YinTx

Thanks for that. I'll practice on a few pieces, and if it works for me, I'll give it a go on the next one that I am currently working on! YinTx

Picky batch here too. They want nice, but less than $20 because that is what the local Christian bookstore charges for the ones from India. This was my effort at reducing my total materials and labor cost. I have a chrome tanned version of this using 3 pieces of leather (no separate spine piece) that I may be able to put out there for $35, we'll see how that goes. I've made several bible covers all hand stitched until now. A bit of work, but worth it for something like this imo. Thanks! Haven't done one of those... no requests what so ever. I designed this one with a separate spine because I wanted it to be more rigid than the rest of the cover. It is 9-10oz, versus 4-5 oz for the body. The interior pockets are 2-3 oz. This was made for a specific Bible that I will be including with the cover. I purchased a set of six, they are paperback, and thin covers at that. I did not remove the covers, the book can be removed and replaced if desired. After I did the design and construction work, it dawned on me it looked awful similar to Don Gonzales. So I got his pattern, and sure enough, dimensions are within 1/2" of the ones I used, so if you are curious on construction, he has a video on it and everything. Difference is I didn't line this one because I am trying to make a more affordable version than my usual stuff. That cuts about $10 of leather out of the material cost. I'll post some pics of the inside later this evening if I get a chance. YinTx

I did have to do some more timing adjustments after all that, and in general it will catch the thread on backstitching now. It does still miss occasionally, maybe something I am doing wrong as an operator? I am using a 794 needle, size 23, with a 207 thread in this latest run. Brand new, just got the package this week in the mail. The other needle as far as I know was new, but was a size 25 and if I recall correctly, was using a 277 thread. I did not see the back plates opening at all when stitching heavy leather. I'll see what happens when I lift it with my thumbs next time I'm working with it. Currently, the presser foot does not raise very much, if I adjust the feet to allow this, it results in binding. I still have to take the presser foot spring and grind it flat, we'll see how that goes. Meanwhile, I did manage to successfully stitch this bible cover with it! YinTx

Probably shouldn't be if you have the tension exactly correct. Idea is to have the knot land in the middle of the layers of leather, and if the thread is thin enough for the single layer to allow a knot to form in the center, if the tension is correct, you shouldn't see the knot. I was not so certain I had all the settings right and the thickness of thread small enough for it to do that in a single 5 oz layer. I am no machine stitching expert, as you can see, since this is one of the few things I've done with the machine, and the first thing I've done since learning the cam that drives the presser feet was 180 degrees out of alignment and correcting it! YinTx

Thanks for that feedback. You are right, I normally would run the stitch all the way, but I was worried it would look bad on one side or the other if I had the tension wrong when it got to the single layer of leather. Have to build up some sewing machine confidence there, I suppose! I was happy I could run the two words on the spine, instead of just choosing "Bible," and I agree, the font is spot on for it. YinTx

Thank you both! I had to shrink the tooling pattern, which made it even more difficult to tool, as if Jim's stuff wasn't complicated enough already! And the machine stitching made me really nervous. Glad to see others think it came out alright! YinTx

I would be interested, might enlighten me on what folks don't like about my version! YinTx

I made a few items like this. I think I have 3 or 4, they haven't sold, even for really cheap. Let me know how it goes for you! YinTx

Very nice. I like the touch of inverted carving on there too. YinTx

Trying to make a more affordable item, so first time machine stitching, and unlined. Please let me know what you think! It is a Jim Linnell tooling pattern that I used, not sure I did it justice. YinTx

Absolutely love your design aesthetics and color choices. You are definitely and artist! So glad you share your stuff with us, very inspirational. YinTx

You should not need a new blade. a new one will probably still need sharpening. What kind of leather are you tooling? Have you cased it? Have you stropped the blade? What did you use to sharpen it? Do you have a photo of the blade end? YinTx

Ain't nuttin wrong wit dat! Came out alright, if I do say so. YinTx

I think I've visited there, nice area if I recall. YinTx

That is a steal. If I didn't already have 4 or 5 of these things, I'd be all over it. YinTx

The impatient side of me took over, and I did the other adjustments first. The spring looks like it could be squared off, so I'll have to get a grinder out and get after it. I've been out of commission here for a couple of days, I'm semi-back. A lot of adjusting on this machine, including having to center the needle over the feed dog - it was hitting the back of the hole! Had to figure out where that adjustment was on my own, I didn't see anything in literature or in YouTube that had it. Doesn't mean it doesn't exist, just that I couldn't find it. Suffice to say, I found the screw to turn. Adjusted the presser foot to needle foot timing some more, needle bar height, hook timing again, took the hook out and removed the burr and scratches, then polished it up with 2000 grit, cleaned the race, put everything back together, and seems to be stitching pretty good. At least the best it has ever stitched, considering the foot coordination is finally right probably for the first time in it's existence. I was able to stitch up the stockings I was making, but unfortunately am unable to get it to backstitch - the hook will not catch the thread off the needle in reverse. Suspect it needs more hook timing adjustments? On the plus side, it is not shredding thread anymore. I'm feeling confident enough in the progress of the machine to go looking for some 794 needles in different sizes! I'll post up a video of it running as soon as I can, perhaps someone can see something it isn't doing correctly that I am unaware of. Thank you all for the continued help. Still troubleshooting the inability to backstitch, the odd alignment of the linkages to get the presser foot to lift, and the clunky clunk noise it makes as it lifts the presser foot. YinTx

Must say that looks like it was truly a labor of love! Nice work! YinTx

That is me in the video, that is the machine, still not happy after all these years. I'm going to figure this bugger out tho. YinTx.

psshee-eeww. spoke too soon. Stitched about 1.5 feet, then bent a needle and now tearing thread. Going to have to take it apart again and see if it damaged the hook. Tired, going to have to do it tomorrow. Open to suggestions on other things to try in the morning tho! YinTx

That was the video I was referencing on my first post. I spent many hours back and forth with it. For some reason, the numbers on this machine don't match his, could be because this is a Techsew and not a Juki? After I finish stitching the jobs I have, I may play with it some more to see if I can get them closer to his. I am beyond ecstatic that I have finally gotten the feet to sequence correctly, after finding the camshaft out alignment 180 degrees. Supposedly per the individual I purchased it from, this went back to the supplier to fix when it was purchased new, and they sent it back this way, and it has never sewn correctly. Right now, I am getting it to stitch, feet march correctly, both feet lift, backstitching works, tension is good, only complaint I have is the rear presser foot seems to be a bit jerky moving up and down, not too smooth at all. It is very well oiled, so not that. YinTx

It may be a simple adjustment. I have had some success today, since there is no professional around that I know of, I'm the defacto mechanic, so I do appreciate the tips and help. This troubleshooting may help others too. If you have time and desire, kindly refer to the other thread I started and provide any input you like. Thanks again, and back to the regular programming! YinTx

Eureka, this has the needle foot going in the right sequence! The cam was 180 out of sync... now I need to figure out how to get the presser foot to lift... YinTx

I have this part adjusted to where the point sticks out about 1mm. I am studying the following video to see if the eccentric cam has slipped on the shaft... at the 1:40 mark, my machine is doing the opposite of what @Uwe indicates it should be at, which may explain why the feet move opposite of what they should. I'm trying to figure out how to adjust this cam...

@Wizcrafts, thank you for that pointer. I did watch this video, as mentioned in my post last Wednesday. To avoid hijacking this thread, tho they are related, here is the thread that I started that discusses some of the issues I am having. I am beginning to believe that something slipped on the shaft causing the linkages to move in opposite directions than they are supposed to. Hoping someone has seen this before, or can point me to the right direction to understand how to get it back into timing. Since the post, I have been able to get the shuttle hook timing a lot closer as highlighted by RockieAussie. I have the presser foot lifting a bit more, but still the needle foot raises when the needle drops, and drops when the needle raises. YinTx

@fredk's method is one way, another is block dying. The example you show appears to be done with block dye method. Do a search on this site for a better description of the process than I will be able to provide! YinTx