catskin

You may have as the saying goes, painted yourself into a corner, or in your case written. The reason I say that is because almost any skin can be made to VERY closely resemble almost any other skin by the way it is tanned and treated afterwards. For example common cowhide could be made be ALMOST indistinguishable from any exotic leather. So much so that it would almost never be noticed by customs and would come through easily. It is a fact that almost all leathers sold in fashion as EXOTIC are in fact just made to look that way. Sorry if this not what you want to learn but it is just fact. I guess you will just have to use your imagination and create some fictional leather to get caught by customs or kill your victim.

Wear it.

I might have gotten a bad spool of 346, 207 and 138 from them works. But $75/lb compared to $15 for good thread is WAY to much in my opinion.

The 346 bonded thread I got from Tandy is CRAP will not sew on the top of my machine and WAY to expensive compared to GOOD thread elsewhere.

Hi. Bob. Does this mean that on tougher/ harder leather that the D point might be better? As in letting the thread move through easier to form the loop and pull in the bottom thread.

To whom it may concern. We, Mary and I just learned that one way to remove unpleasant smells is to put charcoal briquetts ( think barbeque ) near it . I realize this case has been solved long ago but other similar cases could come up. In this case I would have put a few briquittes in a bag stuck the stirrup and leather in as far as it would go and tied it around for a couple days. Charcoal is used a lot of places to get rid of ouders. It might have worked .

Thanks Bob. I will check all the bolts. This being a bottom feed jump foot machine. After doing some more testing it seems like maybe the leather is getting pushed down into the slot where the feed dog goes and that is causeing the needle to deflect some times. Also will try to put the stop behind the foot so it works in sliding mode rather then jumpng mode. I am starting to think it has to do with how the foot and feed dog work together in gripping the leather or perhaps not holding it steady enough at the critical time.

Wiz. I am using Schmetz 230 leather point needles that Bob sent with the CB 4500 and 346 bonded nylon thread. I have also tried 180 and 250 sizes all schmetz leather point. Bob. Where do you adjust the timing? I have examined this machine everywhere I can find and except for moving the needle bar up and down I can not find anywhere to change the timing. On the bottom every part has a pin through the shaft plus a set screw or so it seems to me. As for foot pressure I have it as tight as it can go and still be able to turn it to lift the foot between stiches. I have tried adjusting the foot pressure to varying amounts. Can you tell me what the reason is for the bevels of different sizes that are machined just behind the pickup point on the shuttle? I have 4 shuttles and the bevels are different on each. Has it something to do with which shuttle should be used with which needle and thread size?

Well I have it doing good on the thinner stuff, but onthe thicker stuff it still skips. What I see it doing is forming loops on both sides of the needle rather then just on the right side . What can cause this? This makes for a small loop for the shuttle to catch. And there is sometimes deflection on the needle that helps make it miss the loop. If I push the work to the right it catches the loop better. There is not much side play on the shuttle , in fact it almost crushes the thread on the back stroke as the needle is coming down, and brushes the needle as it comes forward to pick up the thread with no leather or thin leather in it. The hole in the needle plate looks rather big (worn ) can this be the cause?

I have never seen a 97-10 or the bobbin but the BUSM / Pierson have a manual / hand crank one, could you possibly rig one up that would work sort of the same. Maybe pulleys insead of gears.

Thanks yet again Wiz for your time and advice. Now after all I said about looking for loose parts I realize I missed one. I tended to be looking at the bottom and finally found that the set screw that holds the top cam that drives the needle bar and takeup lever plus foot lift onto the main top shaft was very slightly loose. Which allowed it to move a few thousandths back and forth on the shaft. It has timing marks on the shaft and cam so I know it is right now. This seems to have all but fixed the problem. Now it only misses the loop on very thick ( near its limit ) but changeing to a thicker needle might help that. If anybody out there knows what those marks on the shuttles mean I sure would like to know. If as I suspect they indicate which shuttle should go with which size needle it would help set things up right the first time.

Thanks Wiz. I tried changeing the travel on that spring,from maximum to no travel and several in between, no improvement. This machine takes the same System 794 needle as the 4500 Cowboy, I am using schmetz I even tried some that Bob sent with the Cowboy. This machine does not have a post with holes to run the thread through. I know 180 is on the small side for 346 thread and 250 might be on the big side but the surpriseing part is they all do the same thing . I would have expected either better or worse with changeing size but there isn't any. I kinda hope Bob or someone who has seen a 20-2 might see this . In case they have some quirk that is unique to them.

Thanks Wiz. First I have this old machine slowed WAY down so heat is not likely, deflection maybe. but on one ply ? Next I MUST check this spring adjustment. Is this the one between the tension roller and the pullup lever? Pickup point seems okay BUT. No shims since I have it. I have 4 shuttles and they have a machined spot of varying sizes just back of the point on the outside edge that I THINK might have something to do with telling you which one should be used for possibly different needle sizes. Side slack seems very small. In fact not noticeably more then on the new Cowboy 4500. The point does not really miss the loop but rather pushs it forward then slips past. I can see what is happening by taking of the plate to the right of the needle. When the loop forms it doesn' always stick out straight from the needle but twists slightly forward ( the direction the shuttle is going) Gotta go check that spring.

Please can anybody help me. I am having trouble with my machine ( Adler 20-2 ) not forming a good loop for the shuttle to catch some of the time. It will make the most perfect stiches for a while, some times 2 or 3 feet then start missing some times as many as 10 in a row. This is with 346 bonded nylon thead on leather. Here are what I have tried. Changing shuttle. Seemed to have fixed it , went back next day and was back to same problem. Turned the needle slightly one way and the other , no help. Changed needles to try different sizes. !80, 200, 230, 250. no difference. Changed feet, No help. Changed to diferent spools of thread, No help. Adjusted needle bar slightly up and down , no change. Tried sewing different kinds of leather, no real change. Different thicknesses from one ply of about 8 oz. to 5/8 thick (4 plys various thickesses) Most of the above seemed to make a bit of difference but only for a short time. Checked for loose parts. Can't find any parts that seem to have noticeable wear. Now can these cause this kind of trouble. Worn hole in needle plate? Dull point on shuttle? Worn shuttle track? What have I missed? I've had this machine for quite a while though it never got much use, its always been prone to this sort of thing and at times it would get going good without my knowing what I did to make it better. I doubt it can be timing , if it was it wouldn't make perfect stiches for a while then start missing. Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

Have you checked that little T shaped spring in the needle bar above the needle? If it is broken or bent or the thread is not under it it can skip stitches sometimes.

It looks nearly identical to my Adler 20-2. I've been told that there is a Singer that is virtually identical so I am hoping one of the experts will tell me if this is it. With a bit of tinkering I have my 20-2 sewing 7/8 inchsof harness leather.

Good solution. Bet it cost more then rosin!! But don't through away a good saddle that can be fixed with a bit of rosin.

I must admit I havn't read all of this thread . But the very simple cure for this is just a bit of rosin like the rodeo riders use on the glove for bareback or bull riding rubedv on the seat. I've used it and it works great. Do NOT put on to much at first or you can get blisters since your chaps won't slip AT ALL. only needs to be put on about once a year.

You could try Halfords in Edmonton. I have a catalog from them and the list all kinds of leather including harness. I've never bought from them since I get all my leather custom tanned.

While I do not disagree with any of the opinions expressed here this is what I see your situation to have been. You were asked to CLEAN and OIL this saddle, NOT INSPECT and CERTIFY it as safe. They accepted it as clean and oiled when it was picked up. You have no way of knowing if the strap was damaged after it left your place. Nor could they prove that it was damaged at the time you saw it. It was THEIR responsablity to inspect it before they used it.

Sounds to me like it is worn bad in the track that the piece runs in above the foot runs in.Plus bits of wear other places that adds up. If you look up into the ring that you turn to change the direction you are sewing you will likely see that there is slack. You will likely need new parts or build up and refit the worn ones. I believe these machines only do about 6 stiches / inch when new.

3/8 is absolute limit 1/4 is more realistic.

Mine has less rust than yours and I bought it a few years ago for $35.00. So you may not be able to retire on what you get.

Step by step instructions. 1 shoot dog. 2 skin dog. 3 tan hide. 4 fix couch. 5 LAUGH AS HARD AS I AM as I write this. You did ask for suggestions, you didn't say they had to make sense.

Sorry but I mildly disagree. I have several sets of wooden hames here, some likely a 100 years old, and have seen a lot of others. The reason they don't seem to me to be hames are the ends appear to have the same curve at both ends and the round rings on the ends. BUT there may have been some like that. The size is hard to tell but it looks small to me. Actually hame was my first thought but looking closer I changed my mind.