dikman

Yep, I did this on two of my motorised machines (photos here) - It works well.

True, my idea only works if you've already got a suitable machine, it would be false economy to buy a sewing machine just for pre-punching holes. If you have to buy something then a drill press makes more sense.

I use one of my sewing machines for pre-punching the holes in my holsters. No thread, a 140 needle and I handwheel it, makes it easy to keep the holes straight!

Not necessarily. I bought one 'cos it sounded like a good idea (being a newbie), tried it out but didn't really like it much - because I tend to sew slow there''s no real advantage in having it. For someone who sews fast, however, I can see where it could be quite useful. By all means try it out, who knows, it may suit your needs/sewing style.

In one case I used an existing pulley that I had in one of my spares boxes, the other one I happened to pick up a cheap old pulley at a junk yard. In both cases, though, I had to make sleeves to fit them on the shafts (Pfaff and Seiko machines). I forgot that I also fitted one to a Singer so that I could hand-crank it. Might not necessarily look pretty but it slows things right down and they're good for hand-wheeling too.

Building a speed reducer will help, also fit a 45mm pulley on the motor (every little bit helps!). Another possibility (instead of a speed reducer) is to replace the handwheel with a large pulley, I've done that on a couple of my machines and it works well at slowing things down.

Incidentally, I have an older Pfaff 335 that has a manual upper tension lever, i.e. even if the presser foot is lowered until I operate the tension lever the two tension discs stay apart. If I forget this and start sewing when there is minimal tension on the upper thread, guess what the result is? A massive bird's nest underneath which eventually jams the bobbin case!

A model number would be nice as it appears Jack make an awful lot of machines!

Picks up jaw from floor.........

" I admit I may have gotten carried away" What makes you think that? Very nice work.

The W machines were made in the USA, at the Bridgeport plant, and the story goes that all their records were destroyed in a fire a long time ago. I've been unable to find any info regarding serial numbers on W machines so I figure the story is probably true.

Does it come from synthetic sheep?

Looks pretty good to me (but then, I tend to like a slightly used look on my leather). When I made a pair of suspenders I used vinegaroon, no problems with uneven colouring at the edges!

Thanks guys, I wondered whether adding more vinegar would make any difference.

I made a vinegaroon mix several months ago. I decided to use it on a cartridge holder strap and when I poured it into a container it's gone a light muddy brown! I used it anyway and it worked fine on the leather, but I'm curious why it's changed colour in the container (plastic bottle). Anyone have any ideas?

No reason it wouldn't work, although it seems like overkill to me (why not paint wood to get the hammered finish?). If you were fitting a cylinder arm machine then it would minimise the cutting needed, but I wouldn't fancy making the cutout for a flat bed - unless you've got access to a CNC laser cutter! Even with the right tools steel still requires more work and effort to finish (which you probably already know).

Yep, they do have a tendency to act as a money sponge.

You don't have to remove the motor, but unless you're Hercules it makes it much easier (and safer) to get that dead weight off the table before trying to load it into a vehicle (I'm assuming here that you're by yourself, if you have a mate with you then that's different).

I've done this to several (different) tables, I take a set of socket spanners (metric and imperial), a couple of adjustable wrenches, assorted screwdrivers (flat and philips), assorted pliers, a pair of locking vice-grips and a cordless drill (probably not necessary but I take it anyway) - you never know what problems you might run into. Don't forget to take some old cloths as it can be a grubby job! Remove the head unit and turn the table upside down to remove the motor (heavy!!) and dismantle the legs if needed (I find it better to do this as it makes everything manageable).

Sounds like you need another machine , one designed to use a roller foot.

I bought mine from somewhere in China via ebay 'cos finding parts like this in Oz isn't as easy as you folks in the US have it! As for fitting a roller foot to a walking foot, I suppose it could be done but I'd have to ask why, because of the alternating feet I can't see that it would be of any benefit.

Neat way of making the frame for the reducer, already has lots of holes for attaching things!

One thing I've found useful is using the machine, without thread, to punch the holes first. With careful planning I can do the two edges of the holster while it's flat (before folding) and with a bit of luck they line up for gluing. I then use an awl to widen the holes for the needles/thread. It keeps the stitches in line and the spacing uniform. That 31-15 would probably do that (hand cranking, and single thickness only) but I would still hang out for a reasonable walking foot if I were you. My first effort with one of those multi-prong punches looked good on top, not so good on the back - I found out that you have to make sure the punch is kept absolutely vertical! Tried a drill press, didn't like it.

Welcome Jaybogg, you did the right thing by asking here first. If you want to sew 1/2" of leather you're going to need a decent machine, preferably a walking foot and with a servo. If you're only sewing knife sheaths I'd stick to hand stitching - It gives a stronger stitch and you can use heavier thread. I still hand stitch holsters as none of my machines can handle that thickness of leather or thread any heavier than #138 (it's a big jump to the type of machine needed and I can't justify it).

The needle positioner that I bought with my servo worked fine - until I fitted a speed reducer pulley setup. It did not like it one bit! So I removed the positioner. Fitting a small motor pulley and a (very) large pulley in place of the handwheel works great for slower speed and extra torque without messing around with pulleys and bearings and shafts.