saddlerlew

I'm working on an old Singer 31-15, trying to get it to pick up the bobbin thread. I have replaced the shuttle, and the bobbin case. adjusted the needle bar, but it still won't pick up the thread. The shuttle hook does not go past the needle, stops right at it. The shuttle driver is pinned to the shaft and there is no adjustment. Any ideas??????????????????????????

Have you tried calling Feibings directly? i was able to get some "Glo-Getter" that they no longer produce directly from them. Also, have you tried Weaver Leather, Mt. Hope Ohio?

I do lots of antique restoration, and my cabinet is filled with Feibings Pro Oil Dyes. They are a lot more expensive, but they penetrate really well, are permanent, and easy to apply. I may be wrong, but it seems like spirit dye lays on top of the leather and wears off, water base just doesn't get it for me. I guess the oil base dye is not popular because of its expense, but if it works, that's what I'm after. I have trouble with the water base antiquing formulas, too. Maybe I'm just old fashioned.

There is a huge difference between the Tandy wooden strap cutter, made in China, and the "Strap Cutter" made in the U,S,A. I love my U.S. made strap cutter and use it all the time. To me much easier than the draw gauge. Ohio Travel Bag sells the original "Strap Cutter" for about 18.00 wholesale. The junk from Tandy costs about the same. There is no comparison. For long straight cuts, I use a surface that won't guide my knife, like a piece of hardboard. Go to A lumber yard and get a 4' or 6' metal rule and some table clamps. Get a straight edge on your leather, measure the width you want, clamp it to the edge of your cutting table, and use a roller knife, and you can get really nice long straight cuts in 4 to 5 oz. chap leather, which is what I usually use for handles. You might want to cut it extra wide, and sew a piece of light rope or something in the center to give you a nice rolled handle. I trim the excess off the raw edge after I have sewn the welt in. Just takes a few tries and you'll be making handles like a pro.

a small bottle of gum trag lasts me a long long time. I hardly ever use it.I dampen my edges with water and rub like crazy with a piece of brown shipping paper. You will get a glass smooth edge!

I would shop for a good used head knife or round knife. Usually when a C.S. Osborne is listed in eBay, they go for $75.00 and up for an old one. The old ones are the best. The Tandy knife, in my opinion, isn't worth the effort to try to keep it sharp, or more correctly, to get it sharp in the first place. I have one I'll sell you cheap if that tells you anything. It helps when cutting curves to make sure you have something under the leather that won't grab the tip of the knife. I like a large piece of plate glass. Always remember to keep your free hand from in front of the blade!. I've also had very good luck with a curved electrician type knife, if it has an old blade of high carbon steel. I use a tri stone to keep my blades sharp, and the a strop rubbed with jeweler's rouge for the final polish. Good luck.

I bought what appears to be a real nice Consew 226 r1 and have a couple adjustment issues. The machine was always used with 69 thread, and I tried 207 on the top with a 135 x 16 dp needle for leather, size 24. I had an awful time trying to loosen the tension on the bobbin for the 138 thread I was using on the bobbin. Finally took the bobbin case out to adjust the tension spring, still not getting a good bottom stitch, so I tried going to 138 on top, 92 on the bobbin, got a consistent stitch but the top thread keeps wrapping around the bobbin case and jamming. Besides that problem, is there a trick to getting the bobbin thread under the tension spring? I've never had a drop in bobbin, they've always been vertical. I like the machine, if I can work out the wrinkles.

O.K., Thanks. I'm definitely missing a piece from the knee lift assembly. I'll see if I can find one. Love the Consew. Lew

The Consew 226 is a great machine, made in Japan and one of the best industrial machines going. Is it a 226 R with reverse? You don't want to spend that kind of money for one without reverse! Also does it have the large bobbin or small one?. They need to be cleaned, oiled, and the thread tension set right, plus being properly threaded, but I've just bought one that works great for $700.00, and I'm thrilled with it, even tho there are a couple little problems; bobbin winder is broke, and I'm trying to figure out how to put a knee lift on it.

I just bought a nice used Consew 226r-1 and the people that had it always uded the hand foot lift. It did come with a knee lift that they had never used, I'm not sure if it's the right one. There is nothing in the Consew manual about a knee lift. The knee lift has a rod with a set screw in the end. The bottom of the lift lever has a small roller on it, that doesn't seem to do anything. There is also no place to fasten the knee lift that I can see, I got used to using the knee lift with my Artisan 797 and I really like it. Any ideas? Thanks.

Saddle fit is indeed confusing, and it is important. But you can't micromanage it. It isn't practical. Fit starts with the saddle tree, and even tree makers disagree on specifics. It only makes sense, if you have a wide backed horse, you need a wide angle saddle. If you have a narrow backed horse, you need a narrow angled saddle. If you have a short backed horse you need a shorter tree. It's hard, if not impossible to find a perfect fit, because the horses back is in motion whenever he's moving. a saddle that is too wide in the gullet, but has the proper angle, will sit too low in the front and throw the rider out of balance. I can give you a hundred scenarios, and I've seen every one. Most horses never complain, or if they do their riders don't understand what they're saying. Fit also depends on the skill; level of the rider. Someone who never collects their horse can use a closer fit in the middle of the back than someone who is rounding his horse to use his back end . The center of the back will lift from a 1/4" to 1/2" or more, so you need to build in a little bridging for the horse to round into. There is so much controversy on this, I'm still studying, trying to find the right answer. Dave is certainly knowledgable about saddle trees. He probably doesn't remember me, but I met him at a rest stop in Bowling Green, Ky, when I worked for Crates Leather, and have followed his career from a distance. I've talked with Len Brown, and though he's a little hard to follow with his scattered wording and strange capitalization, he has some good ideas. But a saddle should fit as least as good as we fit our shoes. Get as close as you can to the right angles, place the saddle so it interferes as little as possible with the shoulder movement, and helps keep the rider balanced. It stands to reason the rider needs to know when they are balanced. An effort at getting a decent fit is better than no effort at all. Saddlerlew

If you plan on running a legitimate business, by all means, get the tax id #. Weaver is an excellent source of most things you need in the business. Tandy or the Leather Factory usually has imported hardware, little stainless steel, and in my opinion, generally poorer quality. They do have some really good sales once in a while. Two other great sources fro hardware and leather are Walsall Hardware out of Az. and Siegal of Ca. Siegal had good prices, great service, andalso have hardware such as c.s. Osborne. If you have a tax id, Weaver gives a discount on 5 plus hides, but depending on what type of leather you want, check out W&C overstock sale. Great prices and no minimum. Hope this helps