Northmount

You will find a lot of info about bookbinding at this channel. https://www.youtube.com/user/alexogden49/videos Tom

I only have easy access to Organ needles. There are many other recommendations elsewhere in this forum. Tom

Conical point needles blow out the back of the leather. So yes the right move is leather point 135x16. Tom

Please read the Marketplace Rules and abide by them http://leatherworker.net/forum/forum/70-announcements/ At the very least you should have photos. What type of motor, what have you been using it for, etc. Tom

Wow! Tom

Use a leather point needle. Looks like yours is a standard conical point. They blow out the back instead of slicing through the leather. Hammer the seam flat after. It will help fix the blowout. Tom

IP address is for Frohna, Missouri @MommaMiia it's a good idea to include your location in your profile so more relevant information can be given that fits your location in this global world we live in. Tom

That sounds like it is more likely than my comment above. Good call. Tom

@lyricsonwings moved your post to leather sewing machines. Tom

It must be a brush type motor and the brushes are vibrating in the brush holder as the commutator turns. Check the brushes are not worn out (too short). If the motor is new, they may wear in and stop squealing. There will be two brushes, one on each side of the motor. Usually a black cap with a screwdriver slot. Don't over tighten or you may break the external part of the brush holder. Tom

When you measure pulley size, use the outside diameter of the pulley. There are 3 parts to pulley size. Width at the top of the groove determines belt width. the other 2 are OD and ID. When calculating pulley ratios, always use the OD of the pulleys. Belts are meant to ride at the top, not down in the bottom. If the pulley is too wide, the belt rides in the bottom and it slips. Comments about clutch motors: They are fine for people that are well experienced using a clutch motor. You have to be able to slip the clutch (like slipping the clutch in a car/truck with a manual transmission when you are starting up from a stop). If you miscalculate, the machine will take off like a jack rabbit. If you want to crawl, you need lots of practice. For Servo motors: To be able to go really slow, like a stitch per second or slower, you need a system that will provide high torque at very slow speeds, especially if you are sewing thick or hard tempered leather. I have a servo with built in gear reduction 3:1. At the lowest speed setting, it didn't have the torque needed to punch through 10 oz. belts at a crawl so I could carefully go around the tip of the billet. I assembled a pulley speed reducer with 2" and 7.5" pulleys. That gives a 3.75:1 speed reduction. That gives me an 11.2:1 overall speed reduction. Actually when you count the servo pulley and the machine pulley as well, it is about 16:1. Only expensive servo motors have high torque at low speeds and can literally step. Typical sewing machine servos lose torque at low speeds. This is true of most all AC motors and even DC motors depending upon their winding configuration. So you need to have enough motor speed to develop the torque required for the job. Thus you need to have either a gear or pulley speed reduction system to do what you want to do. Tom

@aroh99 Moved your post to leather sewing machines. Tom

Hi @VeeBee. Moved your post to leather sewing machines. You'll get more answers here. Tom

A capacitor start motor should have better starting torque. Check what you have versus capacitor start. Tom

@Blackbird @Rohn Blackbird hasn't been on this site since March. So it looks like he may not be interested in following up on his posting. If there is no response from him, remind me in a couple days to move this to "old and sold" and to lock this thread. Tom

Great information! Which type of contact cement are you using? Tom

It always takes on a slope as continue the lacing. I always take out the first few stitches when I connect back up. The circle accentuates the slope. You could use the same hole 5 holes or so, or just accept it and take out several of the beginning stitches until the slope matches up. Tom

@Joelle Moved to leather sewing machines. Tom

@Zsuzsu Moved to leather sewing machines. You are more likely to get answers and help here. Tom

@Glaciersew Moved to Leather Sewing Machines. You'll get more answers here. Tom

Still waiting for photos. Tom

Love the change purse design. Tom

You might try Longview Leather. They are about 3/4 hour south of Calgary, AB. http://www.longviewleather.com/ They have a 12" wide band knife. Tom

Have you read this http://leatherworker.net/forum/forum/50-leather-sewing-machines/ or this http://leatherworker.net/forum/topic/25239-the-type-of-sewing-machine-you-need-to-sew-leather/ Tom

Really fantastic work. Inspiring to us all. I've only done a small amount of figure carving. Will take me centuries to get to your level of accomplishment. Tom