean stepped out of the boat. He immediately sank, and nearly drowned. He was only save by Mick, who managed to pull him back into the boat. Furious and confused, he went to see his grandmother and said, "Gran, 'tis my 18th birthday. So why can't I walk across the water like me father, me grandfather and his father before him? Gran looked at him with kind, benevolent eyes and said, "Because they were all born in January when the lake was frozen over. You were born in August, ye feckin' idiot!"

The folder is 18mm, I cut the chrome tan leather at 18mm. It's a sufficient thickness to give decent tension and all went smoothly but on the back side there was far less coverage and in places the stitches don't even touch the leather. I've got the folder as horizontal as I can get it so maybe there are folders and there are folders? Having said that almost all the folders I'm seeing are a lot more triangular (especially the double folders) so I can't see how they can lay horizontally so the answer may lay elsewhere. I will persevere.

I still need to get pictures posted but I can report SUCCESS repairing this motor! I replaced both bearings and it sounds fine now. Very easy job with a small gear/bearing puller. The bearings seat against a stop on the shaft, so zero worry about getting them back in position. I'll say that getting the case back together correctly takes patience and a gentle touch. Each end is very tightly fitted to the case. It takes very gentle tapping to get them seated all the way and then slowly tightening the 4 screws on each end in a repeated cross pattern. I believe that part of my original noise was from the case being misaligned due to the beating it took in transit. I wouldn't hesitate to do this job again.

I think some closer up pictures of that machine would be interesting. The text on the first pic didn't turn out well, but I think if you blow it up, there may be a walking foot back there

@toxo I went through a big fight with binder attachments before I got the one that worked for our applications. It was custom built for the job and the edge binding we picked. The results was a perfectly placed double-folded edge bind on both sides. If you can't find someone to build you a binder, choose the width based on the material you will be running through it. Decide if you want a single or double folded edge. Most binding material is either cloth or synthetic bias tape. If you want to use vinyl, consult Sailrite company in the USA. They make portable and industrial sewing machines for the boat trade and offer bias tapes and folders that work properly. They can probably set you up with attachments, platters and tapes that work.

Since we're talking about stitching, I wonder why a few random stitches on the lower part of the loop have bottom thread peeking through. But not the top part. I wonder if something on the machine is slightly misadjusted. Almost like the tension drops away for 1 stitch. Maybe something about making a sweep in one direction and not the other?

Evidently, that particular machine appears to be industrial. That is unusual for the Viking brand. The only manual I found is linked to in my earlier comments. There is a fee to be paid to download the manual. I haven't found any other info about that machine. The original question was asking if it can sew leather. From the picture posted, it is a flat fixed foot bottom feed machine which is typical for garment sewing machines. I would be surprised if it can hold down any leather denser than soft chap or garment leather. The tensioner looks like it is only strong enough to handle thinner threads that are typically used in garment sewing. However, most of those machines can tension up to #69 (T70) bonded thread, with a #18 (110) needle. This would at least allow you to sew leather garments with it. Your main problem will be climbing up onto higher layers and thick seams. You'll have to lift the foot with the knee lifter, if that's what's coming out of the bottom. A photo taken from the top and left or right will help figure out its drive system and probably capabilities. But, experimentation goes a long way.

Here's a holster I made out of belly leather to test a pattern. Notice the stitching along the lower curve did the same thing yours did. I would never use that quality leather for anything other than a test piece.

For a first one, you nailed it. The leather bunched up along the part where the stitching isn't perfect. The issue doesn't look so much like your skill at stitching as it does possibly indicate a soft part of the leather, like you would find closer to the belly of the hide. Belly leather seldom stitches nicely. I burnish all the edges to give a nice finished look. A soft part in the leather won't burnish well, either. I always make holsters from the better part of a hide for this reason. Keep making them, you are doing very good work.

Nice job, I wouldn't even consider showing my first holster.

Please read the 3rd post in this thread.

depends on what leather product you want to sew with what needle / thread size. By design it is a high speed tailoring machine and not really a leather sewing machine. It would not be my 1st or 2nd or 3rd... choise.

Thanks, I like it better. Always something to learn in leather working.

I´d check the needle - hook timing / needle bar height. My guess is the NB is set a little to high.

Nice work! Dang how much training till you make journeyman mucker???? Is there a chance of advancement to fecal relocation specialist? You've got me thinking about a new career path.

Looks good. You may want to burnish your belt slots which will eliminate some of that fuzz. Much better than most first projects.

I agree. Attractive, not too complicated. It looks to me like the laced area is raise a little. Like maybe another thickness of leather in the "trident" or horseshoe with a line up the middle including the area with the closure strap. This would also aid in preventing the lacing from distorting the piece. JM2C, Jim

Thank you all for your kind remarks. I've learned a lot from the members of this forum. Sewing is almost as much fun as learning.

Thanks for the info!! The foot pressure, and check spring I did not check.

I think you need: i) the right size of folder for the size of binding tape, ii) the folder has to have the correct size opening / pathway for that thickness of binding tape, iii) the correct amount of back tension on the binding tape.

Nicely done. kgg