Northmount

Really great work. As with your other portraits, colouring will not spoil it! Tom

You lose all the advantages of a servo by making it an on/off control. There is a post somewhere here where a person is using a hand cable control similar to bicycle brakes or motorcycle throttle. A system where you can adjust the speed and lock it at that speed might be handy. And a quick release. Try a Google search such as site:leatherworker.net sewing machine servo hand control and see what you get. You can modify the search parameters to use words that you feel might get better or different results. Found this one Tom

There are a few posts about using a vacuum setup to collect the waste, along with some photos. Try a Google search for them. site:leatherworker.net bell skiver vacuum Tom

I've had people sniff a new article that was finished with neat lac. Then tell me how much the love the smell of leather! All they are smelling is the lacquer fumes! Maybe it reminds them of sniffing glue. Tom

Sold

Keep the humidity around 50%. Too high will go moldy, too low dries out the leather. Tom

@Googledave I moved your post to Leather Sewing Machines. You'll get more answers here than in How Do I Do That. Tom

I've been able to maintain the top thread and switch the bobbin. I go back a couple inches, pull the bottom thread back (pick it out) so I have a couple inches loose. Put the bobbin in and pull the thread up through the needle plate, pull the top thread back to the spool, line up the needle and continue sewing. No break in the top thread, and enough thread on the bottom to be able to tie and super glue or burn it off. It's a bit of a hassle, but no double stitch shows on the top and I can hide the bottom join. Tom

Whether you soak the leather or not (as above), moisture has to work its way into the core, not just on the surface. If you have seen any videos or workshops with Jim Linnell, he doesn't soak the leather. He applies quite a bit to the surface the first time, using a sponge, then lets it sit and soak in for a while. He may apply some to the back if it is heavier leather and of course not glued to poster board, or taped. Then when the colour returns to near normal, he begins his cutting and tooling. If the leather is starting to dry out too much and doesn't produce a nice burnish while tooling, he will moisten the leather very lightly in the area he is tooling. It is faster than soaking the leather and waiting for it to dry enough to start working with. Tom

IP address resolves to Venezuela. OP has last visited this site on last Saturday. Has only made this one post. Tom

That brazing job was less than adequate! Need to get full penetration of the bronze into the complete joint. Only way I know to do that is proper preparation. Grind the parts, at least one side of the break to form a vee that you can then get bronze right down into the joint. Tom

Yeah!

Reduce your file size to about 800 x 600 pixels and you can post 100 or so photos in a single post. Lots of photo resizers out there on the web. Do a quick search here or on Google and you will find many options of how to do it. Tom

I think mine are S type. Depends somewhat on what your suppliers have available. Away from the shop for a few days! Tom

It will improve the back a lot. But it will never look as good as the top side. Hammering the stitch line with a smooth hammer will also help a little. Tom

Are you using leather point needles? They slice and don't blow out the back so much. Tom

Has he used leather for holding the battery in before? Reason I ask is that there is always a little acid around most batteries (lead acid) unless they are really sealed well. The acid will degrade the leather fairly quickly. Tom

Manuals are readily available online as well as videos for your specific machine. https://www.google.com/search?q=consew+226+manual&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8 Tom

The bobbin is not threaded correctly either. Off the right edge of the photo is a small slot the the thread needs to be pulled through so it passes under the spring to provide bobbin tension. It then should come around the front past the latch opener (the triangular shape in the lower right of the photo). Re-check your manual or look at YouTube videos for your machine to see correct threading. This machine is threaded the same way yours should be even though it is a different mfg and is a cylinder arm instead of flat bed. Tom

Post it on YouTube Tom

Vegan's are totally against anything that is assumed to harm an animal and in general will not use any animal based items. Vegetable tanned leather is a method of tanning, not related to Vegans at all. Vegetable tanned leather uses tannins from various plant sources to tan leather. Vegetable tanned leather is able to be tooled and molded into various shapes as opposed to other tanning methods. Do a little research, look up vegetable tanning on Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanning_(leather)#Vegetable_tanning Tom

According to his IP address @LeatherV is from Sofia Bulgaria. I recommend that all members add their location to their profile so other members can give the best information and help relative to the area they are from. Tom

Bent shafts and broken hand-wheels are common when sewing machines are not properly supported and packed. Many items get dropped a few feet during shipment for one reason or another. Insurance might help, but sometimes very hard to get the parts to repair or to straighten a bent shaft. There are stories here too about cracked or broken beds. The lesson here is to ensure the shipper knows how to pack and packs it correctly. Otherwise, may be best to skip the "great deal" and wait for one closer to home. Tom

Yes, and with $1000 compared to $30, the choice is easy unless it is going to save you a few hundred hours work or produce an item that is 30 times more valuable and will still be saleable. Tom