billymac814

Not really in the 441 category but check out those 45k type machines. Check out the techsew 3650 HD. That should suit your needs pretty well, it'll be on the higher end of your budget but there's really not much less that'll sew with that thick of thread.

It took about 10 days to get my stamp from Hong Kong. Not the fastest reasonable I suppose. What's involved with Customs? I do very little international shipping and even less receiving but I hear things about customs fees and all that but haven't a clue how it works. I didn't have to pay anything for that stamp, it just showed up in the mail.

I agree 100%. Some of those people are fine craftsmen and can do a lot with very little. I may very well order some of those punches. I have the main ones I need but those are cheap enough to have for the odd all sizes too. I think I'd get the round version though as the pointed ones don't look like a true English point and I only use pointed for my belts and already have those. I'm thinking for straps and such for the rounded types. Also the same seller has brass tips for a soldering iron to finish edges, I may try one or two of those too.

The Boss is easy to control but so are the 441s with a servo and speed reducer. You can get right up to the edge with either with no problem. The 441s are considerably quieter than the Boss is but the Boss is still a very capable machine, or at least mine was. I know some others who've had bad experiences with them.

When you raise the foot it should release some of the tension. When I thread mine around the third wheel a complete revolution as per the diagram I can't easily pull the thread out but if I only go around it and then through the loop I can easily pull the thread out without pulling it from anywhere else first. This is the way I leave mine threaded. The first tension disk you go through is your primary. I'd start with backing off the top a bit until you get your not balanced in the center, it looks from the picture its very close to the top, that's either too much top or not enough bottom. That could also be the reason the stitches look inconsistent.

Those are a lot thicker than I was originally thinking. If you're using that thick of thread and leather the boss would be fine. Its definitely not a quiet option though. You could also use a 441 clone, a short arm version would be fine. There may be other options too like the 45k type machines but I'm not familiar with them so I can't recommend them but I think you can get those with a roller foot that would do very nice stitching on the front, you may get some marking on the back with those from the feed dogs though.

I know every time someone brings up any type of edge coat it turns into an edge burnishing discussion so let me be clear, I burnish all edges that can be burnished and I have no issues with that. However I do a lot of repair work out of my shop and get many purses and other items that are made of leather or vinyl and have either a rubberized coating or some other type of coating on them and at times I need to or would like to match that with something similar. I'm not going to invest in the equipment to do the rubber type stuff just to do little pieces here and there. The new Tandy stuff is available in a lot of colors but it looks to only be available in large bottles. Anyone try it?

URAD is the best product for upholstery leather. It cleans conditions and shines in one step and restores the color. I started using it a while ago and its really a miracle product. Its an Italian made product and not too easy to find but you can order it online. I started selling it in my shop after testing it out for a while.

I never thin black dye, why would you want to do that? Is it to make it last longer or are you trying to achieve a different shade?

Where are these junk piles at? I'd pull one out

Something definitely doesn't look right. It looks like too much tension on top or not enough on the bobbin. You should be fine running 207 on top and 138 on the bottom. Its possible you'd need to increase the bobbin tension with 138.

I think its probably your top thread that's bunching on the bottom. I can't really tell from the pictures but if there's any doubt load the bobbin with a different colored thread so you can see what's going on. It can be from not enough tension on top.

What size thread are you using? The Boss works well with heavy thread through thick leather. You may be able to set it up to work with thin thread and leather but it wond be ideal. It wouldn't be my first second or third choice to sew watch straps. Also make no mistake about it the Boss is a Loud machine to operate, powered machines are much quieter. Ill leave the recommendations to some other people as far as which machine would be best for you but I would think something with a roller foot on top would be good, you could get very close to the edge if need be and make very nice stitching.

Barge and Nasters All purpose are definitely a different consistency but they work pretty similarly. The newer barge is Tolulene free so its a little better for you than the All purpose Masters but I prefer the All purpose as its a little easier to work with I think. I use Renia Colle de Cologne. Its a German Cement and is very high quality and it has no Tolulene and no MEK so its safer than some others. Its a very strong cement as well.

Looks like it could be worth trying, especially if you don't use them as often. I recently purchased a brass stamp that came from Hobg Kong and it was a good experience. The people were very easy to deal with and I got a great deal. I also picked up a few hand made knives from a seller on eBay, his family makes them in Pakistan and they too are good quality and the price was cheap. I'd much rather but everything American but these days its getting harder and harder and a lot of times very expensive. There's a whole lot of CRAP coming out of China but on the other hand there's quite a bit of good stuff too. Many of us are using Chinese sewing machines and are pleased. You can get a whole set of strap punches for 36.00, that's cheaper than 1 punch here. As long as your expectations are in check Id imagine it would be worth the risk.the seller has over 5000 transactions and has a 99.9% positive feedback, and they say they are hand made, they can't be that bad.

I don't see how that's possible. With a left or right toe you can get right up to the center foot. They are the same as a double toe harness foot minus a foot.

I too use Paypal. It works well and notifies the customer for me. I bought a scale on amazon that weighs up to 75lbs for about 20 bucks.

It's almost definitely the full strength resolene. I used to hate it until I started thinning it down. Ill normally dye before the neatsfoot though but it shouldn't matter either way. I apply the resolene with the foam brushes that art stores sell. I rarely do two coats as it gets a little shiny for my taste. One fairly heavy coat works well for me. Keep in mind its not spray paint and as long as its not laying on top of the leather its not really too heavy of a coat. If I'm spraying it I may do two coats but I only spray it if antique is involved otherwise it doesn't seem to get into the leather as well and its a pain to clean out the airbrush every time.

I must be the odd man out because I almost always go for my spring handled punch before anything else. Only exceptions being belts bc I use an oval punch and everywhere the spring punch can't reach and when I have a lot of punching to do. Mine are the Osborne ones that are fairly expensive. I also used to use a cheap one from harbor freight, I like that it catches the holes and for lighter weight stuff it worked well but it doesn't stand up to heavy punching and will break. I've been looking at a punch set like that, I like that they are self centering.

They are pretty much worth whatever someone will give you for them. I wouldn't turn down many offers. You can check on EBay and Craigslist and see what others are selling for and you'll be able to see what others are NOT selling for. I was recently at an auction where a shoe repair shop shut down, all his machinery was in good working order and the auctioneer did a pretty good job at marketing the auction by calling everyone within several hundred miles who may be able to use some of the stuff. He had several autosolers that were going for in the 50 range. He had two Landis 12L stitchers which are the best of the 12s. One went for 500, the other went for 200. He had a Landis 88 which is similar to your 77 and it sold for 75.00. The 5 in 1 went for about 400.00, two singer patchers went for around 300, on was slightly more, one was slightly less. A landis line finisher sold for 100, I think to a scrapper. I hope that helps, the problem is there's a very slim market, its not cost effective to ship it so your cut back even farther and there's a ton of it out there because so many shoe repair shops have shut down in the past 20-30 years. How much were the blades for the splitter? I thought of getting a spare just to have although I can re sharpen mine pretty quick now.

My first ever motorcycle seat had that skull and flowers design on it that's hanging from your bench.

You could also get an arbor press, they are cheaper than a drill press. Harbor freight usually has them in the 30.00 range. You may need to have the ram drilled out to accept the punches or you can just place it under the punch. If your dad has a drill press he can drill it out or any machine shop should be able to do it. You can also have them add a set screw to hold them in place. They work great for makers stamps and a bunch of other things as well. I had each side of my ram drilled with different sized holes so if I need one or the other I can just flip it. I also stuck a little ball of beeswax up in the hole to hold the tool in place instead of the set screw.

Maybe instead of shooting for a really flat finish on the one part ramp up the shiny on the dyed part. Its very hard to get a flat finish on leather but probably the closest thing would be a satin finish that is diluted and sprayed on very thin.

As Sylvia mentioned if you need to see right up to a D ring or buckle you'd use either the left or right toe. This would allow you to get within about an 1/8" or so away from whatever you're sewing next to. If you need to get closer you could grind part of the center foot away.

That is machine stitched