Flattracker

Thanks LTC for the heads up. I'm at that point where I don't want anymore hassle from them by upgrading to 8.1 I know it'll fix 2 problems but it'll also screw up 10 other things I've finally figured out with the old system, just had enough of it completely. It's actually reminding me of the British car industry in the 1970/80's. Hopefully what you'll be seeing now is a copy I've taken from the blog which is low res..... deep breathe!

I am really sorry, this is supposed to be a post about making leather not how to reduce the MB size of a photo. I swear I have just about had enough of Microsoft & Windows 8. Since getting this laptop upgrade (yeah right) I've lost so much time & money just trying to do basic things. Does anyone know how I reduce the MB in a photo in Windows Live Photo Gallery please?

Hi, Apologies I've dropped off here for a little while. I've been trying to figure out which machine to buy to up the construction speed and not waste a ton of money on the wrong machine in the process. Attached is what I'm making hand stitched but it just takes way too long. This is sheep leather and from what I've seen trying out various walking foot machines it gets marked up really bad, calf leather as well so no good for appearances! I think I've slowly realised that doing this on a machine, it'll look different, the gussets for a start are too small I'd imagine even for a cylinder arm. So those will be made differently. To mask up the teeth marks in the leather I'm thinking I can finish it with edge binding/bias binding (I don't even know what it's called!)all around the edge in a waxed canvas of some sort. Immediate questions are; 1. I'm looking at a Singer 211G156 & 256, would these mark the leather if I was to add a number of channels with the sewing machine for individual pens/brushes etc. If so what's the answer. 2. Would this type of walking foot machine have any issues dealing with a combo of sheep/waxed cotton or calf/cow and waxed cotton. 3. I was initially looking at a Pfaff 1245 & even a Pfaff 335 but wondering if these are over-kill for this thinner leather. Just found out the image is too large, I'll post this and add the photo very soon. Much appreciated

Ok, So they all deliver which is fine for tools and thread/needles etc but for choosing leather I'd say you really need to go see it, feel it, and choose it on your individual hide basis so you get the best for your project(s). Google is your friend, as they say; For leathers & tools; A A Crack & Sons JT Batchelor Le Prevo Abbey England & finally Tandy But there are loads others dealing in other specialism's depending on what you want or need at varying prices, like anything and based on numbers ordered. Good luck buddy

Haha! Yeah it's dawning on me that my workshop is going to need extending to house some non-bike, cylinder/flatbed machine goodness instead. Can't wait! Thanks for the input. Rich

Hi OurJud, Where are you in the UK? I get tools and leather from a few different places, are you London based? Cheers Rich

Thanks electrathon, it WORKS!!! (am feel much better now I can paragraph) And thanks Andrew, to be honest all this sewing machine stuff sounds a hell of a lot more hassle than I thought it would ever be. I guess it's the difficulty of a machine dealing with a material that comes in many tanned forms. Can I ask generally: if someone were to make a satchel type back/briefcase where you can see the stitches on both sides and the leather is veg tan and too thick to pull inside out, what kind of sewing machine would be used? Cheers, Rich

Hopefully this'll be the last of my questions, but I doubt it. (for one thing I can't even figure out how to create paragraphs here? so bear with me) In choosing my first industrial sewing machine I've been (possibly overly) concerned by the marks that the feed dog makes on the veg tan leather. 1. If the machine is tensioned correctly is it only on the underside that gets marked, by the feed dog, not the walking foot? 2. If so then the marks will be concealed by the bag lining in the final construction, and so not an issue? 3. What about satchel type bags or wallets where the stitching is seen, how do you get over the "marking" problem. 4. Soft (fashion) bag leather is much thinner, and more pliable than 2mm plus veg tan so is it less likely to be marked by the feed dog/walking foot and therefore not an issue? Thanks folks, Rich

Hi again, do you think this method might be possible on a manual sewing machine with the right type needle as long as the work wasn't too thick or would it need to be done on an electric machine?

Yeah it's an interesting one. I've been saddle stitching small pieces for the last 2 years and do really like the look of hand-stitched. I've made a couple of bags as well and especially on the way a tote is made, you never see the hand stitching turned inside out so what's the point! so have been looking into sewing machines the last couple of weeks. When I hand stitch though I prefer punching the holes out with a really nice 5 hole punch I found (smaller than the Tandy one) than doing the pricking wheel, awl, pony way. I get much straighter saddle stitch lines my way. The problem though arises sometimes with wallets, in getting the punched holes to line up with more than 2 layers of leather, it's not a real problem as it mostly all works out fine (with a lot of accuracy) but when I heard about this method with the un-threaded sewing machine needle it sparked up the thought that, especially with more than 2 layers of leather, it could be a much quicker way of getting the holes pierced, all in line, and then open them up a bit more with an awl if needed. Then I can give the wallet a hand saddle stitched finish with my waxed linen thread.

Is this done, it sounds like it could save some time hand stitching? When I visited a sewing machine shop at the weekend I showed the guy a hand-stitched wallet I made for myself so he started talking about "tricks of the trade" So his point was as an option to use a sewing machine and feed the wallet through it without thread so the needle punches the holes through 2 or 3 layers of veg tan. You then have the holes and it's ready to hand saddle stitch!! Errrr, does this work? It sounds great & equally bad to me! Thanks Rich

Thank you all. Great stuff. Any experiences of Prosew walking foot machines that I've seen being sold in London?

Hi, a needle feed walking foot seems the machine I need. So the silly question is, the machine & needle will sew the leather but is the needle still ok to sew through a combo of leather & heavy weight or waxed canvas/cotton, say like a tote heavy weight canvas bag that has leather corners/trim. Or is a non walking foot capable of handling this work if the leather is of a thin (up to 2mm) thickness. Would really be interested to hear what machines you use on canvas/leather. Thanks, Rich

Thanks, much appreciated

I wonder what kind of machine would be used to stitch those old style school satchels, they're stitched on the outside. Hi Andrew, I've just seen your hunter bag on the forum, it looks really great and I keep hearing about the PFAFF 335 machine and the Consew machine, no marked leather!

Ahh, found how to do it I think.

So following on and after doing the reading I know realise I've asked the wrong question in the header! Am I right in thinking that both a Compound/Triple Feed machine or a Jump Feed machine could both come with either smooth or toothed feed dogs so if I'm looking for a machine that is less likely to mark the leather then it should have a smooth/dull feed dog. Both the Compound & Jump feed machines are Needle feed which means its the needle that moves the work along but the Compound machine would hold the work more securely? And more expensive? I've attached a couple of snaps of the first bike bag I made last year, all hand-stitched. Looking at it now I'm wondering how the hell I'd do this on a machine. The veg tan leather is too thick to turn inside out so it would have to be machine stitched on the outside seams if that's the right terminology. Maybe I should put this into another topic on bag construction though I'm beginning to realise what a massive source of info this forum is so it's probably already on here somewhere. Look forward to any replies. Thanks, Rich

Big thanks for the info folks, lots to digest tonight & tomorrow. That youtube of the needle feed is so cool, love the control and movement. I've been hand-stitching for the last 2 years so maybe the way I construct things by hand-stitching is different when using machines. Maybe it might be good if I post a photo of a small bag I made for my old BSA last year and you can advise if it could be done the same by machine. I'll dig it out tomorrow. Thanks

Ah, and also, the stamp logo you deboss into the leather has to be not much bigger than the vertical press that you push down. If the stamp is say an inch or more bigger than the press foot then the deboss kind of tails off at the edges, doesn't look good. Using a plate between your stamp and the press foot helps some though. Cheers Rich

I use a 2 ton arbor press for the same thing. I ditched the lever bar it came with and bought a longer steel rod to get more leverage. It has to be screwed down though to a workbench in the workshop so not sure how small the 1/2 ton is but bear in mind you might need to screw it down to something to stop it lifting when you pull down on it.

Whoah! I didn't realise Singer made so many different models. I think I need to do some more reading to fully understand about Drop feeds, dogs. pressers etc etc

Thanks for the replies. Hi Cdthayer, that's exactly the type of marks the Singer 133K8 made on my leather samples I took along. Amongst the samples was some Horween CXL, the tooth marks could be pushed out of it, but not an ideal situation. Hi Andrew, here comes a silly question! are the feed & feed dog easily changeable between toothed and smooth versions? This would make the machine more adaptable or am I barking up the wrong tree. Do you know if the Singer 133K8 I tried was a Compound triple feed or a Double feed type. Thanks all, Rich

Hi, I'm based in the UK and looking at getting a sewing machine that doesn't mark the veg tan leather. I've tried a Singer 133K8 but the underside of the leather ended up with teeth indents. Numerous adds I've seen for leather sewing machines state they are compound feed, does this mean it is a triple feed which I understand won't mark the leather. Many thanks

I joined this amazing forum over a year ago & thought it about time to say hello!! I've been hand-stitching small leather goods for over a year now but the bigger stuff is just a drag. So a machine is the next stage. I've been dipping in and out of Wiz's incredible 8 page post about the types of machines out there which has been invaluable. Today I visited a sewing machine shop and they let me loose on a machine with some different leathers I brought along. It was a Singer 133K8 and to be honest it's a pretty intimidating piece of kit for a first-timer! But what immediately became clear was how it marked up the veg-tan leather on the underside, and quite badly. So at least I now know the machine I need has to be a triple feed when both sides of the leather are on show. Thanks Wiz and hi all.