dikman

Blood?

Read Wiz's sticky, it's THE starting point to understanding leather sewing machines. Note that if you want to make holsters with a sewing machine then that straight away puts you into the heavy machine class, usually a 441 clone.

I bought an open frame too because of the flexibility of sliding things under it, unfortunately I soon realised I needed to enclose it and use an exhaust system because of the fumes!!!!! Mine didn't come with software, normally I tend to find free software that generally works but in this case I ended up actually paying for Lightburn and consider it money well spent, it's an excellent piece of software for laser engravers with lots of user guides on youtube. These things have lots of creative potential for leatherworkers.

That's what I did, so I could move the lifter pedal to the left of the go pedal - but it took a bit of fabrication!!

If it uses brushes then there should hopefully be some sort of screw fitting where the brushes are mounted, there will be two on opposite sides of the motor housing.

That's a shame, but I can understand you being wary when it comes to very old machines as parts can be a problem. Me, I would have grabbed it as walking foot post beds aren't exactly common. But then, I can be a glutton for punishment!

Have a close look at the motor, if it uses brushes then yes, a simple speed controller should work (although I would suggest an electronic controller rather than a simple rheostat), if the motor doesn't have brushes then it is an induction motor and the controller WILL NOT work. Vintage sewing machines used brush-type motors to allow for rudimentary speed control.

If you have an ac motor belt sander (most likely) then no, a dimmer switch or rheostat will not work. There is no easy way to control such a motor. Variable speed grinders/belt sanders generally use a 3-phase motor with a Variable Frequency Device (VFD) used to control the speed. These can be run off the single phase household supply.

Very neat solution.

Awww, what a little cutie! Patch cutter - when loading a black powder muzzle-loading rifle a cloth patch is placed over the barrel, the round ball is put on top and pushed/tapped down to just below the end of the barrel and the excess cloth is cut off before the ball is rammed down the barrel.

A walking foot post-bed for $250! No mistake, I reckon you've done well! Just ditch the clutch motor and you'll be laughing.

I've always said the worst thing you can do is having to deal with customers.

"I basically need a sort of one shot machine that can do most things." Ahh, the mythical unicorn of sewing machines. Every leatherworker who uses a machine would like one of those. Paradoxically, the machine that comes closest is also one of the biggest/heaviest, a 441 clone. Using a modified needleplate/feed dog, as made by a couple of members on here, it can sew using very heavy #347 thread down to #69 (if you can find the right size needle). BUT they are big heavy machines!

If they're not documented then even though you can change the numbers in the menu it probably won't do anything. Unless the parameters have been assigned a function in the controller those numbers will be inactive.

I originally mounted my CB4500 on a conventional table but then hacked the table to convert it to a pedestal. Two reasons, it made it a smaller footprint in the shed but mainly it gave greater access around the head for sewing awkward pieces. I think a pedestal may give you the best overall flexibility when using a cylinder arm machine.

Interesting handle shape with a taper towards the end, rather than having the palm swell towards the end. I see you have one or two stamps............

Interesting idea, I don't see why not (the little closed-face casting reels come to mind). I guess it just depends on a) how handy you are at fabricating things and b) how much time you're prepared to put into it.

Forums can tend to become family-like when you've been on them for a while. RIP Eldor.

I'm just a little confused by what you mean by "two loops". If you're talking about western-style holsters there are many photos on the 'net of different styles and variations on them. There are no hard and fast rules to making them, it all comes down to what the customer wants or what the maker is trying to achieve.

My holsters are usually pretty thick, generally two layers of leather so holding them under a running tap works, but if you're doing small or thin items then yeah, a sponge will give a more controlled application of water.

I've only used beeswax to burnish edges, partly because it's what I had handy and just seemed like a good idea. I wipe a cake of beeswax along the edge then onto the high speed burnisher, it may take a couple of applications but seems to work ok. I've tried the dampen-the-edge-with-water thing, sometimes it works, sometimes it mushrooms the edge. I've been contemplating making another burnishing wheel out of aluminium (just 'cos I can and I like turning aluminium on the lathe ) and make it a long one with lots more different groove sizes.

Nice work (both of you), one can only wonder what that hammer was originally used for! The gouges on the face are BAD!!

That's what I did, I held it under the tap and ran water along where the bend would be and kept trying the bend until it started to fold then stopped the water. There was enough moisture in the leather to bend it but it didn't soak through to the front.

Yep, I'm the same, much to my wife's dismay. A friend recently asked if I could have a look at a faulty dropsaw that belonged to her cleaning lady. Turned out that one of the carbon brushes had broken off and wasn't making contact with the commutator. Normally this would mean a cheap saw like this would just be thrown away, but I have a selection of carbon brushes salvaged from trashed motors so it was a simple job to grind one to fit. I'm olde school and enjoy fixing things (I've got quite the reputation as a "fixit-man" at my wife's church ).

Inflation, my friend! It still intrigues me, being variable speed and portable.