Art

It is a good product, not as "greasy" as their other quality latigo. Call Siegel and ask if they can send you a sample to look at, it comes up on the Friday Special often, that is when I buy it. I think Montana is running the Salz Latigo on sale also. Art

Bill and Tracy are on target about the bags. On almost any kind of bag a cylinder arm or a post machine will be much easier to use than a flat bed machine, putting a gusset in is darned near impossible with a flat bed, the bed and table just don't let you position the bag to get into the gusset to sew, if you do real close work the roller post machine is the way to go. Room to work is necessary for some operations, and a total waste of space for others. Shoe machines are very compact for just this reason. Industrial sewing machines were and still are built for one type of operation, with modifications to tune them for the specifics. This is why it is hard to find a used machine for general work and a wide range of utility. The Juki TSC 441 (and clones) came the closest of any machine to being an all around machine for heavy work and with modifications had a wide range, but even there it is really not adequate for lighter work or anything requiring higher speeds. Also when doing bags, it is sometimes easier to be standing when doing them, it is easier to manipulate the work and sometimes easier to see from above. If you are really constrained money wise, and can live without reverse, a Singer 153W102 would be a good machine. One in good shape should cost less than $500 with stand and fitting a servo motor will cost another $150. But condition can be a problem, especially for the novice. Double the $700 and you can really go shopping. But even then you won't find the machine that will do everything, we're all still looking for that. The best we can hope for is one that does everything or most everything we do. Art

Oh Well, It works on my Firefox at work which doesn't have any plugins. I'm sure there is a perfectly good explanation, but I can't burn a lot of time on it. The one at home may have the equestrian rejection algorithm installed. Art

Hi Tony, Maybe you have the IE Emulator plugin for Firefox installed, I don't have that installed. Art

Hi Ian, Years ago the leather used to be cased overnight, however today most of the stuff I get I can wet down and let come back to color and start pounding. I use stuff called Pro-Carv in the water, but Dawn works pretty good also. Art

Hi Ryan, Works on Internet Explorer, does not work in Firefox. Art

Same here. Art

Hi Pony, For a new sewing machine user, I always say buy new, learn the machine, then buy used if you HAVE to. If you haven't the slightest mechanical inclination, buy new from a dealer that will provide great service. The service is worth the extra cost. The cost of a new sewing machine is right up there with a weekend in Las Vegas or Atlantic City with the wife or friend and the machine will still be there when the other is gone. That being said, if you only have $700 then you will have to settle for something less; it won't have a speed reducer, it won't have a servo motor, it might not even have an instruction manual, and worse, it might need repair. Deal with a reputable purveyor of used industrial machines. These guys go out and buy 100 machines at a time off factory floors and take them back to their facilities and put them in acceptable order. They'll make a hundred or two on a machine but they push a lot of machines. However they are not there to hold your hand, you are expected to be able to get it running (simple setup stuff) on your own. On an older machine, you might not get things like reverse, bobbin winders, etc., but these are things you can deal with. Good machines are the Singer 111W155, and 153W101, 102, and 103 if you need a cylinder arm instead of a flat bed. The Pfaff 145, 545, 1245. Note well, If it doesn't have a separate motor of 1/2 hp or more, it isn't industrial, and if you see "industrial strength" or "commercial", RUN....faster! On Pfaff machines (I have them), they are wonderful, highly engineered machines that seem to run forever and a used one in good shape cheap is a deal that can be great. If you have to fix them and replace parts, they are not inexpensive, like Mercedes Benz not inexpensive. If you get a good one and treat it right, you will never have to find out. As a percentage of sewing machines built in the last century, less than one percent were ever designed to do leather stitching and it truly amazes me the number of "industrial strength" and "for leather" machines I see today on eBay and Craig's List. When I say "truly amazes me", that is not a good thing. There are really a lot of hucksters out there trying to sell something for way more than it is worth by imparting nebulous attributes to it that are in a nut shell untrue. "Industrial strength" means nothing, and "commercial" means home sewing machine. "For Leather" means you can stitch 1oz or 2oz on it with a leather needle. Sometimes you will see YouTube videos of standard machines sewing multiple layers of leather; they are using chrome tanned leather and sewing for a short period of time, and are always "wheeling" (out of sight in the video) the machine to get it going. Sew like that for 15 minuted straight and the motor would be smoking if still running at all. Sew like that on veg tan and you will break needles all the time so you might not heat-up the motor, but you will skip stitches from the thread melting and sticking to the overheated needle. In all fairness, Raphael Sewing up in Montreal does have some YouTube videos of their GA5-1 machine that is a real leather machine that will sew like that all day (they are a respectable dealer). Commercial home sewing machines are not designed to handle heavier thread like 138 and 207 and some not even 69 or 92, but some of the "Tailors" machines like the old Singer 19 and 31 will. So just be careful out there, there's sharks in them waters. Sorry for the rant. Art

Hi Ed, I think the Mel would work better as an overcoat to a dyed edge. Art

High presser foot lift 1/2" (12mm) Drop Feed (feed dogs) Reverse Cylinder Arm Sews up to 3/8" (9.5mm) Length of stitch adjustment (7mm /stitch) Up to 277 thread This is a BASIC medium/heavy material machine. Art

Hi Tangent, I am pretty sure that is a SuperStar GA5-1. It is also marketed over here by Raphael Sewing in Montreal under their own TechSew brand. It is a big heavy drop feed machine. There is a video of it sewing here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2Hj-wiH0Q4 Art

Hi Greg, I have heard that "rumor" also. The Million doesn't make a lot of sense as most of the development is already done with just a little moldmaking and part mods were needed. You would have to sell 1000 of the Adler clones at least to recover the Million. The Stitchbastard was probably doomed from the start even if the patents had run on the Boss. Tippmann showed their fangs a little when they lowered the price to $1295 and rumored it might go lower (it is, since the demise of the Stitchbastard, back up to $1495). I understand Weaver's desire to use a Chinese clone for their Adler products, the Exchange rate on the Euro has to be killing them now. I am just surprised they didn't just go with one of the existing Adler clones and develop from there. I am still suprised they haven't started dealing the clones. Art

Pecards, Aussie, or Montana Pitchblend will give a good weatherproof finish that will still breathe. Art

Hi Jeff, The 7x3 are System 7x3 Size 22 (140) and are like system 794 but for Fabric/Webbing. They fit Adler 205-370 205-274, Juki 441 and clones, Singer 7 class, and the Boss. They are for about thread size 138. The others I haven't a clue but you could measure the shank size and the distance from but to eye and figure it out. Art

Hi Gioia, Artisan had something like that on display at the IFoLG show in Ft. Worth. Adler makes good machines too, extremely high dollar now with the Dollar so weak against the Euro. The Yuan is indexed to the Dollar right now so Chinese hardware will be less expensive. Call Dave at Artisan to ask about the foot with the presser disk, they are good folks. Art

Hi Spider, Chrome tan will not be a problem, however with thicker veg tan you might have to "hand wheel" it. The machine is fairly strong and might take a little adjusting to run anything over size 46 or 69 thread, maybe 92. Like I said before, the motors are the weak point. Maintenance of any sewing machine is fairly simple, keep the lint and crud out of the hook and oil everything that slides and grease everything that has gears. Not a lot, a little oil or grease will do. Check for burrs in the thread path and smooth them with emery cloth/cord or real fine wet/dry paper. Learn how to time the machine so when you knock it out you can fix it. Art

Hi Spider, If you have a 319 (it has little keys on the top) it is a home machine and is primarily for fabric up to about a flat felled seam in denim (about 4 layers). You can probably use it for very light leather with a leather needle. It may look industrial, but it isn't even close. It doesn't have a heavy motor and with much heavy duty use will go bye-bye, the foot pedals go away with a lot of use, but they are all over and interchange between a lot of models. Motors and pedals can be replaced with newer and sometimes bigger units. For everyday fabric jobs or garment leather it is ok, don't push it too hard with veg tan though. I've seen black ones and gray; the black are older. Art

Hi JW, I once owned an old "iron" Boss, and it was a good little machine. It is a little quirky but really, once you overcome a few little things, it will do the job. On the plus side, it is inexpensive, doesn't take up much room, does a fairly nice stitch, is portable, can be sent back to Tippmann for repair very reasonably, phone service is great as is the attitude. On the down side, the stitching motion is not efficient (main reason I sold mine when I got the No.9), you can't power it if you desire to (not exactly true, Tippmann did power one with a pneumatic ram but they said it was a little scary, rotary as in Aerostitch was a better design), and it takes a bit of setup when changing threads. Oh, and most importantly, don't short stroke it! Weaver is supposed to be redesigning the Boss to their liking, calling it the "Stitchmaster". I don't know how this is going as I don't see it advertised anymore, Tandy is supposed to handle it also. I know Tippmann from the '80s when I was involved with them from the aspect of paintball guns. They are a good company and stand by their product. Art

Hi DC, The 111 and 31-15 as I said were used heavily in the Navy (and other forces), check out the following Technical Publication. http://www.tpub.com/content/aviation/14217/css/14217_53.htm Art

Hi Jacquee', Ron Edmonds makes the edger you probably need. They are called Montana edgers but are basically a short toed edger, and are made down to 1/64 or less cut. The down side is they cost around $70. If you catch them at a show they are discounted a little. I have them and they work on 1oz, they are the only ones that do as the toes are short enough. Art

I merged your topic with or into this one, read the other posts and tell us how we can help. Art

When you use bigger thread, they sometimes skip when curving left, it pulls the thread away from the shuttle. A lot of them work fine though. Art

Hi Dave, Feet from the Singer 29k fit it, a lot of other parts do also. Try Campbell-Bosworth for parts, Shoe Systems Plus in NY, or Landis in Canada. http://www.campbell-bosworth.com http://www.shoesystemsplus.com/Parts%20Catalogue%202006.pdf http://www.landiscanada.com/main.cfm?p=112...mp;pieceIndex=1 The Shoe Systems Catalog has a lot of good pictures. Art

You might have to set the shuttle needle alignment for using a 24 (180) or 25 (200) needle for 207 thread. You might get by with a 23 (160) but you will probably have to mess with it, it really wasn't made to sew that big. They also had 1/2 sizes in 22, 23, and 24. The navy used a lot of those machines and they almost always had 92 thread and a size 21 (130) or 22 (140) needle. You still see them in canvas shops, mostly as a backup machine to a Singer 111W155 (another Navy staple). The needle system on the 31-15 was usually 135X5 (or 16X87) but may be different for leather, I will check and let you know. Art

Whatever you say, it is a lap joint either way. 7:40 is out of focus in my pic. Art