RockyAussie

My advise is to take it in to a shoe repair shop that does this type of work as different leathers require different procedures to achieve the correct results. For many years I did this type of work including making shoes and I would not think about advising you without seeing the real shoes first.

Check that your bobbin is not catching or very tight to pull. If it is hard to pull loosen the little spring on the bobbin 1/4 turn and try again. If it is catching find out why. If the bobbin is good the First thing is to tighten top tension knob clockwise until you see the knots cumming to the top and then back of until they are middleish. Tension disks are like you gripping the thread between your fingers, the tighter you hold the more it will come in that direction. Thick and stiff leathers tight top and bottom. Thin and softer leathers less top and bottom.

From what I understand you have been trying it and it is going to fast. I would like to see a picture or 2 of the underneath side. Seldom will a binding machine be set up with a reducer in standard form and that MAY be the way to go. I would suspect though if you can find the extra $ get yourself a set up like the one in the video you had in. They should allow you to 1 stitch then stop with the needle still in and believe me that lets me get away with some very complicated stitching at times. Please see pics below of two of the tote bag styles we make. Without the vari stop type of control I would not bother with any thing like this level of maneuvering. Without a reducer a trick that can help when learning is to put a block of wood under the speed pedal and if needed a bit of foam attached to it as well. Bottom pulley on motor should be around 50mm (2")

Can we just be blunt about this? Sorry NO

Just recently I saw a french edge discussion and thought I would share one of the many tools I developed over the years which some might find helpful. This one starts off as a piece of pine timber around 6" long by 1+1/2" x 3/8' (180x40x10mm) and a couple of bits of Masonite or whatever. To alter the width wider just stack stiff cardboard bits until you have the desired cutting width and tighten the razor blade down on an angle to allow easy cutting.Until you become proficient in its use put something like a piece of plastic under to not cut into the underneath piece.

Hi Jackmitch, If you have the setup as shown in the vidio. I would have easily payed double that amout here. To slow it up try turning the black large knob anti clockwise. I am not sure of the other flip up and down ones but I think they should allow you to have needle stay down when you stop which is handy for corners. Gottaknow's gottaknow. Look after it and it will look after you.

I've been waiting for over 2 years for Tandy to wake up to the fact that there snaps are now made wrong. To be specific I am talking about the segma type snaps. All that has happened here in Australia is the price has gone up near double. I buy them by the thousands and that means nothing. The female part or should I say receiving part if you look at the slots and revolve it around you will see the slots don't stop equally all the way around and therefor when compressed they end up skewing sideways. This means that on 1 side the metal will be trying to push the male part out. Also to compound this problem now the male part is almost straight and has no knob. I am thinking if this goes on this answer will have to go into the adult section. Try the snaps from Ohio travel bag I think they could be better. Let us know if not but I get mine from a supplier over here.https://ohiotravelbag.com/

OK this driving me mad now. I don't often get this problem. I went and checked a couple of my machines and the vari stops are set to stop just as the needle is coming up a bit. If i twist the leather around a lot the thread can come out of the needle groove and I get a very small pull to the bottom. Then I tried just putting the needle barely in but enough to spin the leather about quite safely and no problems at all. I noticed that the thread tension check spring is under tension at this point but lifting the feet did not effect it. Maybe that might be a safer way? I respect all of your feedback and look forward to your thoughts.

Not sure of the machine but do you fully lift the foot or feet between doing the turn? When most machines lift the feet all the way up they loosen the top thread discs. If you are lifting all the way up try lifting just enough to not open the discs.

You said anything that will make my job easier and FASTER---- Now I feel like a torment. Oh well Rock on

Now that is something worth learning and I must say that gottaknow's input and Uwe"s into this forum alone makes it worth visiting. That tip is well worth remembering.

I ground down a spare foot to enable it to get closer to the roll but if you grind back to far it will have a tendency for you to put the needle into the roll. So grind and try,grind and try. I've seen your work and know it will be no problem. Also try a plastic tapered ruler under the line when your trimming it will help.

Just carefully try it without the disk I have a pfaff which I use with a disc like that and 1 without the disk and both work fine. The disc just takes out some of the free play and if it has become bent than it will be no good. Make sure there is no catching on the bobbin without the disc in.Does the bobbin turn anticlockwise when you pull the thread?

The picture you have shown is what I call a french edge and some would call a french rolled edge. It is easier if you don't make your corners too sharp and don't pull the corners to tight as you pull the strip around them. I usually work out my width of strip needed, skive 1/2" back about and start face to face and free hand stitch it around on the sewing machine with the 2 edges level. Finish stitching an inch or 2 short, cut off to match the skive and skive the top piece.Glue together and finish the stitch. Then just put a line of glue along the stitch all the way around and pull the strip over and flog it down until it takes up the shape. I normally stitch then up against the roll but pick where you like the picture you supplied shows it some distance away from the roll. I normally do a bit of glue after hammering down to hold everything in place. Sometimes you may want to trim up close to where you have stitched and that can be a bit of an art in itself. Hope that helps

@Sovran81 I Did do the hole through and quite a lot of other as well and like you was convinced it would work BUT the top thread has to be able to completely go over the bobbin some how or you get a chain stitch which is all I could ever get. If there were a way of doing it, it would be worth millions I know. Please study the full process before spending to much on it. Trust me I wish you the best of Luck.

MOD without bobbin--- I tried a hole through the bottom and all I got was a chain stitcher.

I have been lucky to pick up both of mine 2nd hand for about $5,000au each About $4,000us dollars at a guess. Both are pretty old and done a lot of work but they are built to last and have served me well. I do tend to butcher machines a bit as necessary and it helps to be mechanically minded but a couple of pics should help. The Comoga I mostly save for doing the croc backstraps and here you see the special shaped rubber rollers I made to enable me to run these backstraps through. This part I can alter for various width belts. The Albeko is great in that the waste comes to the front for ease of getting rid of. This one does most of our work for splitting wallet pockets etc but also handles heavy belt backing leather. Both have sharpening stones that enable you to bring the blade forward to touch which normally is done within a few seconds. Thickness is done by moving the roller at the top. I must say that the time saved in sharpening and splitting time (about 10 secs for a belt) makes these a very good investment.

Wait stop what is the big rush. A binding machine cylinder may not be as useful. It takes a lot of mods to make it multiply useful. I cant say about the Pfaff 337 as I dont have one I would try and get a 335. Please wait for some advise from some more specialized members like Wizcrafts and gottaknow and constablery and Darren Bolwalsky. Sorry if I spelt names wrong guys I don't know how to look up members on the run. Most of these guys are on line every day and will normally answer.

They are all nice machines but are flat beds. If I were starting out wanting to make wallets and bags my first machine would be a Cylinder machine. Going around gussets and such is sometimes impossible with a flat bed. When I stitch around wallets I always use a cylinder. A cylinder can be set up to have a table like a flat bed if you want as well. I have many styles of machines but the cylinders get the most work of all. I wish you well with your business future. Brian

Looks to me like your front foot length is shorter on the AM than the OEM. When you have the front foot up a max lift, does it sit lower than it does when you have the OEM feet on? Idea, get out the angle grinder with a thin blade and cut out a slot in the OEM. Many will scoff but I do that sort of thing often.If you really want I will send some pics of feet I have made from scratch and other I have highly modified to get them to have more room at the back for buckles and D's and so on. Brian

Looks like sheep to but size should be an indication. Try ripping it near that hole. If it rips fairly easily I would say sheep. This is a reason I don't like using sheep skin for almost anything.

Having a splitter or two is I have to admit an essential piece for me. My biggest competitor in the belt making area I split for quite regularly. What is starting to get me is I think he might be doing more belts now than me, he just ordered another 70 double shoulders cut into 38mm strips and spit for the croc belt backing. I only just done that amount for him last month. Anyway if anyone in Australia needs it done let me know and I will try and help. Precision no better than .1mm and max width about 15" . Can do beveled shaping possibly. Brian

Please see attached pics. Pics 1 and 4 are the type to avoid. Pic 3 is the better type and lasts for years. Driving is by 2hp motor minimum and easiest is like pic 2 a couple of saddle clamp bearings in a box frame. Allow room for motor adjustment to experiment with pully size. Some buffs are soft and some stiff and if you were doing glaze crocodile you may want a softer/ slower polish. A speed control may be a luxury but if you can it would nice to have. As for availability http://www.campbell-randall.com/machines/leather-goods-machines/ should be able to help you over there. Or Weaver I think. Hope that helps and if you need more let me know. Brian

Be careful what you buy. I will send some pics and details tomorrow. Some Italian ones i bought recently are only glued between divisions of something like cardboard and the hairs fall out regular. I have made machines for driving them so will also get back with details in a day or most 2. ( my dinners ready) Brian