RockyAussie

That Juki looks good for the job but I cant say I have any experience with the thin shaped throat plate as yet. The small end is a great asset when doing tight curves as in wallets etc. The way I design a lot of my wallets I can stitch all the way and across the bridge area as well. A check on my web site should show some I think.I way prefer the table with the cut out in the middle as it gives somewhere to put extra bits to be stitched a lot of the time without needing to of feed of a trolley which does slow things down.

Happy St Patricks day to you as well if it still is I guess. I cant say I know of any books or video's on stitching in an overall all encompassing way. I guess first thing is are you hand stitching or using a sewing machine and what type if you are? I have too many sewing machine types to mention and although they all mostly work to sew and join stuff together in a similar sort of way they all have their own, can I say personalities. This week I had an operator who could not understand why the edge of the tote she had sewed up when put into shape showed the stitching thread so much down the edge. The tension looked fine and the knotting looked to be in the middle? This machine previously was still set up for very light duty work and the tensions were set to not pull the fabric out of shape on credit card pockets.By tightening the bobbin 1/2 a turn and the top tension about a full 3 turns we still ended up with the knot in the middle but the tightness of how it held was a world of difference better. The point here is that it can take a lot of practice to get the end result desired and sometimes a little advice can help.I would love to see your picture of the seam whenever you are ready. Regards Brian

Thanks Uwe and Jim Timber. I have recently bought a 441 with a guide rod that is mounted along with the bobbin tension discs. What threw me here is that my understanding of doing the tension on this machine is to tighten the second tension 1 turn to 1/2 half turn at the primary tension. As Uwe kindly has shown in the pic above I believe the surface contact area on the thread would be more than if going straight down to the secondary tension. Therefore has that procedure of tightening the 2 got to be done any differently? Regards Brian

Hot foil or just blind stamping with the heat and a decent hot foil machine will work most of the time on chrome, but sometimes maybe consider a Veg badge stitched on as some leathers just won't behave almost whatever you do.

Would it be too much trouble for a pic of this Steve. It sounds like the tension discs would be nearly fully surrounded by my understanding.

Likely you have skived tooo deep. Whether you stitch above the skive or within the skive depends on the job and how you want it to appear. If you want the thread not to show much generally the thicker the better if the leather is soft.

Forgot to mention that for high production and that type of work a needle positioning system would help a lot while you learn and speeds production a lot while helping to keep the quality high.

The Pfaff 335 is an excellent machine for this work. I have one myself. Given where you are though I would think first about the Seiko as in this link.http://www.seiko-sewing.co.jp/en/products/lscseries/ Consider for high production the larger bobbin/hook size. From a quality point it would be also be at the top and service would be very easy I think.Showing support for the country your in can be of advertising benefit as well.

First question is what thread size would you like to be able to go up to on top and bottom? 2nd question is are you wanting high production? 3 what is the thickest material/leather you want to stitch?

Average time on the 5 holes on both sides is about 40 seconds with practice. It is not so much burning as it is ironing which at the end of the day is mostly what burnishing is without so much rubbing.If you want to try without the dimmer switch try rubbing a bit of furry edge leather high up the shaft nearer to the handle. A quick wipe should smooth in the nap quite well.

The fastest and easiest way I have come up with is done with a 60 or 80 watt soldering iron temperature controlled through a light dimmer switch.We do all holes in our belts this way including the crew punch slot for the buckle. Takes a bit of practice but gives excellent results and on belts that sell between $200 and $500 that is what you gotta do I reckon.See pics. The tip get shaped to suit and polished generally every 200 or so belts.

I agree. It looks a lot like the Italian leather we use in quite a few of our tote bags.Sovereign is one that is of a high standard we use often. The agents in Australia have a pretty decent web site.http://www.leatherco.com.au/colours/upholstery-leathers/furniture-interior/sovereign/3/12/89

At that weight I would 2.8mm may be alright. In saying that and looking at the leather in your other post and taking into account that getting the strap split any thinner would be a hassle.

If it helps I bought a few of the needle dispensing bottles for just this task from HK similar to as in this link.http://www.ebay.com/itm/Two-1-OZ-bottles-with-stainless-needle-tip-dispenser-for-Grandfather-Clock-Oil-/120925943269

2.8mm seems pretty thick to me without seeing the camera and weight etc. A picture would help. I would think about 2 to 2.2 mm under the ring would be more about right normally. To get a really refined look I sometimes skive and join the 2 ends to end up at the some as strap thickness then sew it around in a complete circle. Make sure to put the ring in first and move it around as you sew. Once this is done either sew to close or rivet if you prefer.

Just A and C assuming C is the other end of the strap. Many do none at all.

Where is the thanks???Ohh and if I upset anybody whatever their gender ...........I don't care...... Without any thanks as often seems to be the case I think whatever the hat you wear the reason to try and help anyone seems a bit pointless. Simple.

I believe this is a Fortuna model UA which I think handles as wide as 12". It is very similar in design to a Comoga that I have. For small leather goods they are a true asset but a bell skiver if you don't have one already would be first on my list. With a good roller foot you can do good splitting be that it may need several passes for wide pieces.. Beveling the edges and cutting in furrow lines etc are not so easily done with a splitter compared with a bell skiver. I expect to post some details and possibly a video on this application within the next 2 weeks.

Excellent work Uwe as always. I had only assumed that it would or should have one. The one you have pictured on the left I have never seen the like of before and it is a scary looking little beast. Any chips on the outer edge of the bobbin would I think be a real headache.Thanks for your kind input.

Just check also that the dished spring is still in the bobbin case back as it helps to stop the bobbin running too loose and untangling and so on. Brian

Thanks Chief. I have just finished it off and here are some pics of it without a guitar unfortunately. Trust me applying and cutting the backing and then finish edging is a real challenge. Brian

What gauge needle are you using? At that thickness it would need to be I think 200 or more. Just a guess. If you have gone down to a thinner needle your hook may need to be closer to the needle as well. I would carefully check the timing first before that as these machines get knocked out easily and will still work most of the time.

The hook should be going above the eye and into the hollowed out section above the eye. This if it is as you say would indicate your timing is out.

If it is on the bed mounted like what I currently have it is a pain as it has to be undone at times and the distance has to be reset when putting back into position. The swing down I have put on other machines does not need to be reset.

Gator would normally be skived around the edges then fully glued and laid on top and pressed tight into the filler or bottom skived lining. This would normally then be second cut or trimmed before stitching.Hermes have a video on the tube if you check.