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Very nice work. I would like to see a follow up picture, I bet the patina on it will look amazing!

That was ten years ago. I'm retired now. I think Leather Machine Company can do it. I can find someone for you if you need help.

Oops, I missed the rancid bit - it's obviously compounded but as has been said they used something even cheaper than mineral-based oil, some sort of vegetable/animal oil that goes off. Definitely don't use it on leather (unless it's for someone you don't like!).

Yes they line up very late in the dwell of the take up arms upper position. It looks like I'm just over 5/in now.

Excellent tip! I will google it now, cheers.

Looks very nice Is it comfy?

Do the arrows line up now? Any increase in stitch length?

Third time’s a charm. I made a wooden form to mold the 2-3 oz. veg-tanned leather. It could have been done in two pieces but the first two tries left me with barely enough for the third and happy result. This seat is closed-cell foam on a metal pan so contact cement was used. No staples. Hopefully it will hold up to riding. Finish is neatsfoot oil. Next bike saddle project is a plastic pan that will take staples. It will use the same wooden form for preliminary molding.

You can long press on the screen to lock the focus. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twl_V_vlq2Q You can shine a flashlight from underneath to illuminate the scarf. You can put a black mark on the scarf right where you want the tip of the hook to cross. See Uwe's video on timing:

Yes. I found the set screw for the collar wasn't centered in the groove. The screw is locked in now.

I would check the safety clutch. It may have been tripped.

Hopefully these are good. I’m also actively removing rust and deep oiling all pieces interior.

Do you normally press the reverse lever up or down to achieve reverse feed?

If the oil has a rancid stench, I would not use it. Normally, neetsfoot oil as well as the compounded mix last for a long time. The compounded oil has petroleum based products added, which have an even longer shelf life. It does not smell rancid or of much of anything. So if the oil smells, there might be something else added to replace some of the neetsfoot oil, maybe another oil altogether, that is not petroleum based. It could be anything, from olive to coconut to palm oil to even linseed oil, all of which are cheaper than neetfoot oil, so could be adulterants. All would harden at cooler temperatures and cause the cloudiness. All would also turn rancid with exposure to air, unlike neetsfoot oil.

This is awesome news now is this for anybody shopping blades will you do it thank you this is great News Wow can you do this for anybody at those prices that's a great deal wow this is awesome news Thank you for posting such great information much appreciated

I would suggest a couple more photo's with no thread in the needle, the needle plate removed showing the position of the needle as the hook enters the Scarf ( indentation / cutout ) of the needle to catch the top thread. If the hook to needle timing is off you will get skipped stitches. kgg

@PrePro One day late (I hope you don't consider me a complete untrustworthy fraud) :-) I was so tired when I finally made it home, that I fell asleep on after eating supper. But here's some information on the thread: I used Gütermann extra stark M782, colour 327 Over here in Denmark it is available in most regular sewing machine/fabric/embroidery shops. So I guess it should also be available in the USA. If it is possible, I would bring the bag that you want to repair into a physical shop to check if the colour is a good match. I have no idea of the age of the bag that I repaired, so in theory the colour could be faded a bit. But if you don't have a Gütermann shop near you, the colour I used was 327. I have used the same line of thread (the extra stark M782) for other projects as well. Occasionally I get a pair of riding boots in light brown or dark brown. And instead of buying a large spool of 2000 m in a cpecial colour, the M782 gives me 100 m of any imaginable colour for around 5$. Good luck with the project, and please let me know if you need any more help :-) Brgds Jonas

I guess I’ll just need to fine tune then. The hook seems sharp and I’m letting machine do its thing.

Hey everybody! This is my first post in a while. I just got this portfolio finished up for a customer and felt like it was worth sharing. This may be my favorite thing I've ever made! What do y'all think?

IP address shows Valenciennes, Hauts-de-France, 59300, France @el_pipou You should put your general location in your profile. It helps get info relative to your location.

Looks like you've got the corners down. I wonder why the stitch length is varying and the occasional skip. Probably the hook, needle, needle bar height and timing need to be fine tuned. Are you letting the machine feed the material without tugging on it? That can mess with the feed and thus the stitch length.

Easy fix: Loosen the screw at the top rear of the inner presser foot, rotate the foot till the needle is centered in the hole, tighten the screw. Would you mind taking some close-up shots of your hook point from above? My Singer 144W103 (built in 1943) had a dull hook point: https://leatherworker.net/forum/topic/131846-best-angle-to-sharpen-a-hook/#findComment-784869

As soon as you get some presser feet on it, I would suggest oiling the machine and then turn it over slowly by hand to see what is functioning vs not. Go easy on it just in case something binds from being disconnected. Do the presser feet walk Does the needle bar go up and down Does the feed dog move Does the hook pick up the top thread Does the bar in the back (for a knee lift) pick up the presser feet Does the stitch length regulator effect more / less feed dog movement Anything anomalous, take a close-up video and post on here to get some ideas 📹

If it has stench I'd not use it at all, Something in it is 'off' and could affect the leather. Just dispose of it properly and write off its cost to experience