mikesc

If that is for a heating element..maybe the idea was to heat / melt the thread that was just stitched into whatever was being sewn..would make sense if the upper was being stitched into a leather sole with a further outer sole of Rubber or PU..Melting the rubber or PU immediately after the stitch was made during stitching would protect it from abrasion ?( he said..guessing wildly ) ..re "reverse"..that looks just like a plate was put there to inhibit the lever travel..I think if you take the plate off, you'll probably find that the lever goes all the way up, and thus has reverse..would make sense if the "whatever" was being melted immediately after stitches were made, you would want to be going the other way ( reverse ) and melting anything that the needle was going to be going through..that would gum up the machine something awful..I think the plate would be to prevent "operator error".. You could as Wiz says just rip out all the wiring ..fit a servo motor..and change the feet /foot..and that makes me wonder, normally a "walking foot" machine has two feet and a needle..Yours has only one foot and a needle that I can see from your photos..does it even have the bar for the second foot? Parts for Adler are not cheap.. Added..Maybe the heating element was because it was used to stitch vinyl or PU with no leather involved at all..I've seen fake leather moccasins ( yes..I know..I should have averted my gaze ) heating the two layers that were being stitched together immediately after stitching ( right behind the needle ) would fuse them..

Well.as long as there is free stuff to download, templates, designs, patterns etc..uploaded by people who own the copyright and the legal right to upload them and make them available for download..it's all good .. ... But , as a designer who lives by selling my designs and creations..I won't be visiting.. Just to add ..If people from here are going to the facebook group to "download" templates and stuff by Stohlman at the same time as YinTx is selling original Stohlman books here at less than half price..and as yet has no "takers"..kinda shows who is going in which direction, to where, and for what..kinda proves my point made above in a previous post..people only have 24 hours in a day..they only allocate a certain amount of time to being on the web..once facebook hooks them in with it's ( "free stuff and designs are downloadable and everyone is there and it's a source of inspiration )..then the time they spend elsewhere is reduced.. facebook is unethical, and parasitic..

The covers are beautiful..keep them.. :)

dikman..that "box" may go a way back behind that front panel ..that looks awfully like a rheostat / big "pot" dial..maybe enough space in there for "gubbinses" ? if the other end of that lead is to a mains power plug , and the switch to the left is "on/off", the red light would be the "on" indicator..if the clutch motor is fed from the back of that box?..My EFKA unit ( on my Juki DLU 490-4 ) is way bigger and more complex than that box ( controls a variable speed clutch motor built by EFKA ) but it also has needle position and other stuff and way more switches and connectors..without all of that, you could fix a speed controller and an "on/off" "switch" into a half a shoebox sized box under the table. More photos, from around the box ( without camera shake ) would be helpful..as would a close up of the "power plate" on the clutch motor casing.

Ah..I remember the Abarths..not from the showrooms, but from the roads..nice cars..Didn't know that they were that kind of price range..ouch!! Yellow though.. .. Only owned 3 yellow cars..a big Ford Cortina GXL ( yellow with black vinyl top ) ..Sunbeam Talbot ( politely known as "peanut butter coloured" ) and an MGB GT ..Nice car..no go in them though compared to the Alfas.. Once owned a 4x4 Fiat Panda..that was fun had so much mud on it from playing in Wales..it might have been white under the mud :) back to thread and OP.. To the OP..If they get back to you, quote them a price that can make you money, do not "work for the glory" or for "future orders"..and get paid enough ( in cash, no cheques, cheques can always be cancelled , especially in the USA, here it is far more difficult to cancel a cheque, doing so without telling the bank that the cheque was stolen or lost is an offence, making a false declaration of theft or loss of a cheque is an offence too ) to buy any machines and materials that you'd need, and to pay you a reasonable rate for your time..if sub contracting to Mike, or anyone, make sure again that you get enough cash ( see preceding comment ) before getting them to begin any work.. Good luck..I fear you'll need it if you get involved..YMMV

fred..what did Fiat make that cost over £35K each several years ago ? I've had some Alfa GTVs ( the ones that looked like a small jag shape, not the ugly later ones) and a couple of their Spyders..beginning back in the 70s, I never had to pay that much for any of them, new from the showrooms ( in the UK mainland )..like these..( these are not my photos..I didn't keep photos when I left the UK, got these from G ) and Fiats were always well cheaper..

At the top of the pages in the forum here..ads from leather sewing machine dealers..who are also members here..and who provide after-sales, and advice, and tips, and go above and beyond..buy from one of them.. HTH :)

Don't forget to serve alternative pages ( with the higher retail price inc the 30% ) on your website to anyone coming in with Kyle's Ip address..Otherwise... :)

Yep fredk.. that is the fulfilment centre that I mentioned above ..warehouse and office space building in Minnesota..along with a fulfilment company..a large number of PO boxes and "business suites"..and only a handful of actual physical businesses and offices..none of which are harperave.com You can "drop ship" from, and accept returns to..any fulfilment business, getting them to accept returns, merely costs a little more on your monthly ( or per piece ) contract..Kind of like a small scale Amazon for drop shippers..

There is also the school of thought that says...if everyone goes to facebook, "walled garden and tracking and privacy invasions included "..forums like thsi one, will lose traffic to them, and members..and eventually die..as has happened to thousands of specialist fora since facebook began groups ( private or public ) ..which is something that I ( who have been "on the web" since the mid 90s), will fight against..facebook is unnecessary..it is easy to set up a website..or add a category on an existing independent website..such as this one..

Those are great..as is your blog The older I get, the more I think I'm going to have to begin making my own shoes and boots ( and sandals )..In the house I'm barefoot as much as possible, even in winter here, because my feet get too hot, and because all the shoes are "tapered" ( and the quality is crap, apart from some steel reinforced toe and steel protective soled shoes and boots that I have bought..got 10 pairs of each in my size 13/14/15 ( depending on who makes them ), in case they stop selling them..I hope to outlive them all ), but even in them ( they are tapered slightly ) my feet get too hot when indoors or in the workshop..But I need the steel toe area when working on heavy stuff ( crushed a big toe 8 years ago when setting up a 400 lb log for sculpture, it rolled onto my toe, which was not in steel protection..foot and leg still give me pain and circulation problems even now, which is why sometimes I'm on here at 3.00am posting because of pain in leg or foot..) ..for some reason "store bought leather sandals" do come vaguely "foot shaped..I have some..but the soles ( thick PU with "airspaces in cells") are sort of glued on..badly..I'm going to have to stitch the sandals to their soles ( sideways ) to prevent them parting company every month or so..So, I'm very interested in this thread, and will be in any others that you make..and in your blog.. *also wearing sandals when welding is a bad idea..how do I know this ?

somewhere, there may be a plate..says "lada" :)

Sorry..I don't do facebook..but facebook claims that I now have hundreds of followers, even though I opened a business page there in facebook's 1st year..( to block others using my business name ) and I have never posted any content..but, when I log in..I "have hundreds of followers"..the number increases each time I log in....to whom I could advertise .. later, facebook allowed anyone to use the "name" providing they do so in a "different category"..seems that you can "invent your own category" there nowadays..some categories are remarkably close..if not identical..to my original one..Mark Z wouldn't know ethics if they jumped up and bit him .. I could send a nastygram ( even from a lawyer ) to facebook, wouldn't change anything..if Congress ( or maybe it was the Senate ) can't get him to tell the truth/ change his ways..

Um...DV8DUG.. I think you'll find it has been over a decade since Prince has looked in..

I have some of those "tee-shirts".. .from the time when one of our business was, selling tee-shirts..by the 40 foot container load.. Nowadays I ignore all such approaches, I have email filters in place that send them to dev/null :)

They are using the shopify platform ( but they don't "belong" to it..no-one on shopify does )..it is a "turnkey" type platform, provides websites that can be tweaked ( with themes ) and a cart system..back end payment can be via anyone, paypal, stripe, credit cards..whatever, but using shopify a s a "gateway"..like paypal ( but with a site ) ..somewhere between etsy and real ecommerce platforms like magento, prestahop* etc..it is a "one up from etsy" for people who do not want their sites to be paying the kind of percentages to etsy that etsy ask...and who cannot get, or do not want a merchant account with their bank..You don't have to be a registered business to have a shopify site , you do have to have a credit card so that shopify can bill you monthly( beginning at around USD 30.00..they also take a percentage of each sale..beginning at around 2 to 3% of each transaction..around the same as paypal do..Hosted on shopify's servers .. * Most people running magento, prestashop etc have it hosted themselves, ( integrated website ) and have a distance selling ( merchant business bank account ) agreement with their bank to take all forms of payment, funnily enough I was out since my previous post at my bank setting up another ( I have had mine for decades now ) merchant account ( with online distance selling ) for my son.and negotiating a better rate ( 0.3% as opposed to 2.00% per transaction ) of charges on mine..it is more complex to run your own site(s) even using magento etc..you have to know your way around the backend code..even if the admin GUIs are good..but you get to keep more of the money you make each month...and there is no danger of shopify or paypal et al "withholding" your money ( sometimes thousands of dollars ) for "whatever reason" ( I know some people..one in this business ), who have had paypal "freeze" their money, ( many thousands of dollars ) due to "too many orders in short timespan, 6 months"..similar happens with shopify..if you can..do not use payment gateways..get a merchant account with your bank for online credit card payments..and use a system/ website that you control.. ps..the second "hit" that I got on Google for shopify, was an ad from a company called oberlo..drop ship with shopify pps..it doesn't say on the harper site what leather they use..could even be PU or as it is sometimes known pleather.. aka plastic/vynil.

I'd also add , I spent some time looking for info about harperave.com..there does not appear to be be any mention of them anywhere other than Google's link to their site, or to this thread..No customer ( pleased or displeased ) reviews..A couple of "self promo" posts in obscure places is all..I didn't spend any more time looking after reading their TOS

Just my 2cts worth..I notice that their company website is very careful to give no physical contact details, ( but is full of marketroid hype, such as their bags are "inspired by LA" etc..and that the writer of their "blog" claims to be called Harper presumably of Harper ave :).. ...Puhleeeese !! ) their domain name is privacy protected, ( and has had many "drops" ) their return address is a fulfilment centre..No company or business details anywhere..is that even legal in the USA ? No way to know anything about them..other than they claim to make what leather items ( which resemble many other leather and canvas rucksacks all over the web ) are on their site..where are they made ? ..in which case ..one wonders why they need anyone else to make luggage tags for them, when they could buy leather ones out of China, India or Pakistan for under 50cts per peice ? I suspect that they are looking for an outworker/ subcontractor to work for peanuts..or they would like you to work for the glory of being one of their suppliers.. Spend none of your own money unless you are paid actual folding money cash up front that would cover your outlay..all of your outlay, new machines etc etc ..including leather.. I would not touch it with a very long bargepole belonging to someone else..YMMV Oh..and their TOS reads like they copied and pasted it from some big websites somewhere, paragraph per site..in "psuedo legalese".. it means nothing..( used to be called "flim flam" ) and they seem to have a problem deciding if they are their own bosses, or owned by a parent company ( unnamed ) ..They may even be "drop shippers" ..not suppliers, but someone drop shipping Asian leather goods..Used to be a lot of that going on..still is ..

If your "thread guide" is what I can see at the top of the small image you posted, ( semi circle of bent wire ) then it is certainly not helping the stitch to form.. The thread needs to be much closer in to the needle..it must be in the groove on the left side of the needle as the needle is moving through the leather ( both up and down ) the thread should be touching the needle in that groove almost all the way along it..

Impeccable restoration..superb.. :)

Or Techsew...

Maybe it was built for sewing hems on heavy tarps ?..With the "foot driving bar" across the back of the bed it could only sew edges..and the back foot reaches well forward like the outer foot on my Juki DLU 490-4 which was often used for sewing heavy tarps and other fabric that was either slippery or needed pulling through in straight lines..Roller ( like on sailmaker's machines ) would make a better job...but..

It might have been the Spanish Inquisition who would knock on your door, but..now that you are expecting them... I suspect the reason why so many machines are finished in "hammer type paint" is it is hard wearing, and covers a multitude of sins, such as casting imperfections, that a smooth finish would show up..any chips in the paint are less noticeable on "hammer finishes".

Ah yes..I notice that on the photo in the other thread, your machine is correctly threaded..Best when a machine is correctly threaded , to leave some thread in the thread path, we all forget sometimes.. :)

Paloma..what is the pale machine in your photos ? ..it has a take up spring mechanism that has no adjusting screw..I have not seen one without before.. ?