dikman

If you ask a question about anything you will always get conflicting reviews. I didn't comment on which one to buy as I'm in Australia so the ones you mentioned aren't readily available. I bought 3 from Aliexpress (Skyrit brand) and one "locally" via ebay (a fairly generic type). No problems with any of them. If you find a majority of opinions in favour of one brand then that's probably as good a basis as any on which to make a decision. Pulleys - most servo shafts appear to be the same size, although there is the odd one that is different. Either buy the pulley from the same place as the motor or wait until you get it and measure the shaft to make sure.

Looks to me like you got a great deal! Make sure you fit a 2" pulley on the motor (every bit helps) but a speed reducer will certainly help, as it will give increased torque at slow speeds. Best thing, however, is to just fit the servo first and try it as is, you might find it works fine for your needs.

If you've never used a sewing machine then fit a servo, you will save yourself a lot of grief and frustration!

I've been pre-punching the holes using a sewing machine since I started. It just seemed logical to me, as it gives a neat row of evenly spaced holes and ensures that the holes on the backside of the leather are also straight and not wandering! I've got some punching/stitching chisels but don't use them much. The trick is to make sure the needle in the machine isn't too big as it's the awl, when pushed through, that determines the shape and ultimate size of the hole. In a sense I consider it the best of both worlds - a machine to give neat straight evenly spaced holes (and it's easy to get the exact spacing that you want) along with the look and strength of hand stitching. Works for me.

What's with the little "pigtail" spring on the case? Never seen that setup before.

I suffer from the same problem. I just re-kindled my interest in astronomy (bought a Celestron Nexstar 6SE at an absolutely ridiculous price) and have now found myself looking at other 'scopes. My wife is very concerned, as at our "later" stage of life she is downsizing our possessions somewhat, but as she keeps telling people I keep upsizing! As to the the topic, it has some merit and could get some interesting responses. The biggest problem is likely to be topic drift, which inevitably happens unless someone ruthlessly moderates it!

Very lucky - I reckon! Judging by the photos has it actually been used before?

Bewdy cobber! (That's for Mike ). Where on earth did you steal that from at that price?!!! Should be a nice machine for upholstery weight stuff. If you're going to use it at slow speeds, and the auto oiler won't function, it may be possible to manually oil the needed parts like we do with the older machines. If it's run at slow speeds the wear will be much reduced so it should be feasible.

Well, my holsters have been made using a belt sander, with the aforementioned Dremel for very tight curves. Works for me, and a lot cheaper than trying to find a spindle sander.

Well done, those manual releases appear to be rare as I haven't come across another one in all my searching! It means you can actually fit thicker stuff under the feet than it was designed for, but the downside is remembering to release the lever before sewing!! Trust me, it makes a mess if you forget.

I concur re- the Dremel-type tool. I have several () and keep a couple in the shed where I do my leatherwork. I have a small drum sander fitting, great for tight corners, and also made a small wooden burnisher, also for tight corners. I bought a cordless Dremel as it seemed like a good idea, and while it's great to take outside the shed for sanding maintaining the batteries is a bit of a pain. Between these and the belt sander there's not much I can't do.

Great idea (as long as you've got the room for it!).

If you can remove the top plastic "safety" cover then you can sand curved parts too (my large belt grinder dosn't have guards and it's handy having access to the wheels for curves).

A typical upholstery-class walking foot machine can make quite a bit of mechanical noise when driven full-bore, but when used at the slower speeds many of us use for leatherwork it shouldn't cause a problem for the neighbours (less of an issue than having a tv on, or playing music).

The Sika adhesive I use lists naptha solvent, toluene and acetone! Guess I've got a choice.

Looks very nice, Forester.

I use Sika glue (from Bunnings) as it's a bit thinner than some of the others and works well. Like the op I only buy small tins. I don't know what the thinning agent is that they use but I found that adding xylene seems to work ok. I'm going to try a bit of automotive paint thinner, as it "should" work and is cheaper. It's also better to add the stuff before it starts thickening too much.

In other words they can be a handy machine to have, but not as your main machine.

NO! Nothing wrong with them, for what they are, but I doubt if it will be suitable for what you want to do. It's not intended to be a production machine, its main use is as a repair/patcher.

Head only - most of the machines I mentioned (and the Pfaff 335) are heavy but can be lifted by the average person. You're not going to carry them too far, but they are manageable. Shipping can be an issue, as if you're buying privately you want to be sure they are packed well, sewing machine heads generally don't take kindly to being dropped or bounced around! Most people don't know how to securely pack a head unit.

Well, I can't argue with that.

Basically, you're looking at an upholstery-class walking foot machine, most typically have 3/8" clearance under the feet and will use #69 thread and may be able to run #138. A cylinder arm will certainly be more versatile but if you can't find one then a flatbed should still work. The usual suspects (used) are Singer 111/211 class, Consew, Seiko STH-8 series, Juki 563 - there are others, of course, but these tend to be the fairly common ones. If you buy used you'll need to factor in a servo motor if it doesn't come with one.

Thanks guys, that explains why I couldn't find it - basically, long gone. The extra couple of posts in Latigo's latest link are a bit more explanatory, they're using tallow, mixed with lard. The tallow is fine but I'm not sure about adding lard as it could tend to turn rancid over time. I think a blend of tallow and neatsfoot oil may be a better option.

My bad, I was referring to the forum you mentioned (APWA), it doesn't seem to exist. I wanted to look at the other recipes.

Mike, I think you're right about the Oakwood. I don't normally use it on anything I make as I bought it for my car seats (I actually hate leather seats in a car, hot in simmer and cold in winter!) and it is pretty thin. Air duster nozzle is a good enough description, souflette sounds like something you'd bake in an oven . I've got a few ideas to work with, just need to do some experimenting (sometime). Latigo, that link doesn't work, the site doesn't appear to exist?