Mark842

I run a Cobra 4, it is a Juki 441 clone. The feed dog is perfectly smooth and leaves no marks and still moves the leather fine. You might try contacting http://www.leathermachineco.com or http://www.tolindsewmach.com/cowboy.html They both are dealers for these clone machines and they may be able to tell you if the feed dog from these machines will work in yours.

I thought Weaver sold a creaser but if they do I can't find it on their website. Haven't looked for one in a while but like anything else if you watch the leather forums and eBay one will pop up. Maybe JL can point you to a manufacturer since he says several places will sell you a creaser roll and a machine.

I believe this is what your wanting to do. This was done using a Randall creaser. Not sure if anyone makes them anymore. I've owned this one for decades. Occasionally I see them pop up on eBay, here or Facebook for $500 to several thousand depending on condition and model. Worth its weight in gold in my opinion if your doing a lot of strap work. Mine will also all me to dome my straps so I can run a rope down the middle of two layers for a domed rounded look that is really nice. Not sure if that is what it was intended for but I'm mostly self taught.

At first glance I'd say your needle is too large for the thread and leather your using. If the hole from the needle is too large you can adjust tension till your blue in the face but i won't stop the knot from showing because the large hole lets come through the top or bottom. The fact that yours is intermittent on top means your tension is probably not the issue. Give us a little more info. Machine, thread size, needle size and thickness of leather.

I oil mine about every 8 hours of sewing. How much and where depends on the machine.

I do a bunch of antique using Fiebings. What I have learned along the way.. Throw out the dauber. Put on a cheap set of surgical rubber gloves and finger paint. You have to be fast. The larger the area your trying to antique at once the faster you need to be for the initial cover. I keep me a pile of t-shirt material rags in 6" squares on my dying table. Going against product instructions, I don my gloves and pour a healthy amount of antique right on the leather. This is where you have to be fast! If you letter it sit for even a few seconds you will see a stain ring outlining where you poured it on. Spread the antique out completely covering the leather as quick as possible. After you have the surface covered you can massage it in by hand making sure you have even coverage and getting the amount you desire into whatever design you have tooled or stamped. Then I use the T-shirt rag. I wrap it once around my index finger. I've found if I just ball up the rag it allows it to go down into the tooling and takes the antique out, so single layer rag over one finger and I wipe the same direction across the design side to side. After most of the extra antique has been wiped off I work in circular motions on the non tooled areas to get a nice smooth mellow finish. For the your mileage may vary thoughts...some people like to antique with the leather damp. i feel my method gets far better color and results when the leather is dry. After a few hours and hand buff the product to a mellow shine and seal it.

That is a 29K patcher. It will have numbers after the 29K that vary depending on the throat length, bobbin size and a few other variables. They are most often used by cobblers. They can sew light weight leather and are designed to do patch work.

Yep, thats the impression I'm getting. Unfortunately I'm 3000 miles away from the two manufacturers here that have the best ratings and have both been around for awhile. Guess I have to add $2K to the cost to take a trip out for research

Good info to know. Thanks. I'm beginning to think if I'm going to drop some serious coin on one of these that I am going to have to take a trip across the country with a bag full of the leather we use and get a demonstration.

Man that looks good..well both look good. I've always been traditional myself but this has me thinking. And frankly, maybe it's because I'm not as good as you but by traditional methods I'm slicking, sanding..repeat until silky smooth which usually takes 4 to ? times for me to be happy so three times with the paint doesn't sound like extra work to me. Not sure I really understand the glue and hammer method. What kind of glue and are you hammering just to compress the fibers or?

I purchased it without the foot pedal. It has the open mechanism for setting one up and that was my initial plan. Then I thought of one of my old strap embossers that has a foot pedal. The pedal is bolted to the floor in front of the work table and hooks to the embosser with a chain. It is a royal pain in the...I've tripped over that darn thing no matter where I've tried to locate it. So, for the Randall creaser I just rigged up that little gadget you see in the picture with a spring on one side and a turn buckle on the other. Then I just put a little pressure on the arm that would hook to the foot pedal when I feed in a strap to get the strap in and start cranking. I made it to be adjustable when I set it up but I have needed to adjust the pressure. I don't do any tack. My knowledge in that field ends with correctly being able to identify each end of a horse 8 times out 10. This started a gazillion years ago when I was about 6 years old visiting a relative in Lake Ronkonkama New York and saw my first horse. While looking at the horse I saw something peculiar...its tail went up, so I stuck my head up under to take a look see. Never did that one twice! My straps go mostly to purse and bag manufacturing.

I do. I use an old Randall creaser that I've had for about 30 years or so. Excuse the mess in the background. I'm having hell week as I took 5 days off for the Sheridan leather show weekend before last so now I'm playing catch up...

I'm with the other responders. I don't have that exact machine but I've had a ton of different ones over the years and don't think I've ever had one that released tension while stitching. Usually the only time you want that feature is when you lift the presser foot so you can pull your work out.

If your talking about the ones in the included pic, hands down they are in the top 3 of best time savers I've ever purchased. I liked it so much I purchased another so I can have two sizes set up at once. I also purchased extra blades so I have no down time when I send them in for sharpening. The part of the blade that does the work is oval so after you use all six positions on each blade you can switch the top blades with the bottom and then you have fresh blades with six more positions. I run approximately 150 straps a week through each one. Full hide side length using 9/10 latigo and bridle and I turn my blades about once every two weeks. They will do all 4 edges perfectly as fast as you can pull them through. I can do a whole side of latigo 5/8" straps 70-80" long each in about 10-15 minutes.

Ok, thanks for the info.

Have you tried any 6-7 oz veg tanned, cutting and engraving? That is mostly what I would want it for, veg and Latigo. I might do some engraving on 5-6 oz chrome oil tanned but I cut my pieces on a clicker for that.

have some questions as I've been looking at Boss laser. You state you bought it to cut leather but found it is better for engraving. Can you elaborate on this some as I would like to do both, cut and engrave. Is the 65 watt not enough power or is there another reason. I'm looking at the LS-3655 to get the larger work area. From what I read on their site and online 65 watts is enough to cut leather but some say 1/8" and some say 1/4". I have to wonder if some of the problems of burn marks etc would be negated by using a higher watt laser that can cut through quicker and easier. I know next to nothing about this tech and I do plan on talking with whomever I buy from before buying but I would like to educate myself at least a little with unbiased opinions. Lets say I'm lacking in trust when talking to a sales person that is probably working on commission and will tell you just about anything to make the sale. With Boss lasers being in Florida and me in Utah, going onsite for a demo isn't in the cards. I'm also curious about your experiences with ease of use. Did you get the option with their PC so you had a dedicated PC with all the software all set up for your machine? How is their customer service if you needed it? To give you an idea of my tech level...and I can hear the laughs now...It was probably 2015 before I learned how to send a text message on a smart phone. Now I know how to do 2 things with a smart phone..oh wait, 3, I know how to charge it.

Maybe but most of what I would classify as hipsters around here don't even wear boots. They're riding around with flip flops and shorts and no helmet because they don't want to mess up their hair man-bun.

Do you have a micrometer to take measurements of that cover part 068 00 473 0 . I might have something that fits laying around...

Tension is a tug of war. The tension is either correct or incorrect. If your knot is on top, which yours is, and your top tension is backed off all the way, that means your bobbin tension needs to be tighter. As a general rule the top tension is the "go to" for tension adjustment unless your bobbin tension is out of the tolerances the top can adjust out. I would set your top tension to about the center of its adjustment and then start adjusting the bobbin for more tension until the knot is in the middle of your work, not showing on top or bottom. Once you get there you don't need to mess with the bobbin for minor adjustments just the top. Knot on top, lower top tension, knot on bottom, raise top tension.

Everyone I've ever known that purchased one echoed the statements above about having to constantly adjust them. When I was machine hunting I checked out my friends Boss and decided to get a cobra. One week after I got my cobra my friend put his Boss up for sale and bought a cobra. Your mileage may vary

Yep! I have an old pair of riding boots in the closet that 40+ years on them and the scuff is nearly worn all the way thru. Kind of a badge of honor for all the miles on them...and me.

Without any other information like machine, needle size, thread size, leather thickness my guess would be not enough tension up top. That being said, wrong size needle and or thread will do the same thing

Looking forward to getting me a new Knipschield knife..or two. Maybe a few black crack's and test drive a few different sewing machines to fill my gap for 138 to 207 thread size sewing. Outside of that, making some friends!

The Sheridan Wy show is next weekend. Looking forward to attending and picking up some new toys and meeting some people. Who all is planning to attend?