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Just thought I'd report back that there doesn't seem to be any difference in tension between these two bobbins. ed

I just called Diamond Needle. They were about to give me a very good price of $52.70 for a box of 100 needles. At that price I put in an order for three boxes. Then I immediately got a call back informing me that since I was not a major purchaser the price shot up to $85 per box of 100. I ended up cancelling the order for #26 LR and #25 and #26 diamond/tri. If anyone can get the $52.70 price and is interested, I'll buy some, up to half, off you. These are Organ needles. Maybe this is a sign that I should stick to Schmetz. Anyway, I also got feedback on the serv1 points and suggestions that I should probably stick to the diamond/tri points for the longer life of the point, more economical. I think I'll stick to diamond/tri points and, for the English look, LR points Ed

Hi TwoCrow, That's beautiful stitching. Is it by hand or machine? Ed

I'm thinking that within the next two months, I'll want to stock up on #25 and #26 needles. They are cheaper if we buy by boxes of 100, but I certainly don't need that many, just about 30 of each size and needle point. Anyone interested in going in on these needles? Cost per needle should be about $.90 or $.95, including shipping. Unless I can be persuaded to stick to tri/diamond point needles, I was thinking of the following order from Diamond Needles for , if possible, all schmetz needles: 100 #25 diamond/tri point 100 #25 serv 1 point 100 #25 LR point 100 #26 diamond/tri point 100 #26 serv 1 point 100 #26 LR point I'm not yet certain about sticking with the serv 1 point needles, so we could simplify the order to include only the diamond/tri point and LR point needles. Excluding shipping, each box of 100 needles should be about $85 to $90, but I've got to check to be sure. Does anyone know of an affordable bulk dealer other than Diamond Needles? Ed

I like Coats and realize the consensus seems to be Coats first and Eddington second, but The thread exchange has some very good prices on Eddington chestnut/brown and very reasonable shipping charges for 16 oz spools of 207, 277, and 346, which I'm eager to try. Should I just stick with Coats or give this Eddington a try? Ed

Hi Art, Last night I bent the tab so that it wouldn't be a problem, but the result was more bobbin thread tension. Then I went to bed. I think I need to get more creative in how I bend this spring/clip, not just the tab. I've been wrapping the thread 1.5 times around the secondary tension wheel (closest to the needle). If I take a bird's eye view of the wheel I see one strand of thread. If I take a worm's eye view (from underneath the machine looking up) I see two strands of thread. If I wrap the thread once more around this wheel, there will be two and three strands respectively. Thanks, Ed

Hi Art, Thanks for pointing out these other issues to be aware of. Often I ask questions anticipating certain issues not currently a big problem, and sometimes I like to fix things that don't need fixing. Ed

I've been meaning to ask about this for some time, and now the issue has raised its head again. I'm having problems again getting proper top and bottom tension. Bobbin thread (207) is pulling top thread (277/#25 needle) to the bottom when the top tension is already pretty tight and the bobbin tension already rather light. Leather used is one layer of 7/8 oz belting leather or veg retan. I've loosened the bobbin tension screw to the point where the top thread is now catching on the tab portion of the bobbin case tension spring. This isn't the first time this has happened, so I'm beginning to think I should tweak that bobbin case tension spring somehow so that I can screw down that tab far enough that the top thread doesn't catch on it but that bobbin tension won't be too tight. Thanks for any suggestions. Ed

Do any of you ever mix up bobbins of the same colored thread but different sizes and have difficulty telling the difference between the sizes? Sometimes I think I've grabbed what appears to be 277 or 207 only to have them mixed up. Is there, by chance, some method other than sight or touch to tell the sizes apart? ed

Here's a twist on that old saying about fishing: I bad day experimenting with a heavy-stitcher is better than working. There's something exciting about learning the in's and out's of a powerful machine and growing attuned to its personality. Ed

For those of you who have several different presser feet for your machines, especially if from the same vendor, do all of these feet extend the same distance to the needle plate, or is there some variance For my 441, I have a narrow harness makers foot and a blanket foot, as well as blanket toes (one blanket foot with the right toe cut off, and one with the left toe cut off: I love the stitch these feet and toes put down, though they can't be used for stitching in tighter areas.) The outer toes and center foot of the harness maker's foot touch all the way down onto the needle plate. With the blanket foot/toes, the outer toes do not touch the needle plate, though the center foot does. Ed

To allow myself to stock up on resources for a productive new year, I'm clearing out some old stock. I have for sale the following 214 x 2/328 system needles used in the Baby Bull, MAch 1, Neel's Model 5, and other similar machines, $.75 apiece: 21/130 LR 20 needles 22/140 LR 30 needles 24/180 RTW 20 needles 25/200 (opposite of LR??) 7 needles 25/200 LR 9 needles Accessories I have for these machines are: 1 filed feed dog $5 Right presser toe $25 Left presser toe $25 Ed

After looking more closely at Ferdco's and Artisan's raised needle plates, I came to the conclusion that the original maker of these plates must have had the same understanding bruce has. Any plate that is meant to stay installed for a long period of time, flat plate and holster plate (though ferdco's and artisan's holster plate don't seem to have the hole), will have the lube hole. THe stirrup plate, on the other hand, doesn't have a hole because it isn't meant to stay on the machine that long. . That said, I really like the holster plate. Because of its plateaued stitching surface, I can, as Bruce has mentioned elsewhere, stitch for long sections and many applications without having to switch to the slotted flat plate. One last thing: It seems if there is ever any needle deflection, it will happen on the right side of the slot of any of the needle plates, and possibly the lower passive feed dog/needle guide, if installed. Would there be any drawback to widening this area on the needle plates and feed dog by about 1/16"? Thanks again to everyone who talked me into getting a dremel, which, in my opinion, should come standard with all heavy stitcers that have an array of attachments. Ed

I'm thinking about adding Coats Chestnut thread (207, 277, and 346) to my stable. Does anyone else use this color and like it? Ed

I was just reading about the Super Bull and the 2010 short Arm on Ferdco's website. They list the needle system for this machine as 794S Serv1. Perhaps this is nothing , but I didn't know part of the nomenclature was for the machine's needle system was Serv1. I'm asking because lately I've been using the Serv1 needle point and have been impressed with the stitch quality. Previously I had been using the tri/diamond point needles. While the Serv 1 points seem to lay down a nicer stitch, the Tri/diamond points seem to last longer between replacement. Does this seem consistent with anyone's experience? Ed

Hi Art, I think I'm going to try without the dog. On another note, last night I had one needle crash into the flat slotted plate and break. If I run into problems with the needle crashing on any of these needle plates, I think Ill try widening the needle slot in the plate, mainly to the right side. Do you forsee any problems in doing this? Does it also make sense that there would be a difference in spi, tension, and general stitch look when going from the blanket/nylon needle plate/feed dog setup to these slotted/passive feed dog setups? With the blanket/nylon set up, I really didn't have to push the leather through, as the feed dog did help out in that respect. With these slotted needle plates/passive feed dog setups, I seem to have to nudge the leather ever so slightly, the thicker the leather the less I need to nudge it. Are all of your plates from Artisan, or do you have any from Ferdco? Thanks and best wishes during the holidays, Ed

Hi Art, I still have some prewound bobbins from my Baby Bull and want to use up that thread in my numerous current experimentations. These bobbins seem to work fine, but it seems that even the slightest change alters how the 441 clone works. Merry Christmas, Ed

And after more hours of experimentation with the new needle plates and passive feed dog, she's behavin' like a different woman. It's like I've got to get to know her all over again. Ed

Kevin, There's a guy here in NYC, Queens to be specific, Who makes leather goods with stitching very similar to yours and sells them for big bucks. I'll see if I can dig up a link. Here's his website, though the item that makes me think of your work, a black and orange or red stingray and cross, isn't listed. http://www.tednemethdesigns.com/ Ed

Beautiful work, Kevin. To do the fine stitching, do you crank the machine by hand? ed

Well, my dremel and I have become more intimately acquainted over the past two hours. All is well with the stirrup plate, the for the flat slotted plate I need to grind off a bit of the bottom of the feed dog.................. ......................Then it occurred to me, do I even need this feed dog? As long as the needle makes it into the slot of the flat needle plate it should be oriented fine. I remember hearing once that these walking foot machines work fine without that feed dog. Ed

All I needed was the stirrup plate for gusset corners and the flat slotted plate for everything else. I got the holster plate thinking I could compromise if I had to and leave it on for everything. I figure if I can raise the material guide, which I really like, just 1/4" with spacers (off to home depot Wednesday), I'm back in business. Right now I'm using the narrow harness makers foot with the holster plate...making some progress. The only rt and lt toes I have are sawed off mods of the blanket foot that came standard with the machine. No can do there...will have to get normal rt and lt toes with narrow center foot. I'll post pics of everything later. At least for my applications, the raised portion of these needle plates could be 1/16" to 1/8" lower, as I figure one would want to save as much presser foot clearance as possible. Writing down my experimentation helps me work through the kinks. Thanks for listening. ed

I don't see any reason why bobbins for a baby bull/mach1 machine (though they are lower capacity) won't work in a juki 441 clone as long as they spin freely in the case. I'm currently using a few without any problem, but just wanted to run it by the group to check. Ed

I don't think our two setups are that different. Mine came with a needle plate and feed dog that Ferdco calls a Nylon needle plate and feed dog (feed dog protrudes through needle plate and touches the leather, leaving light tracks). That is the needle plate and feed dog I changed today. I now have the flat slotted plate, which I think comes standard on Ferdco's machine, the stirrup plate , and the holster plate. A hair sliver of grinding may be necessary on a couple of spots. As it is, the new feed dog ever so slightly grazes the bottom of the stirrup plate and flat slotted plate. If it's a problem I'll take the dremel to the underside of the plates. What seems strange is that using the new set up seems to require less bobbin thread tension....more experimentation. It's not a problem to drill a lube hole in the stirrup plate. It's just funny that everyone copies the same plate without noticing the hole is missing. I've seen Ferdco's feed dog for this set up, but don't understand how the diamond shaped slot in it can guide the needle anywhere unless it actually touches the needle at some point. The new feed dog I have has an oval slot maybe a tad bigger than the slot in the nylon feed dog. I may not need to change the presser foot height. There is 1.105" of clearance with the flat slotted plate. With the holster plate, there is .597" of clearance. If I need more, I will have to change the constant height of the presser foot. The clearance with the holster plate is .778". I think I'm good. Thanks, Ed

Hi Luke, That sounds like a good idea. Fold over some felt an inch wide, stitch it closed. set it between the thread exit hole atop the lube pot and the pig's tail, ala Bruce's sponge....yes.... have a few of these set aside. This is a twist on the sponge idea. Merry Christmas, ed