dbusarow

My wife and I managed to escape from socal 12 years ago. And leaving was probably the best decision I ever made, as far as quality of life! But one thing you have to give the LA area is that there are enough people there to make it feasible to pursue just about any business venture you can dream up and have some level of success. There are so many potential customers that your marketing is the key, not necessarily your idea. I think that a leather craft school could do very well. You can include ties to the garment industry but I wouldn't forget about gun leather, motor cycle gear and even horse tack. Dan

Hi dgkfit, It's now Monday morning so I'm sure you will be able to contact someone at Leather Machine Co. But.. I bet you could have gotten hold of someone there yesterday too. Spectacular service is part of what you end up buying from them and the other sponsors here. Back to your problem, this is almost 100% certain to be due to you not holding the top thread tight enough for the first several stitches, at least 3, 4 or more won't hurt. Voice of experience, and I note that it has already been mentioned in this thread too. As far as adjusting the bobbin tension. Well, there's a tension adjustment screw there, and it does need to be set correctly. But it is also, based on experience, the last thing to touch when experiencing a tension problem. The bobbin just needs enough tension to slightly resist the thread being pulled out. As far as the adjustment screw, there is a LOCK screw too. Loosen the lock screw, make whatever tiny adjustment needs to be made to the bobbin tension (I use a jewelers screwdriver for this) and then tighten the lock screw back up. Hope that helps! Dan

Thanks for that comment Bob. Steve ships with it turning in the right direction. He has to, since he ships his machines with a pretty impressive piece of sample sewing still in place. If the motor somehow resets itself to default during shipping (probably during the unplug and then plug back in process) there's not much he can do until he hears about the problem. I'm with Darren, Steve should have been the first to hear about this. He would have walked the user through fixing it AND it would have given him info to potentially prevent the same thing from happening to the second user. Dan

It keeps changing itself to show only unread content from BSDM I delete the BSDM entry, leaving the field blank and save it. But it comes back. Thanks, Dan

Triple feed. It's Cobra's 441 long arm Dan

I''m not sure about the stains, since I've never gotten any, but the blue tint will go away when you apply some neats foot oil to the leather. It should turn a deep deep black when oiled. Dan

Hold the top thread tight for the first few stitches. That should take care of the problem.

Uwe, I'm looking forward to the write up and parts lists. This looks like fun. Dan

The ties used on saddles are usually latigo and 6/7 seems about the right thickness. You could go thinner, especially for your application. 4/5 would probably work just fine. Dan

You do not need to re-tighten these. This tie is the weakest link in the system that holds a saddle on a horse. It's strong and it stays tight. Dan

Take a look at the method used to tie a latigo onto a saddle. http://www.western-saddle-guide.com/attach-a-latigo.html Your not likely to tighten your belt as much as you do a latigo Dan

A Beretta mag measures Thickness, 0.805 - 0.816 running up and down the length of the mag. That's a mag that's been loaded for a couple months. Width, 1.255 as near as I can tell. Kind of hard to judge cause of the angle. From the top of the baseplate to the top of the feed lips, 4.6" Dan

When the lever is roughly centered, the stitch length is 0 The farther towards the bottom the lever is, the langer the stitch length. The numbers are a rought guide only. Moving the lever above the center '0' mark puts the feed mechanizm into reverse Dan

Wow. That is so simple. Thanks, Dan

Hi MudBugWill, I'm interested in one of those blades. How much are you charging? Thanks, Dan

A proper sight channel would probably have solved the problem. Dan

My guess is that you are looking for this type of fastener. Lift the Dot http://www.dotfasteners.com/lift_the_dot.html Dan

I think that I'd add a 4" wide trim to the top of both boots. No need to tool. Dan

I think you should be flattered. And you deserve to be. Dan

Check out the Wickett and Craig overstock sales http://www.wickett-craig.com/overstock1.html and check out their regular pricing too. Special, which is their lowest grade, is going to be better than any of the options you list above. http://www.wickett-craig.com/pricing2.html Dan

Wizcrafts, I think the knots would be even larger. The top thread is forming a loop with two thread thicknesses being pulled up. And that loop is pulling up the bobbin thread that has two thread thicknesses being pulled up into the leather. So there will be four thread thicknesses making up the knot. With 554 thread that's 0.128", about 3.3mm even without taking into account thread stiffness. Dan

1mm = 0.0393" 554 thread is "only" 0.0326" and takes a #30 needle. See chart here. I don't think a 441 can handle that. Dan

Like so? Two tone Mexican Round Braid

I decided to go with a Cobra 4 instead of a Cobra 3 and that got me the accessory pack along with the longer cylinder arm. So it cost about $400 Well worth it though. When I was first shopping I didn't think I'd ever need the extra throat depth. But instead of going to waste I now find myself wishing for more. I just checked Cobra Steve's website and the slotted plate is listed there for $85.00 For heavy canvas you will want the Blanket Set which includes a toothed feed dog and presser feet. You can do thin leather with the standard plate, you just can't get real close to the edge. Run the seam about 1/4 inch in and you are good. Going back and forth between heavier leather, a couple layers of 8/9 and something like 2 layers of 3/4 does take a lot of adjustment though. At least that's been my experience. I only setup for the thin stuff if I really need to. Dan

The slotted plate is not intended for normal use. When you need it it is great. But you CANNOT use a feed dog with the slotted plate. That is why it is an accessory. Dan