Matt S

Pearson #6s are absolute beasts... mine weighs 185KG including the stand but they do some real beautiful work. They'd better considering what they cost new! They aren't hugely common even over here -- remember only 11,000 were ever made, and a lot of them were exported around the world. A #6 will sew bridles, headcollars and other tack for another century with a little care and maintenance but they aren't suitable for everyone. Needles are readily available primarily in #5 size, a lot of the setup and adjustments are different from modern machines adding to the learning curve, they don't meet modern safety regulations, spare parts and accessories are either rare or bloody expensive, they leak oil like an old Labrador leaks other fluids and there is no reverse. I love my #6 and urge anyone who sees one to give it a good home, even just to save it from the scrapper -- but they aren't for everyone.

The various clones of the Juki 441 are, as our friends above agree, probably the "single machine solution" to what you want to do, Curly Wolf. They are, by all accounts, very capable and capable machines. For some reason there are very few of these available in the UK, but are available for import from Germany or the USA. After shipping, VAT and duty import from the USA will cost about £2500. Germany probably is a little cheaper. The disadvantage of the one-machine-fits-most approach is that you will spend some time setting your machine up for each job. The 441 machines have a lot of videos and guides online how to adjust and maintain them because they are popular with hobbyists and small scale manufacturers in the US. If you have some degree of mechanical experience you will find it not very difficult. Another approach is to consider buying a modern, medium duty needle or walking foot flat bed machine for your more general purposes -- chaps, curtain tiebacks and such. These are readily available either new or refurbished from any industrial machine supplier from around a grand, or if you are lucky/handy you will be able to get a used one privately for a lot less. This gives you the freedom to buy a heavier machine dedicated for tack work, which could even be something beautifully classic and clunky like an eBay special singer 45.

Where are you located? This affects what is available to you and prices. What is your budget? There are some very reasonably priced machines coming out of China these days -- about US$2500 will get you a properly tuned, versatile machine which will sew 3/4" thick of leather, shipped to your door. If that seems a lot, a similar capacity machine cost a year's wages in 1900. Neither a Singer 44k nor a Brother DB2 is suitable for leather over say 2mm of the softest leather. Can you show an example of your work so we can make an informed recommendation? This is an excellent resource provided by one of our top contributors. There's a lot of information to take in but it's all gold:

I recently was granted the business pricing rates, and there is, to be perfectly honest, not a great deal that I can get at Tandy that I can't get elsewhere at a better price and/or quality -- even with the significant discount I get. I buy their 3D stamps and RFID paper mostly. I have bought a few Ghormley patterns off them but rather disappointingly they have now been discontinued.

Three options come to mind: (1) Cut a 1/2" strip off your 2" strap. (2) Cut a 1/4" strip off both sides of your strap at each end. This creates a "Scout belt". (3) Add a 1-1/2" strap on top of your 2" strap at each end. This creates a "Ranger belt". What you choose depends on your equipment, skills and intended use for this belt. A 2" ranger belt, for instance, would be difficult to fit through the loops on a pair of dress slacks but would work well as a light tool belt.

A few months ago I asked about how close to the edge of the cylinder bed various machines will sew. It turns out there is no ready reference for this distance, even in most manufacturers' brochures. So let's accumulate what knowledge we can here, and create a valuable resource. Other machines and setups, please PM me or comment onto this thread and I'll edit this first post to add your information. Adler 205-370 w/ harness plate: 1/4" (6.5mm) Plus extra for bobbin cover plate 441-type w/ standard needle plate: 5/16" (4mm) Plus extra for bobbin cover plate 441-type w/ holster plate: 1/16" (1.6mm) Plus extra for bobbin cover plate Juki 246 w/ standard plate: 1/4" (6.5mm) No extra needed for bobbin cover plate Singer 17U241: 1/4" (6.5mm) No extra needed for bobbin cover plate Singer 45K21: 1/8" (3mm) Plus extra for bobbin cover plate

JT Bachelor and SK Fittings, both in Dalston, London. Abbey Saddlery in Knutsford.

Sounds like iron filings have come onto contact with your leather from somewhere. The iron reacts with the tannic acid to form iron tannate, which is an insoluble blue-black lake. It's the same effect people seek out when striking with vinegroon. Application of lemon juice to the spot should solve the problem.

I've been looking for a raised (holster or stirrup) needle plate for a Juki 246 clone I have. What few suppliers have compatible plates are either the standard smooth one or the knurled one designed for binding. Adler 69 plates look similar but I'm not convinced they're compatible. Does anyone know of a workaround?

Burnishing the edges of strap-goods makes a huge difference to the quality of your product. Not worth skipping, IMHO.

Most polyester thread is prewaxed, and even waxless is pretty slippery. Wax is essential for linen threads, though a mix of beeswax and rosin is miles better. I wouldn't bother with the wax on your thread, unless you try it and find that it needs it.

There are plenty of veg tanned leathers with a top finish. There are chrome tanned leathers without Since the dye is penetrating the flesh but not the grain it does sound like there is some surface treatment involved, perhaps a sealant or maybe just a glazing. Joel, post us a picture if you can.

What sort of rivets do you want to use -- burr rivets, Jiffy rivets, tubular/machine rivets? I have a small press which can be used for setting Jiffy rivets but I find a hammer to be a better option, and I use it as a hole punch.

Not sure if this is genius or witchcraft. Either way the results are beautiful.

I like that felt applicator, Rocky. Gonna try that out. Better than Q-tips for the fiddly bits I reckon. Egg cup a good shout too. My bench looks like BP's been drilling there sometimes...

A no4 needle should be fine with 1mm Tiger, since it's so flat. At £2 a pack it's got to be worth a go. How are you stitching? 16oz is about 6mm, which isn't so very thick. A no2 needle shouldn't be much trouble.

I looked into making my own a while ago for cost and availability reasons. At the time I had access to a very well equipped machine shop and a tame engineer/machinist. Every way I looked at it, it would have cost me more to manufacture one than to import a Chinese one, and I couldn't afford that. And that was assuming my first attempt would have worked, which is doubtful considering how little information is available on them. In the end I waited and, like biker mutt, pounced on a deal on an old English crank splitter. In the mean time my £100 Cowboy lap skiver sort of did the job (with a lot of swearing and ruined leather).

The thread provides an interesting contrast against the leather and looks pretty, but it is not necessary. The leather will last for years without it.

Those ikea bekvam are some tough tables. Laminated beech. I have about 150lb of iron screwed to the top of mine. Still movable.

What Constabulary said -- the beast is not like a modern, high-speed machine and a light oil tends to pour out pretty fast. 10w40 works great, since I have it already sitting on the shelf. Sometimes I reach for the Youngs 303 mostly for the smell... perhaps Constabulary does a similar thing with Ballistol? ;-)

Open the shuttle cover plate and turn the handle until the shuttle is at its maximum travel to the left. Press the pointy end until the blunt end points up a bit, then pull it out. The bobbin is retained in the shuttle with a little catch at the blunt end.

Alas no, I haven't got the space for that. Looks grand though. I found a vintage 7.5" crank splitter which works for most of my purposes, and the price was acceptable. Would love to hear others' opinions of that big Cowboy 8020 though!

I have the Cowboy 800 splitter. Technically it's a lap skiver, which is all I use it for now that I have a crank splitter. However if like me you are blessed with more determination than brains it is possible to split 4" straps with one. I think now there is a version with a locking wheel but mine doesn't, I just added a screw on the end of the handle and kept adding weight plates until the roller held firm against the limit screw. Then a wide-mouth pair of mole grips, boot firmly against the bench and a quick swig of beer tea and thing would come through, so long as the blade was in good nick. Of course, as fivewayswelshcobs says, your Osborne can probably be brazed. Got any pics?

Once you've burnished with water burnish again with a thin solution of gum tragacanth, gum Arabic, pearl/hide glue or PVA glue. Then one it's dry buff with beeswax.

I agree with Cosntabulary, it's a BUSM #6. There is a PDF copy of the manual available on this site. Check it out, you need to double back through the thread check plates when threading the machine up. The red is from a miner's paint can ;-) I don't know how this would have been used to repair boots, the BUSM6 is a machine primarily designed for making and fixing heavy horse harness. I suppose it could have been used for stitching on new soles but there were smaller, more affordable solutions at the time like the Junker Ruh 28. Looks like it originally had a bottom-waxing pot, but it's not unusual that this is missing. The top wax pot is also missing, but that's only a problem if you are using linen thread rather than nylon or polyester. Remember to oil all the little oil holes each time you use it. I like to keep the cam tracks and all other sliding parts well greased too.