Colt W Knight

Warm soapy water ( with Dawn dish soap) used in conjunction with a scrub brush will clean damn near all manners of dirt and grease with absolutely zero health concerns. Just dry it off when you are done to prevent rust.

I can send pics tonight when I get home

I really enjoy using my Cowboy 4500. I make a lot of GPS Tracking collars, and the 4500 has been a life saver in labor. I use the wax pot(silicone) and it glides through biothane and thick leather effortlessly.

I second Wiz's response, the Consew 227 or similar machines would be great for bags, wallets, and belts.

This came from Weaver, but I generally get leather from Hide House

Brushless motors are more efficient than brushed motors, but not sure how that translates to real world sewing differences. I have 2 FS 550 motor, and I have no complaints. It will sew slowly, or faster, and has never given me any trouble. One on my consew206 and one on my cowboy 4500

I have the Weaver with autofeed hopper. it is a bit finicky, and gets stuck frequently. But it saves me so much time, I still love it.

Sure thing. The Bandolero is 5/6 oz double shoulder lined with 5/6 oz double shoulder. I cut it in the V shape so that it flow around the shoulder better than a straight strap. The bullet loops are 2/3 oz kipskin leather. The holster is 7/8 oz double shoulder lined in 2/3 oz kipskin. Dyed on the front with fiebings pro oil dye black. Then finished with air brushed mop n glo thinned with water. the edges were burnished first with saddle soap, then beeswax. The bandolero is machine stitched, except for the where the holster folds over and meets. I had stitched that with some really thick thread for strength. My big sewing machine is on campus, and I didn't want to drive all the way out there for such a short stitch. The holster was wet molded, and baked to make it hard so it will keep its retention and shape for as long as possible. When I case my leather, I take that opportunity to give a good wash with saddle soap. I find this conditions the leather, and removes all the oils and dirt that can screw with dying. Before dye, I gave it a good coat of oil, let it sit overnight.

A few years ago, I got my dad a Ruger Blackhawk for Christmas. At the time, I wanted to make a holster to go with it, but I was finishing up my post doc. Simply, I didn't have enough time to get it done. He asked me for a shoulder rig earlier this year, and I said, how about a bandolero. That way you dont have buckles and snaps to fool with.

M class bobbins, I think they are pretty common among machines.

I really like my 206rb1. It will sew 3/8" leather with #138 thread

Wish I could do horses that well. I sell mine for 150

Sounds like the needle is getting hot and breaking tearing up the thread - my first thought

Ive used Delrin and HDPE, and I think they both have their advantages. The Delrin will break if its thin and you hit it hard enough.

Is this new spool of black thread? I've gotten black thread in the past that just wouldn't sew

The GA5 machines are popular for folks sewing horse blankets.

I have a 206, and it is super sensitive to needle alignment. Also, I have had to take the tension discs apart and clean/polish the inside to make it sew correctly.

Weaver has discontinued their 1 1/2" solid tongue/double bar SS and brass buckles. I use these to manufacture gps tracking collars for livestock, and and I have a big order coming up. I can't find any anywhere. They are all 1" or narrower.

Keep in mind, not all manufacturers use the same colors for the same micron grit

I have some #25s I bought for mine(206-rb1) to sew biothane. I never could get 206 thread to work on mine, so I use 138 with a 23 needle. Have a hard time sewing with a #22 needle. But my machine has definitely been used hard for 40 years. Oh yeah, edge guide is a god send, especially on long belts. I turn the speed up and mine actually sews better. It will sew very slow, but it prefers fast.

Im so worried about going off the line, I don't have to worry about spacing out. When I sew long straight runs, I use the edge guide and trust the "force";

I bought an inexspensive Singer 66, and I did all the "internet" recommended upgrades to make it sew "leather". I bought a bigger motor, pulley, new belts, walking foot attachment, right needles, thread, etc. etc. Best it would do consistently was sewing wool felt to one layer of 5 ounce vegtan. It was terrible about skipped stitches and keeping an even stitch length. It just didnt have the mechanical control to feed thick material reliably. I used it sew guitar straps, and it worked 80% of the time, but every 5th time, it would scrunch the stitches up and make it look awful.

I paid off my first sewing machine, Consew 206 within the first month of owning it by selling guitar straps and padfolios, which prior to the sewing machine took me 4 hours to sew by hand, and my hands would ache for days. The machine allowed me to do the part I enjoy and zip through stitching in under 5 minutes. The wear and tear on my hands ( I have issues with my hands) that the machine saved me was worth the price. I would have had to have given up the hobby without it. I bought a 4500 to do commercial work building GPS tracking collars for cattle. It also paid for itself very quickly. I see a lot of folks wanting to sell leather work, and they all make the same old Tandy/Stohlman etc patterned wallets, belts, and the like. I don't know how anyone makes money selling that stereotypical stuff. If you have something now that you can sell, you will be able to sell a lot more with a machine. If you love the hobby, but the hand stitching is killing you, the machine is amazing. If you are on a shoe string budget trying running a leather shop, the machine is not going to save you.

7mm length is huge. You would never need to go that long on leathercraft projects. The reason SPI is shorter on thick material is because of the compound feed walking foot design. The needle is pendulous, so the higher up, the shorter the stroke.