dikman

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.

That's an interesting idea, although not much use to me as my meagre supply of thread is moved between different machines.

ndnchf, perhaps you could call that "flight of fancy"? Suits the machine quite well.

Pretty classy with that nice polished steel (would look a bit out of place next to my machines ). I find the bog-standard ones more than adequate for my needs, but maybe one day.....

Hard to see from the photo but it looks to be nice and clean. Unless you've got very good foot control you might need more than a small pulley to use it for leatherwork.

Pity you're on the wrong continent, a 155 would be nice. On the other hand, maybe it's a good thing that I can't get them . I'm surprised someone hasn't grabbed them already, as it's a very good offer.

Staples inside the stitch line? Seems strange to me, I wouldn't want any metal in the sheath where it could catch the blade edge.

Looks good! How did you avoid the teeth marks from the foot? And getting #138 to work is pretty impressive (bet you don't get much on the bobbin!)

The ones that look like chicken scratchings?

Nice, but I reckon a full skirt would look a little better aesthetically. I like the random pattern, what did you use to make it?

I wouldn't drink it either . I just wanted to point out that it's made from crude oil, rather than being a natural product. (When I saw the name "Saddler's Oil" for some reason I just assumed it would be a natural product). As you say, the important thing is whatever works, and you're obviously getting good results from it.

I was curious what U82 Saddlers oil is, it's just under 100% Solvent naptha (petroleum) heavy aliphatic, the rest being alcohol! I'm sure it works, but I think I'll stick to neatsfoot oil, beeswax, tallow etc.

I recall as a kid I had sheath knives with the strap like that and the cross-guard always caught on the strap when removing the knife.

That part should only move when you operate the foot lift lever, if it does that then all you need is a suitable pin. I doubt you will get a pin when you buy a tension unit as it's a separate part.

Can't imagine why! I reckon the one that Wiz refers to should do nicely, not too big and not too small. If you get one that's too big you could have problems trying to sew lighter stuff.

Ahhh, I'm in Australia, we don't have a "right to bear arms". We are constantly reminded that it's a privilege to own a firearm and it can be taken away in the blink of an eye if the police think we've done something wrong. Hence our equally absurd knife regulations.

Funny thing is that if I make my own copy (which I've been thinking about for a while) that is identical but without any name on it will be legal and will just look like a general purpose sheath knife.

Well, that's different! Nice job, looks cool.

I agree Dwight, I've always felt that they are a great general-purpose knife - not too big or heavy and a nice blade shape. I've always wanted to own one (not that I have any use for it) but here in my State they are banned! And all because the manufacturer added the appellation "fighting knife"!!! Not even God can save us from petty bureaucrats and politicians, I'm afraid.

Sounds like me! (Yes, I have a couple of machines ) When I became interested in shooting as a hobby, a few years back, my wife encouraged me but I knew what would happen. Sure enough, I bought a 6-gun safe, should be big enough. Hmmm, need another one. A bit later needed another one!! I'm now up to the legal limit of ownership without having to upgrade my security!!!! Plus all the reloading, casting and coating gear that goes with it. Shooting, by the way, is what got me into leatherwork......

Neat. The flared leather, to line up with the guard, is an interesting style.

I was given a 51W59, similar but had a cutter next to the post to undercut the leather as it went. I took off the cutter (not needed) and persevered with it for some time before coming to the conclusion it wasn't suited to what I wanted to do. Broke a few needles in the process! It was my first industrial machine and got me started down the slippery slope of industrial (leather) sewing machines.

Try and fit the smallest pulley you can find to the motor - 2" or less - as it all helps. You'll probably need a shorter belt too. Just watch the weight of the clutch motor when you remove it, they're heavy!!