DrmCa

I would not try to patronize the members here and lecture them about their buying and posting habits, but that's just me. Considering that 2 of my perfectly running industrial machines literally came from the roadside on a garbage day, I know it is possible to find a good used machine cheap, as they often simply become an unwanted liability when the owners retire/quit business/move on. These are often picked up by the scavengers and re-sold to the machine dealers who re-sell them when a right customer comes along, so looking around when one has time to wait may yield a cheap machine. Sometimes posting a wanted ad at the grocery store or a local classified paper works.

Did you guys get anywhere with the steering wheel wrap? I have leftover upholstery leather in the matching color with the interior and wanted to try. My steering wheel is not the easiest to start learning with - it's a 4-spoke like this one. I was thinking of creating a pattern out of modelling foam first.

Good to know! I may be in the market for a servo for my Juki DDL 553 soon, and this is a good option to have. Happy stitching, 276ccm!

I mean that the stitches on the lining side do not come out as hanging loops in the last picture. When something is machine stitched and then rounded like the watch straps, the long stitches on the inside may loosen and create those loops, unless the stitches are very short.

The pictures in your 3d link is of the machine I looked at. I was not considering buying it exactly for the reasons you mentioned - it's too big and too heavy and I already ran out of space 2 machines back. But it is still good to know. Naively I thought that a big machine with a huge bobbin means it could stitch heavy leather, but you and others on this forum put me straight and I genuinely appreciate you sharing this valuable information. Just curious: what does the mid-arm wheel do?

Neat, I like it. I always have a problem with the stitches drooping on the inside of the cylindrical parts as this one and try to solve that with the shortest stitches whenever possible. Your stitching looks good with the strap buckled.

The balance of the hide goes towards re-doing my favourite chair. I am not showing what it used to be, as that was simply embarrassing. I start topstitching the armrests and realize that I stitched the allowance to the wrong side! The rightmost seam in the picture is wrong. Oh boy. But the rest is Okay. Fit is not ideal, as I had to use the old fabric panels to make a pattern and of course they were stretched and skewed. After the day of tracing, stitching and working the stapler, I am SOOOOOO tired! The back will remain cloth as there is almost nothing left of the hide, and I still have to fix another much smaller chair and wrap the steering wheel in the car. (What looks like a beige round spot on the front seat panel is actually reflection. When I saw it I almost had a heart attack, but it's does not exist on the leather, wiev!)

Thank you for the info! Not exactly 305, but it is in the same league. The one I looked at did not have a wheel in the middle, Just a round bulge up top. I cannot find a picture of the same machine after at least an hour of total googling, so it's 144, but which model is still a mystery as the dealer is adamant there is no 2nd part of the model number.

I do not see the edges, but in what I see there is nothing to critique. Maybe if I made it, I'd used a flatter snap, but that's a matter of personal preference.

When electronics goes bad after a few years, it most often is due to electrolytic capacitors drying up. Quite often it is possible to replace them all with the new capacitors of the same voltage, capacitance and ECR to restore BAU.

Just my 2c: you can get acetone and methanol in 1 gal canisters ways cheaper at the industrial cleaning supply or restaurant supply stores. The janitors use acetone to remove chewing gum from the floors and methanol is used for removing the stickers from glass etc.

OMG! Can't you get a 220V servo motor from the ebay for less than it would cost to change a 380V motor to 220V? Buy the head and K-legs/table top without a motor, then buy a servo separately and you are all set. And you absolutely need a walking foot machine if you do not want leather marked by the feed dogs. Been there, done that, not going back. And if you are on a tight budget, I suggest buying a cylinder arm machine as you get the best of both worlds: can stitch tubular and flat.

Uwe, Your thread looks very similar to mine in diameter, at least to my uneducated eyes. I am getting roughly 0.9mm but considering it a 1mm thread as the caliper is squeezing it ever so slightly. What size needle are you using with that?

True and nice!

Drove to work and back today - what a difference! A warm, pleasant feeling of natural leather. And the view inside the vehicle:

This hide was sitting at the store for a while and I was eyeing it for some furniture restoration, and then I bought a Honda Pilot LX with grey interior. It is cheap, but practical, except for the armrest. My elbow was sticking to it in any weather above 70 degree no matter AC. Today I got a deal on the hide and took it home. The cover of the original armrest was attached with the 1/8" staples that I do not have, so I had to use contact cement. Here in pictures is the process of gluing leather to the plastic frame and the final product. If I did not know that I just made it, I would not believe it did not come from Honda - the color matched perfectly. And the feeling is completely different - no more skin sticking to vinyl.

Was at the machine dealer today and he showed me Singer 144 (if I remember correctly - it's a 30" or so long arm walking foot with a boat outside foot installed) that according to him takes size 30 needle and can saw 4 layers of 10 oz leather with 554 thread. He also said that size 28 should be enough and that I am welcome to come by any time with thread and leather samples and he would let me sew on that Singer. I only had 2 tiny pieces of leather 3/4x4" with me and he said those are too small.

How about Oakwood saddle soap? I used it on everything from boots to jackets and it cleaned nicely leaving no stains whatsoever.

In previous life (in Europe) I used natural latex glue where latex was simply dissolved in distilled gasoline. It worked great: held the pieces together and could be removed from gloss leather by rubbing with the fingers. Here in Canada I tried Elmer's "rubber cement" and that clearly was not the same thing: It remained tacky after drying. Two scrap pieces that I glued together can be still separated and would stick together after a couple weeks. Visually the "old" glue I was used to was clear, while Elmer's was foggy. And the smell was not exactly of gasoline. What brand of genuine natural latex glue can be used on leather? There is always an option of ordering a pillow filled with shredded natural latex and dissolving it in gas, but that is messy.

From what I could find on the web, it must be slightly over size 400, but I am not sure which size exactly. 415? Or is it actually a 0.9mm thread in size 400? It is hard to measure correctly as the caliper would compress it. Would that be a proper thread for the holsters? And the machine part of the question: the specifications for Juki 441 say it takes up to size 28 needle. Do the clones take size 28? I looked at Tecksew 5100 and it says size 27. Is it a 441 clone and will size 27 needle work with 415 thread? Picture is of the thread I am talking about. It is 3 strand non-bonded nylon sold for saddle and harness repair.

What type of leather are you planning to use in the machine? You mentioned holsters. To stitch the holsters, you will need a heavy duty machine. Certainly not a household machine you can find at Goodwill store, even if it was cast iron. The members here will correct me if I am wrong: from what I know holsters can be made on Union Lockstitch or at least Juki 441 clones.

I would buy a good used cylinder arm machine instead, but it's just me. Cylinder arm is miles ahead in comfort. With a flat bed you are thinking where to keep your hands half of the time. And the used machine is 1/2-1/3 the price of a new one. Just get it from a dealer who can fix and tune the machine to your requirements of material thickness/needle/thread combination. This is my story: I tried stitching light upholstery leather on a flat bed single needle machine in my sig using teflon and roller feet. It was nothing but royal PITA. Ended up stitching on a hand cranked and hating the craft. Since I bought cylinder arm the things changed as stitching is joy.

Wow, professional work! Lots of skiving?

Was killing 15 min of time at the Thrift store where I never go and after looking at the old garbage they had, finally stopped at the rack with the purses and thought: What the heck, they might have something that I could deconstruct for the learning purposes. So I shuffled through a few old purses and saw this. Both purses are very high quality leather and worksmanship. Even just looking at the pictures of the orange purse I can feel soft and warm strong leather it is made of. The large orange one is made in Colombia by Queros and the buff/sand one is Bravo Browns. For $6 and $5 I could not let this steal of a deal to pass and now I am a happy owner of the both. Lots to learn from how these are made.

The binocular was a present to my son. It is a nice piece of Russian optics, but like everything from Russia it came in a mediocre cheap vinil pouch. I could not stand the sight of that cheap vinil and made this.