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It will work just as well on dog collars. ed

On the 441, this spacing ring will come out when you take out the shuttle-hook-race. This spacing ring will move the needle closer or farther from the hook. In my experience, best stitching performance on the 441 is had when the needle slightly grazes the hook. With my current setup, I get this slight grazing with 25 and 26 needles. I'd like to create the same grazing with 23 and 24 needles. ed

Hi Jim, I measured the girth of my needles at the eye hole: Schmetz 26 is 1.95mm: I think my Neel's Model 6 (441) works the best with this needle and the spacer mentioned. Schmetz 25 is 1.65mm: My machine works well with this needle but I would consider shimming .15mm for absolute best results. Organ 24 is 1.54mm: I would consider shimming .2mm for this needle, but I'm not using Organ needles much these days. Schmetz 24 is 1.45mm: Because I'm pretty much sold on going without a feeddog and using a slotted needle plate for the work I do, I would say that a .25mm shim is definitely needed with this needle. Perhaps this and a 23 are the two needles that would benefit from a .25 mm shim. The above shim thicknesses are added to the standard 3.48mm spacing ring that came with my 441. I deally I'd like to be able to purchase additional spacing rings of various sizes. Because each machine is most likely milled just a tad differently, the actual sizing in millimeters will probably be different for each machine. As it stands, I'd like to be able to find a spacing ring or rings in the range of 3.68mm to 3.77mm in thickness. I've already tried cutting a .10mm outline of the spacing ring from an aluminum soda/beer can and found that it is too difficult to work with, especially with frequent installation and removal. Added to that is the fact that I would need to double up the shims to get the thickness needed. Might there be an easier method to shimming than trying to duplicate the outline of the stock spacing ring? For example, might it be enough to use just three or four small sections of shimming material temporarily held in place by a thin film of oil during installation? Ideally, instead of shimming, which is beginning to seem like a real pain, I'd like to be able to have spacing rings of different thicknesses, or maybe just one additional thickness of 3.68mm or 3.77mm. Jim, thank you for the measurement, as it helped me do some additional educated guessing. I'll call Artisan tomorrow to see if they might have some spacing rings of various thicknesses. There may even be a slight unintended thickness variation in replacement rings, if they have them in stock. ed

I was just playing with the shuttle, hook, race and spacer for my 441. I tried making a shim out of aluminum from a soda can. Here's what I found out: 1. The spacing ring on my 441 is 3.48mm thick. It works very well with 26 needles and well with 25 needles. I'd like to find a bit thicker spacer for 24 needles. 2. The aluminum from the soda can is .10mm thick and doesn't seem worthwhile as a shim -- too flimsy and will not last long. If anyone with a 441 (ferdco, cowboy, artisan, sewmo, neel's, cobra, etc.) has the time and remembers, could he or she measure the thickness of the spacing ring? I'm curious to know if there is a variance in spacing ring thickness among manufacturers and distributors. Thanks, Ed

I got the Bontex from Hidecrafter about a year ago. Give them a call to see if they still carry it. Zack White carries something else. Tandy may sell it. I also talked to a sewing shop guy on 125th street who thought it would be available somewhere in Manhattan, but I think the price would be better from Hidecrafter. ed

Though James Goldsmith made his millions in buying companies and breaking them down in the 70's, in the 90's he seemed to have changed his rhetoric 180 degrees: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdwmI9O4LEA ed

It would be nice to have as many perfect machines for whatever particular application is required. Barring that, my vote for the best all around machine would be a cylinder-arm (a tabletop option can be bought or made) walking foot that can easily do 69 to 277 (may have to knock that down to 207) thread all day with a presser foot clearance of a true 1/2", though it would be nice to get 3/4". Now that I've written this, I'm thinking the answer may be simpler than imagined: a short or long arm Juki 441 clone with spacers/shims for needle sizes 24 and smaller. The only negative is that I'm not sure if it's possible to get system 794 needles smaller than 23 for thinner threads. This means perhaps another type of cylinder arm machine that uses a different needle system would fit the bill better. Perhaps a 328 needle system (or something similar) would be a good bet. Now that I've written that, my mind wanders to the Sailrite Ultrafeed and its clones with a monster wheel, which are surprisingly versatile. I can not imagine doing gusset corners (or the six-inch lead-in to and lead-out from) on it. However, this little machine could just about handle everything else for a soft briefcase of sturdy construction. It will take 69 to 207 thread all day with very nice stitches. It will do 277 with 207 or 138 in the bobbin for short stints nicely. I suppose the real drawback is the small bobbin size. If there were a law mandating that people could own only one sewing machine, I would probably choose this portable walking foot or maybe a slightly heavier machine that is similar, which I think might be the Sailrite/Singer 111 (maybe the Consew 206RB is similar). Sailrite has it on its site. I think the needle system for all these machines is 135x17/135x16, which seems very versatile to me. Come to think of it, hasn't Sailrite already put a lot of thinking into what would be the ideal all-around machine, as it's something that should be somewhat heavy duty and able to be taken on board a sailboat for extended periods of time? ed

I was going to get a chimp for the extra hands but then I heard about what happened with that chimp in New York, so I decided I'll get married next year.

I think it is very important in times like these, and then keep up the habit in the future, to try to connect all the dots in examining how power works in society. While it does take time, it ends up becoming like a game, like playing cards or tennis or chess or backgammon. Its payoff is sanity in knowing how the tectonic plates of economics, politics, and power are shifting, which allows one to hop to the other foot when needed in the smallest and most mundane of everyday decisions that must be made -- as the personal is political. Though I am doubtful of the Internet's utility in the long run, there are still windows of opportunity for it to aid in shedding light on the fissures and cracks in the Matrix. All the dirt is right out there in plain sight; it just takes time to research and organize the information, and it is being done. Grab a big bottle of hard liquor of your choice and connect the dots below. When you're finished, never look back and never watch mainstream news again. Keep track of the names of the folks who really do have their eye on the walnut shell with the pea underneath and always search for their take on the issues: This ride requires a Double-E ticket and no seat belts will be provided: ------------------------- The Rabbit Hole: "All hope abandon ye who enter here" Your main conductor for this ride is the British journalist and agent provocateur Adam Curtis. 1. Click on this You Tube link to Adam Curtis' "The Century of the Self. There are four episodes (The Century of the Self), each about an hour long. Each episode is broken into about six 10-minute files. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Kp24ZeHtv4 2. Then go on to the next film: "The Trap" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIXDMycMYsw...feature=related This doc is also segmented into four parts, which are segmented into parts themselves. 3. If you can still stand the pain, take in Curtis' "The Mayfair Set" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yWY8IGczQE If you're still on board, then there is no going back, so you might as well keep it up. 4. "Status Anxiety": Now drive it all deeper into muscle memory: 5. Any number of Bill Moyers' interviews of the past two years, but this one will do fine: "Are we chumps?" "We might be." http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/02132009/watch.html 6. Thomas Frank: 7. Rick Shenkman: 8. Interview with Adam Curtis: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/20/ad...rtis_interview/ 9. For good measure, Dante's "Divine Comedy" Through me you pass into the city of woe: Through me you pass into eternal pain: Through me among the people lost for aye. Justice the founder of my fabric mov'd: To rear me was the task of power divine, Supremest wisdom, and primeval love. Before me things create were none, save things Eternal, and eternal I endure. All hope abandon ye who enter here. Such characters in colour dim I mark'd Over a portal's lofty arch inscrib'd: Whereat I thus: Master, these words import. --------------------------------------- Now, if you're still conscious but writhing on a bile-puddled floor in pain without the will to go on, you are then in THEEEEEEE perfect place to read Henry Miller's "Tropic of Capricorn." It will lift you up and make you right and put you back together in a way you never thought possible, a Phoenix rising from the ashes. Someone asked a while back why I've given the name "Maverick" to my bags. I had wanted to reply but was unable to encapsulate the exact reason why -- until now -- and I wanted to make sure that any explanation I gave be perfect. Well, if you've taken in all these links, including Miller's "Capricorn," and you put together all the disgust, pain, laughter, sadness, despair, joy, hatred, love, lust, and desire that you encounter throughout the journey, shake it and stir, and then start punching your way back to sanity stitch by ing stitch, you have a "Maverick."

Congratulations, John!

Look at the videos by Artisan and Sailrite. Also look on YouTube for some tutorials. Ed

Joe, Marvin's splitter sounds ideal. I gave Marvin a call and left a message. If possible, would you be able to post a picture of your splitter? Ed

I've used Bontex. By the way, are you in New York City? ed

Tthat strap looks as if it were done in bridle leather. IF not, do one in bridle. ed

I've never used neat lac for finishing edges, but I have started using Tuff Kote for that same purpose. Fiebing's also has a clear Edge Kote. ed

You probably already have this information, but you might want to call Texon's Massachusetts office for more information: http://www.texon.com/apparelaccessories/leathergoods.htm ed

tea tree oil on a cotton swab should work. ed

I have no idea if black Tuff Kote would work, but you may want to give Weaver leather a call and ask. ed

from weaver they are about the same price as the Jiffy Rivets from OTB. ed

What about Chicago screws? ed

Here's more for your script, and now you can say it's all based on a true story. I soldered up another fuse. I was getting better at soldering and cocky, too. "I'll wire up another to see if it blows, so I can be sure resuscitation of the electronic ballast is out." I did, and it did. The second time I soldered up a fuse, I did so with long leads coming out of the circuit board, to make it easy to test the fuse, as I may want to try a slightly higher rated fuse. Sooooooo, anyway, the second fuse blew, and I got the bright idea to see what would happen if I bridged those two leads sans fuse. I connected those two leads, minus a fuse, put on my safety goggles, held up a thick sheet of hardboard as a shield, and flicked the switch.............................."OH, SAY, CAN YOU SEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!"............The Fourth of July in January. At least I can once and for all discard the electronic ballast from the list of repair options. And then he was down to just two. If I were a cat, I'd be minus one life. Counting the time in '84, and once in the summer of '93, the trip to Prague in '99 , I'd have five lives left. It's such a waste to go out for the final bow not having used all your free passes. I have plan B working: the plug-in ballast. But there is not complete glory without being ample to use the two outlets at the base of the lamp. For that I have to still try to get the magnetic ballast working. I do have five lives left. ed

Could the company perhaps be the same that makes this hand-held device? http://cgi.ebay.com.sg/Cobra-Mini-Chain-St...emZ380083732388 ed

Art, Does Cobra have a website? ed

I would defer to everything Art has said and would suggest getting the machine you want from either Ryan Neel or Artisan. Art knows better than I, but I feel that Consew is putting its name on similar machines and jacking its price on that alone, as if it thought its name was comparable to Juki and Adler. Please keep in mind that I'm basing this on the purchase of a chinese (family sew/yamata/feiyue) walking foot machine that was nearly half the price of the same machine by Consew. I'm sure different machines are coming from different factories. You can't go wrong with either Neel or Artisan, and, as Art suggests, Cobra. ed

Has anyone ever heard of an embossing plate that will take three interchangeable initials? I'd like to find something like this with an alphabet set for embossing initials onto leather. I've been asked for this service several times, and it's time I look into the matter further. Thanks, Ed