VanDutch

Hi Tom.. I have worked a lots with Servos/Stepper motors on CNC machines and the feature of these motors is that they have Max torque at any RPM range. They don't use inertia like an induction motor does. Hi Tor. Yes I have the EPS motor. I will check the flywheel. Thread size is 277 and the material thickness is 8-10mm. I only have issues at really slow speeds like corners on gussets. Normal sewing it is punching through no problems.

No cobra users out there?

Howie.. Have you tired Mac-Lace in qld?. They have the best prices on hardware that Ive' found. Lot of saddlery stores buy their supplies from them.

Personally I like to use around the 10oz for bags as this give a solid feel plus the bags hold their shape better.

Hope you can help me in setting my servo motor speeds for max torque. I find that if I am sewing slowly through thicker material the motor stalls and I have to manually turn the wheel a fraction. My motor settings are. Speed = 1 (1-9 setting) RPM = 10 (1-40 setting) There is a speed reducer installed. What settings do you use? cheers Frans

Just received my new King Cobra from the Queensland Sewing Machine Co. Special thanks to Greg and his team for the prompt dispatch and excellent service. Machine was very well packed. These guys have already setup the machine so there is no need to go through the adjustments. After unpacking and setup I was already putting the machine thru its paces. Have to say I'm loving it so far. I decided to test it out on a prototype ladies bag made from 4mm Morgan Oak Veg tanned. New gusset design and double stitched.

Hi. The Battery cover has an Aluminum cover strip that unclips leaving 4 mounting holes. Bag mounts on 4 6mm SS bolts. Very secure.

just made a battery cover bag for my HD Fatbob. Front and back pieces are 5mm veg tan and the gusset is 3mm.

I was having difficulties in sewing the gussets on my toolbags and someone mentioned using Tacks to hold the gusset in place. Must say it worked really well and made the job so much easier.

Hey. thnx... yes it is a Fatbob..

thanks guys.. A skiving machine..that would be nice. Can't justify it atm...

Here are a few more things I have been making. 1. Motorbike battery bag. 2. Glasses case 3. Biker/casual belt. Heavy duty. 7mm thick and fully stitched 4. Toolbag. Heavy duty from 5mm veg tanned.

Hey guys. Just finished my first bag.. Made from 3.5mm Morgan Oak Veg tanned leather. Combination of hand and machine stitching. Didn't use any plans/templates. Designed on the fly. Took just on 1 day to design and finish.

Hey.. Glad you find it useful. key Fob designs.. Can do a template for it.. Give me some idea (pics, links) and I am sure I can come up with something...

Thanks for your advice guys. I have tried gluing but no success due to the tension needed to bend the leather.. Not sure about notching the leather, won't the notches show?.. Notching may work for inside curves where it is compressed but what about curves where it is stretched?.

Steel Horses.. Nice bag. What thickness of leather did you use?.. How did you sew the gussets?.. hand or machine.

Hope you can provide some advice/tips/tricks. I am making motorcycle toolbags and other bags from 4mm leather and have been hand stitching the gussets to date. Tried once to machine sew on my Adler but had difficulty in folding the leather and feeding into machine at the same time. Someone mentioned that I'd probably need a Post type machine for this type of work. cheers Frans

what type of dye are you using... water, oil or spirit based?

Hey guys.. Let me preface this by saying this really only applies to people who run their leatherwork as a business. Having spent a lot of my corporate life as an Accountant and Business Coach and establishing a number of successful businesses hopefully I can pass on some of my past experiences etc... Moving along. Firstly, I believe it is vitally important to find a niche market. By that I mean don't think that you can make it cheaper unless your prepared to gear up for high production. We can never compete with cheap labour countries etc. Find a sector of the market that isn't being supplied. Not easy. Do your research. For example talk to lots of people about what they buy, why they buy, attributes that influence their decision making. Sometimes talking to retailers is a great place to start. Often they will tell you what is selling and why.. also they have insight into what people will buy that is not currently being produced. For example they may say that people are looking for such and such in a different colour, bigger, smaller, more features. Now you have found your niche market and decide to toss in your secure job for the life of a craftsman. Congratulations at least you have the guts to do what most people only talk about. Remember there is no security..only opportunity. Pricing... This is often one of the most perplexing decisions for a new businesses. Warning... Don't compete on price. You will go broke. If you're producing an item similar to an existing product then you should base your pricing around that. Maybe you can add 10% because yours has extra features. NO 1 Rule: Don't undervalue your time.. Unless you have other sources of income etc... You have to pay yourself. You need to live. Maybe your product is unique in the market.. How do you price it? Will you be too expensive.. I know there has been lots of discussions regarding pricing but lets look at some figures. Lets say you need to earn $50k per year. Your overheads (elect, heating/cooling, vehicle, insurance, printing/stationary etc) is $20k per year. Thats $70k without selling anything. No of weeks of work = 48 Hours per week = 40 Total hours per year = 1,920 Your labour & overhead per hour = $36.46. Now you produce XYZ item. Direct materials cost = $45.00 Labour x 3 hours @$36.46 = $109.38 Total cost per XYZ = $154.38 That is your selling price/Retail price. How does that compare in the market place? Therefore you need to make and sell 640 XYZ units per year to meet your sales target. How are you going to sell that number of units per year. This leads us to how you will market your product. Retail or wholesale?.. Each has it own unique advantages & disadvantages. Retail. You are solely responsible for the marketing and sales of your product. Do you choose an ecommerce website?, craft markets or open your own shop. Retail gives you more profit per item but requires you to ensure you meet your sales target... Wholesale. Your customers (Retailers) are the ones responsible for the marketing of your product. All you do is supply them.. Wish it was that easy. They will want wholesale pricing on your product. You need to sell to them at say $80.00 per item. at $80 per item and selling 640 units means your profit/salary just took a big hit unless you want to work 80 hours per week. This is the reality of selling wholesale.. Question is.. how can you ensure you continue to make your target profit. What can you do?.. Value add your product?.. new features so you can charge more. If you analyse your costs you will note that the labour component is your biggest cost. Can you look at ways to reduce from say 3hours to 1.5 hours per item?.. Maybe machine stitch instead of hand stitching... negotiate better deals with your suppliers.. buy in bulk. Enough ranting for now.. cheers Frans

Hey RoosterShooter. Try this online store. They do have some good patterns. https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/LZpattern?ref=shop_sugg

Hey guys. I did this template in CAD. Size is 300x300mm (12x12 inch) and will have it laser cut in 4mm plastic to have on hand as a usefull template. I have attached a PDF file or printing. The system wouldn't allow me to upload a CAD file. If anyone wants the CAD version please message me.Assorted Templates.pdf[attachment=85161 If you can think of other templates I am only to pleased to draw some more. cheers Frans

Hey guys. You can get some patterns cheaply from this Etsy site.. https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/LZpattern

Hey guys.. We call flipflops here Chinese workboots. Yesterday being particularly warm I was in the workroom in flipflops and was working on sewing a difficult thick item. I accidentently knocked my awl off the bench and it hit my foot. I shrugged it off and decided to pick it up later. After a couple of minutes i bent down to pickup my awl. Couldn't see it on the floor. Looked further and there it was sticking out from the top of my foot... Didn't hurt a bit...only went in about 3mm... Lesson learned. Wear appropriate footwear..

Hi. There is an Adler 5-27 for sale on ebay Australia. I don't know much about these machines. Are spare parts readily available? Any information is appreciated http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Adler-5-27-leather-saddlery-walking-foot-with-reverse-cylinder-sewing-machine-/121285480935?pt=AU_Sewing&hash=item1c3d2d91e7

Hey Rayban.. Think I have to invest in a machine as well. I don't mind hand stitching buckle and keeper Full belt is a different matter.. cheers Thanks WLG190861