dikman

This could turn into a dissertation on the merits of leather fly-swatters. Looks pretty classy, DD.

I'm sure you won't regret buying the bigger machine. Don't forget to get the narrow plate from RockyAussie, it's a must-have for this machine. As for the very kind lady, I reckon a custom holster, maybe - or a leather corset?

I agree. If you want a machine for leatherwork this really isn't the right one. I have a similar Singer straight stitcher that was given to me, it needed a little bit of work to get it working but once it worked I covered it up and put it in a corner. Never used it. My advice, look for a "proper" leather machine.

I'm confused. Garyak, are you using the Chinese patcher, loaded with #207, to sew a belt? That's what it sounds like you're saying.

I couldn't find out much about it but yes, it's a high speed straight stitcher and appears to have an oil pump, which means it probably needs to run at a reasonable speed to keep the oil circulating. It's not an ideal machine for leatherwork. It should be pretty easy to replace the existing motor with a servo and if torque is a concern then fit a speed reducer pulley too. It will likely be too slow for the oil pump but just oil the machine manually (like most of us do ).

That bobbin's not going to hold much #207!

There have been a few posts about people making their own.

More likely the thread end was held by a pair of pliers while someone overtightened what's left of the wingnut?

That makes more sense, there is a shoulder in there that the washer under the wingnut should tighten against. It should be possible to fix that thread with either a fine hacksaw blade or a suitable file (at least enough to get the nut off) and heat should be enough to break the roller free of the gunk inside. Mine, btw, has a nylon roller.

That looks a bit odd, it appears that the wing nut tightens up hard against the roller?

The stitching looks good, just curious why you didn't burnish the edges? Nice pussy cat, looks like a long-haired bitsa.

I was thinking the same thing.

Very clever!

WD40 has it's uses but I would only use it for "emergency" oiling on the machine. As Wiz said it's time to pull the cover off and have a look at how it works.

That's a nice little rig. Wouldn't be hard to make if you've got a lathe.

You're right, I got the number wrong (I wrote it from memory, not a good idea for me these days ). kgg, are you sure about that? The thread I've bought here has always been labelled M***

Mine came with an extra spring for the pressure foot, I think it's a lighter spring. Did you get one (long coil spring)? If you remove the pressure adjusting screw you can fish the spring out, it's not held in by anything.

Squid, I've got all sorts of sharpening gear, collected over many years () and I find the paper wheel to be excellent for a final honing BUT you are quite right in that heavy pressure would still likely cause damage to a very thin blade/edge. The other wheel, which is paper embedded with grit, definitely would if used carelessly. I still keep a leather strop next to my leatherwork tools.

They use metric sizes (seeing we're in Oz) which can be confusing when this site, being in the US, generally uses #. If you haven't discovered it already there are several sizing "systems" out there, unfortunately. Basically M40 = #69, M20 = #138, M8 = #277. Finding anything heavier isn't easy in Oz.

Joachim, I've dismantled it because I fitted the wheels to a larger grinder, I found the wheels were too close together on the small grinder and sharpening a longer blade was awkward. I now just use it freehand, works fine. I was overthinking it before! Squid, it's not a problem because you don't apply heavy pressure for extended periods (unlike using grinding wheels or belt grinders). It isn't meant for hogging out steel, only for fine honing, sort of like a mechanical strop.

https://www.vardhman.com.au Have a look at them, they're located in Victoria.

I found that using my right foot for both operations was a bit of a nuisance as I kept looking down to see where my foot was! I was too worried about accidentally pressing down on the Go pedal and putting a stitch hole where I didn't want it! Using my left foot for the lifter feels far more intuitive.

I don't think I got an open toe inner foot with mine (boo hoo ). Best thing is to try the different feet to see the effect they have, you have the double-toe foot fitted in the picture which stops the guide getting too close. As for the drop-down guide, yes, it gets in the way of the manual lifting lever so I made an extension to move the lever to the right. As mine is mounted on a conventional table, however, I made an extension underneath the table and fitted another pedal so I can lift the feet using my left foot. I find it works well and is more convenient than using the hand lifter.

Usually it's Aus Post that does that. I've had several items that said "In Transit" (as in NOT at my local depot) only to have them delivered that day. Still, at least you've got it. Now the fun begins.

Yep, could work as the design looks rigid so should concentrate the downward force. Pretty expensive, though.