leatherkind

Since the last post i was trying to develop a stirrup plate best i can. Made a few prototypes just to find something wrong again. Or dimensions , or printing settings... or weather. While that I went to a hardware store to look for plate bolts with wider heads and lost one of mine there. Could not get new screw for two weeks and could not test the prototypes... it turned out that those throat plate bolts on Cowboy 4500 are 11/64 40t/in. the most unusual cut! and you can not get them anywhere! However, here is a good news. I finally ironed out most problems with the prototypes and learned how to polish ABS and how to use darn 3D software too. The bottom plates on the pic are my latest version. The stitch on the bottom looks very good and leather slides very well. I am now going to give them to one experienced leather worker for a test drive ans see what he has to say. The last version has a shorter needle slot then previous versions. Therefore the stitch length has to be limited otherwise they will interfere with the needle and the dog. Have a very nice day everyone.

You are right Glendon making forms would be one of the good uses. it may take couple of hours to print but that is far less then waiting for it to be mailed. For now I have another 3d printing development: just made a custom stirrup plate and i like it! http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=46080&st=15#entry292694

I am too very happy with my cowboy 4500 from Toledo. I however had troubles with using a stirrup plate. First necessity to remove the feed dog was annoying. Eventually I resolved that by grinding the bottom of the plate off to allow anough room for the dog. http://leatherworker...70 That seemed to work but the plate had one lip quite narrow and it would leave a groove on leather. In addition i could not use left sided saddle presser foot because it was too far to the left from where the elevated part of the stirrup plate was and with softer leather it was a mess. I decided to give it a try and make a custom stirrup plate. After couple of messups and model adjustments since yesterday I had a working prototype which actually seem to work. The plate might look a bit weird because it is made out of ABS plastic (3d printer was used). It turned out to be quite strong and does not flex at all even with thick leather #27 needle and 345 thread. I also made the needle slot as narrow as possible and there is a cutout on the bottom for the feed dog which allowes me not to remove the feed dog and quickly swap plates. It also did not leave any significant markings although the thread tension is a bit too high. I will keep my fingers crossed and hope it works for some time.

Thank you everyone for comments and links. Here is a little update which is a bit off topic. I have an order to make a belt pouch for an iphone. As I started setting up threat tension i realised that i can no longer stand the way the light was attached to the machine. I had it zip tied and as i would stitch it would gradually get closer and closer to the needle and it was terrible. I thought i should resolve this problem once and for all. There was an unused flat landing with two 6mm threaded holes in the back of Cowboy 4500 and i decided to utilise it for a light bracket. Made a model of a simple light bracket and 80 minutes later tah-dah!! Looks and works great. You may ask why did not I order a real light from Bob or have I finished the pouch... but i know you would not ask because you would not want to spoil the fun

I just started using a 3D printer for the same purpose http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=46129

This is a 3d printer by Solidoodle http://www.solidoodle.com/ It uses ABS fliament which comes on a 1kg (2lb) spool. (That is a lot of printing!) I have a basic model but i am considering to add a hot table that prevents warping of large items. The machine is built very well: nice strong frame, strong sliding rods, and nothing is loose. It worked out of the box. I followed all instructions from their website and had no problems with anything. We are running the thing every other night for about an hour for a month already and it still works like it was. I have seen it among other printers from different manufacturers last fall at the Maker Faire in New York. It was by far the best value for me. I am very happy with it so far. I only had to make that PVC frame to hold the spool but it was not a big deal. PS. I am not affilited with Solidoodle in any way.

Hi everyone, I thought I would share with you my first experiment with manufacturing a custom stamp using a 3D printer. It is the first stamp so do not judge too harshly. I have created a model using Sketchup and it took about 15 minutes to print. I stamped it more then 10 times with no signs of wear. Isn't it awesome?

it in responce to post #27 I have almost identical model to the one SWFLholsters have linked in post #28 http://image.made-in...or-CF-400C-.jpg and it has an optical sensor. Optical slot sensor located inside of the enclosure and control lever interacts with it directly. In my case this servo works very smooth and has plenty of torque even at 1 stitch per second and i did not need to make any adjustments. I do not think I can get it to work any better.

I also found this type of table quite handy. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=34847&st=15#entry218917

May I ask you what did you line it with and how did you attach that lining? Thank you.

The problem with addiction is that you cant get rid of it. Otherwise it would not be an addiction. You will be collecting them forever. It is possible however to modify your behavior in a way so you and others have fun with it. Your closet and leaving room will not be cluttered and your loved ones will be helping you to collect even more! I know ... i know ... sounds improbable but here are some ideas: 1. If you have a welder you can assemble giant "stitching the clouds" contraption in the back yard. Then drug it to the front yard and boost tourism in your area. 2. If you do not have a welder you can paint them all in different colors and bury them half way. Call it an art and sell tickets to see it. 3. Disassemble them and give away parts to promote local steampunk club. 4. Hook them all up to one ridiculous wind mill and run em nonstop to promote renewable approach. 5. Screw them to the ceiling in the barn up side down.... I may retract that idea. too gruesome. 6. Rube Goldberg machine? 7. Put them in a pile and establish Department Of Deterioration, raise taxes hire stuff and get yourself a sweet pension. 8. ... I can not put this idea here. 9. Put each one on wheels tie them to a lawn tractor and travel. 10. Make them fly? Not sure if it is safe.... I have a few machines too.... I will donate them to first person interested to teach them tricks. Share your ideas....

Thanks Trox The plate is stainless steel and has planty of strength. The clearance under the presser foot with normal flat plate is 21mm and with this modified stirrup plate it is 13mm. I am not using any lube and never used polyester. I never dyed production pieces, so can not offer any help on that, sorry.

This is not exectly on topic but it is related to the stirrup plate. I modified a stirrup plate on my CB 4500 and now i can use it without removing the dog. It took me about an hour to carefully grind it from the bottom side to allow enough room for the dog. I was trying not to grind it all the way through and make a hole in it... Initially i thought of getting it done on some real equipment but then a yer past and i realised that it will be both: perfect and never . Rioby grinder did the job. Do not make fun of it - it is a far cry from the duct tape! It seems to work fine so far. I do not need to mess with the dog any more and can easily change plates whenever i need. For some reason i do not have to change tension when changing plates. I also made the high point of the plate a little lower but that was not relevant to the dog issue.

I can not even fathom how did you end up with this situation. First of all how does she know which tools you have? Second, what do you have to do with the kitchen and why would she even expect you to know where it is? Least of all doesn't she know that restoration may potentially damage patina. The whole thing is just wrong!

I also had troubles with tension, especially with 315+ thread. The machine came adjusted for #130 and i had to go bigger. It turned out that the bobbin tension was very sensitive to the thread size. If it starts giving you a hard time again check the tension by pulling the thread with a luggage scale out of fully threaded machine. I got best results when both threads top and the bottom were tensioned to approximately 4lb (2000g). I also noticed that the lesser the tension the harder it is to get the stitch to lock in the right place. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=34194&view=findpost&p=214132

Simplicity of life is in the eye of the beholder. I bet someone came up with a sewing machine to do just that - to make life simpler. Maybe someone made electric motor for the same purpose? Why in pursuit of simple life use one and not another? seems complicated

So, you can not use electricity but you can use a machine that was made with it.... hmmmm.

Thicker leather is a lot different thing vs. thin leather or fabric - it is a lot harder to control. Especially in tight spaces and around the corners, and where you have to go from say 3 layers to 5 or from 1 to 3. On the bags you are talking about you will have go through at least 3 layers (sometimes 5 plus fabric). Please take a look at these pics: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=34847&view=findpost&p=218791 To control the work item well you need high lift, unison feed, and thicker thread. High lift (more then 1/2") is for many layers. Unison feed is that your thick assembly is not sliding all over and machine produces uniform stitch. Thick thread allows higher tension, otherwise your seam will loosen up. Also thick thread frequently looks better on thick leather. In addition with thick thread (277+) you have to have a large bobbin so that bottom thread does not quit on you in the middle of the long seam. If your goal is to make things out of heavy leather please read posts about 441 clones before you make a decision. Good luck!

Mine was interfering with the lift handle. I solved the problem by lowering the guide as much as possible and grinding a bit of the handle off. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=34113&view=findpost&p=215041

I love my 4500 and I use it for light leather or fabric along with almost an inch of stiff oil tan. I however agree with you on the width of the bottom feed dog... it could be made narrower. At least they could have made it to match harness presser feet so the presser foot does not push soft material in to the feed dog well. I am sure there is a market for narrower assembly (feed dog and the plate). It would be great if you show us pics when it is done. Thank you.

Hi Ed. This is one awesome bag! I noticed that you are doing some business on Etsy. I am thinking of using them too and would appreciate your advise. Is there anything to watch out for and if there are any gotchas? Thank you.

Yes, i had to drill and tap for two 6mm bolts. Luckily the head is bulky enough at that location to allow enough room. Bob did warn me not to drill trough any moving parts. So you just need to control the drilling depth. I also think that I positioned the holes slightly lower then recommended. I did it on purpose however , it allowed me not to make any changes in the presser foot lever assembly.

My CB4500 came with a different guide but i wanted the "drop down" style. I got the guide from Bob but had to install it myself. I find it very handy. Here are the pictures: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=34113&view=findpost&p=215041

I also like to use thicker thread 270 and up. It took me a while to set the tension correctly. It sure would take a lot less time if I would have asked Bob to set the machine for 345 thread. I have noticed that little adjustment to bobbin tension bolt affects tension a lot. Also thick thread on thinner leather seems to require more attention. It is not so noticeable with thinner threads. I did a little test with #346 thread under different tension and recorded the values if you are interested. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=34194&view=findpost&p=214132 Good luck.

I wonder if anyone utilized Stimpson foot powered machine for solid copper or solid brass rivets. I am looking at Stimson website and there are no solid rivets there... maybe i am missing something. http://www.stimpson.com/ They have all kinds of tubular grommets and eyelets but i can not find any solid rivets. Can you please, if you use a lot of solid rivets share how you set them. Thank you.