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Uwe, in your video at 1:37 there are two shims illustrated. In taking apart my 205-374 to give it a through cleaning I discovered I do not have these two shims. in the Adler parts manual these are 205 15 016 0 10, 2mm and 205 15 017 0 10,3mm. Is that a problem? Also, the spacer on my machine is a 230 rather than a 250 and the needle is a 27. Again, is this a problem? On another topic, I sincerely hope you post a video on how to time the Adler 205-370. I am sure more than myself would love to see that. Your videos are extremely well done.

George, it is entirely possible I have not threaded it properly and that it is tensioned improperly. I ran the thread the way the sewing machine mechanic suggested. I downloaded the manuals Uwe provided plus one from the Duerkopp Addler site. In one of them there was a diagram for threading. I'll double check that, thanks. Eventually I am sure I will figure this stuff out. Right now I feel like a little kid trying to figure out how to drive an earthmover, lol.

Uwe, again, thanks very much.

Uwe, thanks very much. Very helpful, indeed. I have a question related to your video. The walking feet leave an impression in the leather. Is it possible to adjust the tension on the walking feet to eliminate the impression while still properly feeding the material? I will take a look at your eBay link. The walking foot setup on my machine is, I think, called a harness walking foot. I should note again that, while mechanically inclined, I am a complete novice about sewing with a machine. And, is there a video or guide to changing the spacers for the different size needles?

I am a hobbiest gun belt and holster maker, but arrived at the place where I needed a sewing machine. After the last gun belt and many hours of hand stitching I swore I would never do another one without being able to machine stitch it. Totally sick of hand stitching belts, today I picked up an old Adler 205-374 cylinder arm machine that was used by a feedshop to repair saddles. The walking foot lift lever and foot pedal was frozen up. I took the faceplate off, sprayed with chemtool, cleaned it up and lubricated. The walking foot lift lever and pedal now work fine. I threaded it up and tried it, but of course it needs some more work as everything tangled up and ended up in the bobbin area. I will finish cleaning everything up, lube everything and attempt to adjust it. Anyone know where I can find a service manual for this model? Also, assuming it will return to good working condition, was $500 a good price? Apart from being rode hard and put away wet, all the tolerances seem tight. Also, I read on the forum that Weaver has a dvd on operating the Adler 205-370 series. Anyone have a copy they want to sell? A few more novice questions related to sewing machines: what size thread and needle for gun belts and holsters using this Adler? The gun belts are approximately 1/4" thick of two layers of 8-9 oz leather. Same for the pancake holsters. As a novice I have been hand stitching using waxed thread from tandy. I picked up some 270 nylon thread from a friend, but this seems kind of thin compared to the waxed tandy thread I have been using. Great forum.

It looks like the best option is to return it to Tandy and pony up a few extra bucks. I suspected that would be the case. Thanks everyone for the feedback.

Karina, thanks for the info. If you had to guess, do you think a medium to light brown would be ok using that leather. Most of what I do is either black or the lighter brown. You piece was o.k. when dyed black and that is encouraging, but for my piece that would be a lot of black holsters. I have a small enough operation that picking up another double shoulder for tan or brown holsters is cost prohibitive. I only do a holster a week fitting it into spare time, and the occasional belt. Trying to save a few bucks. Thanks. Big Gun, the oil actually penetrated the 8/9 oz leather down the middle. Ironically the veg tan in that area is not softened as is often the case when oil is used too liberally.

Question from a newbie. I bought a nice trimmed double shoulder leather from Tandy recently for holsters and belts. Great price, but I almost did not buy it because it had been laid on an oiled product for a few days while moving stock and consequently has a rather large oil streak that actually penetrates the leather. The question: will this veg tan accept dye to hide the oil stain or is it a lost cause? I use Feibings Professional oil dyes. Should I return the leather to Tandy and pay twice the price for another piece, or is this one o.k.? If I test dye a piece of the leather I cannot return it.

Thanks for the replies. It is a Consew 230. After checking into the matter a little more it did not appear to be a machine suitable for sewing gun leather, so I did not purchase it. Too bad, as $75 was a good deal. But if it is not suitable, $75 is too much to throw away. Thanks again.

I looked up some examples of the Consew 230. Looks like a match. I will look at the machine in the morning. The big question: is this machine suitable for sewing holsters and belts? It was used in sewing golf bags in a golf bag company.

Can anyone identify this sewing machine? I can't find any manufacturer markings. I was offered it for an ok price, but would like to know what it is. It was used to sew golf bags.

Which Fiebings dye product is being mixed with Bick #4? Professional oil dyes; water-based; alcohol based?

How do ya'll sharpen those pronged stitching punches?