ZigZag

I bought mine from JB Sewing in Wales. They were amazing. Set the machine up perfectly and delivered it with an engineer to go through everything. http://www.jbsewing.com/typical-tw3-441 I paid around £3k all in with a speed reducer, servo motor, spare feet, etc. Very happy with it.

Hi Matt, i'm using a 441 clone, this one is made by Typical, pretty much the only one available in UK. I'm very pleased with it. Quality is excellent and had no problems with it so far.

I'd be more than happy to show some pics. I'm traveling abroad on business at the moment so will get to this in around 10 days. Cheers Nick

I have used the Sailrite LZ for over 5 years now and given it a pretty tough time persuading it to go through 2.5mm of leather and 2 layers of 15oz canvas. It was pretty much at its limit, but managed without complaining. I have had no trouble with over all that time, mainly using V92 thread and marine canvas. I have also spent plenty of time with the Pfaff 138 and 238 which are great machines and plenty up for the task. These 2 machines come in 2 different widths of zig zag 4.5mm and 6mm. The 143 Uwe has mentioned is one I'd quite like to get my hands on. Good luck

The Ritza 44 is silicone coated polyester and is silky smooth. I certainly wouldn’t even attempt to put waxed thread through the machine. The braided fishing line has a Kevlar core so is incredibly strong. Not quite as slippery as the Ritza 44 which is specifically designed as a machine thread. heres a link to where I buy it from. http://abbeyengland.com/Store/CategoryID/432/List/0/Level/a/ProductID/68931

I’ve heard much talk about standard three strand twisted thread being the only thread to use in a 411 or similar, but I thought I would share my experience with machine sewing with braided thread. i have tried both tiger 44 coated and braided Kevlar fishing line and both have proved to be very successful. I have tried 0.6mm and 0.8mm, both work well and give a great stitch consistently. anyone else tried braided?

Perfect! Thanks Uwe, that chart answers all my questions. I have found an stw8b that looks to be in good condition. cheers Nick

And I've just found an SSH 8BL. confused Nick

Hi all, I'm looking for a used Seiko walking foot, needle feed machine with reverse and have come across a few model numbers, but need some of your expertise to figure out the differences. So far I have identified the STW 8B, LSW 8BL, LSWN 8BL, STH 8BLD I will be using the machine for Canvas (upto 8 layers) & Leather (2-4mm) mainly. I have a Typical 441 for the really heavy stuff. I have been using the LSWN 8BL in a group I volunteer for and think it's a great machine. I'm looking down the Seiko route as they seem to be excellent quality, plenty of spares and more affordable than the German equivalents, but open to options. Thanks Nick

Welcome! I love mixing leather and heavy canvas they can be a beautiful combination. Do you have any pics you can share? It would be great to see your work.

I recently restored an old leblond metal lathe that used felt wick in all sorts of places. Be careful what you buy though some products sold as felt are actually acrylic. It has to be pure wool or it will degrade quickly from the oil.

If you are having things shipped from U.K., my 2 favourite suppliers are Leprovo (undied veg tan) and AACrack (finished leathers).

Hi Sarah, clearly in a year you have already learnt a lot. Some beautiful design and great finish. Are you able to source all your leather locally? Keep up the great work, it would be nice to see more.

A short stitch length is often a sign of excessive wear. Have you replaced any of the internals?

I'm glad it's not just me having this problem. Are there any alternatives to Barry King to buy new? Also is there a guide on which size edger for which weight or thickness of leather.

The buzzing sound is Common and is the machine struggling to get through the material. I would say you are finding the limits of the machine with 4 layers of 3oz leather. It's possible there simply isn't enough torque from the motor to punch through that material at slow speeds. As a test I would suggest trying just 2 layers of something like jean fabric and see how well the slow speed control works. If you are still having trouble, then almost certainly a pedal issue. On fabrics like that men has a nice linear speed control that progressively gets faster with pedal pressure.

The pedal on my LSZ lets me creep along at very slow speeds and is progressively faster when pressing the pedal. It is sensitive and needs careful foot pressure, but by no means spikey in speed delivery. The guys at Sailrite are great, I'm certain they will help you out if there is a problem.

I've used an LSZ for a few years now and have found the speed control pretty good, so maybe Wiz is right about a faulty foot pedal. I would also agree with upgrading to the Monster fly wheel. Makes a big difference when working with thicker fabric.

I had the same problem buying a 441 in the UK. I have now ordered a Typical 441 and they have a central distribution centre for Europe. http://www.typical-europe.com/en/sales-partners/ closest dealer to Portugal is either France or Morocco. Typical are a Chinese clone but seem to have a good reputation from the research I have done.

Hi Elsa, here's a quick overview of things I use most & always keep on hand, other than tools: Double shoulder of veg tan, 3/4oz, 5/6oz, 8/9oz Feibings Professional Oil Dye in your preferred colours Wool Daubers for above Make your own Vinagroon. (Wire wool & Vinager. Give a natural gun metal Dark grey / black. You'll need Bicarb to get rid of the smell though.) Feibings Edge coat (for sealing edges) Feibings Antiquing (Adds great detail to tooling and a great patina. Choose colour) Carnauba Cream (Leather wax finishing) Mix of Wax and paraffin (For water proofing leather. Makes the leather hard though and has to be applied hot. I don't use this much) Feibings Acrylic Resolene (sealant) Leather oil or nourisher for treating old dry leather Saddle Soap Needles & Thread. I prefer Ritza 25 braided & waxed for hand stitching, but for a more traditional look go for 3 strand bonded nylon, linen or maybe artificial sinew. Your choice. Copper Rivets and burrs with setting tool. Chicago screws (Both these and Rivets are for joining things together. Rivets are permenant, Chicagos are removable.) Sam Brown studs. (A simple and more elegant option to snaps. But I use snaps too. Setting tool required) Buckles (your selection) Ds and Rings (your selection) heaps of old Tshirts and jeans for rags. plastic sheeting and rubber gloves for dyeing Large cutting mats Cant think of anything else right now, hope that is the kind of thing you're after. im sure other members will chip in with other options. good luck. Enjoy.

I have since found out that Ritza do an unwaxed, braided machine thread I think it's called '44' and available in different thicknesses.

Muppet! With an approach like that you will fail before you have even started.

Man, you got some nerve! As Johanna has said you are basically copying this successful format and then openly inviting people to move across. In plenty of places I can think of, such a move would get you shunned. Shame on you. Now get back under the rock from which you crawled.

I'm hoping to have something in place by end of Feb. This is a 50th Birthday present to myself. im looking at Typical 441 (This could come from US or possibly Uk, got to look at the prices, Highlead GA2688-1, Global WF9205, Seiko CH8B, I think the last 2 are out of budget. I found a Used Juki in the UK for £3600 (I could buy a new motorbike for that. Crazy. I will report back when I can get some prices next week.