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I am a novice to sewing leather on a machine -- all my leather work has been hand-stitched until now. I could not control the clutch motor on my machine. It was far too fast to do good work. After advice from people on this forum, this is what I installed. It was not a difficult job and the difference is absolutely amazing. It hurt my budget for a while to buy the servo motor and the reducer pulley, but it was worth it.

My pile of stitched scrap is getting quite high, lol. The thing I liked about the YouTube video above was the definitive process related to needle and shuttle hook position. Unfortunately, it does not seem to apply to my Adler 205-374. For example, in the video with the needle slightly beyond bottom dead center he could change direction with the needle buried and not drop the stitch -- and the presser foot lift lever or pedal picked up both feet at that juncture. When my Adler is slightly above bottom dead center only the outer feet lift -- and without both feet lifted with the needle still in the leather the direction cannot be changed for a 90 degree turn without marring the leather as the center foot is still holding firm. Frustrating. Thanks for the answer and feedback.

Any advice on turning corners or direction with the Adler 205 series? This is old hat for most of you, but as a sewing machine novice I find it a difficult skill to master.

I am also a novice with sewing machines. On my machine I replaced the clutch motor with a servo motor and added a speed reducing pulley. This produced a DRAMATIC difference in sewing speed. The machine is now manageable and a pleasure to use.

Good eye. After stripping the old color finish and color with Feibing's deglaze, I went back with one coat of saddle tan and one or two of light brown. It is now brown with a very slight reddish background. I wrote it down somewhere, but can't find the formula at the moment, lol.

The pulley and open-toe center presser foot arrived, but unfortunately, the pulley was the wrong size. Waiting now for the new 50mm pulley to slow the machine even further. On a related topic and in keeping with my noobie status using a sewing machine, I found this video on YouTube: I found the instruction helpful, especially the focus on the needle going just past bottom dead center; lifting the presser feet and turning the corner with the needle plunged in the leather so as to avoid skipping the stitch. But there is a problem. The video illustrates the Cobra class 4 which apparently has the needle on the down stroke piercing the leather just before the center presser foot comes down for the backstroke of the cycle. On my Adler 205-374 the needle touches the leather about the same time as the presser foot, which is different from the Cobra 4. This raises a question: is there an analogous process for the Adler 205 series? I watched one video, but it showed lifting the foot and re-positioning the leather, dropping the foot after repositioning and continuing. I tried this, but it resulted in a slightly different stitch length. Sorry for the noob question, but I am very much a novice. A few times I have thought I should return to hand-stitching. But then I remember how long that takes.

"This photo is also a sample of some prefinished leather I bought from a company that closed six years ago. It will not mold with any detail like veg tan, so I am assuming it is not veg tan. It will shape generically to the gun, but with no detail. It heavily resisted water when I soaked it to mold it. I am assuming it is either bridle leather or chrome tanned. How can one tell the difference?" I have since learned that this leather is Wickett-Craig English Bridle. Who knew? I suspect it will be great for belts, not so much for holsters that need to be molded. As it is from a leather company that closed six years ago, I have discovered that it needs a little conditioning to restore 100% usability. Part of the learning curve for a sewing machine newbie. The new parts for the Beast are scheduled to arrive tomorrow. Slower speed and I will be able to see the needle via the open-toe center presser foot. One baby step at a time.

Thanks, Big Sioux. Dealing with this W&C leather is well outside my experience. It resisted molding even after ten minutes of warm water, but did form to the gun itself without detail. Your observations about the "dryness" of W&C is helpful. When I first bought the leather I cut a few strips; put them flesh to flesh with good sides out and stitched it. The side where the needle exits the leather fractured. I assumed it was because it was older and had dried out a little. A member on leatherworker.net recommended some conditioning with saddle soap -- which I tried. It eliminated the fracturing. I will try to finish the edges on some samples as I normally do and see how it goes. Thanks for the insight from your own experience.

I experimented with this leather, making a pancake holster. It would not mold like regular veg tan and resisted softening with water. With veg tan I can get a lot of detail when boning; with this bridle leather I cannot mold any detail. It forms to the general shape generically, but I cannot bone in any lines or detail. For me, it has been a different animal. I am thinking it is not useful for holsters but may be very useful for gun belts. Before I experiment with finishing the edges I thought I would ask and maybe reduce the learning curve. Thanks for the feedback. It is appreciated.

Thanks for posting these observations, Art. It confirms that the W&C leather I picked up from a closed business is English Bridle. Very helpful.

I am interested in the answer(s) you receive as I picked up some W&C English Bridle leather from a company that went out of business about six years ago. My first experience with this particular kind of leather.

Some time ago I purchased some leather from a company that went out of business about six years ago. As it turns out, it is Wickett&Craig English Bridle. I use primarily veg tan for my projects and have no experience with this leather -- but I got a great deal so I bought it, lol. Question: how do you finish the edges of this kind of leather after cutting straps for belts? This is not my father's veg tan.

I remembered one of the rolled up leather pieces was in a box, so I checked the label. It is Wickett&Craig. Since all I have ever used was veg tan for holsters, etc., I have no idea which of the varieties W&C sells it is. It is very uniform, dense, and evenly colored. Bridle leather? Latigo? How does one figure that out? From the illustration of color and finish on the Wickett&Craig website, it appears to be English Bridle leather, but I am not sure. I paid $30 for what I would describe as two double shoulders. Six years old and needs some tic and conditioning, but it seems I got a good deal after all.

The experiment above can be contrasted with this: I have a ways to go using the Beast to stitch my work. I am thinking at least six to seven stitches per inch using the Beast, not five per inch.

I skipped the neatsfoot oil and used the saddle soap two times between dryings. It worked like a charm. No more fracturing of the leather on the side where the needle exits. Thanks for the tip. Weaver says their Leather Creme will also help, but I haven't tried it yet.

The 50mm pulley is ordered from Weaver, as is an open-toe center presser foot. When it arrives I will grind off the stitch-pressing ridge on the bottom of the foot and polish it. I also bought a sewing machine motor and pedal to make a dedicated bobbin winder (since the adler bobbin winder will no longer work on my modified machine). I sewed my first project on the machine today -- a holster for the Walther PPK/S. It is not finished (clean-up, sanding and finishing of belt slots; burnishing of edges, dyeing of edges left to do), but it is stitched and formed (as much as is possible) to the pistol. You can see the machine is still a little too fast for my lack of skill. I missed the stitch groove in a few areas as I was trying to follow the curve and hit the stitch groove without using the edge guide. I discovered free-handing is not easy for a beginner: This is the first thing I have stitched using the Beast, other than scraps and samples. By the end of next week with the additional parts I should see an improvement. This holster is not good enough to sell as it was only an experiment using some old leather I acquired, but it will hold my Walther just fine. This photo is also a sample of some prefinished leather I bought from a company that closed six years ago. It will not mold with any detail like veg tan, so I am assuming it is not veg tan. It will shape generically to the gun, but with no detail. It heavily resisted water when I soaked it to mold it. I am assuming it is either bridle leather or chrome tanned. How can one tell the difference?

So I would get roughly another 33% reduction? I'll take it! Even that much as a novice will help me immensely with control -- and hopefully a better product for clients. Thanks very much, Uwe. I have found all your advice very helpful. I'll order the 50mm pulley tomorrow. Math was never my strong suit -- I was a history, philosophy, linguistics guy, lol. And here I am at this stage in my life needing math more than philosophy. Life is filled with irony. But sewing that slow I can still meditate on the implications of Kierkegaard, Gadamer and Heidegger for Western culture as I sew, lol. Thanks very much.

Any insight on changing to a 50mm pulley on the servo instead of the stock 3" pulley? Will it slow the stitching speed further?

Wiz, thanks very much for sharing your experience. Most helpful, indeed. I am probably going to pick up an open-toed presser foot so I can actually see what the needle is doing. It might help as I try to keep the needle in a preformed stitching groove or use the lever to adjust the point of the needle into a corner where I need to change the direction of the stitch. At least, I hope it helps. But the open-toe foot also has that stitch pressing protrusion on the bottom that will need to be ground off. Knowing you have done it successfully encourages me.

Another quick question. There is a protrusion on the bottom of the middle presser foot that presses the top stitch into the leather. It leaves a flaw at the beginning of the stitch line where it starts -- a little line. Any problem if I grind this off? I plan to continue using a hand cut grooved stitch line top and bottom to keep the stitches flush and don't need the foot to press the stitch into the leather.

I am thinking about re-laminating the top and refinishing the table base, complete with new foot pedals. Originally this machine had a chain for the presser foot tension release foot pedal. I will restore that to original as well. I am enjoying the project, but now that it is functional it is time to make some belts and holsters. I cut some straps for belts from the double shoulder veg tan today, measured and glued them together. The true test of the sewing machine project is coming soon.

I have been ill for a few days, but did get some photos of the conversion today. The drive belt did go straight down and slightly to the left toward the front of the table, although the machine drive belt shroud is designed for the belt to go toward the back of the table -- to the right in this photo. I elongated the slot toward the back of the table. I then placed the speed reducer upside down on top of the table and lined it up with the hand wheel pulley. The motor was placed upside down on the table toward the front and aligned with the small belt to the large pulley on the reducer. After measuring, I simply marked where the bolts were to go -- different from where the old clutch motor hung. Holes were bored and everything was lined up underneath the table and bolted down and tensioned. Works great! The belt shroud now fits properly, whereas originally the bolts on the left were adjusted to allow the belt to go straight down awkwardly: The difference in speed and control over the old clutch motor is dramatic. The pulley on the servo is 3". If I put a 50mm pulley on it (slightly less than 2"), will the speed be further reduced? The bobbin winder was mounted to use the belt in its former configuration. Now that the belt is fully covered by the shroud, I will need to get a sewing machine motor and make a separate bobbin winder. Thanks for all the help on this rebuild project. Here is the beast. It looks rough but is smooth as butter in its function. Almost time to move it out of the garage where I have been working on it.

Glenn, thanks very much for the clarification. OEM Adler parts are very pricey, even at wholesale. Great help on this forum.

By the way, Uwe, I tried your trick of hooking a 10 oz can to the bobbin string to adjust the tension. It worked like a charm.

I am hoping I will never need to figure that one out. So far my bobbin shuttle is fine. It had a little burr on the hook that I discovered as I was dragging a finger nail along all the edges, but that sanded out and polished up with microfine sandpaper. Good as new and no more occasional frayed thread on the top stitch. But, if I drop it and break it (heaven forbid!) it is nice to know a less expensive option to the Adler part exists.