Art

Hi Ian, It looks like a Pfaff 335 to me. Art

United (actually Great Lakes is the operator), Runways are fairly large as it was emergency for BUFFers. Art

I have an Engle hot knife for cutting webbing and synthetic fabric. I've had it for years, with no problems, the Scout Masters beg me to use it when they do webbing projects. The pro thermal tools are much better for holes than my soldering iron. Proleptic makes the hole burners and Engle is a German company but their stuff is pricey. If you cut a LOT then the Engle will be cheaper over the long long haul. Art

Hi Luke and Ponygirl, The 31 is drop feed only, just like a regular sewing machine. The feed dogs do all the movement of the material. Drop feed machines don't like to climb hills or cross thick seams, but for flat work they are a nice little machine but limited for uneven work. On needle sizes, the thread should move freely through the eye of the needle, absolutely no drag. On bobbin thread, 69 is about it, maybe 92, but I don't think it was designed for 69 even, probably 46 and down. It is a tailoring machine, not a leather machine, but for lite stuff it will work. Getting enough tension to horse big thread through veg tan is not somewhere that machine will go willingly. Art

Hi Bob, On the center presser foot modifications, you cut a small slot or v-notch so you can see where the needle enters the leather, leaving as much of the original foot as possible. Then you have to polish the hell out of everything using sand cloth, sand string, or whatever so that the thread (upper) will not catch on the foot. I usually deep six the skeg too. As far as that guard wire thingy that they put on the new machines/feet to keep you from doing stupid things, that gets lost after about 10 minutes. Art

We've covered this before and this thread is good reading. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?s...&hl=buchman Art

Hi Ray, The best way is to dig a groove and sew in it. You can also press a groove with a screw crease, just wet the leather and crease it, you don't need to get it hot. I used the roller edge guide, and haven't used it in years, a finger works about the same, I learned that way on the Campbell where the slowest speed was fast. If you are sewing an intricate pattern (and a holster qualifies for that) groove it; it takes a little while to be comfortable, but pretty soon, you don't even think about it, kind of like backing up a semi (or articulated lorry?). If you want an edge guide, pm me with your addr, I have a few somewhere around here. Art

Hi Ray, On the leather machine, slotted plate with a longer than short toe double most of the time. A short (or medium) left and right. All have that big thingy on the end ground off. Most of the time an enclosed center foot with the skeg ground off and a v-notched center when I absolutely have to see what I am doing. Note, all the grinding makes these things not grab as much as they used to, it will also take the chrome plating off the foot. I have a holster plate, seldom used, but when it is, it is the only thing that will work. On the blanket machine, blanket feet, dogs, and plate, no speed reducer and a clutch, yeeeehawww. Art

No Suze, Johanna has a 153 and that is a 17. Greg needs to get a hold of John Leighton in Alberta, Ph: (403) 749-3871. John is the expert supreme at refurbing those things and can make any parts he needs. Art

Hi Ronnie, Is that a Highlead (Huigong No.3)? Art

"When I die bury me deep, put two speakers at my feet, pair of ear phones on my head, and always play The Grateful Dead." That had to do with the Obama campaign and the fundraiser they played at State College? Art

The rest of your family, who will be thrown, kicking and screaming into the crematorium? Art

He'd give you the shirt off his back, but he did not suffer fools gladly. or He'd give you the shirt off his back, which is why he caught pneumonia and is here now. Art

I have heard that Ellis Barnes has passed. He was a great guy and was ok when I talked to him a couple of weeks ago. He will be missed. I have no further information. Art

That happens after the tenth or eleventh cup of coffee. The 4618 is a great machine especially for the decorative work on boottops or belts, it has no reverse but you can spin on a nat's tes eyeball to lock off. A little (or a lot) of practice with that thing and you can make some really pretty stuff. It will actually sew stuff together too. It really seems to like 46 thread, which is good, you can get 46 in a whole bunch of colors. And if you need to repair a handbag, sometimes only a post or a patcher will work (without deconstructing the bag). Art

Hi China, An Efka needle positioning motor doesn't sell for anywhere near that, and unless your import duties are astronomical, even the best Chinese motors shouldn't be over a few hundred with a reducer. Art

Hi again Evan, If you live in the Charelston area then the closest store to you might be Zack White in North Carolina, not a short putt, more of a long drive. You should visit one of these stores sometime, Hidecrafter, Springfield Leather, Zack White to see what a "real" Leather Store is like, you may not want to leave. Then you need to hit one of the "major" shows to see that there is a leather world out there considerably different than the local TLF. Art

Hi Steve, I'm preaching to the chior here: I tend to sew with smaller needles than I should for a particular look I like, and if anyone should cut a thread, then it should be me. That being said, in the five or six years I have been using a machine with reverse and the 10 or more years I've been using a Campbell needle and awl, I have never cut a thread on a backtack and even doing a triple lock on starting (forward, back, forward). This is using a "D" needle or a wedge awl. I'm not too hip about sticking a block of wood under a clutch machine pedal to control speed, once the clutch fully grabbs, there isn't any control of speed so a block of wood ain't buying you mutch. I would prefer foam or a rubber ball under the pedal, or a big spring to tension the pedal. When new, the clutch comes in hard and fast and they usually come adjusted with the clutch coming in right after the brake lets off. I adjust this so there is a fair amount of "room" between brake and clutch. This is a lesson learned after reaching up to handwheel something, taking the brake off, and then having the clutch engage, believe me the clutch comes in way faster than you can let go. Hand dragging the wheel is another technique I don't care to teach in the forum, she should get an experienced operator to show her that in person. Art

Hi Evan, Hidecrafter in Ft.Worth will plug you into everything Thourobred and Dermatan has. Contact Ron at the store. No matter who you buy from, and all of the suggestions have been good, you need to tell them what you want and what you are going to make, and what you expect. If you can't select it yourself, then they are going to have to select it for you, and most of them look at the hides and try to pick what will work for you. So if you do a lot of small projects, you can cut around a blemish or two, but if you do saddles, then you have to have some rather large blemish free areas. You can hide a lot of things with tooling too. Don't expect to get sale items that are perfect, they shouldn't be crap, but they ARE on sale for a reason. You really can't buy leather with a computer, you have to call the distributor and order with a live person. Art

Hi Honda, Steve is a little computer challenged at the moment so he always tells folks to call him. Steve didn't pass any typing classes at school, he could fix them, but couldn't type worth a darn, still can't. Anyway, now you all now know why Steve always says to call him. So if Steve ever gives a detailed explanation here, you can rest assured that he thought it was important because it probably took him half a day to type it. Art

Yep, that's what they use. Art

Hi Ray, My son grunts a little when he picks up the big Highlead. He turns a shade of red or slightly purple when he horses around the No.9. The both of us are needed to pick up the Campbell, and we're big boys. The 35" puppies are fork lift time. Get your throat plates from Ryan or Steve, theirs have a little adjustment in them which is really handy for the slotted or raised ones. I've seen some from other distributors that are fixed, no play, which requires a boatload of precision on all the parts and I have seen instances where the needle scrapes the slot. Art Art

Hi Suze, I've done this before and I used a big cast iron pot and was told this was the mordant. It makes a weaker dye than the commercial and spirit ones but I just kept dipping and rubbing till I got what I wanted. I can't remember how long I boiled them, but it was at least an hour. Kind of a light brown effect. Art

Hi Tucker, I have two of those machines, one set up to sew leather and the other to sew blankets. The blanket machine takes a world of abuse and keeps on keepin' on. It is setup with a clutch motor and no reducer, 900spm for hours at a time. The machine setup for leather is more mild mannered and a bit of an overkill. I agree with Ryan that value wise, a 441 clone set up for leather with speed reducer and quality servo motor is a better bet. Highlead makes very good machines, they also get a good price for them. Set up for leather, that machine (Ga2688-1) usually goes for around $3900, you can get an equivalent machine from Cowboy or Cobra for $1000 or more less and still have as much machine as you'll ever need. Ryan: http://www.neelsaddlery.com/397930.html Cowboy 7441AE Steve: Http://www.cobrastitch.com Cobra Type 4 Art

Nothing like a well armed man (or woman). You'll enjoy your new machine, Steve is the Best. While learning, gather plenty of scrap, and sew everything, cover it with stitches; start and stop, turn corners, but take it slow at first as it makes the same stitches going fast or slow. Stitch in a groove or to a line at first, till you learn how the machine operates and how to guide the work without unnecessarily pulling or pushing it. Run out of bobbin a couple of times so you know what that looks like and how to recover. Don't figit with the knobs too much at first, it should come set-up. Have fun. Art