MADMAX22

So couple questions on these pfaffs. Pretty much got it tore apart. Alot of stuff not too bad shape, but alot of surface rust everywhere and some a little deeper but I think 95% is salvageable. Two issues. One is the outer pressure foot bar which goes thru the top bearing under the pressure foot pressure spring (two leaf springs on top), that upper bearing I didnt realize those little bearing balls would just fall out when you removed the bar. Not sure if I got them all but anyways has anyone scene one of those bearing assemblies for sale or can you usually just replace those ball bearings and be good to go? Tiny little buggers. Second the hook is in pretty rough shape. Still gotta clean it but not sure how thats gonna play out. So looking at it has anyone ever replaced this with a 545/1245 hook assembly? Would be nice if I gotta buy parts to do a little modding to get a bigger bobbin. From pictures the hook assemblies look the same but I cant find any pics of the size comparison to see if the gears can be interchanged and how much adjustments to the hook assembly cage/block would be required. Thanks. Oh and one other thing, is there any disadvantage to switching to a 135x16 needle system ( I think the 145s are 190 or some other pfaff specific system) and how is that usually done? I would like to have the same needle system as my other couple of middle weight singers.

Just get a barry king for $50.

Great job. Anyone taking this on I highly recommend starting with an old machine like this except for the parts being hard to find which is the big drawback. Got my Pfaff 145 mostly taken apart and the parts pile is about 3 times as big lol.

Casting stitches as mentioned if you dont normally do it helps. I use a mix of bees wax and rosin, once its back stitched its good to go. Ive had several projects that I used this method and they are 6-7 years old with out coming undone. No need to do anything extra at the end, just back stitch and cut as close as you can. That is if you use the rosin mix.

Way too many people in the world. Oh and whats with the people in CA, wanting to succeed and all that because they didnt get what they wanted, however if you turned it around they would be all happy. Its a "democracy" right or is it only that if you get the person you want in office. The northern half of CA has been wanting to get away from the southern half for oh 100 years now but thats not good because all the farm land and water is in the north. Those idiots in southern CA I guess dont realize they are dependant upon several other states to keep them fed and watered. Ahh well.

Cant say it will be less obvious but try it on a holster or some scrap and see what you think. It may or may not be to your liking.

Curious if you dont mind what shop was it on ebay that sold it to you. Not to start a flame war or anything, just wondering if its the one I think it is.

Well it varies quiet a bit. I have some oil/bees/parafin mix in a jar. It is like semistuff butter and I usually rub it on with my fingers. It softens up quickly when rubbing it in and remember a little goes a ways. Usually if its a warm room and or you get some good sunlight on it 24-48hrs, if its pretty cool probably a few days to a week before you can buff it out. Its kind of like snoseal just a little thicker, if it cant get nice and warm its going to take a while to dry out basically. I usually give it a once over with old clean jeans material then buff with sherling or atleast thats how I do it.

Yeah I can see that if they do it themselves. Ya sure they do it or is it shipped over here like that? If they gotta pull it apart and strip it or more then likely spray over it sure. If it came from the overseas factory like that well I doubt it cost anywhere near $400 to do. Its easy to do things like that when you dont have the EPA and just dump all your crap in the river

Not to mention I think its funny they charge extra for it. Ya look at old singers and others from way back and they came standard with some good looks and embellishments. Just how it was. There is very little art in modern manufacturing because of the bottom dollar and what not. Just gotta hope it last a few years before it gets thrown in the ocean. Now if we could just get them to properly clone some needle and awl machines that would be fantastic but not gonna happen.

Usually the "rule" of thumb is like 3 stitches. I generally like doing 3 and pulling the top thread back like you did on the fourth. For some reason when its just 1 or 2 stitches it seems to stand out more in a way. Adding an extra stitch or two back seems in my mind anyways make it seem more like a uniform part of the process and not like a little glitch in the process, if that makes any sense. Good lookin stitching by the way.

Looks like a good machine.Looks like a 153w but beefed up with reverse and large bobbin. Looking at there site I dig the effort with the special edition 4500 but wow is it ugly IMHO.

Ive split down various leathers to lace sizes just to play around with it. EB is the same as vegtan from what I can tell. Latigo was pretty good better then EB or reg vegtan but as mentioned roo is the better option out of all of them. There is a whip maker who goes on about latigo being better then roo and I tried emailing him about what kind of latigo he used and never got a response. Since latigo varies from tannery to tannery and is used quiet a bit in whip making there has got to be some thats much better then others. That being said vegtan roo is pretty consistant since it probably all comes from the same place anyways.

Ahh thats good to know. What was the other version of the 300n, Ahh finally found it nakashima 280L I think it was.

Who exactly is debatable. This is one of those arguments that noone is going to win. Everyone will have there opinion on how much they suffered or were inconvenienced. Tandy offered a "discount" to veterans, not that they care about them or anything. Just goes to show how much they can sell stuff at without taking a loss. Also they probably assume its a good way to get a few extra customers. I know in my experience it wasnt near the same and that was coming from those LEOs who served previously. Most were very happy with the PAY, LESS hours, Power, Better conditions then they had previously had while in the armed services. Ofcourse there is going to be location issues as well, the guy patrolling the border of Canada as compared to the guy patrolling the streets of orange county are going to have varying views on how it is.

Wiz has a 300n that I am pretty sure he still really likes. Its a nice machine from the looks of it. There is another company that the name excapes me right now which had the same machine as the 300n but different name. Saw one on CL a while back and really wanted to pick it up but funds werent there at the time.

If you try dying it and you use leather dye my bet is that it would lift the finish that is on there and will probably turn into a mess.

Was the original thread you tried pre-waxed linen thread? Was it "natural" color or "white"? So pre-waxed thread lots of times gets a dirty look just from the wax they use. Also some of them come in a white which is the standard bleached looking white and also in what they call natural which starts out as more of a straw color. Another thing is finishing your leather, make sure that is done before you stitch it and make sure it is thoroughly dried. If you finish it afterwards any dye that gets lifted when applying your finish will inevitably get on your thread.

I would suggest trying to get some swatches from various suppliers. That way even if you have to pay a little bit for a full swatch bank its better then guessing on sides. I would check with the hidehouse and see how there stuff compares to what ya want. There are quiet a few garment/upholstery hide suppliers many with there own "line" of leather.

As JLS said earlier ya pay a upcharge for the backs. That being said if you order from say wickett and craig it use to be around $1.25sq/ft extra for them. Figure ya loose about 2-3sq/ft cutting the bellies off or there abouts. So say the back is 22sq/ft thats about $25 extra you pay for the back but minus the $16-24 you dont pay for the belly. Its a no brainer IMHO. Atleast roughly speaking.

What machines exactly are you looking at? $400 could get you something that will sew that thickness if you are patient and search out deals. I have picked up a 211g155 for $200 and a 111w155 for $225. The 111 only needed cleaning and a new needle, the 211 needed a new hook and adjustment. Both will sew 4mm leather all day long for some time. Also got a 153w for $300 but havnt had the time to check it out yet. Now all of these are limited to 138 thread so that would be a limitation that may affect you. Where are you located?

Ya mean what they use to fill in stuff on vegtan from questionable tanners these days. I have never encountered this from wickett and craige or hermann oak.

Follow Cobra Steve's video on going thru these things. It is very straightforward and provides all the adjustments necessary to ensure good stitching. Sorry don't have a link but should be easy to find. Also is the spool of thread and needle in good shape? Check these first. Oh and make sure the hook doesn't have any burrs on it also.

Some decent reading https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=singer+132k6+site:leatherworker.net The first thread has some cool stuff in it.

When I first started like most others I got some leather from tandy. Was having a similar issue as above so took advice to clean it with denatured alcohol. I was pretty shocked with the amount of this tannish substance that came off the leather, ofcourse leaving behind obvious scars and marks and more bug bites then ya would care to count. Took dye after wards though, well somewhat better then before. I had a order in with W&C a few days later.