chrisash

Hi Raksha If you look up Harry rogers on youtube he has a video on updating the singer 201 to a modern electric motor, the 201 is just a larger model of the 99 plus minor changes Helen at http://www.helenhowes-sewingmachines.co.uk is someone who helped me with spares for Singers, she will have whatever you need is incredibly helpful. she is based in England, but I assume that Norway would not have many spares for the older machines Hope this helps Chris

Is the Highlead GC-0318 a good buy at £350 for veg tan maybe 2 x 3mm max

Found this parts list if any help consew 310.pdf

I personally think that the large sewing machine companies cannot stop production of the most basic ranges to make changes for the smaller company orders so all are made exactly the same except maybe colour and logo's The likes of the Juki's of this world order enough sub categories to be able to have a lot of different models of the same basic machine, but the smaller companies can just buy the standard batch Every industrial machine relies on a service engineer being local to, to give them a once over every few months to stop break downs at peak times. Little doubt he can maintain any well known model regardless of the name on it All machines should come with a test piece attached so you can see it works ok I would suggest first action is to show a diagram and specs to your local sewing machine repair man and ask them if they are happy to work on it and get spares as nobody wants to spend money on a item in the back of a store for a few months waiting on being repaired Large scale advertising does not always meant they are value for money or better made Just my thoughts

The most consistent way to take photo's of smallish subject is to use a Light box, which is a square cube made of a thin white material where you can place your items in the middle, you then place two or three lights outside pointing in and arrange so you get the lighting effect you need normally without obvious shadows Plenty of cheap light boxes on eBay etc

Hi Wiz Can you reduce the marking by adjusting the pressure foot to a optimal pressure to limit the damage or get less sharp feed Is this a problem with just the thick leather only or both thick and thin

Very hard to beat water then burnish then bees wax then burnish for veg tan

There is or was a company in Norwich England who make enamel pins in small quantities, first they make a guide frame of the design and then put enamel into each section and heat it till it melts, not heard of the lately but sure there will be many others, most are made by clubs etc for lapel badges of all shapes and sizes Just found them at http://www.norwichgiftsolutions.co.uk/pin-badges/hard-enamel-badges-hard-enamel-badges.php Good luck

What thickness of veg tan can this punch through

Ian Atkinson at Leodis Leather does a template for a messenger bag with a free video to show all the steps, which I think is full size think the site is on etsy also Nigel Armatage does a version with Video, just check both names on youtube

Thanks Wiz, I will have a look

Some 29k have a £450 asking price in the UK in working order

Wow they made some great machines in the old days, guess they had few repeat customers who had worn them out

Is there a Tandy store in Japan they should sell them and post them Alternatively we have many people doing granite work tops for kitchens in the UK maybe they have them over there or stonemasons

Thanks folk That's was my own position i thought such a flimsy items was not fit for purpose but thought I would ask Matt your very unlucky i can see the Shetlands from Great Yarmouth, on a good clear night if i climb high enough (maybe 60,000 ft) Mine can easily handle about 2mm chrome in three layers but only one layer of 1,5mm veg tan using 40S bonded Nylon, which i expect it what most people manage, may experiment with size 20 bonded to see if it makes any difference, as the jump from 69 non bonded to 40S bonded nylon made a very big difference

Hi You-tube comes up with many experts on what to do, and I found one that pointed out the walking foot attachment was the Rolls Royce of attachments for leather work , but nobody else ever mentioned them, which is why I asked the question, but it seems his video was wrong One question you may be able to answer, with the 201 it states using the singer grease for the bevels, yet its discontinued and the other grease marked Singer is not available in the UK, would a Silicon or Teflon based light grease be a good replacement

Wiz your knowledge of sewing machines seem endless and great knowledge, but harping on that you should spend a thousand or two on a proper machine is rather pointless for people starting in leather-work as a small hobby who cannot justify that size expenditure I understand you are just passing on hard earned experience, but life is often make do with whats available I am a pensioner on a limited pension, and spending £60 on a 201k with a brand new motor and foot control seems good value and does basic sewing on chrome leather and maybe very light veg tan, if it ruin's the machine after 12 or 24 months so be it , but still good value to me, but absolutely useless to many people like yourself Very sorry if this post upsets you, but not meant to as your contributions have helped a hell of a lot people on this forum

I have a 201k for light chrome use with a roller foot which seems ok using size 40S bonded nylon. Have been looking for a seam guide on eBay, and seen the small walking feet attachments for the singer that clip on rather than the rolling foot Before I buy and try one i thought someone on here must have experience of them and knows if they are worth while or a wast of money. £7-10nukpounds

Wow,seems a shame to let someone use it, I would put it in a glass case in the lounge and let visitors have a look

Lovely work but i think you need work on the edges as they look like just cut and left

I need to hand sew two layers of about 2mm chrome leather with turned edges together I have both pricking iron chisel and french style pricking iron and wondering whats best to use Chisel, pushed through hole and may be stronger but poorer looking stitch Pricking iron and awl cuts the leather and may start a split if under tension, but nicer stitches Leather is used to make car seats My thinking is the chisel may be best but question my knowledge on the pricking iron cutting the leather enough to do any real damage All thoughts welcome

I understand, I forgot that others don't have a reliable broadband service My thinking is the same I use Microsoft versions 2003 and 2000 and don't normally like the cloud services, but this particular software just seems so basic in its functions that anyone can use it with out a three month Auto Cad learning experience Anyway all the best

I think this is a great post and one you should consider If you make the shoes to your design and they sell then that's a big feather in your cap and will teach you some skills along the way like how to produce a item in quantity rather than a singular item, pricing and also how well they wear. You can use this knowledge at a later date to make similar items if you go it alone for either a hobby or full time Two words of advice, check your contract of employment to see if designs made whilst working at the company are the companies property or not, hopefully nothing will be in the contract. Next do whats necessary to copy-write the design in your country without notifying anyone, this will give you limited design protection should you leave the firm Salary is always a problem to the young, but when you ask for a raise just point out all the reasons you feel justifies the raise, dont just say "please can i have a raise in my money" as they will say why or no Good luck and keep thinking that whilst your learning you are increasing your skills

Hi Dikman Not sure what point you are trying to make, a software program is the same wherever it's operated from and at no cost to use. Many millions or at least hundreds of thousand people use Microsoft office every day which is basically the same apart from the top end version which is computer based

Just found a simple to use but gives very professional results to enable you to design a stamp etc and send software to a friend who owns a 3D Printer https://www.tinkercad.com