gunfighter48

Look at the bobbin tensioner, the spring loaded butten that you wrap the thread around, there should be a screw on the front side of the machine that you can loosen. Loosen the screw slightly and you can raise and lower the bobbin tensioner. Using that adjustment will get the thread at the right height to wind evenly on the bobbin. John

The last holster I made, I cased the leather rather than get it good and wet for molding. Got the leather just damp enough so I could do a light molding job, just enough molding to get an idea of where I wanted the stitching line to be. Then laid out the stitching line and laid some weight on the leather to flatten the leather and let it dry over night. The next day I glued and sewed the holster together, then dunked it water for about 20-30 seconds and did my molding. Worked good, the gun was a tight fit and it's much easier to sew flat leather. I used a 500 watt heat gun to speed up the drying time and it also helps to harden the holster, be sure to not get the leather too hot. The finished holster was tight enough so you could turn it upside down, shake it and the gun would not fall out. By the time the owner gets it broke in it will have just the right tension for an IWB holster.

I emailed you a Sailrite manual that should be a great help. Let me know if you got it ok. John

That's a fantastic holster. Great stitching and I love the darker edges feathered in to the holster, great work!! John

You might try www.thethreadexchange.com. Don't know if they have unbonded but they have a huge selection of threads. John

Jordan those look great. How did you apply the stain to the bible cover? Did you use an airbrush? John

I manage a self storage facility and our occupancy is down 4 % ( about 20 units) from the first of the year. Last year we were at 90% occupied or better. This year I'm having trouble trying to maintain 85%. The gas prices are really starting to hurt everyones budgets. And our expenses keep going up along with everyone else's. We just had to raise our rates by an average of $10 per month per unit. Our electric bill went up 15% in January. Seattle is just starting to see the recession that the rest of the country has been in for about the last year. John

1. Can't help you on this one as I don't do handbags. I'm using 138 bonded nylon on my book covers and it seems to work just right. I will probably use 69 or 92 size thread for wallets and such. I use bonded polyester on my holsters and gun belts as it's supposed to resist sun light and moisture better than nylon. 2. I have been looking for another website where I can find accessories and haven't found any other than Sailrite. 3. As far as I can tell the accessories for the Sailrite will fit your machine. But all I have purchased is the leather presser feet and edge guide. 4. Artisan has the 135X16 leather needles for your machine and at a good price. The folks at Artisan are great to deal with. 5. Artisan sells a LED light that has a magnet on the back side that is "The Best Light" that I have seen for sewing machines. It sticks to the bottom/side of the machine right by the needle bar and puts plenty of light right where you need it. Since it's magnetic you can move it to wherever you want it. I have one on each of my machines. They should last a lifetime and the best thing is they don't put off any heat. No more burns from touching a hot lamp, that's a great thing!!!!!!!! Here's the link to the Artisan site. Artisan LED Light 6. Give them a call and ask but I'm pretty sure it'll work just fine on your machine. 7. Can't help you on this one but I was wondering also, if you could use 2-3 oz leather as the binder. Sailrite sells upholstery leather for makeing seats and such, give them a call. Let us know if you try it. 8. Here's a link to the DVDs. The maintenance DVD is well worth the money. It shows how to adjust and replace every part on the machine. It also shows you how to set the timing on the machine. The Setup DVD was worth it to me. But I don't know much about sewing with a machine. Someone who is experienced at home sewing would probably find it pretty simple. It does show how to use many of the accessories that you can get, such as the binder attachment. It also shows how to lube the machine. But that's pretty easy, just lube all metat to metal wear points. Sailrite DVDs You'll want the Ultrafeed Advanced Maintenance and possibly the Ultrafeed Setup and Use DVD. 9. Looks good to me but I'm a nooby at sewing machines. I am going to get 2 more leather presser feet for my Consew. Then I'll cut them so I'll have a stock foot, a left and a right foot. But you may not need a seperate left and right foot. I'm cutting them so I can get the needle extremely close to the edge of the work and still use the edge guide. 10. I'd give them a call and ask if they will fit your machine. When in doubt just call and ask. Hope this helps, I know how bewildering it can be setting up your first leather machine. Been there and am still there sometimes but the folks hear at Leatherworker.net will give you their best info. Great bunch of folks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! John

The link you have in your post is the Monster Wheel and it's $20.00 cheaper than Sailrite. Here's a link to the Sailrite page for the Monster Wheel, it's got a couple of videos you can watch. Forgot to mention that the presser feet for the Sailrite machine will also fit the FS288. Be sure to get ahold of esantoro here on Leatherworker, he uses his to make brief cases and can give you some good info. Monster Wheel John

Hi Ashley, They're the same machine and Sailrite has the same machine under their name. Sailrite says they do some tweaking and setup on their machine that makes it run better. How much tweaking can they do for 3 times the price???? Salirite LSZ-1 Send Ed (esantoro) a message, he has the FS288. I have the straight stitch version and it has the Consew name on it (CP206R), considerably less $$$ than the Sailrite version. The good thing about them is they all work ok (so far with mine and eds machines) with the accessories from Sailrite. One "must have" accessory is the Monster Wheel, it's a 7 lb flywheel that gives the machine an enormous boost in sewing power. My Consew works just fine with veg tanned leather up to a little over 3/8 in thick (especially since I put the Monster Wheel on it). I'm using size 138 thread for notebook covers and such. One other thing to buy if you get that series machine is the Sailrite DVDs on setup/sewing and repair/maintenance on the LSZ-1, two videos at $19.95 each. They are well worth the money. You can get leather needles from Artisan, they are 135X16 size. One thing I found out quickly when I started searching for my machines, is that you will find one type of machine will be sold under several different names. Seems to be very common with sewing machines. Hope this helps. Art should be along soon to give you more info, he has an incredible amount of knowledge about sewing machines. If you decide to go with the FS288 email me and I'll go over a modification I had to make to my Consew to use the Monster Wheel. John gunfighter48@comcast.net John

Star Wars, 2001, and 2010 rock!!!!!!!! I saw 2001 at Radio City Music Hall right after they installed a 180 degree movie screen! It was incredible and their sound system was fantastic. As a serviceman at the time, I got discount tickets thru the NY USO (that's were I met my wife of 39 years). The wife had to pay full rate didn't make her too happy, but she loved the music. I have a HD TV and home theater 7.1 surrond sound system at home and have all the editions of Star Wars, 2001, and 2010. I'm really a Sci-fi nut at heart. I also like Sherlock Holmes with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, I grew up watching them on B&W TV in the 50s. Also like Mr. Moto with Peter Lorre and Charlie Chan with Sidney Toler. John

Besides leather working I do some amateur astronomy (have an 8" diameter SCT telescope), photography, target shooting, and play with computers. Used to make giant scale gas engine powered radio controlled airplanes, have done model railroads, cowboy action shooting (back gave out and I had to give it up, sure do miss it), wedding and model photography. Living in Seattle, WA doesn't give me much chance to do astronomy but every once in awhile the sky clears up enough so I can get a good view of the moon, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Venus, and the Sun (have to use a special filter so you don't burn out your eyes), different galaxies and nebulas. John

Hi Johanna, Keep at it lady!!!!! It's not easy but you can kick the habit. I smoked 2 to 3 packs a day for 32 years. I finally got tired of burnt holes in my shirts and the expense. I quit cold turkey about 10 years ago. I got rid of all the ash trays and lighters and washed all my clothes to get rid of the smell. The first 3 weeks are the worst and it takes that long to get the nicotine out of your system. After 3 weeks things will get better. I sucked on hard candy for the first month and then tapered off those as I was gaining weight!! After the first month or month and a half it really gets much easier. Even after 10 years of not smoking there are times when I'm really stressed out and I'll catch myself patting my shirt pocket, looking for that pack of cigs. But them I think to myself how much better my health is without them and just grin and bear it. There are new meds that a doctor can prescribe to make the transition much easier, it you need it get it!!!!! This is something you can do, just take it one day at a time!!!!!!!! John

Can't trust them dumb looking bovines!!!! cows with guns

The quality of the Duncan aluminum guns have went downhill lately and they take considerable cleanup to be useable. I use the blue guns and they work just fine. There are also red guns on the market but be careful, the word from the pro holster makers is they are not always to scale and have very sharp edges that can cut your leather. Another good site for holster making info is www.pistolsmith.com and look in the holster sub forum. Many of the top makers post to that forum. John

A small bar-b-que would be nice, a guys gotta eat!

Hi Alan, Try this site for some old wester fonts. http://members.memlane.com/gromboug/fontpage.htm John

Welcome to the forum. Instead of the snap to fasten the strap to the holster use a Chicago screw or a T nut from the backside with the appropriate screw from the front. You'll definitely want to go the veg tanned leather, it'll save the finish on your gun. John Here's a holster that I just finisher for a friend. You can see what Broomstick was saying about strap placement.

Pull the stitches tight and make sure the knot is in the middle of the last hole. Leave a tag end on each side of the work, then put a little super glue on the tag end hole. And I usually do the 2nd and 3rd hole for good measure. You only want to put enough glue on so it wicks down into the hole but not enough to go all the way thru to the front of the work. The medium and very thick glues help to keep it from running all the way thru the work. If you get a little too much on the back side fold a paper towel so it has a point and just touch the point quickly to the excess glue and it will wick right up the paper towel. Just don't leave the towel on the spot too long or it will bond to the leather. A little practice and you'll have it down, no problem. The thick super glues take a couple of minutes to dry. The really thin glues dry very very quickly but they flow everywhere, especially where you don't want any glue!!!!!!! I used to build giant scale radio controlled airplanes (up to 50 lbs and 150 in wing spans and up to 75 CC gas engines) and super glues were my constant companions along with epoxy glues. Some of my landings were known to be a LITTLE rough!!!!!!! LOL John

I like the big bands of the late 30s and the 40s thru the 50s, most of the popular music of the 50s. I like most of the music of the 60 and 70s except acid rock (never did like it), also like western music from the 50s and more modern country western music. There are several radio stations in the Seattle area that play oldies and big band music, usually have one playing while I work. John

You can use an exacto knife to cut the thread very close. I don't back stitch, I use a very small 1/2 drop of super glue in the stitching hole to lock down the stitches. Leave about 3/4 inch of thread showing. I usually put a little on the 2 or 3 stitching holes before the end. You can do this on the back side of your work and it's invisible from the front side. Do this after you dye your work as the super glue will seal the leather and dye won't work on it. Once the super glue is dry, lay the exacto knife blade flat on the stitches and move it toward the tag end of the thread, apply a little pressure on the tag end and it should cut right off. I use this method on my heavy duty gun belts and holsters and have never had a stitch break loose. If you have a hobby shop near by. pay them a visit. There are several grades of super glues from very thin to very thick. I use the medium thick variety. I won't run thru the stitching holes and onto the front of the work; as long as you use small 1/2 drops. A little practice and you'll do just fine. They also sell very small diameter needle point applicator tips that make the job very easy. John

Kids always seem to out fish the adults!! LOL The best memories I have of my two daughters was taking them fishing the first time they caught a fish. Nothing more exciting than their first fish! I fly fished for over 30 years and like you son I just enjoyed being out in the great outdoors. John

That's a fantastic bag! Looks great and your attention to detail is fabulous. John

Great looking bag for your first effort. The only thing I might change is the clasp on the flap. The twist style latch takes too much time to undo. When you need a gun you need it NOW! When you are in the moment of pulling a gun, your fine motor skills go out to door so the simpler to open the better. I would go with a pull the dot snap, stud, or velcro for speed of access. Something else to look at is the strap and how to make it cut proof. I would use small diameter stranded cable sewn into the strap (but then again I'm paranoid about things like this). That will prevent someone from coming up from behind with a knife, cutting the strap and taking off with the purse. Losing a purse is bad enough but losing your gun is even worse! You can get small diameter cable from a sporting goods store (used for leader for sharp toothed fish) or a hobby shop (multiple uses on model airplanes). John

I have a servo motor on my Neels model 5 machine and it also has a low/high switch besides the dial on the back of the motor. You can really slow down the machine (with out the speed reducing pulley system, all though that will slow it down even more). Servo motors develope all their maximum torque at any speed. Clutch motors have to be running at full speed to develope their maximum torque. Get the servo motor as soon as you can, you won't regret it. John