dikman

Excellent job on the belt! Why not make the holster belt in the same style (if it's good enough for Clint Eastwood )? As to your question, I think you've answered it yourself, the only reason to make the billets single layer is to make it easier to feed through the buckle (or use two layers of thinner leather). It would certainly look better lined.

I also had a look at Alibaba but so far haven't found anything like it. I did find one with the knob control and a couple of push buttons next to it which looked interesting. If I need another one sometime I might consider it.

Thanks for clarifying things Matt, now I understand where you're coming from and can see where a synchroniser would be a real asset. I just spent some time on Aliexpress trying to find that "German" motor (I wondered where they sourced it from). I was looking for that particular control panel, but the only match I found didn't have a synchroniser, although it did come in 600 and 800w models. Unfortunately my Chinese is non-existent so I couldn't make any sense out of the instructions!

Fair enough. Personally, I found that once I'd slowed everything right down for sewing leather I didn't need the synchroniser, if anything I found it to be a nuisance. I can see where they would be an advantage for high speed sewing, particularly with small stitches, but in my case it would sometimes give an extra stitch and with larger stitch spacing the last thing I needed was an unwanted extra hole!

Technically, a California-style Slim Jim with a Mexican Loop half skirt. Very similar to Cullen Bohannon's holster in Hell on Wheels (except his was plain and grotty looking ). Very nice job indeed. Of course, you realise that you're supposed to give details too? Like colour used, finish etc?

Oh? Have you tried it? It should work as the ratio between the two pulleys is constant, whereas fitting an intermediate speed reducer means the ratio varies as far as the synchroniser is concerned. That will definitely cause issues (well, it did with mine).

Replace the handwheel with a (much) larger pulley. I'm assuming you have the smallest pulley you can on the motor? This will give you a considerable speed reduction and allow the use of the needle synchroniser, This is my Seiko. I did the same on my Pfaff 335.

Yep, a commonly suggested mod for small lathes. Many years ago I built one of those speed controllers and to play a joke on someone we connected it to a motor they were using. The joke was on us as it burned the tracks on the board out in nothing flat. I've since learned that "ordinary" single phase induction motors are tricky things if you want to make them variable speed. The common advice is to replace them with a 3-phase motor and use a VFD.

I'm still not convinced that a light dimmer can be used to vary the speed of a squirrel cage AC motor.

As soon as holsters are mentioned you're straight away into the realms of heavy-duty machines. A CB3200 (or equivalent) would have to be considered the starting point, and most likely a CB4500. Forget the post bed machine, totally unsuited to your needs. Alibaba is generally considered a supplier to the trade/companies, whereas Aliexpress is their equivalent to ebay (supplying to the consumer, but their prices are higher). I've also looked at importing a machine (441 type) but by the time all costs are factored in there's very little to be gained and a lot to lose if something goes wrong! You really need to have a lot of experience working with industrial machines if you go down this route as you will basically be on your own. ComputerDoctor, industrial sewing machines are designed to work within a particular range of operations. It is a simple fact that no one machine can be designed to sew thin garment leather one minute and then also handle 3/4" thick holsters next. It's a sad fact that unless you specialise in only making a certain type of item then you will soon learn that you need more than one machine.

Bought some 190 needles, only problem is they're round point garment needles, they don't have leather points in stock. After much stuffing around I found that I can get 1/2" of leather under the feet and it's possible to sew it with #138 thread (required quite a bit of effort hand-cranking) BUT (there's always a but) these needles don't like thick veg-tan and kept getting stuck in the leather!! I guess I was asking too much of these poor needles. They work fine with thinner leather. So far the only place I've found that has 190's in leatherpoint is The Thread Exchange. I think this machine has possibilities if I can get the right needles.

Pretty close, although I think it should have been a little bit shorter and no tie down, Andy Anderson's rigs were designed to be fast draw without needing a tie-down. Nice job on the belt stitching, that "gunfighter" stitching is a bit of a pain to do!

There are other brands of oil treatment additives besides STP, all do pretty much the same thing. Just mix with some engine oil and you end up with a lube that sticks to things! Chain spray - there are lots made for motorcycle chains (and bicycle chains) and all are designed to stick at high speed. Some are quite thick when sprayed on, and most are messy! Best idea is to spray a bit into a container and use a swab or brush to apply it to the machine. Some bikers use DuPont teflon spray on their chains and swear by it as it dries to a non-sticky coating and works well. With a machine like this you're unlikely to go wrong with any of the modern oils/greases/lubes now available, just find something that works for you. As Constabulary said, you're not likely to kill it.

I decided to have a go at adjusting it today, using the 151 - 155 manual. While that brochure tends to lump it in with these machines, 'cos it's a 111, it's significantly different in construction and appears to be, for want of a better description, a dumbed down version. The adjustments available are less than on the other machines. Not necessarily a bad thing as it makes it easier to adjust. It's definitely designed for a longer needle than the others. Would be nice to get a manual for it though.

Rang the dealer, no luck on the 126 but they do have 190's in size 110 and 140 so i might go for a ride and get some. They're only a couple of mm shorter so I can live with that. I decided to adjust it today, the needle bar had the two marks on it so I set it to spec, fitted a 135 needle and noted where it was hitting the hook. I them measured the distance needed to set the needle correctly and it came out about 8mm difference, so the 190 will be close enough.

I have various manuals for some of the 111 class but I was hoping for something specific to the 116/117 as they appear to be different. I guess the 155 is as close as I'll get.

It would have to stretch an awful lot to let the cartridges fall through as the rims would stop that happening! Personally, I don't think it's likely to be much of a problem, but you could use heavy military grade elastic instead, or heavy cotton webbing, both of which were used at times by the military (mainly because they don't cause a buildup of verdigris if the cartridges are left in the loops).

If they've got them then I'm hopeful that my local place should have them (or their stores interstate). If not I'll order some from College.

Ok, so not exactly for a sewing machine, but how many use those little hex bits and sometimes wanted a small handle? (Puts hand up......). There are quite a few designs on thingiverse and this one looked worth a try. Some are bigger/fatter, but this one looked like what I had in mind. Printing as is the bit wouldn't quite go in, but by heating the bit In a vice and pushing the handle on it made a snug fit. If you wanted the bits "permanently" attached then this would work. The next two were made scaled up to 104% and this proved just nice - until I found that some bits are made slightly smaller than others, so fell out!!!! Easy solution, I've ordered some rare earth magnets, 5mm diam. x 2mm thick, these will be superglued into the handle so the bits stay put but can be changed easily. At $2.89 for 50 I figure I'll have a few spares! I've included the files downloaded from thigiverse so the makers details are included (just so no-one thinks I'm clever at designing things). Stubby_Screwdriver_Handle.zip

True, but those 1871's have that "cool" factor, in my opinion. Scooby, exactly what does an idiot feel like?

Thanks mate, an interesting chart - but no 126 x 11.

Why do you need a retaining strap? The blade length means it's not likely to fall out.

Nice! Those open-top 1871's are beautiful. I wanted to get a couple for CAS, unfortunately I would have had to import them to Oz (lots of hassles and $$$) so picked up a couple of Vaqueros instead.

koreric, that chart is for flat shank needles, not round. 111W, that figure from the shank end to the eye explains it all. I've lost 8 mm in clearance by using a 135 needle. Thank you. Next time I'm near the (industrial) sewing machine supplier I'll ask them what's available to see if I can squeeze a bit more clearance from the beastie.

Trash treasure, those leg castings look like they came off a bridge! That was a time when such castings weren't only functional but had style.