Wizcrafts

You're kidding, right?

I pretty much learn something new every day. I have a lot of interests and an expensive N scale hobby that are never ending learning experiences. FWIIW: The fake fur is glued onto the saddle waiting for sewing and trimming when I come back to the shop on Thursday.

Do you ever give lessons to newbies in the saddlery business?

I'm learning a lot from my query about relining fleece on saddles. Thanks guys! My main takeaway to this point in time is that a reline must be more than remove and replace. It will involve a lot of time and possibly new leather on the bottom of the skirts. I hate to think of it, but it almost sounds like disassembling the skirts from the saddle may be the best way to do this kind of job. Whatever the outcome of this job, the next one will be quoted at least triple what I charged, if not more, or I won't undertake it. I forgot to mention that I was only allowed one full week to do the reline and other strap work on another saddle. The customers are leaving on a cross-country trek on their horses and a mule on May 2.

I bought a Singer 29k71 that only had short stitches. After pulling the head apart I found that the feed motion crank had a worn down puck. Back in the 1980s I would have just brazed on some bronze rod and reshaped that puck. This time I went on eBay and bought a new aftermarket replacement part. After installing it and using Emory cloth to get the best fit without binding in 360 degrees, I instantly got 5 stitches per inch.

Thanks Ron! I appreciate your advice. Do you have any opinion on using electric animal shears to shave the wool? Does anybody do this?

I just took in an old saddle for refleecing with synthetic fleece. I used a Hyde knife, head knife and 10" scissors to cut and peel off the old wool fleece. Unfortunately, one side was too well bonded to the leather liner and took off chunks of leather under the wool and skin. The removal part of the job is taking too long and I will be losing money on this one. I also cut a lot of the linen thread holding the fleece to the skirts and inside leather lining, which has to be resewn assembled. Does anybody use electric sheep shears to shave off the old fleece on saddles, rather than slicing it off with knives? If so, what brand or source would you recommend to me for very occasional use? I just need to take it down to the flesh to reline it. Don't tell me to charge more for refleecing. I figured that out today while struggling to remove the wool. The price was agreed to and prepaid.

When you get some #25 leather point needles the bottom stitches will improve and the knots will be easier to pull up.

Number 69 (T70) bonded nylon thread has a tensile strength of 11 pounds per stitch. This should be fine for most gloves. One might use #92 in leather/suede reinforced areas.

The Cowboy CB-227R handles #138 thread with ease and has reverse too. But, it costs over 50% more than your budget. I think you are going to be limited to looking for old used cylinder arm machines if 1k is your top price.

You will have to raise the presser bar high enough to allow the high shank feet to screw onto it. This assumes that the bottom of the head is tall enough to clear the top of the presser foot mounting bracket. Then, there must be enough additional vertical clearance to allow you to lift the foot with the lifting lever to remove material and release the thread tension, without the top of the foot hitting the head and halting its movement. Some industrial presser feet that only have a needle hole may not line up with your needle bar. Those with slots may clear the needle enough to allow you to sew. If you are able to do all these things, the final step is to set the machine to center the needle in the slot or hole in the foot, in straight stitch mode (no zig-zag). I'm going to guess that this isn't going to happen as the O.P. hopes.

I would pre-order some spare bearings and other cranks that Boss had problems with. I'm thinking that because they are using a cast iron frame and steel internals, operational and seasonal problems might be greatly reduced from what Boss owners experienced with aluminum frame models. Time will tell.

Uwe; I have a good friend with a Cobra Class 4 who had the feed dog slimmed down on four sides, filled in slightly inside the hole and a matching smooth curved throat plate made to contain the modified feeder. the shorter length reflected his desire to not exceed 4 to the inch, or use anything larger than a #25 needle. The narrower width helped reduce the stuffing of soft bison and chap leather inside the bigger slot in the OEM plate. He has minimum deflection of #22 needles and is better able to sew mushy leather items than I am on my Cowboy, unless I switch to the slotted plate. That's where I could probably use your bottom guide.

Yes, along with the narrow, smooth harness feet. The original Juki 441 had what we now call the blanket feet. It sold for about $6,000 when I first saw it in a warehouse. The feet that ship with the Cowboy 441 clones are made of stainless steel. Actually, the Adler 204 and 205 offered a smooth feed dog option, creating the sub-class 374 instead of 370. I had a 204-374 for a short time, before trading it for a Union Lockstitch Machine.

I have owned a lot of walking foot machines and none had smooth feed dogs. But, Consew did offer a smooth rubber feed dog at one point in time. They may or may not still have them for sale. All of my upholstery grade compound/triple feed machines took the standard type 111 (as in Singer 111w) feet and most of them are smooth bottomed. The few that do have teeth are usually zipper and edge binding sets, or specialty feet for marine sewing projects. In contrast, most of the dual feed walking foot machines (top and bottom driven) I've encountered only had toothed feet available. This gives the best traction when sewing vinyl and slippery or very long items. But, it eats leather for breakfast unless you back way off on the pressure spring. Now, onto the 441s you asked about. The top name brands of 441 clones targeted at leathercrafters all come fitted with smooth presser feet and feed dogs. This is a departure from the original version of the Juki TSC-441. Originally, it was targeted at the buffing wheel and ballistic materials market, where teeth were an advantage. Now that these machines have been hijacked by us leather sewers, smooth feet and feed dogs are in great demand. Only the off-brand 441 machines still ship with teeth on the feet and feeder. These are the no-name drop shipped machines that come to you directly from China. In case you were going to ask, the Cobra, Cowboy and Techsew 441 clones ship with a set of so called blanket feet and matching large feeder, all of with have aggressive teeth. They are great for sewing buffing wheels!

Mods can't alter the folder structure of the forum. We can move posts, merge them, lock them and delete them. But, I like your idea about having a new sub-directory for reference material. I'll toss it around with Johanna when I get time.

That paddle shaped spring has a very important job. It is supposed to hold the top thread in place as the needle reaches bottom dead center and lifts briefly to form the loop for the hook to pick off. Without that spring, or with a deformed or weak spring, the take-up lever's top-mounted leaf spring can pull the thread back up through the needle bar, dissolving the loop before it can get picked off by the hook.

It will come out the top if you remove the needle clamp (on the bottom of the bar), and the take-up lever and its plunger, which is otherwise in the way on top.

In my unpleasant experience, you have to remove the needle bar to get to those screws. Further, once removed, set them down apart on the left and right so you can reinstall them into the same positions (they often get shaped to clear the inside of the housing).

Bob Kovar posted some photos last year of the back of veg-tan leather sewn on a CB2500, before and after he smoothed it with a teaspoon. The results weren't that bad for the money. He also has an optional roller foot for these machines. The design is an outgrowth of the ancient Singer 45k machines.

See if you can get a 45mm (1.75") or 50mm (2") pulley that will fit the shaft on your motor. This will give you a boost in torque and reduction in speed. You will need a slightly longer belt to reach the smaller pulley (~1" - 2" longer).

ObjectMaker; I don't usually recommend these machines, but, since you're in Ohio, if you go to Ryan O'Neal or Bob Kovar's shops, ask them to show you a CB2500. Ryan used to sell them as the Neal's #5 Machine. The reason I don't mention them much is because they are bottom feeders only and have huge teeth. If your horse tack won't need to be perfect on the bottom, the 2500 will do. The main pluses are that these machines can sew up to 7/16" of leather and that they use larger sizes of thread, ranging from #138 up to #415. The third plus is that they generally sell between $995 and $1395, plus shipping, complete with a table, motor and 3:1 speed reducer. If tooth marks on the bottom cannot be tolerated, you'll need to move up to at least the CB3200, which sews up to 1/2 inch, with thread sizes 138 through 415. It normally sells for $1695, plus shipping. It has a totally smooth feed dog, just like its bigger brothers.

What type and wattage motor do you have now? What is the diameter across the motor's pulley? Ditto for the machine pulley?

I have a similar Kenmore zig-zag machine at home and it uses the standard domestic needle System HAx1. They are sold at Walmart, Joann Fabrics and everywhere home sewing machines and fabrics are sold.

I use "Leather Tape", made by Venture, in various widths, to secure pieces of leather for sewing. It is very strong, almost as good as contact cement (but more like aggressive rubber glue). You should use titanium needles to sew through this tape to avoid gumming up the eye and shaft. Venture Tape is sold by Wawak and other big suppliers.