Wellington

Thank you again, Cowboybob. I was going by the prices I found on ebay, but if I need more parts for the Adler, I'll be sure to get hold of you. I found some Chinese feet for the Adler, but they were too tight to fit, and I had to drill them out a hair on the drill press, and the steel was HARD. Thank you Shoepatcher, for the explanation on the feed mechanism. I was not familiar with "skiff feed." Would that be like this first illustration? as opposed to this "compound" walking foot: My Adler 67-GK373 works like the second picture shown, which is what I'm accustomed to, and would prefer in a 545... I really appreciate all your help, folks. Thank you. This is the best site I've found on the Internet for industrial sewing machine information.

Thanks, Constabulary, good points. Unfortunately, the machine is about 5-6 hours away, and I mainly want it for upholstery rather than leather...I really like my Adler 67-GK373 but parts can be hard to source and are probably 10X the price of parts for a Pfaff 145 or 545 (if you can find Adler parts at all). This price differential has never made much sense to me, since (as I understand it) my Adler is like a twin of the 145 but that seems to be the case...I think I could buy a new hook and a pile of presser feet for a 145 or 545 for what I paid for one presser for the Adler...

Thank you, CowboyBob. I had a feeling it was too good to be true. Trying to find a nice 545 for a decent price is no small feat!

To (maybe) clarify and simplify my question, I was under the impression that all Pfaff 545 machines, and all Pfaff 145 machines -- like my Adler 67-GK373 or any true compound-feed "walking foot" machine -- worked the same way. But the "P" in the 545 model number -- or lack of a "P" -- suggests to me that maybe different versions of the 545 work differently. Is that the case, and if so, how do they work differently? (And sorry if my earlier post was too wordy and/or unclear.)

Hello, all, I've been looking for a Pfaff 545 for a while, and I recently found one but had a question about the different specs denoted by the letters in the model number. Most of the machines I've seen have "CLPMN" on the brass tag, but the one I found recently lacks the "P" and instead the brass tag is stamped: 545-H4-6/01 CLMN 10 I have a document on the Pfaff letter codes and it says that the "P" means "four-motion drop feed on top-feed machines." Can anyone clarify for me how the "CLMN" version differs from the "CLPMN" version? Also, can anyone tell me what the "10" means after the "CLMN"? I currently have an Adler 67-373GK machine, which I believe is pretty close to a Pfaff 145, if that helps in explaining how this machine might compare to mine. Thank you in advance for any help. Jeff

Thanks guys, looks like the closest Tandy is about 200 miles, I'll see what else is in the area. Appreciate your help.

Thank you Alpha2 and Chuck, again, for your replies. The back piece with the belt slots seems fairly sturdy for the time being, but I agree, I might want to replace it. Would this piece of veg tanned leather (3.2-3.6 mm) work? https://www.ebay.com/itm/153633181450?var=453663099840 And would these kind of copper rivets and burrs work? https://www.ebay.com/itm/271200449183 As I said, I'm not a leatherworker, but I inherited some leatherworking tools from my Dad, and I do woodworking and metalworking, so I'm fairly handy... I know I may be "gilding the lily" here, and I know I'm ruining any "collector value" for my P7 holster, but the gun is a "shooter" and the holster is a "user" ...and P7 holsters aren't easy to come by anymore (I have an IWB model on order from Milt Sparks, but that's gonna take 7 months for them to even begin making it...and I want an OWB holster now...) Thanks again for all your help.

Thanks for your reply, Chuck123Wapiti, maybe I will try dye and stain. The top layer on the back part (the panel with the slots for a belt to go through) is cracked and seems almost like a plastic, seems to want to come off in big flakes like paint chips...or maybe it's chrome-tanned and the surface layer is cooked/melted? Does that happen with chrome tanning (like "patent leather" shoes where they almost look like they're made of plastic?) I would like to do something to that back part of the holster, where the belt slots are, to make it last longer. Is there anything I could treat the leather with, that would "consolidate" it more to give it more wear/fatigue resistance? Or will neatsfoot oil be sufficient? Thanks again, W

Hello, all, I recently bought a pistol holster that is probably close to 40 years old, and I want to use it, and would like to "restore" it to make it look better cosmetically and also ensure its durability. I'm not really a leatherworker, so I don't know what type of leather was used in it or much else, except that it was probably made in Germany in the 1980s. Here are links to some pictures (pics are fairly large so I didn't want to gum up the forum by uploading them here): https://i.ibb.co/HKzTKSs/p7-holster-1.jpg https://i.ibb.co/JckNsBV/p7-holster-2.jpg https://i.ibb.co/P1jMcDc/p7-holster-5.jpg Would like to make the worn areas black and shiny/weatherproof again, if possible. Would also like to "reconsolidate" the leather where it's starting to "dog ear" near where the trigger guard of a P7 pistol would hit it upon insertion into the holster. But since I'm not a leatherworker, and don't really have use for a lot of leatherworking chemicals/finishes, I would like to minimize the number of materials I need to buy. Can anyone advise me? From reading online, I had sort of mapped out this plan of attack: 1. Clean the holster well with saddle soap and let it dry well. 2. Use Fiebing's black leather "stain" on the areas where the black finish has worn off, and let that dry well. (In reading online, I get the impression that "stain" would be better than "dye" for filling, leveling and leaving a smooth surface for subsequent coating with acrylic finish...is that about right?) 3. Finish with Fiebing's (black) Acrylic Resolene Protective Acrylic Finish for Leather, maybe 2 coats, and let that dry well. 4. Cover everything with a coat of carnauba wax to help rain/sweat roll off. Does that sound reasonable? Are there materials that would be better to use for this job? I'd really appreciate any and all advice anyone could offer. Best regards, and thank you in advance for any help (or at least for reading my long post!) W. P.S. I wasn't sure whether to post this here in the conversation sub-forum or the "finishes/chemicals" subforum, so if I've put it in the wrong place, I apologize.

I just saw one of these Consew 18 machines in a flea market/antique mall for, I believe, $125. It appears to be in good shape and it looks like that price includes a table and motor, etc. I already have a good Adler 67-GK373 for upholstery and leather work, but holy cow, I have trouble passing up what appears to be a perfectly good walking foot machine for $125 with table and motor. Is there anything I need to be aware of with these machines that can bite me in the butt if I'm not careful to look it over? The low price has me a little hinky. I know enough about sewing machines to be dangerous, am but by no means an expert. Thanks in advance for any advice.

Thanks for your reply, Battlemunky. I will for sure look for Little King Goods' video on Youtube. I appreciate your help.

Hello, all, I would like to make a one-off wallet out of Horween shell cordovan. In the past, I've purchased wallets made from water buffalo hide, but the last one only lasted me 14 years, whereas I have shell cordovan shoes that have been resoled almost that many times! Although I have been reading this forum occasionally for a few years (largely for sewing machine information -- I bought an Adler 67 GK373 walking foot machine a few years back; thank you for the great info, Uwe!), I have not done all that much leatherwork other than repairing boots with a jerk needle (and the Adler is used mainly for upholstery). All that said, I was considering trying to make a shell cordovan wallet like this one: https://ashlandleather.com/collections/johnny-the-fox/products/w-fox-cordo-black100 since I believe I can make it for less $ than they're selling them for, and it would be a good learning experience, I hope. But I have a few questions for folks who know much more about this than me: 1. Use cutting dies, or cut pieces by hand? I see that I can buy a set of dies for cutting the pieces for a wallet for $50 to $75 on AliExpress. Is it worth buying these dies for cutting shell cordovan, or could I use a sharp knife like an Xacto knife or something like that? Again, this will be mainly a one-off project (unless it turns into a disaster) so I'm not sure whether buying the dies will be worthwhile...but if cutting the pieces by hand will be extremely difficult, then maybe it will. 2. Sew by hand or machine? Although I have an Adler 67, I'm thinking I should stitch this by hand since the shell cordovan is so expensive and since I've never really sewn much leather. Do you think I can get a decent stitch by hand with a bit of practice? 3. Stitching material -- nylon or polyester? For my upholstery work, I've been using mostly polyester thread in Tex 69 size. What would be appropriate size/material for stitching a wallet? Would nylon be preferred over polyester, since I believe it's stronger and UV resistance isn't that much of a concern in a wallet? 4. Are there any special concerns related to using shell cordovan that I should be aware of? I was thinking of buying a piece of Horween shell cordovan for about $150 for something like this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-Shell-Cordovan-From-Horween-USA-Black-5-check-pictures/133550647976 Thank you for reading my long-winded post, thank you in advance for any advice, and Happy New Year to all! W.

After messing something up with my Adler 67 GK373, I took it to a sewing machine mechanic here, and discovered something that I thought I would add to this thread for the future use of the forum: Most of the bobbins I'm finding online that supposedly fit this machine, also are claimed to fit the Pfaff 130. I have a 130, so I have been successfully using those bobbins in my 67 GK373, but my sewing machine mechanic sold me some bobbins that are slightly larger (longer in the axial direction) and they also work. I like the idea of using the largest bobbin that I can possibly fit into this machine, so I jumped at the chance to get some. I'm pretty sure these bobbins are sold for use in the Juki LH-515 and LH-1152 and LU-562 and the Consew 225 & 226, and I found some here for about 50¢ apiece: https://www.ebay.com/itm/BLACK-METAL-BOBBINS-FOR-JUKI-LH-515-LH-1152-LU-562-CONSEW-225-226/153596849446 The key specification for finding them online seems to be that they are 22mm diameter x 10mm high x 6mm bore, even though they don't seem to be marketed to owners of the Adler 67 GK373...

Across the bay from you, on the Eastern Shore...middle of nowhere. How 'bout you?

Thank you, sir!