pattyharrington

Thank you all for your replies! I’m going to try all of your recommendations and also try out different sources for my leather. Hides that are 50% unusable is not acceptable to me! Anyway, I darkened it a lot to help hide the spotting and here is the finished product along with a growler holder from the same hide. They were given as gifts and the recipients didn’t seem to mind the spotting (or even notice it). But still, I’m going to be more aware of what to look for and where to get it.

That is such a disappointment. I don’t have buckets of money to spend on leather, but I do hate to put the work into something that ultimately looks like trash because of that. Besides, $110 for a smallish double shoulder doesn’t seem like that great of a deal. But you were right, @NVLeatherWorx, it was from Tandy. They are the only shop nearby. Which online shops do you recommend? I like Springfield Leather, but are there others that are better?

I have had several pieces of veg tan that have these spots that come to light after I apply the dye. I make sure the leather is fully dry before application and I just don’t know how to prevent this or predict when it will happen. Dies anybody know what this is or how to combat this problem?

I decided to stick with my Juki 241h instead of considering a trade. The tech ended up making several adjustments and reinstalling the old hook assembly that I had replaced. I'm happy to report that it's running like a champ! I am going to lay off the 210 thread though, just to play it safe.

I am heading to Bay City tonight to sew on both machines, bringing my own leather, thread, etc. I've decided that I am most likely bringing my Juki home with me. I'll post the outcome and again, thanks for all the input it helped a great deal in sorting out what to do.

Thanks for all the replies! My machine is the 241H. I should have specified. No S, just the H. Like I said I have had problems with lighter weight thread (138) but the tech says he has it sewing forward and backward now. It's nice to hear that others have good things to say about this machine because I think my thoughts about trading are mostly related to the hours I have spent troubleshooting with it. I was hoping to hear if the Consew 206rb5 would be more "reliable" or give me less problems but it kinda sounds like they are kind of similar in terms of what they do. Is that what I'm hearing? That the Juki is no more persnickety than the next machine? Thanks!!

A little more info here: I have two other machines that Imuse for all orher aplications (cloth, canvas, denim) so conceivably, I don't need to make major changes to the settings with the Juki. And I agree with the comments about the 207 thread, that it is at the top weight the machine comfortably takes, but It should be able. At the same time, it was shredding, snapping, bunching lighter weight thread as well. Thank you very much for your help!! I may just hang on to it and see how it goes, but input is definitely appreciated!!

I would appreciate some advice here. I have a Juki DNU-241 walking foot machine. I have been using it for about 3 years to sew mainly bags, briefcases and other medium weight leather goods. I use 138 and 207 bonded nylon or polyester thread with it. The problem I have is this machine is so unpredictable for me. I have had very few occassions to use it when I didn't have to stop what I was doing to problem solve. The tension has been difficult to perfect for me. I am not a novice and feel as though it shouldn't be this hard. Some of the issues I have had with it are: it regularly shreds and breaks my thread, will sometimes bunch up or skip stitches, if I tighten the tension ALOT it will sometimes sew a little better but is nearly impossible to remove from the machine then. I have adjusted the timing at least a dozen times. The reverse is also unpredictable and you can feel a "jump" when the machine reverses and those stitches usually look crappy. A couple months ago I decided to put all machine stitched projects aside (they were being mangled anyway) and focus on getting this thing in a much more workable condition. I ordered parts and replaced the tensioner dials on the front. This did not help much so I replaced the entire hook assembly with very little gained from that. After adjustments in every other area I could find as a potential source of problem, I finally decided to call a professsional. Lol! I had a repair man who specializes in commercial machines come from 2 hours away to fix it. He spent several hours at my house working on it but never got it to sew the way he wanted it. He was perplexed (but that actually made me feel a little validated, lol). He took the machine with him to continue working on it. He contacted me about two weeks later and reports that he has been able to get my machine running forward and backward but with 138 size thread only not 207. I guess I'm ok with that, but it should be able to handle 207 is my understanding. Now, here is where I need advice as well....... I am going to pick up the machine next week. I am a little hesitant and, frankly, fed up with this machine. I know the Juki is a good machine but I pretty much want to throw it out the window most days. He tells me that he has a Consew 206rb5 (or maybe 4, he said the plate is missing) that we could possibly do a trade on. I will probably need to do something different with my table but I'm sure my servo motor will work the same with the consew (right?). He says the consew machine is running well and from what I can find it seems comparible to my Juki in as far as it will handle the same weight/thickness of leather. Is this machine less persnickity? More like to actually just sew something when asked? If in my shoes would others consider this to be a wise move? Thank you so much for your time and advice!!! Patty

Thank you so much! I am fairly new to leather, so the comments sure are encouraging! I purchased the leather from Springfield Leather. It's a semi-soft veg tanned leather and is really inexpensive. I have made several items with it. Here is the link: http://springfieldleather.com/25864/Side%2CSoft-Veg-Tan%2CMilled%2C3-4oz/

I usually make gifts for friends and family, this time it was for me! I saw a handmade Gucci bag, wanted it, but as usual I have champagne taste and a beer budget, so I made my own version.

Thanks for your reply! Both of your suggestions seemed to be what I was doing wrong, but after some trial and error, and some touching up, I finished with a moderate degree of satisfaction.

I actually just dampened the piece first and mistakenly referred to that as casing. After reading many board posts, I think I probably should have thinned the dye a bit and perhaps dampened the leather with alcohol rather than water. What's interesting is as it dried, much of the detail of the pyrography came back, not all, but enough. After totally dry I was able to go over the parts that were really faded with my burner and it worked fine. I still am unhappy with the finish and have already completed a seat for my tripod stool (not burned or embellished, just functional) so I won't be using it for the original project, but will use it for something else down the road, perhaps after figuring out how to improve the look of the dye job. Thanks everyone for your help!!

I recently, painstakingly, burned a design into a stool seat I was making. It was my first project using my wood burner on leather and the results were fantastic..... At first that is. When it was complete I cased it then attempted to dye it. I used feiblings leather dye (the kind available at Michaels) and it was splotchy and streaky. I tried to fix but it was a lost cause. What's worse is the design almost DISAPPEARED and although the lines of the design can be seen, the dark burn marks now look like scratches and are lighter than the dye. What did I do wrong?