Les No6

Wash with soap and water use plain white soap or glycerin soap wash the whole saddle if the stain comes out some then you could use oxalic acid solution if not it's an iron oxide stain which is really bad for leather and the acid will damage the leather more. for adding colour use a tanning tea when dry wipe with a damp cloth and dress with bees wax and lanolin leave to dry then buff with a cloth

It decicates the leather, rots the fibres, increases oxidation and causes embrittlement it also stinks! NOT TO BE USED ON HORSE TACK!!!

When hand stitching with a right hand ply yarn proper basic method which you will find in Master Stohlmans book which is not his method he just wrote the idiots guide. Poke a hole pass the left hand thread through first then pass the right thread on top of the left thread cast over, ie right over left overhand half hitch which sits at / /, in the sewing machine it will sew for a few inch’s and then snap the thread, why? Sit at your machine hold the top and bottom thread turn the fly wheel one revolution and you will note the machine has formed a underhand half hitch which sits at \ \, LR underhand.

As with most sewing machines you can use right hand S thread in the shuttle only, left hand Z on top always, when using S in the shuttle use RL (right over left, overhand) needle or awl position / / /, I don’t recommend it use left hand top and bottom with LR (left over right, underhand) \ \ \.

This is a coach pad the work of a black saddler

This is an old timey bridle stitched 18 to the inch with box keepers.

Well I’m a Yorkshire man we call a spade a spade, don’t have opinions it is what it is this is a saddle and this is a Master Saddler

Yes you are right bad leather, they’re no natural oils in skin the only thing oil does is increase oxidation and cause embrittlement by no means does it hydrate your leather, on a scorching summers day in Death Valley if you where to rub hoof oil into your skin you’ll burn to a crisp and so will leather.

Yes oxidation caused by iron oxide from the steel seat pan tell, Black staining in the cracks at the pressure points. Tannic acid is an antioxidant preservative which has a high affinity for iron oxide so it strips all the tanning from the leather and the leather oxidises and as water rots the steel inside the saddle it will rot from the inside out. So don’t listen to bs (see above) and stop questioning what is true.

No advantage to waxed linen at all there are many advantages to unwaxed, the main failure mechanism of stitch seems is loose stitching, Linen thread non-elastic zero extension holds the tightest knot, on the right-hand side of the solution box on the Pearson is two plates that nip together which is a thread break all machines with a thread break require a non-elastic zero extension thread to operate correctly, polyester elastic high extension won’t hold a knot, nylon highest elasticity highest extension will hold a knot but abrasive, service life, linen 2 centuries, polyester ten-year, nylon unfit for purpose. Comparing Linen to polyester and nylon is akin to comparing tool steel to knicker elastic and cheese strings. the first thread sewn into leather over thirty thousand years ago is Linen still the best by far.

It’s a pilot light harness machine the sister to the Pearson No6 heavy harness machine sews up to 7/16”. Where is it and how much?

It should be equal both sides a little finer than a round knife, that's the correct profile.

Single strap is strongest the strength is in the coarse fibres as referenced in the Hasluck books, not the grain that’s just a brain fart or marketing BS as is over 90% of the internet including this website these days.

The bobbin is in the shuttle which is the thing that goes back and forth you will find the manual here http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=33348 and the correct name is Pearson No6 heavy harness machine, where abouts are you?

http://www.jtbatchelor.co.uk/ these dont do bulk but can put you in touch with someone that does.

I can respect that, you certainly picked one hell of a machine, Singer build quality is beyond reproach also Simanco needles where the best ever made, I'm a Pearson No6 man my self, I wish you all the luck in your search. Les

I can see you've never been to Walsall England, here's a video of factory production saddlery in Walsall the lady's doing the hand stitching are dedicated hand stitches that's all they do 5 days a week;

Quality 794s are readily available in many sizes and needle points are relatively cheap, and sew 7/8" at a push, they are the same needle just a little shorter they perfom exactly the same and there's nothing to adjusting the needle bar, so why the huge effort for an extra 1/8"?

I'm sure the KSVs were corner stitchers so this has been converted, which is a pitty because it was worth much more as a corner stitcher, the 45k's a saddlers machine no good for harness, it will sew dog collars the feed dog marks can be rubbed out a little after sewing, and you can get a cheap bench mounted bobin winder on eBay.

My dad had a 205-64 same feed always ran it with a foot no problem a wheel may be better on a machine with just a feed dog but the -362 is a needle feed machine, needle feed adusted correctly is very strong and accurate perfectly capable of dragging a foot up hills encountered on wallets and bags (what it was made for) just make shure that you shape the front toe of the foot like the front of a ski same as the feet on the -362 in the manual. Here's a video of an Adler 169 with the very same feed as yours sewing no problem with a foot; and the dedicated leather feed is needle feed jump foot with a slot plate (no feed dog) and out performs unison feed in all aspects on leather.

You've certainly got the Pearson bug Steve, when my mate is up and running with the casting I'm having some harness hard ware cast first Ill post the pictures of the harness and show you why you're not considered a harness maker in England unless you have a Pearson.

Yes I've got all the right steel just haven't had time to make them up Ill have some time this week end, I've been helping a friend of mine set up an investment casting business which will be very handy so there may be some shuttles and feet coming along in the future made in Sheffield, England can't get a better address that!

The 362 is basically a 373 without the inner foot so it would be the outer foot that would fit but its made to accommodate the inner foot so less than ideal so you may need to modify to fit your requirements, as to how it would work with a foot I don't know because its not a jump foot but for £12.50 for an outer foot from colledge sew its worth a try. The Adler 69 is perfect for bags and wallets, it's an Adler you paid peanuts what not to be happy about.

Very nice its quite remarkable to find one let alone in such condition they are easily damaged and most where striped out, usually all that remains is the odd peice of the heater. The best from a functional point of view was the bottom waxer this system only heats the shuttle block and dry thread is use on top, less mess and cleaning, and more efficient there's a good example of one on sale here http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=50923 although in the wrong section looks to be complete apart from the pipe connecting the water reservoir to the waxer, this is the one mentioned in the manual although no where near as cool looking. Pinstripping free hand is very difficult you are better off using tape http://www.pinstripinguk.com/tapes.htm or find someone that can do it.

Yes looks like a Pfaff 145 compound feed very good machine and looks in good condition.