Hidemechanic

I know it's been awhile but I thought I'd comment for others wondering. I have seen a saddle made with harness, it was a hunting rig to go with a pack outfit. It was a minimalist design as harness is heavy, held up well. I designed an endurance saddle that I covered with black latigo, was an english/western hybrid. Kind of a mother Hubbard/in skirt affair. Fender looked kinda goofy but when that long legged gal was in the seat everything fit. Was ridden hard and still going strong over the Northwest trails.

Well, I bought it. I got to know the well enough to know that working on industrial sewing machines is his livelihood, so I felt I could take him at his word. His description of the Consew 166RB is that it is the predecessor to the 205RB, I think I got that right. In any case he said it would do what I was wanting it for. It is in awesome condition and though it was more than I wanted to pay, it was head and shoulders above all the alternatives I was considering. It was well worth the 3hr drive. It did make me nurvous that I couldn't find any info on the net about it other than a parts list. Though I do sew sew other materials besides leather I did put it though it's paces with layers of 12oz. and 4oz in combinations thereof. Quite happy GH

No body knows anything about these? I don't want to drive 3-6 hours to find out they aren't what I want. I find the information the sellers give is not always reliable. Anyone had any experience with these models? Thanks

No body knows anything about these? I don't want to drive 3-6 hours to find out they aren't what I want. I find the information the sellers give is not always reliable. Anyone had any experience with these models? Thanks

Anyone familiar with this model? Mitsubishi CA-402E I can't find anything

Does anyone know anything about the Consew 166R? What little I can find , it appears to be a walking foot with reverse but I wonder if the needle bar woks in conjunction (Moves forward and back) with the foot feed.. I also wonder if it would only be good on light leathers if that. Any ideas or info on this machine? I deas on value? Thanks GH

Yeah the 2 needle machine is out, besides the job I was going to get one for I will probably need a bigger shop two and I'm not ready to go there yet. As for the 111, I'm used to manual oiling, I'm just trying to expand my capabilities with out too much expense. I figure if I can get into one for around 300. I can upgrade again later when things pick up.Machine sales are kinda flat around here at the moment. Thanks, GH

I'm shopping again and see a Singer 112w115(on CL) , problem is the guy said the uptake lever needs replaced. The big question is would a bad uptake lever indicate other problems? I'm still trying to find out what the prob is, but the guy doesn't communicate too well(about 3hrs away) I presume it isn't too difficult to replace, don't know about availability. Also I'm looking at what appears to be a Singer 111-155 ( waiting to confirm), Can anyone give me an idea of how it might compare to a Consew 206rb1 ? These are not necessarily going to be used for leather as I do other sewing too. Thanks much. GH

Okay, that's good info. Now for the embarrassing part. Big surprise, right? I put the needle in 180 out. The gal that owns it noticed and turned it and was sewing on it when i got the to look it over. Well another lesson learned, don't over look the simple stuff. Really appreciate you responding Wiz. GH (head down) 8P

That would be one of those obvious things one overlooks if it is(I hope). The kind we like. Would I totally mess up the timing if I removed the shuttle to get a good look at it? Thanks

I realize the 415 probably isn't a leather machine, but at this time I am not sewing leather, (gotta make a buck). I'm sewing for someone on their machine and the thing broke a needle and now I can't get it to sew right. At first after replacing the needle I could sew okay in forward but reverse would break the top thread. It was also clicking so I straitened the plate so the feed dog was clearing it again. Clicking went away. I had a lot of straight work to do and was able to get it done but when I went back to doing work that required back tacking things went south. I'm not sure the needle size is right, the replacement looks bigger than the one I was using. Needle sizes drive me knutts anyway but that's another topic. Is there anything else I can look for to see if something got misaligned when the needle broke? Needle bar adj? other timing? Smaller needle? The repair guy wont be able to come around til next week and we have a lot of work to get done before that.(deadlines) If someone would help me troubleshoot this problem I would be grateful. GH

Dan, how did your hunt turn out? Curious about the pix..GH

elkayr, I've used beads, drilled antler, anything you can think of. Even leather like Spence said. A piece about 1", a hole ponched near the ends then fold the piece lining up the holes, run you strings though and slide it up where you want it. You can use anything that will create a bight on your string yet slide where you need it to.GH

I think I remember that post about the 90-9-1 %. One of those topics I added that you can and need to know how to fire a customer. We all have seen them, the person who walks in your door all self important and micro-managing everything you do, if they know so much why aren't they in the business types. I know it's easy for us to sit back and say do this or do that, there are other factors we can't deal with in person for you, we can only suggest and hope something makes sense for you CJF. If you didn't carve initials or any other personal items on this saddle you have the option of letting the customer walk away and you can at some point sell the saddle and recoup something. Or you can explain to her, with authorety, that you did what she told you to do and it's not your fault that she didn't know her saddle parts. (that's a lesson she has to learn) Also, though it didn't tern out as she expected, it is still a vary nice saddle. [As far as I can see what you did made the design work look ballenced, I think what she intended would not have] And all saddles have stitching on the skirts, that's what holds things together. She may have been thinking about stiching in fenders or seat jockys which is optional, but not skirts. I think if you were to explain this to her that, she would see the error of her ways and come around, that is if she has any sense of reason. It's hard to do custom work long distance, and it's worse when you are dealing with someone who gives the impression they know what they are talking about. I sympathize with your situation. Let us know how it terns out. Best wishes GH

I probably am not going the direction you are thinking, but I do want to sympathize with the search for Spanish designs. I found that there are a multitude of designs depending on region. I had a hard time locating examples. My family would make fun of me when we were out at Mexican resteraunts, and I would be tracing designs off of tiles. However not all designs you see in a resteraunt are true examples. I don't trust some of the patterns we see in modern leather books or some of those in holster pat books but that's personal problem of my oun. Here is an example of one I found I think is from south or central America(I would enlarge the leaves a bit next time). I like the looks of ChuckB's last example I look forward to more examples, Good luck. GH