Art

http://www.cutexsewingsupplies.com/industrial-sewing-right-compensating-presser-foot-for-knit-thin-materials This particular one fits the Juki 5550. It costs $6.50 so why cut down a piping foot. Art

Hi Dan, As said before, a Singer 31-15 is a good bet. If you can get one from a dealer who can service it, so much the better. There is also the Singer 110 which comes in a variety of flavors and gear-sets, but can be a pretty good machine for your purpose. I usually don't recommend a used machine for a beginner. For your first machine, buy something new that will last forever from a dealer, one who knows leatherworking machines. Make sure it has a servo and hopefully a speed reducer so you can use both hands on the work, not one riding the balance wheel. Good new Consew 206RB-5 Cobra Class 18 Only the Highlead version Juki DDL-5550 various flavors of this animal, kind of a newer version of the Singer 31-15.....or not. Cobra 5550 BB Big Bobbin version of the 5550, good machine if made by Highlead. Techsew 0302 Make sure it has a Servo and speed reducer And last but not least Cowboy 227R This is a clone with add-ons of the Singer 153w101.2.3 which is an upgrade of the flat bed 111, a workhorse of a machine. Up to 3/8, no problems and occasionally 1/2 (if you start doing 1/2", you really need a bigger machine. The 227 allows you to sew things that would give you trouble on a flat bed. Art

I'm afraid I am way old school on this subject. Make your patterns out of posterboard. It is easy to correct and adjust with scissors and tape. If your die-maker can't take patterns on posterboard, find another die-maker. I really want the experience of an old-school die-maker to make-up what I need, not necessarily a machine. If you send a real die-maker something whacky you're going to get a phone call. If you send something whacky to a computerized shop, you are going to get something whacky back. Heather at Texas Custom Dies can help with anything die wise, and the dies are heavy and well made. Art

Also Campbell Randall for skivers. If you can get a refurbished Fortuna top and bottom feed, that would be good also, if not a little more expensive. I would recommend the Fortuna with top and bottom feed and separate drives for the bell knife and the feed. That being said, I have the Cobra NP-10 which is a top and bottom feed with the drive and knife interlocked. It works very well on veg tan and chrome tanned. The bottom feed skivers don't work quite as well on veg tan. Picture of a Top and Bottom feed Fortuna, ancient vintage, still running. Art

I guess a bulldog really can't be considered a "pocket gun", but now you have one of the few. Art

Curved needle or straight? Art

Hi Bruce, After looking at the pics, especially those in the customcowboy threads, I think I get it. It essentially works backwards from the breaks we use today. The "hockey stick" is actually the form and on some of them they use crimps and on others the stand that the "hockey stick" goes into clamps or crimps around the form. I have seen one of those that have the steel frame and it worked quite well. My original post was rather a light hearted take, a product of reading the board at a late hour. There is also a picture of a device much like the one in the original post with the clamps on the "hockey stick". The purpose of the device is to "break" the flat form of the leather into the form of the toe, arch, and for boots, the transition into the tops. It also helps to eliminate wrinkles that would be inherent in using a flat piece of leather to make those transitions. Art

Donnie, Make sure the needle bar is tight. Rock the handwheel back an forth and make sure there isn't a lot of slop. Look underneath and inside the covers for wear signs including shavings. The wicks where you see them should be wet or conversely not dry. Check for slop in the hook, there shouldn't be any dings in the hook or anything else down there and a nice lite coating of oil would be nice to see. Make sure there is oil in the reservoir (if it has one,an LU-563 would). Make sure the knee lifter works. AND MOST IMPORTANT -- Sew it off -- it should stitch well, take your product. It should be timed for a 135x16 for leather or 135x17 for fabric. Make sure tension works, that you can move the lock (by changing the tension). Make sure stitch length is adjustable and that reverse works, preferably in the same holes. Check the bobbin winder, there is nothing worse than winding bobbins by hand. Listen all the while for bad noises. If something is obvious to you then it may really be bad. If it sews well, then it probably is ok. Art

Here is what a modern boot crimper looks like. Still can't imagine how the stick thingy was used. Art

Chikon has been a clone maker out of Taiwan for at least 25 years. Most of their stuff has other names on it, but Chikon is their name for their machines. The one you are looking at is probably a Juki 563 clone. These are used a lot in upholstery and trim shops, which means you just have to look closely for wear. If it has a lot of miles on it and the price is too right, then be careful. Pristine Jukis go for a grand tops so a Chikon ought to be a lot less. If you want a likable machine, a servo motor and speed reducer will make it civilized. If it came from a trim shop, it will be set-up to go like a bat. There should be parts for it all over eBay or any supply if it is a clone of the 563. Art

This may indeed be a stick for playing IJscolf in the Netherlands in the 15 century. The wooden block may be a device used to straighten the stick after particularly rough play. These games sort of migrated to Scotland where they might have received much rougher use making the straightener block more of a necessity. The possible origins may have been in fighting implements where they would of course be sharpened, maybe even stropped (every post should have some leather content). A blow up the kilt of an opposing clansman (not approved in current hockey rules) could be quite devastating, and may account for some of the high notes in some Scottish tunes. Of course this could be a later implement used in the game Bandie Ball, where they used a leather ball (more leather content) on solid ground. As Bandie Ball was played in other countries a few centuries later, you may want to Carbon date the handle of the stick and the "holder, straightener, base" to get a better idea of the date. Of course, it is valid to ask how sure are we that the 2 items either started life together or ended it that way. Then again, the foregoing hypothesis may have nothing to do with the actual use of the objects. Art

It is simple. Take your outline and send it to Texas Custom Dies. It costs between $100 and $150 to have a die made. Use a clicking press to click out (die cut is the technical term) your piece of perfection. Presses can be anything from a large vise to a heavy arbor press to a hydraulic press (Texas Custom Dies sells one) to one of the hydraulic ones designed for that purpose. I guess you could have the work done for you, but if you check around someone with a clicker press may let you use theirs. Art

I haven't bought it in a couple of years, but Kangaroo lace from Springfield Leather has worked fine for us. We do run it through Pecard's before we use it. Art

You probably want a bottom feed bell knife skiver like the Fortuna ES 50. The Fortuna us really a Mercedes of the skiver clan and buying a good used one would make your wallet feel better. The Techsew SK-4 might be a little more economical Chinese alternative. I have a Chinese machine and they work well. The Fortuna machines end up in factories and run all day everyday, they just never turn them off except to work on them. I've never been able to find a Zerk fitting or oil point on any of them; then again, I've never burned-up a bearing either. Oil the feed mechanism and that's it. If you were doing a LOT of veg tan, then a top and bottom feed might be up your alley, but they do have their disadvantages. The bottom feed skivers have feet, and if you can't find what you want, you can grind your own. The top and bottom feed skivers have a roller foot on the top that is driven. Other than that, you have to have special ones made, although you can make what is provided work well for a lot of things. You can find these on the used market, and Campbell-Randall refurbishes them. Art

Hi DeeAnna, I edited and posted the corrected link in Bree's first post in this thread. When folks click on the thread, they will land there first, so first or last, they will get the link. Link to Verlane Desgrange downloads on Classic Bells Site. Thanks, Art

Welcome aboard, beautiful work Art

Acetate sheets are available at hobby lobby, Michaels, Office Depot/Max, maybe even JoAnns, they were used for overhead projector sheets and some project covers. I think they come in 3 mil and 5 mil. Art

Hi John, I know someone who has an original, windows were acetate (like film base), still available. Plastic should work also, just depends on how authentic you need. The originals I have seen are really sunstruck and have gone yellow. I will try to get a loaner of one and see if I can draw up the parts, we'll see. Art

Wiz, You mean a "suicide knob". Had one on my 53 Chevy (well, my dad's), it didn't have power steering and was about 99 turns of a two foot diameter steering wheel lock to lock. Art

If you have a cylinder arm, it indicates you might be sewing things that need a little "man handling" (should I have said finessing, ladies?). The extra floor clearance is helpful also. We find that a barstool ot tall swivel chair really works well with the taller stands usually shipped with these machines. For use sewing general leatherwork, the taller stand seems a little better for us. In a pure production setting, you are sewing usually one particular thing where you set the stand at the most advantageous height. Art

Wish my first project looked as good. Critique; If the stitching is a design element, then it needs to be perfect. It always needs to be perfect, but more so as to placement and finish if it is a design element. You might consider constructing the bag inside out and turning it when finished. This would "hide" the seams (and the stitching) and make it easier to line the project which is of course a plus. A piped welt for outside is a additional, but not necessary, extra. Keep making bags and try things with each new project. Go to the top merchants and look at their bags. You will see "high end" production bags where the stitching is only a design element and doesn't really hold anything together, except handles that usually are durably stitched and attached. Then there are bags where stitching is really integral and is even hand stitched. But look for ideas, both design and construction. Art

See if this works Art servo motor.pdf

Any idea of what would happen if they banned the Saltire? Art

Hi Tara, The "average" 153w101 goes for $500 or more depending on condition, some less depending on condition and motivation. Like I said before call Bob at 866-362-7397 and get his advice. You are close enough to Toledo to set up a day trip to Bob's. You can get your hands on the machines, and bring some of your leather to sew on. Nothing is better than hands on. Art

Ok, Sounds crazy, but is the needle in correctly, by that I mean slot on left, scarf on right? I know the guy that sets those machines up, and it should run like a rabbit right out of the box. Art