Art

Are you trying to put words in my mouth? If I were dressing in period garb, I would be dressing in period garb with all of the attendant frills, bows, fringe, knee high nickers and stockings, or whatever. I guess we know now on what level we disagree. Art

Hi Andrew, Nice job, next time sew. Unless clinched, the nails in the sole will come up, even if clinched the ones in the straps will work up. Now if the whole thing is really glued together well, you probably don't have to worry much. Art

I would carry a pair of pink saddle bags over my shoulder. I have demurred to the point that I will put one arm through a backpack/bookbag of reasonable color (prefer leather though). I carry a laptop in a bookbag or a brief. I ain't carrying no purse. I'm old, I'm American, I'm a man. Art

I've never been shorted by them. If you want quality fasteners, then you have to order ahead. I don't think it should take a month although maybe a Huge order was right in front of you that cleaned them out of something. Those big companies produce on cycles and maybe they were just cleaned out and out of time with the production facility. Like I said, I usually don't have any problems with them, but when it gets here is ... when it gets here. Art

Andrew, That is normal for that cutter. The Landis and Bostitch and American machines do it more or less to some degree; I have not tried the Tippmann machine. Usually sanding and burnishing clean all of that up. Sharp edges like you have on the bottom have to be edged and/or sanded or burnished or they will dog ear very quickly. Although I have a couple of X in 1s, I generally use the band saw (wood) with either a knife blade (putting that knife blade in is like picking up three horney tom cats), but mostly with a skip tooth blade for cutting sole leather. You could use anything really, because you almost always clean up and finish the edges. Art

Ray, That info is like Sewing 201. You buy your first machine, you are taking Sewing 101, after you have been at it a while, you advance to Sewing 201. You have to understand how the machine works (not much, but a little bit) before you try something like the holster/bag/stirrup plate. Grasshopper, you must get over your fear and master the screwdriver. It might require a session or two with Bob to get it right, but it ain't rocket science. Art

I'm with you there, as the feed dog also acts as a needle guide. However, I wonder a little about needle deflection with the bag/stirrup/holster plate and having it miss the hole and strike the plate or the feed dog. Maybe I would chamfer the hole in the feed dog to give a little more relief in case of a little over zealous deflection by the operator. Just a thought, Art

Hi Edvin, The bag is beautifully designed and flawlessly executed. That being said, I wouldn't be caught dead with one. Sorry, it is an old American guy thing. Art

I'm not going to go into all the details about why, it is covered ad nauseum here in pinned posts in this very forum and in a long list of other threads in this forum (Leatherworker.net> Fabrication > Leather Sewing Machines). While they last, Steve at the Leather Machine Company has two Artisan 3000 machines (refurbished by Leather Machine Company) for $1500 each. You might be able to get him to throw in some extra something if you talk nice to him. Best deal out there for a machine for a holster man right now, and you get Steve's excellent customer service. He might take them to the IFoLG show so they won't last long. There might be one in the Marketplace forum, I don't think it would be refurbished or guaranteed by Steve though. Art

Hi Nick, The right toe foot is useful when sewing as close as you can to holster bulges. The expanded part of the holster hangs outside the end of the cylinder arm and you use the right foot so you can sew up close to the bulge or pocket. Now the bag plate or holster plate is handy when sewing the gusset into a bag, you lose a little thickness capability, but, who sews bags out of 3/4" leather. The holster plate/bag plate/stirrup plate raises the leather up a little allowing a sharper bend around the cylinder arm. This is a great accessory. As far as accessories go, make a deal to get all of them, you never know when you will want or need one and it is $100 and postage and a week away. That being said, I use a double toe foot for most things I do and only occasionally put on the right toe foot; I do leave the bag plate on most of the time, once you get used to it the flat plate seems a little restrictive. Art

As far as having machines in stock, Steve sells so many that they are always on order. Tony goes through each machine and that takes half a day if there are no problems; if something is not to his liking, it can take a whole day to make it purr like a kitten. I have six machines I got through Steve and have not had a problem with any of them, except maybe lifting that 320 lb. strap cutter, son did it by himself, oh to be young again. I have my preferences, but both machines will sew, and that is what it comes down to. Art

The one that Artisan sold was an almost copy of a Randall. It was designed to be set for one thickness and used that way all the time. I know saddlemakers that got the Artisan and didn't like it because it was difficult to "dial up" a particular thickness, it was always trial and error and a waste of a lot of leather resetting the thickness. They also did not like getting the blade realigned after resharpening, took forever they said. Basically they just motorized the basic machine and didn't make any modern day improvements to it, the Chinese are great copiers but lousy innovators. Case in point sewing machines, scivers, and band knife splitters; they make very good clones of highly successful and well engineered machines from Juki, Brother, Adler, Fortuna, and others; when your patent is up (and sometimes before), the Chinese are all over it like ...... That being said, it wouldn't take a lot to solve the above problems, just engineer a couple of dial indicators and construct a blade alignment jig. The upside to the Artisan splitter is that it was $2000, a Chinese band knife will run around $15000. This might be a moot point as I have heard that Jerry is pursuing other interests since his illness. Dave now works with Steve and Artisan seems to have pulled their advertising, and they were not at the Boot and Saddlemakers trade show last weekend. Art

Check with Chuck Burrows. Art

Char, If it took 10 hours to to replace a needle bar and adjust the needle bar, hook, and feed, then you had a somewhat raw deal. You are talking an hour or two max. Your needle should be a 135x16 tri size 22 for leather using 138 thread top and bobbin. Get a spool of nylon left hand thread from Maine Thread, or optionally 92 or 69 thread with a 20 and 18 size needle accordingly. Get the proper thread and needles and thread it up and see if it will sew. Check Techsew's videos on YouTube on threading the machine if necessary. See what happens and get back to us, we do want to help. Any feet that will fit a Singer 111 will fit your machine, this website is an example of what is available and his product is good. Unfortunately, you are a strong testament to what happens when you buy your first machine from other than a brick and mortar dealer. There are three excellent dealers at the top of these pages, Ronnie at Techsew in Montreal, Canada, Bob in Toledo, Ohio, and Steve in Ontario, California. You would not have had these problems if you dealt with them, and you would have a lifeline for any of the simple to moderately complex stuff. Art

The 227 is a good match for you. Look under industrial sewing machines in your area and find a mechanic, unless the 227 is terribly wrong, you machine can be running after a short visit. And just take the head. If you want to give us a try, tell us everything. What needle, what thread, what leather, what it is doing right, what it is doing wrong, what you had for dinner, etc. Kevin is right, let us know where you are and we may be able to hook you up with someone. Read items pinned in this forum and for that matter anything that pertains to your problem. If your machine was reconditioned, you might want to contact them first, a reconditioned machine shouldn't require "hundreds to get it fixed". Art

They come apart into 4 c castings which for the 1500 are a bit heavy but manageable. See instruction manual here. The whole thing weighs about 550 lbs. so one C casting shouldn't weigh more than 125 lbs. Art

Panhandle and Southern have them: http://panhandleleather.com/Nails_c15.htm http://www.southernleathercompany.com/subcategories.php?subgroup=NAILS&group=shoerepair Art

Hi Chris, Finishers run 8" wheels, available here. Art

The premier one is Horween in Chicago. Art

Hi Joe, As far as bark or vegetable tanning goes, there is really only one other with any volume, and that is Wickett and Craig. They are in Curwensville, Pa.; they have an excellent finishing shop. For true oak tanning, you have to go to Baker in England. Chrome tanning is a much faster process and you can find many of those in the U.S., they come and go. Art

Hi Smokin', You are replying to a thread from last year, however, it will do just as well this year. I'll be there in and around the Cobra Booth. Drop by and see Steve's new shoe finisher, it is really a piece of work and not that expensive. Steve will also have a surprise that will drop a few jaws. Artisan will not be there, you can pretty much stick a fork in them. anyone else that's going chime in; maybe we can meet up for dinner at the Golden Coral or another place. Art

I've received Lily oil from Weaver that was Randall Oil. Not much thicker, but that is just an impression. The Sellari machine oil is a little thicker, but not by a lot. None of it is as thick as 20 weight. I think everyone has pretty much switched over to the stainless oil now, I haven't seen anything like Lily offered in the catalogs except maybe Weaver. I'm old enough now that I probably won't need much oil for my newer machines, and a can of Sellari's and some MO will keep the 12's going for awhile. Art

Generally, those oils are mineral oil with some additives. The color comes from the additives as mineral oil is clear. I use Lily on my older machines, namely Campbell, Randall, Union Lock, and most shoe machines like the Landis 12 and Champion machines. Also works in McKay machines of about any make. For the big stitchers like the Landis 12, I follow a Voodoo recipe given to me by a shoe machine tech that involves mixing Marvel Mystery Oil with the Lily Stitching Oil (or Sellari's). As those machines weren't known for high tolerances, I figured anything to tighten up the viscosity a pinch might help. As far as new machines go, even big stitchers like the 441, the tolerances are so tight in those machines that using the straight mineral oil is probably best. I've been using the squeeze bottle with the long spout stuff for a long time on the new machines and haven't encountered any lubrication related problems. As for the old machines, they are like Harleys, if there isn't oil on the driveway, add some (to the Harley that is, just don't pour it on the driveway). I have a big Highlead that just does fire suppression stuff and runs 900spm for very long runs, I use the Lily oil (actually made by Randall) on it without a problem either. Art

As a side note, Ronnie at Techsew had a pretty pristine machine that would be right up your alley, although the price was more realistic, it's probably gone by now. I think it was a Juki but not sure. Contact all the dealers at the top of the page, they have machines in and out of their doors and could give you a call when the right one comes in. Art

A used 206 RBWhatever is a good machine. A new 618 (Cobra Class 18) is about $1595. Foot sets are much more available for the 618 and are really not expensive. If you buy used, you have to make sure the machine is in good condition as these types are common in upholstery and trim shops, not to mention drapery, canvas, and awning shops and get used hard. If you can find a Nakagima 280L or model with similar numbers, they were good old machines. Usually, anything you buy will be set up to run fast, you don't need to go slow with canvas and upholstery grade leather. By the time you replace the motor and add a speed reducer, you are in the $1300 range, so go the extra $300 for a new machine with a warranty and a lifeline. The inspection and setup are part of the package, as is the servo motor and speed reducer. Art