Ferg

If you do not have a thread stand, get one. They enable the thread to unwind from above the spool. Ferg

I began making face masks about the last week of February. My wife just turned up her nose and thought it was another of my various and sundry activities and walked off. It is now May 3rd 2020 and I am finishing what will be be my 300th mask. Have given away at least 250 of those, the remainder, folks felt sorry for me I guess and gave me some money. lol Truth is, what has been donated to my cause has just about paid for the materials I have bought. Time spent? A number of eight and ten hour days. I am doing this strictly with no help other than my wife shipping masks for me. Masks are made of two layers cotton fabric, lining is bleached muslin. They are open on left and right side to accommodate extra filter material, wife slips a rolled up facial tissue under her nose to keep spectacles from clouding over. My hands and arms ache as though they had a toothache, I am sure there are a lot more folks in much worse condition than I. This is a rewarding episode of many in my fairly long life, eighty six years. I don't see family members except by looking out on the porch when they come to get masks. Wife feeds me and we "Pick-Up" food from most anywhere we can find open with "Curbside" service or "Drive Thru". I am actually enjoying sewing the masks. Cutting the pieces out, not so much fun. Am going to enclose photos of a few. I was waiting for wife to return to parking lot of Target yesterday when I had to note how many folks were actually wearing masks. Governor of Ohio had issued a mandatory wearing of masks when out and about, later changed that to "if you wish to" when a good number of folks cried "Foul". Young people from mid thirties down, seem to resist wearing them the most. Most older are wearing them although you could pick out the people who wouldn't wear them anyway by the expressions on their faces. I am not following the news very close since everything is Politisized. I sincerely believe folks should at least wear them if for no other reason than to help protect the folks around you. If you are too self centered to considered them........... Have a great day and don't forget, We are not necessarily in this together Ferg

You won't go wrong on Leather Wranglers knives. I have one of his as well as three from Terry. Ferg

You are a "One of a Kind". I enjoy everything you do and have done. I hope there are many more folks lucky enough to view your skill. Ferg

This will be an over simplification.... Make your lining pieces the same size and quantities as your outside. For a nice clean and cool lining use Muslin. Applying a sweat band and the "Bill" is another story. lol

mikesc Please don't leave the site because of one idiot This happens too many times I am sure Keep a stiff upper lip. I happen to enjoy your posts, even when they point towards me. lol Ferg

I also am making masks. Wiz hit the nail on the head with the needle holes etc. Use Quilting cotton. There are thousands of variations in the prints. Some of the cotton is of very light weight. I question a little if they will do much good with that potential problem. I use my Consew 206 RB5 to attach the elastic. I convinced my wife to let me buy a new Singer Domestic, they are on sale. I have used a sewing machine since a very small child, learning to use them correctly is equally as difficult some times as the industrial leather machines. My intended use for the Singer was for making masks. A Non-Profit Organization within a few miles of our home will take all I can make, along with other folks. Some of the instructions and patterns are "iffy" in my estimation. One Video on the web has the lady saying you can just turn the mask around and use the other side. She also states that they are throw-away item. Neither opinion is true. I top stitch the seams on the outside and use a rolled hem on the edges that will have wear. Mine are open on both left and right side/ends so an N95 insert can be used if desired. Anything with the N95 designation is very difficult to come by, I only have ten of them so unless someone asks for them I won't be supplying them with the masks. Elastic is likewise difficult to find but it is out there if you can wait a month or so. We used 1/4" white ribbon for a product we made several years ago. We still have a number of rolls of it. When I run out of the elastic I have we will use the ribbon that can be tied behind the head and neck. I made at least a dozen before I decided how I wanted to make mine. I use a piece of Floral Wire in the portion that fits over the nose so it can conform. The wire is embedded in a seam. We bend a little loop in the ends of the wire so it won't puncture a person's nose. Am working on a batch of thirty now. Hope to have them finished so they can be delivered tomorrow. Tedious work for someone who dislikes repetition. Small inconvenience if it helps someone else. BTW: These are washable. Ferg

If you buy a post bed you will need at least a mid size Cylinder arm also. The cylinder arm is your best bet in my opinion since they normally come with a flat bet attachment. I have a Post Bed, Flat Bed and a Patcher along with a computerized Singer Domestic. I normally will use at least two of them for any project some times three. Post Bed will handle size 33 to 138 thread with needles #10 to #24. Mid range Cylinder arm will handle #69 to #138 thread. Ferg

You do realize with normal shoes you need to use leather for the uppers that is not thicker than 2mm. You are trying to make moccasins I understand. That allows you to use some inferior leather but I wouldn't use belly leather for anything on any shoe style. Ferg

That's good. Thank you for a good laugh!! Ferg

Remember this: Bad news on the back of your item doesn't necessarily mean your needle is at fault although you were using the wrong needles. Improper Tension on your thread causes at least ninety percent of bad stitches on the back. Ferg

Gosh I had forgotten about the old Kenmore sewing machines. They were good machines but never intended to sew leather. First problem is the industrial thread we use for leather, second is yes you would need to use a leather needle. If I remember correctly Singer needles fit the Kenmore. JoAnn Fabrics among others have the needles as does Amazon. Make something from fabric with the Kenmore. See if your hands will take the abuse from some Quilt Cotton. Sew with a spool of Guietterman thread or Coats and Clark. Even if you don't make anything, just sewing will let you find out if you really wish to sew with a machine. That little Speedy Stitcher has been used by thousands and thousands of craft folks and it will sew leather but not very thick. I don't try much hand sewing anymore. Arthritis and Carpel Tunnel has seen to that. Ferg

mrdabeetle I have a Singer Domestic machine among my selection. I tried #69 thread with all kinds of difficulties in FABRIC. They simply do not like anything larger than #46. With a leather needle they will sew thin leather, 1mm or less, and possibly work with #40 thread and all purpose needle. Try next smaller thread in Bobbin than the #46 such as #40. TENSION, TENSION, TENSION. Every time I have a thread/sewing problem, Bob at Toledo tells me it is the tension, dummy!!!!!! LOL Ferg

Machine has been restored. Sews fine, seven spi Max, New servo, includes a new needle plate plus extra belting. Stand/table is on casters. Don't have the decals for it. Bobbin winder has new rubber tire. Asking $900.00 USD. I really do not wish to ship it but will determine cost if so desired or needed. Shipping not included in selling price. I simply need the room and I have seldom used the machine. Love the old iron. Ferg

My story will be a little different than most of you, still relevant. I began making leather product when in the Navy almost 70 years ago. Made a wallet for darned near every member of our squadron of helicopters. Did I make any money? I sure did and I paid the rent at Tandy in Miami. Figuratively. Sold my carved and laced wallets for $5. Jumping ahead a number of years, after being a successful building contractor, my wife and I decided to manufacture wooden toys and decorative items. I had a fairly complete wood shop of Sears woodworking machinery. We traveled the "Fairs" for several years making absolutely everything we could think of plus some others while hardly having enough money to live. Opened a store and advertised for one week on the local radio station. Our store didn't even face a traveled street. We had cars parking along the closest road. For about a week we had so many customers we had to lock the door. We made a little money and we could eat out once in awhile. Visited a very large Arts and Crafts show. A gentleman and his wife were making personalized puzzles of wood sawing them with a jig saw. Told my wife we could do that! I drew the letters and numbers on pieces of Birch Veneered medium density fiberboard, ground up wood chips and bark. We cut them out on one of my Sears bandsaws. Presented them to a number of mail order companies. Finally, we got a bite. One of the largest companies in the world wanted our puzzles for their catalog. We had a friend of ours and her daughter working for us. Fast forward to the present day. Come August APPLE VALLEY WOODCRAFTS will be no more. We some times worked all night on a project, seven days per week twelve months per year. Our company became the largest manufacturer of wooden name puzzles in the world. I worked on selling the business for awhile. Had one very interested party. Found that they had very little money and no idea what they would be getting into. We manufactured everything we made using computer driven machinery running programs that I eventually rewrote. Still have one of the original bandsaws from Sears. Our insurance has become totally unreasonable. Try to guess how much it costs for two million dollars of Liability coverage. Wife and I built our Log Home 26 years ago with profits from our business. Would I try that with making leather? Nah!!! I am eighty six years old, tired, forgetful, no kids at home, just us and our two Sheltie dogs. I still enjoy life too much to give up so I make what ever I doggone well want to whether it be Stained Glass, Leather, Fabric, Computer Programing, growing our several thousand flowers and vegetables in our greenhouse, loving my wife and kids, and making a Gatsby Hat for my Great Grandson. Live your life so folks can say nice things about you and love your families AND work hard and enjoy what you are doing.Then. maybe you can have one of these. Ferg

ALBERT, Some photos would help. Beginning with the Bobbin and holder plus where your needle is entering the needle plate Ferg

These are Sublimitable on the side opposite magnet. You transfer the image or copy directly. I would need to check again for sure, I think I have 100. Ferg

I am a little confused by what you are actually wanting. I have quite a few Magnetic fridge blanks for Sublimation that I will sell. They measure 3 1/2" x 2" Let me know if you are interested. Ferg

I have a Cowboy Post Bed. They will sew using thread #33 - #138. Mine has almost all movable points with a sealed ball bearing making this a very quiet machine. Maximum under the foot of mine is about 5/16" and maybe 3/8" some times. I wouldn't recommend trying to sew "hard" leather with it. Absolutely amazing to sew hats and shoe uppers or anything else that has finish sewing inside an article. Won't do shoe soles. It simply isn't configured to do so. Mine has top and bottom roller feed and I love it. Bob at Toledo, set mine up for what I wanted to do with it. I have changed the upper tension to accommodate different thread size with absolutely no problems. There is a specific type of sewing machine to do shoe soles. Very expensive and they begin at about 600 pounds. Ferg

Thanks, TonyAllenBernier has been extremely helpful, with patterns and freely given help. Several others plus Pinterest has a wealth of photos of hats/caps for inspiration. I want to try embellishing some of the patterns I have with ideas I have gleaned from Pinterest. It is a fun diversion from the every day hum drum. We are officially closing down our wood shop manufacturing operation come July or August. Looking forward to time to do whatever we wish. I have been in business for almost 70 years. We believe it is time. Just celebrated my 86th Birthday this last week. Ferg

Wanted to take a rest from the shoe making and since we have a 10 month old Great Grandson, I thought I would try my hand at making HAT'S. I like the Gatsby style among others which is called about a dozen different things. I had some Navy Blue denim in the shop along with some lining material. Decided it would be best if I tried making a prototype first to see if there was any point in going forward with this idea. Made mistakes as in stitching, not quite where it should be and other things that bug me. Also want to make a leather Gatsby for my youngest brother, he is 76, lol Anyway, here is one photo of the hat resting on a candle vase. It was both a little frustrating and one heck of a lot of fun. My new Post Bed Cowboy made the stitching a piece of cake for the most part. I just need to learn where to put all the stitching. Next week I will at least be making FINLAY'S cap. Ferg

A little bitty metal bur. Ferg

That doesn't make it sound as though you have much more than fire wood. That's a shame. In good condition they may be worth something. Ferg

I am just East of Dayton. Wouldn't do anything without seeing them. If they are in the condition I think they are, not worth much since most would need refurbishing at best. Are they under cover now? If they are open to the elements and the varmints they are losing value by the day. I could maybe make the trip to see them. We are very busy right now, a little later perhaps. Ferg