kgg

Obviously there are no instructions that came with your new machine and table so I would wonder as to what service/parts/accessories you are going to get down the road. You could check online maybe one of the manual sites has a pdf listed. Buying equipment like this from Ebay, Amazon, Alibaba, and many other sites can be great dollar wise saving for the experienced user but can be discouraging for others. I would contact the seller as well as Amazon and ask them or just return it to Amazon for a refund and buy a similar machine from a brick and mortar dealer. kgg

Using steam may work very well just I never thought of that method but would probably work. Rather then using a steam kettle maybe try a regular steam iron with a damp cotton cloth much like pressing a pair of pants with a nasty crease it may give you better control. That way you force the steam right though as well as combining it with heat and see what happens. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. kgg

What I would try is what I would basically do when show grooming my dogs by shampooing it with a good shampoo that has conditioner in it. If you are unbraiding the hair: Shampoo, rinse with warm water then repeat. Usually the first shampooing will not foam and maybe not even the second or third time. It will depend on how dirty the hair is, how hard your water is and how concentrated the shampoo is. When the hair is clean two things will happen 1. shampoo will foam with a very light scrubbing and when you rinse with a fine mist of water there will be very small water beading visible on the hair. Then hang it like you would clothes on a clothes line. Slowly dry with medium heat from a hair dryer and while drying use a good greyhound comb or soft brush. You may have to use a curling iron to straighten the real bad kinks. When finished drying weight it down on the ends and leave to hang until it is totally dry, it may remain damp for a day. If you are leaving it braided: Shampoo and hang as above but drying is going to be more intensive with no brushing or combing involved all hair dryer type work and no curling iron. I use too groom a fairly rare breed dog ( Bergamasco dog ) that has 3 coats that naturally braided and it took 24 -36 hours to completely dry. The problem I can see is that if you do not get the braided hair dry to the centre core it will rot and eventually stink. kgg

I am hoping maybe sometime this weekend to get a couple of photos my my newer design and post them. It is going to mainly depend on the weather and how sore I am. In the process of clearly and levelling a small 300 ft x 600 ft piece of my property that is forested with 60' trees and rock for dog training. I think as far as that the thread popping out of the tensioner this maybe more to due with the thread being loose with the only resistance to the thread being as it rubs along the side of the top body of the machine. Originally the thread would have been on a small wooden domestic size spool setting vertically on a felt pad on top of the machine, giving the thread some resistance as it was pulled off and spun the spool. Adding a second tensioner I think is providing back tension helping to keep the thread stretched to prevent spring back. These little domestic machines can surprise you as to what they are capable of and like Gymnast I have pushed some of the old Singers way pass their intended use with V92 thread. When any machine is pushed to the limit everything has to be just right, top and bottom thread tension, timing etc. For my purposes a good bonded polyester is the way to go but I don't always like/want to purchase 1 lb spools in various colours that may not get readily used and just gather dust. So for me I am always interested in seeing all information / discussion on thread, thread sizes, thread paths, thread problems, thread manufacturers, thread reviews, problem solutions, videos, pictures, etc it always catches my attention. kgg

Good video I enjoyed it. I suspect that the short thread run across the top of the machine to the tensioner doesn't help with the twisting. What I found using 8 oz spools of bonded black nylon and with the spool in the typical vertical position the thread had enough spring back on some spools to actually coil around the bottom of the spool and jam. This I figure has a lot to due with the matter in which the thread is spun on the spool at the factory and black seems stiffer probably do to the dying process. I don't have this problem with the larger 1lb spools of bonded polyester. My solution was to mount any spools that are of the 8 oz size horizontally and let the thread come off from the more natural position with no noticeable spring back. The only thing I had to do was make some minor adjustment to the top thread tensioner to compensate for the slight increase in resistance of the weight of the spool and gravity. I have mostly converted from bonded nylon to bonded polyester thread for this reason and some other factors as well as only occasionally using 8oz spools. The topic " Bonded Nylon thread 8 oz uncoiling solution " will show some pictures of my first go at a easy cheap solution which I have since completely redone, modified, added rollers for mounting two 8 oz spools horizontally and incorporated a platform to accommodate three 1lb spools. kgg

A couple of pictures would be nice for someone to be able to give you some advice. kgg

This link is of a video showing Lynn Macnab of preparing and brain tanning a hide that you maybe interested in. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/relying-on-brainpower-leatherworker-gives-the-boot-to-modern-methods kgg

Don't forget to check and see if they are legal in your state or other states you may send one or carry one. kgg

Lighting is for the most part a very individual perception, to much for someone isn't quite enough for another. With my cutting area the swing away (cheap IKEA) can be moved up/down or from side to side depending on what I think I need. Depending also if I am doing something during the day or night as the room has a window giving some natural light. The number of lights in the multi socket can be quickly changed. All the lights in every fixture throughout the house are LED so they don't get hot like the old fashion incandescent bulbs which makes changing them easier and besides they are more energy efficient (~10 watt LED = ~60 watt incandescent). On my machine I have a small adjustable magnetic light to give more light to the needle area as well I have a swing away light mounted to the back of the table for times I need a little extra. The area the sewing machine is located in the room doesn't quite get enough light from the rooms main three bulb ceiling light fixture.

I agree doing it one step at a time is a good thing particularly since you were planning on adding a sewing machine in the future. Some things may need to be changed, rearranged or added. The lighting that you have installed may work great for hand stitching items but when you decide to go with a machine you may have to go with something that can be easily shifted or additional lighting that can be more focused on the needle of the machine. I made the mistake of putting permanent lighting over where I planned to put a workbench in the basement and eventually had to put the damn workbench on wheels to get what I considered good lighting. Should have used the workbench with temporary lighting first then install permenant lighting, live and learn. kgg

Comma44 I agree with Mikesc a coat of white paint will make the world of difference to the overall feel to the work area. I would mount a couple of 2x4 to the concrete walls and nail some plywood (painted white) to them for hanging stuff like tools, power bar, gun blanks, etc. For standing comfort on the concrete floor put a anti fatigue matt down. kgg

Good for you Smartee we have been doing Raw for the last 30 years with our dogs. When my wife and I got our first pure bred we followed our vets recommendation as far as food went, spared no expense he had to have the best the vet could supply and ignored what our parents / grandparents had done. We lived in a place that kibble didn't appear on the scene until the 1970's. What a mistake for the dog and I swear I put that vets kid through college. Finally with the dog at deaths door we said enough is enough and went back to the old ways of feeding. Have never looked back since. How do people think we fed our dogs before kibble? kgg

Williaty, my experience with the bird nest on the bottom, was that the bobbin tension wasn't right and had to be readjusted. It also depended not only the size of thread but whether it was bonded nylon or bonded polyester and whether it was near the end of the thread on the bobbin. The colour of the thread also played a role particularly black bonded nylon. I have had most of my problems using the 8 oz size spools of bonded nylon thread particularly black, black seems stiffer with more spring-back as it uncoils from the main spool and as it uncoils from the bobbin then bonded polyester. The thread on some 8 oz spools would even spring-back enough to coil under the bottom of the 8 oz spool and jam. To overcome this when I am using thread from any 8 oz spool regardless of colour or type of thread I mount it horizontally to get a more even, smoother thread take off with no spring-back from the spool for the top thread and for when winding the bobbin. kgg

I do have a couple of questions? Does this occur just with cordura? Have you tried stopping the forward sewing before reversing or are you just depressing the reverse lever while it is still sewing forward? Does this happen when you are sewing at a real slow speed or only when at max. speed? You said you are using 135x17 needle but what size and how often are you changing the needle? Are you using bonded nylon or bonded polyester thread? A couple of suggestions to try. Try it with same number of layers of softer fabric as a test to see if it does the same thing. For V69 thread you should be normally using a #18 needle. I have had to sometimes use a size #20 needle, depending on the number of layers of 1200 denier ripstop I was trying to sew to get a good stitch. I find with ripstop (more waterproof) and I assume the same with cordura (more abrasive resistant) that type of material has a tendency to dull and bend needles fairly quickly. If possible can you do a picture of your thread path for the top thread sometimes incorrect top thread paths can cause weird top tension problems with stitches as well as worn tension check springs. kgg

A hard lesson learned by some FB users who are addicted to letting their "friends" know what is going on in their daily lives moment by moment do count downs. Vacation count downs to when, where and for how long they plan to go for. Guess what their homes / apartments get visited and their stuff magically disappears. The crooks were able to schedule an leisurely uninterrupted visit. To harden the lessen their insurance company looks at their page and doesn't cover their loss, who says your digital footprint doesn't count. kgg

It is the sign of the times, the more outlandish the view/action I think the more people are afraid of saying something just in case it may offend someone or even worse themselves be targeted. The 1%er's use to be the not so friendly biker clubs and other outcasts of society now it's the socially inept bubble wrapped snowflakes. When people wake up and realize that their facey book "friends" will eat them alive in a heartbeat things my change back to some form of normality. Just wait and see what happens when the smart home assistants get really refined and become as normal as today's cell phone. kgg

Welcome to the forum. You sir definitely have an addiction and now that you have been bitten you must labour at the feet of the leather beast. kgg

I guess business must be good for your sewing machine stores. If you want/need/like a new machine, at least has a walking foot mechanism, something that will hold it's resale value and a good workhorse then I would strongly suggest looking at the Juki machines. That is not to say the Consew 206RB-5 (~1400US) or the Sailrite Fabricator (~1500US) are not good machines each have their pros, cons and limitations like every machine but the cost difference to that of a Juki and the availability of parts/accessories for me it would be the Juki. The Juki DU-1181n (walking foot ~$1400US) or even better the Juki DNU-1541s (compound feed ~$1800US). Buy once, cry once. kgg

It all depends on what you need the machine for, your budget, space restrictions, etc. Yes some of the portable walking foot machines are terrible and sound like a bucket of bolts rattling around of which I will not mention. I do recommend the Barracuda based on my experience, it was sewn off by Reliable and worked properly right from the get go. I pushed that little machine too it's limits and then some. Remember that the Tandy Stitch Master is just a Sailrite portable walking foot planked into a table with a servo added. Reliable has their version of the Monster wheel called the Cuda Crank for about $110 US. kgg

I would be very wary of buying a machine head off eBay particularly a used head. I would first try your local sewing machine shop/dealer they may have a good used machine in stock within your price range. Another alternative would be go to your local Homedepot and look at a Reliable Barracuda for about $500 new. Buy it, bring it home and give it a try on your stuff. If you don't like it or it cann't do the job return it back for a refund. The Reliable Barracuda is portable walking foot very similar to the Sailrite LSZ ($900) and the Tandy Stitch Master ($1500) machines but a whole hell of a lot cheaper. In my opinion if the Sailrite LSZ or Tandy Stitch Master can sew it, the Reliable Barracuda can sew it just as good. I have used both the Barracuda and the Sailrite. This maybe a viable alternative until the dollars allow for a higher quality machine. kgg

Tony I don't think the cobra class 20 machine is going to be the ideal machine. There is not going to be one machine that does both ends of the spectrum. You need to decide whether you are going to do mostly garment weight items or holsters. A machine that will do the holster would probably tear the hell out of garment weight stuff and a machine that does garment weight won't be able to handle the holster weight. To give you an example Sewing Gold have a good set of videos on youtube that show the end result with three Juki's dnu-1541s, du-1181n and ddl-8700 sewing the same light, medium and heavy fabric. I would class the 1541S as a good compound feed upholstery type machine, 1181n a walking foot machine and the 8700 as a garment machine. kgg

Gregor what model is your machine? The reason I ask is the max size thread for BN is V69 (Tex 70, Tkt 40 ) with a max needle size of 16 (100) while the CN max thread is V138 (Tex 135, Tkt 20) with a max needle of 22 (140). Could it be that there isn't enough clearance for V138 top and bottom thread causing the machine to jam on this thread combination as well as a timing problem? I would check the timing, the model of the machine and then try it with V69 (Tex 70) top and bottom. If V69 (Tex 70) works good then I would try various thread combinations. You may find that with V138 top thread you may have to use V69 (Tex 70) or V92 (Tex 90) in the bobbin. kgg

Since we cann't see what is happening under the bottom feed dog cover plate I would take off the cover plate. Then very slowly hand wheel it through a cycle to see what the bobbin case is jamming up against without the top thread in the needle. What size of thread are you using? kgg

I would be more concerned with parts being available and how hard the machine was run with the patched together motor / reduction gearing that was placed bolted onto it. The silver cover for the belt to me actually looks like it was from a meat slicer. kgg

Gregor I clicked on the link to your video. I got a message that it was unavailable. kgg