dikman

I did a bit of research on hide glue and Chuck is right, it's primary use is for woodwork. It is water-soluble and not considered a permanent-bonding glue as joints that are glued with it can be opened up with heat and moisture, which would seem to make it unsuitable for leather projects as you don't want your work falling apart if it gets damp! The fact it is water-soluble could account for it migrating easily through the leather and interfering with dye absorption. In short, it doesn't appear to be a good choice for leatherwork.

A good start would be to read the manual and compare the operations/parts to your actual machine. If all the parts/adjustments are the same then there's a pretty good chance it's the right one (or close enough to be usable).

Your google-fu is strong, Al, when I searched the Consew site I got zip! My take from looking through the parts list is that it's a high speed garment machine, so not really suitable for leather.

Wasn't sure where to put this so here it is. SUP's recent mention of using a wax block underneath her punching got me thinking. I didn't want to use a block but.....sometime ago I was given a very old saddle, very much the worse for wear so I salvaged what leather I could from it. It occurred to me that the side flaps (don't know what they're called) might do for a punching pad. The leather was pretty dry and stiff but no cracks, and very dirty. I cut off the useless bits and scrubbed them with soapy water, lots of dirt came out! When they had dried I used a heat gun to work some wax into them. I didn't want them soft and feeling waxy so nothing would rub off onto my workpiece but could still lube the punches a bit. Now, this is where SUP's genius comes in. Sometime ago I mixed up a batch of wax to treat a waxed jacket, 60% paraffin wax and 40% beeswax, perfect for this job! The paraffin by itself is too hard and beeswax by itself is too sticky, mixed like this it soaks in when heat is applied but the leather still feels dry to the touch. The pad will go on top of the cutting board and the workpiece on top, the leather is still thin and stiff enough to provide a hard cutting surface. Theoretically.

Al, I deliberately didn't mention a speed reducer as it can all be a bit overwhelming to a newcomer, but since you did ..........Lego Mum, try the servo first but if you still find it a wee bit fast at times then a speed reducer is the next step, just a tad more complicated than merely adding a servo. There have been many posts on here about speed reducers but if you think you need one feel free to ask about options.

Congratulations - but be careful, buying leather sewing machines can be addictive!! As kgg said, the 563 has been around a long time but as long as it has been maintained it should serve you well. A bit of advice, replace the clutch motor with a servo, you don't have to buy an expensive one as anything will be better than that clutch motor. Happy sewing.

Undiluted dye shouldn't matter, it's obvious that either there is some contaminant already in the leather or, as you surmise, the glue is bleeding through the leather and is preventing the dye from penetrating.

You do realise, I hope, that this is an old method (optical gradient) that hasn't been used on servos for quite a few years?

Good advice, JLS, but probably wasted - nearly 2 months and the OP hasn't returned?

I would say no, it's not what you need. This is basically a high-speed lockstitch garment machine, not an upholstery machine (I can't see it being much use in saddle making). How thick is the leather you want to sew? I forgot to add read the sticky above about what machines you need to sew leather, it's probably the definitive article on the subject.

Searching with google turns up several methods of "purifying" chicken fat, one of them refers to "degumming" the fat using phosphoric acid and then adding lye to balance the ph and to help form the "soap" that is skimmed off. Most seem to refer to a similar process to making tallow, slow cooking the fat and some say to then add boiling water to separate the gunk for skimming off. I would rather use the process to make tallow as I know that works and it stores indefinitely with no rancidity. Here's a thought, perhaps if you go to your local roast chicken shop I'm sure they'll be happy to give you a few gallons of chicken fat.

You're talking about the same process I use to make tallow (I use a slow cooker over several hours). It might work, maybe, but I'm not interested enough to try it. I think either you or fred should give it a go, seeing that this is primarily your thread () and then we'll all know. Pictures come to mind of SUP leaning over a big cauldron of simmering chicken fat, stirring regularly.

Told you so! I have chicken fat in my BBQ at the moment, now that winter has started it solidifies into a nice-looking fat but as soon as the weather warms up it goes runny like water. It also attracts the European Wasps, which have difficulty swimming in it! It's the last thing I would ever put on leather (thinks: pictures person with leather purse running down the street chased by hungry wasps! ends thinks).

Just came across this post again, interesting that there's been no followup?

Good score, it will be a far better machine than the others.

That's a bit different. Why don't you give them a polish?

"Even older geezer" - that's me! I just spent many hours getting a new NAS working, why do the manuals for these things assume you understand what they're talking about? Made my brains hurt..... PastorBob, that is very effective (and a bit different).

I can't help with the needles but regarding a speed reducer it all depends how slow you want to sew. Most of the digital servos aren't slow enough for many of us, plus they lose a bit of torque when you use them at their slowest speed. I have servos on my machines and I've fitted home-made reducers as well (I like the control it gives me to reduce the chance of an errant stitch/needle hole!).

I took the post at face value but your post got me curious, Al, a google search didn't turn up anything but searching facebook came up with a company called Jacket Hunters, LLC, in Virginia.

No different to anywhere else, it just depends on the individual and what they're looking for style-wise, there's no over-riding preference as a nation. As for fit it's become a nightmare these days as different countries/manufacturers appear to have their own ideas about what constitutes sizes. Once upon a time I could buy a shirt/jacket/coat in L and it would fit but that's no longer the case, I bought a shirt a while ago that was labelled XL and it fit like an L!! A coat marked 48 in one country is labelled as 54 in another. I won't buy clothes unless I can try them on first.

You can buy just the awl needle itself without a handle, I just happened to have a spare that I was given with a heap of leatherworking stuff. As long as you don't rotate the drill chuck it should punch the same alignment each time.

Yep - if I ever get motivated enough to learn to use the design software. Every time I start I lose interest......

Very neat. Every time I see something like this I get annoyed that my laser can't cut acrylic!

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is to buy the narrow needle plate/feed dog, with that fitted you can use slightly thinner needles (i.e. smaller than a crowbar!) and comfortably sew with #138 thread if needed.

I use the same idea, and also for storing metal bars/rods under my lathe except I used 75mm/3" pvc stormwater pipe.