WMages

I'm late with my thanks to those of you who responded. Thanks to each of you. Mablung the PDFs are helpful.

Around the first of the year, I was just getting into leather working and only had one Flatbed, a Cowboy 797 then and now, I found I'm in that twilight zone of frequently needing a heavy duty stitcher for holsters etc and still a hobbyist, I couldn't afford or at least justify buying a Class 4 or a CB4500. Prior to purchasing my Seiko CW8-B, which will sew almost 3/8" with 138 thread, I bought a Weaver Cub, a second edition but steel model. From day one, I thought the learning curve was steeper than it ought to be but I got by with mostly so so results. The other day, it started twisting thread even on the first throw. I inspected it closely and found the drive cam which slightly parts the needle to the outside just before the hook pick up the thread had a bur deeper than I felt I could polish out without changing the profile too much to work properly. I called Weaver Machinery and spoke with John. He is fantastic by the way and quickly agreed to send me a replacement part, which costs me 50 bucks. Then came putting the lower shaft back in and getting it in time. After several days of trying and retrying, and I forget how many times I watched his video Steal Cub Timing, I failed. At the point I needed to pause to set the needle timing the think would throw with tremendous pressure and a clanking sound. The Cubs I watched on youtube didn't have that loud of a sound. About ready to give completely up, my wife suggested I dig deeper into the machine. So I pulled the Flywheel / crank wheel off and saw my first clue. The very radical cam has two set screws at 90 degrees. Neither were set at the two flat sides but rather were up on the corners. Not certain but it couldn't have been good. I readjusted the cam and torqued the heck out of those two hex screws so it won't move anytime soon. This quieted the machine down three or four fold and made it so much smoother to run, smoother than it's ever been since I've owned it. Now I wonder if the seller would have sold it if he had understood there was a simple issue. I share this so hopefully some other poor soul like me doesn't have to fight so long with one of these things. If there is anything hinky at all going on, pop off that fly wheel and make sure those cam screws are really tightened down. Cheers.

I do not have an ftp site to upload images here but the part I found wandering around in my machine is about 1/8" thick 1/4" in diameter and flat on two sides with an unthreaded hole in it. I presume it's a bushing. I can message or email images. My Seiko CW-8B started leaving the top thread (138) lay on top in tight radius turns. I tried making certain the needle had started back up before turning and didn't resolve the issue. Although there have been zero changes to bobbin tension since it sewed fine, and no major changes to top thread tension and same size needle. Yesterday, it was missing occasional stitches even in straight aways on a belt. I investigated this morning with an intention of increasing the bobbin tension by a half turn. I paused and took time to do a little cleaning and found this small bushing lying inside the chamber that houses the bobbin case. It's about an eight inch thick and in threaded. It has straight sides so I assume it's a bushing that isn't supposed to rotate. This also indicates to me there is likely a small screw somewhere yet none fell out when I slipped off the lower cup from the end of the cylinder? I'm fairly mechanically inclined but do not have experience with a sewing machine. I'm reluctant t try to remove the bobbin case for fear of getting its out of one. I'm looking for advice if anyone recognizes what part this is. I do not have a schematic for this machine.

I'm sorry for jumping into a thee year old thread. USMC42, I'm wondering if you ever resolved your issue. I own and use a Weaver Cub with a mixture of success and failures but it's getting better for me. My Seiko CW-8 is laying the exact same stitch as in your first linked picture. My issues is, it only does that when I sew around a circular pattern. Otherwise, it stitches beautifully. In my case, I cannot understand why the tension should be different in a turn than on a straight row. Perhaps the straight line stitching is more tolerant of the bobbin tension being slightly weak. I'm reviewing recommendations on this thread and am leaning toward increasing my bobbin tension slightly.

Looking to further tighten up details on leather holsters I build. I'm getting by currently with a round punch and a slightly too narrow oblong punch but would like to do this in one or two hammer blows. I normally build holsters matched with either a 1/4" or 5 1/16" belt. Could someone direct me to a good quality punch that will make the slots the size I need in one pass? I've looked at Osborns but haven't been able to determine the width of the slot they cut. I expect to pay a premium price so long as the punch is great quality. Thanks.

Thank you all who responded. I had suspected that I might have been rushing the turn. I'm actually aware that the needle needs to be partially on the upstroke but this reminds me to make sure before I make that turn. Sometimes I can excel very complicated things only to be tripped up by the simple stuff. I will make a deliberate point to pay better attention.

Looking for advice. I'm using a Seiko CW-8. Sewing with 138 thread and appropriately sized needle. It will sew belt after belt 1/4" - 5/16" just fine. When I'm building holsters with layers of 5/16" a few slightly more, I'm having issues. I don't know if this is called a skipped stitch or not. I understand this machine will handle 3/8" thick veg and I'm not having to force the material under the foot so I think I'm less than that. It will be stitching beautifully but sometimes when I'm making a tight radius turn literally a stitch at a time, lifting my presser foot with the needle down, the top stitch will ride on top for a few stitches showing the bobbin thread. It will then resume sewing perfectly. Unfortunately, I can't see this until it passes out from behind the Presser Foot. I'm not thinking this is a tension issue as it's sewing perfectly at other times. Is there something I'm doing in these tight turns that is somehow lessening the top thread tension to allow this to happen? Thanks

Jonas, Thank you for your response and I'm sorry for the delay in replying to your comment. My friend retired from his boot repair business and sold out his equipment several years ago. I might just have to bite the bullet and purchase one. I'm most interested in trying the welt roller along the edges of layered and glued leather belts. I will keep investigating and will keep an eye out for one on the used market. Thanks again for your response.

I'm still new to leatherworking. I have made about a dozen holsters, a few knife scabbards, and quite a few belts. I currently have a flatbed sewing machine, a Seiko CW8 Cylinder Arm Machine, and Weaver Cub, and hoping to acquire a Class 4 machine when practical. My question is regarding the Landis 5 in 1. Are these machines particularly useful in the realm of holster and scabbard building? A friend of mine is a retired boot repair shop owner and once told me how much he used the presser wheel which was good when gluing layered edges and I can see that in the boot resoling application but would that part of the 5 in 1 have any benefit with holsters and scabbards? I can see where the cutting wheel could make cleaner edges before beveling and finishing. 500 to 700 is a pretty substantial investment for me and I don't mind IF it's something I will use frequently. Thanks in advance.

Dwight, Thank you for this tip. I will certainly give it a try Sir. May God Bless you too.

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.

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.

Hi. I have a piece of material that is made from HDPE or a material there abouts, similar to food type cutting boards. It's about an arm spread long and a couple of feet wide and a good inch thick. I keep it on top of one of my work benches and upon it, I cut most of my leather, patterns, punch holes etc. It doesn't seem to have any ill effect on the sharpness of my razor cutters although I strop them numerous times during a cut out etc. Over time, it has picked up accumulated scoring marks from the razor knife. So far I've not noticed it imprinting onto my projects but I know it could especially if the leather is wet. I'm sure someone on here uses a similar board (I think this is some sort of building material that might come in a 4x8 sheet) ever sanded it smooth? It's handy enough, I don't mind spending some time or is it worthwhile and maybe I should replace it? If I were to sand it, what grit sandpaper would be recommended? I have several types of sanders but would probably start just a bit with my belt sander then switch to a smaller Makita handheld. I'm thinking the material is going to be fairly obdurate. Thoughts?

Thanks. I can't ever envision I would want or need even half of the upper end speed when doing leather work. If I make canvas covers or sails, it might be different but that's not at all in my future plans.

Thanks to each of you who responded. Regarding the TIG controller, I never even considered that application in operating sewing machines. I resisted the urge to use my Ohmite (VariAC) to tinker with the speed knowing low voltage would be detrimental to any AC motor but I'm not sure what would happen if a DC Servo motor would do with its mains power looking at lower AC voltage. I've ordered a larger servo motor with almost twice the torque than what what was on the machine when I bought it. If that fails to give me smooth low speed operation, I will order the speed reduction pulleys from the same dealer. At least that's my plan. Thanks all.

Kgg thank you very much for your informative reply.

I just recently picked up a Seiko CW-8B looking to fill couple of niches in my sewing tools and am on a budget. I currently have a CB797 Flatbed that performs very well. I have a Weaver Cub for heavier sewing. (I'm still learning with the Cub). I hope when money permits, to buy a Cobra Class 4. Regarding the Seiko CW-8B: I have it sewing beautifully with 138 thread top and bottom. It's equipped with a servo motor (China made) but its sort of a pita to adjust speeds etc unlike my Cowboy which is quite easy. Although the Seiko will sew slow enough I would like to really slow it down and give it a little more torque to sew up to about 9 or once in a while 10mm of thickness. I would like to find a speed reducer pully set for it and if possible, to order a really good servo motor with a speed reducer together if that's practical. IF it is practical, could someone tell me the best dealer or place to order? Also, I've ordered plenty of correct size bobbins for the Seiko but is there an upgrade where a slightly larger bobbin case can be installed to accommodate slightly larger bobbins? Thanks in advance.

If I dye a holster that has to be sewn before wet molding, will the dye stain my lighter colored thread? If so is there a yaw to prevent this from happening? I normally seal my leather a couple coats before sewing to limit this issue. I'm not sure how to proceed to make a wet form type. Thanks

Hi kgg. Currently, I'm 206 thread on top and bottom, with a 23 needle. I'm sewing on about two thicknesses of 9-10. The machine came (second hand) with larger thread and a #25 needle. Actually, I have had better results. It seems that I needed to let the presser foot lift and the needle in the appropriate upward position. For a hand stitch machine with a rate of one stitch per revolution, things happen pretty quickly. I'm actually getting the hang of guiding the material with only one hand. I think mostly I just need more practice.

I'm a new leather worker who has waded off into the craft more deeply and more suddenly than I had originally intended. After wet molding a Buck folding knife scabbard, my true first project was a basket weave 2" layered Ranger Duty belt to wear late in my career. I was profoundly shocked at how it turned out for my first build. I hand stitched that belt and while I truly love to saddle stitch, I can tell arthritis will become an issue at my age. I next bought a Cowboy 797 and made some belts on it followed by a Weaver Cub. While I've practiced a little with the Cub, I find it a little daunting still and have procrastinated using it on a serious project. But I did find on my first real attempt, when the thread tension fubared, I removed the thread and hand stitched as the stitch holes were perfect. On one more project, I used the Cub without thread just to punch a clean stitch line. This thread is giving me the confidence to see what I can do with it. I know now that if I stay in this craft, and likely will, I will one day step up to Class IV because historically, that's how I progress at things. But it seems other than having a reverse stitch, the Cub should do much of the same tasks as the Class IV at least for the heavy hobby user. I am still having difficulty turning my material 180 degrees to try to back stitch. Even with the needle down and lifting the presser foot, it sometimes seems the thread wants to bind and twist around the needle. I'm not sure back stitching is totally possible and certainly not sure I'm going about it correctly. If I can learn to make that happen, I think this Cub might do about all I need to do with thicker leather.

Hi Dwight. I Primarily carry a Gen 5 Glock 17 (without optics) but periodically carry my Sig p220. I have a couple of leather holsters, that both will fit in with the Glock being the more snug of the two. So it's a pattern for the Glock 17 I'm looking for. I'm going to try to lay one out this morning using Sam Andrews method to measure and put it on a center line but I want to design in a sturdy thumb break. I'm planning on using an body side outer sleeve of leather (similar to how Safariland used to do) to make the belt pass thru and extend that upward to provide a stiffening layer to the snap side of the thumb break. I'm sure looking to learn but a couple of good patterns would give me a leg up. Thanks for responding.

Hi all. I'm a fledgling rookie but have built a Ranger Duty belt 2" Wide and .028 thick to be worn as an outer duty belt. I arrived at leather work due to the inability these days to buy duty rigs in natural, tan, or brown, basket weave leather without having to order custom. I'm having a lot of difficulty in finding a pattern to build a thumb break holster designed for wide duty belts as the pancake style slots don't seem like they would work very well with that heavy and wide of a belt. I'm working on designing my own but I know it will be slow and there are some limitations with the little bit of reverse engineering I've explored. Does anyone have any pattern or template options they would be willing to sell? Thanks in advance.