venator

I appreciate the advice, I've had this problem with multiple spools and multiple bobbin winds so I doubt that's it. That was one of the first things I've checked as I once got a spool that my machine just hated for some reason.

Okay so after checking the thread path and cleaning it as much as possilble here's where things sit. through dyed and finished leather it will pull on about every 5th stitch. Sometimes the top thread becomes visible on the bottom, sometimes the bottom thread on the top. . . If I use the roller guide then the bottom thread becomes so loose I can pull at it with my fingers as in the pic above. We did bend a needle a bit back when the machine caught a pre-existing hole and pulled the needle off track. Thoughts? Is my needle misaligned? I obviously changed needles and have a few times in this process. How do I check this?

My girlfriend has been hard at work...

*tandy

They're from tand ph and have a screw back so they're just through the outer layer.

Made a collar for a client.

Very nice. What did you do to make the edges turn out so well?

So I just glued some raw vegetan together an tried stitching and it went perfectly. . . So maybe it's the dye or the resoline? Which is a problem befcause I can't dye and finish after it's assembled. . .

I will look into it. Unfortunately new needles are a 2-3 hour drive away and only available during the week so it's a day trip. lol. Stupid Toronto. Assuming I can find someone who carries them. . .

Correct, it doesn't happen when I sew raw vegetan of the same thickness. I have checked the thread path and ensured it's all moving freely and I do cut the stub as close to the bobbin as possible (I read that from you once and have made sure to do it since). I will check everything else I you have listed and i can find and see what happens.

It's hard to know if the bobbins wind evenly on my machine as I have to crank the servo up to the highest setting and then nudge the bobbin with my fingers to get it going, sometimes it'll stop in the middle of winding and need a nudge. That's with the tension all way off on the winder but obviously that's too loose. . . You can see on these pics how the stitching on the thin stuff was fine (around the zipper, middle of the pockets, along the side between the pockets) but the moment I added that outer layer all of a sudden it goes to total shit. . . That outer layer is about 5oz vegetan that's dyed and finished so nothing new or surprising or bizarre. If I take undyed pieces of all this leather and stack them the machine performs perfectly. I'm really stumped. This happens both when I glue the pieces before stitching and when I used sew through basting tape. . .

So my adler 467 is acting up. Honestly it's been stitching great but all of a sudden it's decided that the tension will randomly change. So part of a project is perfect then suddenly the tension goes all squirelly. What I mean is that it'll be stitching fine then suddenly my top thread is pulling through and the bottom thread is sloppy and all over the place. Thoughts? It's a new needle, correct thread and needle size. It seems to happen more if the leather is dyed and finished as when I run it on raw leather there hasn't been an issue but I can't dye it all after it's stitched. . .

Snazzy!

Happy to help.

Solid idea, unfortunately I don't currently have a set-up like tables, chairs, display cases etc. But maybe in the future.

I desperately need to find some craft sales or something to sell at that don't cost $1500 for a booth.

Dammit. . . now I have to make some chairs. . . Those are awesome.

Thanks. I'm pretty happy and the store that's buying them is ecstatic so that's good.

Hope the pics help

I'll snap some pics tomorrow

Rivet but don't set it as hard as you can? Experiment a bit in how hard you strike it to find a balance of durability and freedom of movement.

It's funny, I'm no good at drawing, painting etc. But man when it comes to airbrushing leather all of a sudden it's like "oh. . .this is easy as &$#%***". Weird. Yeah I'm happy with how its all turned out. You can actually see the evolution in the straps and my process if I put them side by side in order of construction too.

Well I've got two years in this leatherworking thing but this is my first time making guitar straps. . . also my first time trying to stamp a basketweave so over all I'm super happy with how well they came out. Turns out the key to dying is an airbrush. I've had nothing but issues trying to dye my stuff, then I finally busted out the airbrush we've had for almost two years and boom, problems vanish. lol