dirtclod

I used a American for years making headstalls, breast straps and relined a ton of skirts. Their not the handest machine but they will work. 20 years ago i bought a Ferdco Pro 2000 and never looked back, best money i ever spent. I sew just about anything with it.

You can try putting some masking tape on the back side of the leather to make it firmer.

I would try some different thread before i did anything else. The reason i say that is because i have had thread that just wouldn't sew !!

Nice job ! I would be careful putting the knife in and it cutting the thread sense it doesn't look like to put a welt in.

Why don't you just buy the thickness you want and be done with it ?

It's good to have ya back !

A little dab of water to the corners a piece of cardboard and 2 / 3 minutes or less and your done burnishing. No pain to it !!

Burnishing where you cut the corners off will help and you maybe able to blend them in a little.

Try some Johnson's paste floor wax if you have some. We used it to keep beds of table saws from rusting.

I got some that cheap Tandy leather in some stuff i bought a couple of years ago and i couldn't do anything with it as far as stamping no matter how well it was cased. Dye was the only thing that worked pretty good on it.

I used Barge for 20 plus years and quit when it got to where it cost so much to ship. After reading about the Weldwood in the red can on here i've been using it for the last 2 or 3 years and i like it as well as Barge. I get it by the gallon at the hardware store.

Take a look at this http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=40704 they had the same problem.

Looking good to me !

I don't know anything about your machine. But do you have thread pulled out of the bobbin and the needle threaded ? I did find some stuff about your machine here https://www.google.com/search?q=Adler+67&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a&channel=sb not sure if any of it will help or not.

Just buy the machine from China and be done with it. While your waiting for it to get here you can count the money you saved.

I cut the fringe right after i cut the chinks out. Generally i use a plastic quilters ruler to cut against after i decide what angle i'm going to cut on. Cutting i use a round or head knife and scoot the ruler over about a 1/4 inch making the fringe a 1/4 inch wide are around that. When you get to the bottom going around the curve you will more than likely have to cut a few small pieces out. You'll see what i'm talking about when you get there. I make a light chalk mark around the chink before i start cutting to have something to go by. That way they will be close to the same length. A lace cutter would take FOREVER !!!

Get some poster board and do two three different sizes and see how they fit. Or take your paster board and make a full size pattern cut it into 2 pieces and adjust to fit on the pony, tape it when it fits . Than make the real one.

I know times are hard, i've been scratching really hard this year to pay bills. But personally i would keep the machines and make something you can sell. Esty is a good place to sell something you have made, a listing only cost .20 cents and it's good for three months i think. Hang in there !!

The needles are pretty pricey. Don't try to sew any nylon are anything like you will break the hook off of the needle when it hangs in the material on the down stroke and $3.00 is gone with the wind.

Should of been.... Buy a side you'll be money ahead in the long run.

I sew 5 ounce vegtan on my Juki, Ferdco Pro 2000 ( it's like the machines Steve is talking about ) pretty regular with 138 and 69 thread and don't have any problems. I made a couple of purses using it several years ago. What ever brand you get i would get a cylinder arm machine, you can make a flat top table for it if you want one.

But a side you will be money ahead in the long run.

Your headstalls look great. I'd take the cattle panel down put boards in because when your horse rolls their going to get a foot or feet stuck through it and it's gonna be a job to get them out.

I sewed tugs, check lines and work harness bridles on my short plate and never had any problems.

I just took the shoe plate off and put the flat one on. You do need to countersink the screw holes just like on the shoe plate. The plate i made is like what she has on her machine but i didn't make mine that long.