MADMAX22

I have scene mentioned on here and use it as a rule of thumb for my hand sewing is to use a length from your outstretched hands across your chest. No longer. As twinoaks mentioned about the wearing out, also it makes it a ton easier to handle at this length or shorter. For shorter runs or smaller projects you kind of learn how to getstimate the right length that will be atleast long enough with a little extra. Sorry I dont know the proper equation for figuring out the length. Never really needed to do it.

I dont know if it is similar to the other Stohlman knives they were selling but if it is I would say save some more money and go for something a little nicer. I am not saying they are bad. When they first came out I looked up the brand that this comes from and they deal primarily with kitchen knives of the medium ok range I guess you could call it. Better then some but by no means a really good steel. I started with the regular stolhman knives and used those for a little while. The curved blade knife I still use occasionally for cutting various large chunks of leather but not for any type of detail work or for cutting out patterns. It is also a pain to sharpen. I bought a rose knife pretty soon after getting these and the difference was amazing. It actually help an edge for a good amount of time and was just all around such a better blade. There are several older knives that have amazing blades. They may be pricier but are worth the money. Many new knife makers make some darn good stuff also. I agree to talk with Bruce johnson and have him set you up with a nice round knife.

Very cool sewing machines but from my understanding they max out at 1/4" thickness. They are apparently invaluable for those awkward areas that are hard to get to. Its a 29 class im pretty sure. I am no pro sewing machine guy though.

That is usually the case and one of the single quickest ways to piss me off. Ecspecially if they charge you for something they dont have and dont tell you it will be later then expected. I know if I had a business or was unemployed and needed the machine to start making money the machine would be coming from someone else about 1.9 months ago.

The sun penetrates all lol. It should still darken some atleast I think it should. Granted best results would be fresh leather, oiled, and suntanned. Still it is worth a shot since you run far less chance of ruining it that way then with anything that involves dye or anything like that.

I dont know about the thinner leathers but when I make things like rifle slings and what not I use 8oz body and suede splits for the shoulder padding that is about 4oz. This I run right to the edge and stitch about 3/16 in back from the edge. I then bevel the edges on both sides. This usually cuts the suede at a rounded angle back away from the leather. I then burnish like normal and the edge of the suede smooths out along with the edge of the leather it is glued to. Looks pretty good IMHO but not sure on longevity of the edge. I will try to find one of my older pictures to show you what it looks like. EDIT: here is a kindle cover I made that shows what I am talking about. I did this pretty much the same way. It is horse hide with suede lining.

Not sure where you live but if its sunny at all put it out in the sun for a couple of afternoons and it will darken up rather nicely.

Great looking stand Oldtimer. My thoughts on these stands are if you have the tools (welder, metal cutting tools, good drills, and the know how) then build your own by all means. If you are interested in learning how to build stuff and have the time then you may as well go about building one since like anything it can be educational. However if you dont have the tools, time, or drive to learn this particular craft (god knows in my case I have enough hobbies as it is) then it just pays to buy one premade. Its kind of like buying leather working stamps or making your own. If you are skilled enough or wanna learn the craft you can make some excellent quality stamps, however the time and energy and money involved need to be weighed in comparison to just buying the better quality stamps to begin with,

I concur with Rayban. These things are beasties, If you have not already got it in the setup I would get the left and right outer feet. These will be imperative to stitching around formed items. Neels great to work with and your machine should show up ready to go. I got mine all hooked up and ready to go within an hour plus and I dont really know squat about sewing machines.

Thanks Bob, that is one thing I usually check thanks to your videos. Ill have to watch the thread tonight while I do some more stitching. One thing I totally forgot about was that I had rethreaded it and where you go thru the bottom tentioner I had been doing like Wiz and others have said and gone thru the silver eye, around twice backout thru the silver eye then thru the black eye before going up to the take up lever (think thats what it is called). When I rethreaded it I just went thru the silver eye once around once and a half then thru the black eye. Not sure if this would be that big of a deal but Ill give it a try and swap it back and see if that works a little better.

Thanks Jim Ill give it a shot tonight after work.

OK so I think I am starting to get ahang of this 441 clone I have. I seem to not have any issues for the most part sewing pretty thick stuff say two 8oz layers or more. The issue I am running into is when sewing two thinner pieces of leather. This belt I was working on is two layers of 5oz. It is about 5oz horse lined with about 5oz cow. It seems to stitch just fine for a while then it will randomly pull the bottom thread up to the top. I am not sure which adjustment I need to tweak some. The other stitches seem to be centered very well. Sorry if this is a simple adjustment to fix, Im just not that experienced with sewing machines much less with these big stitchers. Thanks for any help.

Lookin kickass as usual David. That one looks like it has quit a bit of work involved in it.

You will have to use smaller needles, thinner thread, and a thinner awl. Plus when you are stitching you have to be easy on how tight you pull it.

Tandy has a few patterns that are on sale right now if you want to go that route. I think they are like half price. Well not patterns but project packs or whatever they are called. Would be easier for your first one.

Not sure about the others but I just throw a couple of tablespoons in the sink or whatever and throw some warm water in there. It helps to dissolve the baking soda. I usually dip my items for vinegaroon and go from that vine to the baking soda dip for just a quick shake or two in it then it gets a quick rinse with fresh water and its off to dry.

Be sure to scour craigslist. I have scene many good looking sewing machine benches on there from time to time.

Great looking stuff Boma. I think your carving pattern flows very well and the color scheme is great.

Yeah I would say call Ryan first since it was his machine that was sold, if he cant help ya I can almost guarantee that Bob or Steve at cobra can. If those three cant help ya I am not sure who can. Either way you wont be going wrong by calling any one of them. I bought my cowboy from Neels and Ryan has been a great help with it. I didn't need much but I know he is just a phone call away. Ive chatted with Steve and hes a great guy, bought some parts from Bob for my 211 and hes a very knowledgeable and also a great guy to deal with.

Great looking case, excellent choice of leathers.

I think it looks very good. One thing I would recommend is see if your camera has a micro setting on it. That will help you to focus in on your projects more clearly and not get the background clear and the project fuzzy. the work looks great though.