DrmCa

Yes, the shipping cost between the US and Canada has become bizarely obscene. All while the same item ships from China to Canada for free. Repeat after me several times: it has nothing to do with Chicoms bribing our postal officials into ruining our small businesses. But if you looked for crazy-expensive shipping, check out Italy to Canada!

What makes you think so? It is quite a stretch. Probably they haven't because it does not make sense.

Integrity is a scarce resource in the Earth's crust and atmosphere. My wife bought a serger from one such lady who also raved about owning one and being able to "do anything" with it. Then she ordered a 20+ lot of custom school uniforms from my wife, begged to release the finished product, but never paid. Household bottom-feed machines do not sew leather, period. This should be considered true and unless the user is very experienced and knows what they are doing on a very tight budget, they should not buy a household machine. But when such machine costs bloody $1200 it makes no sense at all to dump so much $$ into it. I would understand contemplating whether to buy or not to buy a $100 domestic machine but not that Juki.

If it's dirt-cheap, you could buy and resell it as well.

If your parallel lines are always the same distance away from one another then it could be as simple as making your own creasing tool, assuming that you are creasing.

IMO if Juki is really in excellent condition than you might as well save $400.

It's a matter of personal preference. Fabric-lined totes and purses are lighter, and it makes a difference if they have to be carried all day long.

You may be new but you are doing well.

Going out on a limb but are you using leather point needles (LR)? Textile needles blow out bubbles on the underside, whereas leatherpoint ones cut diagonal slots.

It has to remain functional after the esthetics is taken care of by skiving. If it tears easily, it's too thin.

That's 8x cane toad skins, which sets you back 8 wallets.

Better for what kind of work? It's a great machine for heavy leather. One of the best. But it has its limits like any other.

Only now I noticed that your top-left tensioner's thread guide is upside down from mine. Dunno if it matters but it may be worth trying to rotate it 180 degrees so that it sits above the top tensioner, not below.

Nice! To push is the key. Gonna try that even though I can barely see the hole that I am supposed to hone around.

Bought a grooving tool that came with a bit that only works on hard veg tan. It only scratches latigo leather but does not cut. Probably because it is ground but not honed. Does anyone know a method for honing it?

So you are sure that everything is threaded correctly but your patcher still does not stitch?

Did you run the bobbin thread under the tiny little flat spring on the case, on its way from the bottom hole to the top hole? Which holes on the bobbin case did you use - near or far?

For me it was backed out all the way on both tensioners and a little bit more (about 1/4 turn), when it began to stitch perfectly.

A bit on the high side but if local it is kind of Okay. Try to buy one with the standard diameter keyed shaft because the latest models have just a threaded shaft and a nut, and old pulleys that can be found on clutch motors do not fit them. The old 'Family' brand that I no longer see on eBay had a dial adjustment. New ones seem to have up and down buttons. Rex is the brand if I remember correctly. I prefer Family.

A few days back I decided to play a bit more with mine. I messed up everything I possibly could: the upper threading, the bobbin threading, the needle orientation... It tried its best to stitch and even succeeded for 1-2". Once I slapped myself on the forehead and fixed all of that, it began to lay perfect stitches on 2x layers of upholstery leather. It just works.

Put the looper in a vise, use heat on the rod, twist and pull.

Tandy style skiver does exactly what I need, and on soft leather.

A washer between the pieces helps as well.

You are really looking for legal advise that members of this forum are unlikely to be able to provide.

Some patterns are sold with the express caveat that you are only allowed to make any number of the item for your own use but not mass-produce it for sale. It is a license like any other one: when you pay for the product (pattern) you agree to abide by the license.