Diyer

Thanks everyone for all your input. I am going to disagree about the comment on cheese screws, because if any of them have loctite on (as some are supposed to), and the material is soft, the head will deform and make it really difficult to undo, also possibly breaking off and leaving a nasty mess to drill and tap out. There has to be a correct balance between the hardness of both components in my opinion. Genuine Juki 441 heads are £6,000.00 or so plus Vat, so out of my price range. I have had some good prices for clone 441 heads, but today,after saying second hand heads of the machine type I want are almost impossible to find- a visit to my local saddle maker for names of used machine dealers, I find he is selling a (well used)Adler 205/370 or 374 (grey paint) for reasonable money- likely under 2,000 euros. See my next post on the subject.

I am looking at upgrading from my Adler 105/64 to a unison feed machine, as I need to be able to have something that will deal with changes in thickness. As I live in Portugal, I have some of the problems that others have voiced about dealer availability. Anything imported here from outside the EU attracts a 23% tax on the item plus postage, and often there is a 10% import duty to pay as well.So I will be buying within Europe, and have already contacted Sieck, Frank Brunner, and some others in the UK.My choice may well be between a well known make such as Hightex, but not set up for leather, or a less well known/regarded one such as Kingmax, which will be set up for leather. PRICE VS QUALITY. There is a huge difference in price between the genuine article, and the Chinese copy. As a retired engineer, I have always wondered where those cost savings have come from. Some will be the possibly artificial exchange rate, plus a lower labour cost. The rest will be "corner cutting"- lower or wider material specifications,lower tolerances on machining and finish specifications, plus more variability on heat treatment.(my pet hate- I cannot get sewing pins that do not either break or bend!!) Also eliminating or combining as many parts as possible will reduce manufacturing cost. TECHIE STUFF n my perusal of posts on this forum, I have found comments like "no timing marks" for clone machines. Is this really true for the Hightex (which is one of the makes I am looking at)? For me this is a difficulty, as I will be doing my own maintenance, plus possibly having to do the setting up for sewing leather. I have downloaded both the Juki 441 manual and parts list (thanks to whomever put them up), and have looked closely at what is involved in doing the settings.I am pretty good mechanically, and do all my own machinery repairs, and have done the settings on my current machines successfully with the help of the appropriate manuals. There are a number of components that have setting marks on them for the genuine Juki 441.Are any of them on the clones? The parts in question are :- mainshaft, shuttle race body, and conrod eccentric cam. How have people coped without those marks, other than trial and error, with many hours of sweat and frustration?Also, the settings in the manual are for the blanket stitch feed dog and foot, not the smooth leather ones.Is there going to be a difference-I did note that the manual states their settings are a "starting point". What are peoples' experiences with "cheesy screws"? Which ones must be replaced with ones made of decent metal, or has the quality improved enough not to need this?Are the screw sizes REALLY Imperial, not metric? CONCLUSION I suppose this is a "try to find out what I am letting myself in for", buying a clone 441, that may not be set up for sewing leather. I am well aware of the potential learning curve that might be involved,(or not) but I prefer to have advance warning from those that have gone before- hence my questions. As I am a hobby leather worker, I cannot justifiy the extra cost of the genuine item, and used ones are in the hens teeth category, or silly money.(Unless someone knows different!)

A very long time ago I made leather cowboy hats- the type Clint Eastwood wore, with a straight brim. Your pirate hat is going to be similar. First, you need leather that is going to stretch a LOT for the head shape. Second, you will need to make your own patterns. Historically tricorn hats were made from felt, as it is easy to steam and shape. For pattern help, you will need historical costume books, some of which have patterns drawn on squared paper which you scale up. The period you need is around the Civil War era, Georges 1 to 3 English kings. My hats were 4 pieces- 2 for the crown, 1 for the brim upper, and 1 for the brim lower The crown piece was sandwiched between the two layers so you would not see the tabbed edges. I joined the leather on the crown with a butt join, onto 1" webbing. If you put in a hat sweatband on the inside, unless your sweat goes through, the colour should not come out of the hat onto your forehead. I hope this helps.

Anyone out there know where I can get breast collar centre rings that you can attach conchos to? Similar to this

Ray, You could also try Diablo Silver.

James, Maybe I should explain- I used to live in England, but moved to Portugal in 2007.I still return to the UK on a regular basis to see friends and family. My Portuguese is still not good enough to get all my supplies here- plus a lot of things you cannot get, or are more expensive. I now buy items from other countries- eg silver buckles from the USA, car parts from Germany, all sorts from Ebay. The Internet is a wonderful tool! I shall try your hint about the needles. I am sending you an email with my address on, Oriana

Great! Just what I need. Thanks Oriana

James, Thanks for the info. I have a roller guide, but not a roller foot. Where do you get the roller foot from? I would very much like a copy of the service manual and handbook if it is not too much trouble. I have a feeling the parts list is in the back of one of them. I need a parts list because College sewing machines in the UK only list Adler parts by their part number. Is there a reason you have not yet tried any of the feet from Neels? Oriana

Has anyone out there got a copy of the Adler 105/64 parts list? Also any useful hints and tips on this machine would be welcome, as I have only recently acquired it. I will be doing mainly strap leather and Western saddlery stitching on it. I also need to source some different presser feet- I seem to remember that there is a possibility that some of the Chinese copies might suit, as the genuine Adler ones are very expensive. My machine is not walking foot.