SteveBrambley

An absolutely breath taking piece of work! Truly remarkable! Steve

What can I say? That's truly a fine piece of work! Steve

Phenomenal! That's one of the nicest cartridge belts I've seen for quite a while! Really excellent! Steve

Excellent!! Very smart!! Steve

Hi Ray, That looks like a really nice example! It is similar to our 29K58 that used to belong to my Grandfather. Do you need any leather belting for it? If so, we've got plenty, although there is a PVC/Polyprop substitute available, if you can get it, but it is fairly expensive. You could try cleaning it with ordinary parafin oil, the type that is used in oil heaters. It shouldn't do any harm to the decals or the japaning and will remove any dirt and dried oil. Steve

Hi Karl, I think you could be right! I really didn't think that it would be possible to convert this machine, but it appears that I was wrong! Those old Singer guys never fail to amaze me in how versatile they made their machines! If the parts shown in the list are still available, I shouldn't think it would be too much of a job to fit them. Dave, I will be really interested to see how you get on with the conversion! Singer made another, later, version of the darning machine, the 45K76. Steve

I just had a look on the Singer site and there is a parts list for the 45K48, which may help. It also confirms that the machines were intended for darning bags. The list is at: http://parts.singerco.com/IPpartCharts/45K48.pdf Steve

Hi Karl, That looks really nice, congrats. Steve

Hi Karl, Dave I don't know what Tony thinks, but , I suspect that converting (even if it is possible) a 45K48 darning (basting?) machine would cost more than the machine was worth, even if you could get the parts, which I doubt. I don't think that this particular 45K sub class was really intended for sewing leather. Steve

Hi, We've had reels (copps) of bonded nylon and polycotton thread lying around for years, before using it, without any problems at all. Even plain cotton and linen threads are still usable after ten to twenty years, as long as they are stored in a nice dry place! I also remember a ball of hemp, that Grandfather once used to make up his own threads for hand stitching, that had been lying about the shop for at least twentyfive years, which still appeared to be in good, usable, condition! Steve

Very many thanks for all your kind comments. Steve

Hi, I just finished this over the Christmas period. It's made from Gun-Metal Grey, 3 to 4oz cow hide, to a design by a young man who recently graduated from the Central St Martins Collage of Fashion in London. He supplied the patterns and all the leather and stainless steel fittings. It is a bit of a departure from the type of stuff I usually make and I think it could be improved, but I think it turned out reasonably well. I had to make up the piping (welting) myself, as we had nothing to match in stock; there is a small zip pocket under the front flap. Steve

Hi, First of all, I am not at all familiar with Pfaff machines, however, I would guess that your 1245 is not dissimilar to the Singer 211G256 or the Durkopp 291, both of which I use. In theory, it should be possible to lower the presser foot on your machine, however, as with all compound feed, alternating presser machines, this would not be an easy task, as there are a number of linkages attached to the presser bar. I think that your best idea would be to enlist the aid of a sewing machine engineer who would be well acquainted with the Pfaff 1245 and similar types of machine; although I would tend to leave it alone, as these machines are really too heavy for sewing leathers as light as 1 to 2oz. Steve

The long groove, above the needle eye, MUST face to your left, that is, away from the main body of the machine head casting. If it faces in any other direction the machine will not pick up the stitch! Steve

Hi Ray, There is still a possibility that the 'looper hook' may have moved or come loose. The Pilot works differently to most lockstitch machines, there is a hook that grabs the thread loop and pulls it across for the shuttle hook to grab like a conventional machine. I found that if this 'looper hook' is too far back (or forward) it will miss the thread and drop a stitch. Of course, it might be something else, but it's worth a try. Steve

Hi Ray, I had a similar problem with missing stitches with our BUSM Pilot, it was suggested to me - by you know who - that I moved the thread looper hook a little forward. I did this, and it now stitches fine, without missing stitches. If you don't know how to do this pm me and I'll try and explain the process. Steve

Hi Ray, As with your machines, some are used a lot more than others. The Strap cutters are used several times a week, so get a lot of use, as does the auto hole punching machine. The 'Epoch' eyelet machine is used not so often, perhaps once every month or two. I must admit that, so far, I have not used the Thermal folder yet, it was partly 3-phase, so I have converted it to single phase to make things easier. I have a number of projects in mind with which to use it, but, at the moment, I don't have the time to spare to work on them, as our general leather work doesn't need it; hopefully in the new year I will get to it. As I said earlier, I have never used the 'Murphy' cutter. It is called a 'Murphy Lightning Leather Cutter' but, so far, I have not found a use for it. Any suggestions? We have several more machines of which I will post photos, when I get some time to spare. Steve

Hi Ray and all, Here are is a closer look at some of the leather machines we have in our workshop. The first is a thermal folding machine, manufactured by BUSM in 1977. This will fold and glue the edges of pre-skived leather. It uses a hot-melt glue, held in a heated reservoir, at the top. The second is an 'Epoch' automatic, powered eyelet setting machine. Designed for shoes, of course, but great for belts etc. The third is a auto belt and strap hole punching machine, made by Merkle about 1970. Four and five are strap cutters, one by BUSM the other a copy made by B&J Wright. Six is an 'Express' leather cutting machine, made by E.J. Murphy. This has a round blade, like a 'bacon slicer' and can be used to cut large hides into more manageable pieces (I guess, I've never actually used it!). Steve

Hi Patrick, We have a 45K25 which is fitted to a powered stand and although it can be treadled you will find it a lot easier if you obtain an industrial clutch motor for it (You'll need at least an 0.5 H.P one for best results). I don't know how things are in France, but in the UK you can buy new stands and motors fairly cheaply, and second hand ones even cheaper. The 45K25 was used for closing heavy boots and shoes, as well as general leather work. It was fitted with a roller presser as standard, so you can sew very close to the edges on inside and outside curves. As it is simple drop feed, without any vibrating or alternating presser foot mechanism, it's best to use it only for fairly level work. I use ours mostly for making leather cartridge belts, as the roller presser allows me to get close up when sewing on the cartridge loops. Best of luck. Steve

Hi, I have a J. Dixon Plough Gauge that I use all the time, it is at least 100 years old and still going strong!! My father used it and my grandfather before him. It originally belonged to the harness maker from whom grandfather took over the business, therefore 100 years would be a conservative estimate! Steve

Hi, I'm not 100% certain, but I think that it is a Singer Model 650 domestic sewing machine. Although it would probably sew very thin leathers, it would not really be suitable for serious leather work. The Singer 20U would not be much better, as it is intended for fabric sewing and embroidery and has a zig zag capability. I am sure there are plenty of cheap industrials, which would be a much better choice, available, if you hunt about a bit. Steve

Hi, Kevin is quite correct, the 31-15 (31K15) is very suitable for light leather work. We used one, many years ago, for making small leathergoods, wallets, coin purses, key cases etc. However, there are many machines which would also be suitable or even better. You might consider the Singer 31K47 (31-47?) as this has many identical parts to the '15 but has the advantage of being equipped with 'alternating pressers' which are a great advantage when it comes to variable leather thickness, that is, it will 'climb' over lumps! Another good choice would be the Singer 211G146; this is a little bit heavier than the 31 class and comes with a 'roller presser' as standard, like the 31-15 class it has simple 'drop feed'. A good 'compound feed' machine ('drop feed' and 'needle feed') for light to medium leatherwork, would be the Adler 067-63, this will handle quite a range of different weights of leather, and has a very smooth action. Lastly, the type of machine to handle all kinds of leatherwork would be one with both 'compound feed' and 'alternating pressers', typical examples would be the Singer 111W101, 111W112 or 211G166, but these machines are quite a bit heavier than the 31-15 (Though not as heavy as the Toro 3000!). These are all 'flat-bed' machines, a good light weight 'cylinder-bed' machine would be several of the the Singer 17 class, such as: 17-16 ('drop feed' with reverse, can be fitted with roller presser) 17-20 ('drop-feed' with alternating pressers). Adler 069-373, with 'compound feed' and narrow cylinder arm, would be a good, slightly heavier, alternative (cylinder version of the 067-63). As I said, these are only a few examples of suitable machines, I'm sure others can suggest many more. Steve

Very simple! You turn the frame upside down, so the groove is uppermost, you then place the wedge part of the opener in said groove, with the flat 'platform' part underneath and then just squeeze the legs of the tool together. You then work your way along the frame, opening up the groove a section at a time; this will force the groove apart wide enough to allow the top of the purse to be inserted inside. Once the frame is fully in place, the frame closing tool (plier) is used to crimp the frame tight onto the purse. Steve

No, really, I'm being serious, honest! There are Purse/Handbag framing machines as well. Steve