dikman

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.

Been a busy boy, Dwight? Look good.

Man, that's a bit of a beast! And I thought my 750w servo was pretty good...... That edge guide looks pretty good for $24.

More like 1400 rpm maybe?

When I bought one of my servos I bought a needle positioner as well (seemed like a good idea at the time). I tried it, of course, but soon took it off as I found that with the slow speeds used for sewing leather it wasn't really needed (and, in truth) I found it a bit of a nuisance.

I thought I'd add my experiences to this thread (which, by the way, has some very good info in it). I decided to have a go at making walnut dye and did a lot of reading. I soaked the husks for a while, then boiled them and let them soak a while longer. After straining through some calico (very time consuming) I ended up with a nice dark liquid. My first effort at dying leather wasn't that successful. I soaked a piece for a couple of hours and let it drain dry. The leather hadn't changed colour much, although there was more darkening just along the edges. I might have to let some of the liquid evaporate to thicken it up a bit. Anyhow, I've decided to have another go with this year's crop - the birds (cockatoos) start to get into the nuts while they're still green so I'm not going to get an edible crop (again) so I might as well make some use of them. This time I'll try something different that I read about. I started off with the complete nuts soaking in a large bucket, soon there was a second bucket, then two more buckets full of nuts, with more to come, so I used a largish wheelie bin, with a lid, and dumped them all in it and as the birds drop more nuts I just throw them in whole. Being Summer (and bloody hot!) the bin is in the sun and heats up the water/nuts inside which should speed up the fermentation. Now for the good bit, an easy way to hopefully make the dye - I'll just leave the whole lot to stew for at least a year! One chap posted that he was doing the boiling/simmering thing but also had a heap sitting in a barrel outside and he found that after a year or so it produced a dye that was no different to the stuff he'd been boiling/simmering/peeling. It also means that if, for some reason, the dye doesn't work I haven't wasted lot of time (and fuel) making it.

That has a nice "used" look about it already.