esantoro

There is nobody who likes to pinch pennies more than I do. Most of the time I feel pretty good that I've gotten away with it. I research to the best of my ability any serious purchase and try to make the best possible decision. Buying a 441 clone from any of the dealers who have good reputations on this board is a no lose situation. Buy more than you think you can afford, and break out the rice, beans, and tortillas for a few months. $1800 for a 20-year-old machine does not seem like a good deal. For only $800 more, you will be set. That is, you will be set until the need for a second and third industrial machine begins to loom on the horizon, but by that time you will have acquired a taste for the rice and beans. Ed

I was going to reference a Kia sport, but I felt the 441s are better than that. ed

I wonder if a higher grade steel and a Japanese-made shuttle hook is used in the Highlead/P. This alone probably constitutes a $600 increase in price. Word on the street is there is no noticeable difference if you are using either machine for a total stitching time of 2 hours a day, but that the Highlead/ P if the machine is stitching 7 hours a day. I also wonder if the noticeable movement of vital parts is not better on the Highlead/P, something a kin to the difference you feel between shutting the door on a Jaguar and shutting the door on a Toyota Corolla: They're both good,but one just really feels right. ed

Battery life on the kindle is nice, but I don't think it is worth the current asking price. The DX does have some nice improvements. I think the usefulness of the kindle increases a lot in metropolitan areas where public transportation is the rule, but even in that situation I seem to prefer MP3 audio books on an MP3 player. I thought about getting a netbook to use as an ebook reader and whatever else, but my rule is that if the tech isn't vitally important right now, I'll wait until the price goes too low to pass up. ed

I was also thinking about how a netbook would be a better purchase right now for the money. I did go and take a look at the Kindle DX and it is an improvement over the last generation. When I read ebooks, I want to be able to copy and paste passages to a text file. I'm not sure the kindle can do that. ed

I downloaded the trial version of XARA, which is completely new to me. Seems quite nice. Thanks, ed

I don't have one, but I'd wait a year or two for a company to come out with an e-book reader that will open all sorts of text files without the need to upload anything. I think these devices are two generations away from being desirable. Edit: Just now read that the DX is the latest generation and does have native support for PDFs. Very nice. I still think $250 is the proper price and will wait until then. By then, though, the competition will have improved. ed

i might have to invest in a glue pot and start using the DAP Weldwood . ed

Thanks, Chris. So far my method has been to outline the object I want using the pen tool in Corel Draw (for me CD is more intuitive than is Illustrator). I use as many pen points as possible. I then remove the background color graphic and am left with the vector lines, which I enlarge to appropriate thickness. I then tweak the pen points to get the lines as smooth as possible. I crop the best looking half of the vector drawing and print out onto graph paper that has lines drawn every 2 mm. I also print out a reverse copy. I position both sides onto poster board so that they line up properly. I tape the printed patterns into place so they don't move around. I then use either a thumb tack or a scratch awl to make a bunch of little pinholes along the vector lines through to the poster board. I remove the printed patterns and am left with a perforated outline of the pattern on the posterboard. My smoothing out comes with cuttling along the perforations with a very sharp exacto knife, which I strop every now and then on 1200 or 2000 grit paper. I am then left with a posterboard pattern, which I will some day transfer to a sturdier material. Thanks for your pointers, as I need to improve my use of these computer programs. My method is very simplified. I first started printing out to grid paper (there's a link somewhere for making grid paper to custom specifications), but ended up not really needing it. Ed

Nice patterns, Chris. How did you get the patterns to be symmetrical? Even when I outline an item and get the vector outline, the lines still need to be smoothed out, and then the only way I can get the pattern to be symmetrical is to print out only half the pattern, which is than doubled when I transfer onto poster board. I've been using Corel Draw. Ed

I like the idea of chucking up the needle and grinding against 80 and 100 grit on my granite surface. Thanks. ed

I don't have a bench grinder, so am thinking of ways to make my new flex shaft rotary tool do as large tasks as possible. I need to shave off some girth of a 794 needle so that it will fit into an awl. I've used the grey grinding stones that came with my now deceased dremel, but they are now worn down. I do have the one carbide Dremel bit that is used for removing metal. Is there another type of grinding stone I should consider using? Thanks. Ed

Aha. I would then try a few small single capped solid brass jiffy rivets, with proper padding so as not to damage those plastic windows or the front side of the case. I'd also try gluing a bit of thin leather over the brass exposed to the ipod to prohibit scratching. ed

It looks as if there is room to mark stitch marks inside the case and then punch the holes by hand. Glue the case to the latigo just to keep it in place while marking stitches and punching holes. Do two rectangular sections: one inside the rectangular cutout, the other inside of the circular cut out. ed

How will the base panel be attached to the tank?

You should be able either to rivet or stitch the case into place, perhaps onto a rectangular piece of leather that can be stitched onto the tank panel, unless a full tank wrap is not part of the plan, in which case I would suggest two leather straps that wrap around the tank. Forgive me if I'm not fully understanding the concept you are after. ed

I re-read the original post that states the need to make this attachment permanent. There must be a way to stitch the case in place. A curved needle may be needed. ed

I wouldn't want to rely on only glue to hold the case in place. I'd try to use the 3m heavy duty plastic velcro, or snaps, or some kind of buckle attachment. ed

Diamond Needle used to be in Manhattan but moved to New JErsey about a year ago. I have an account with them but am not a bulk purchaser. I think my price was something like 90 cents a needle. I almost got a deal of something like $5.50 for a ten-pack. I had received that quote and then got a call back two minutes later telling me the quote was mistaken. We might be able to go in on a bulk deal if we're willing to buy 1000 of each needle type. MIGHT is the operative word. I'd suggest Serv1 and LR. That total order would be about $1100 plus shipping. Maybe in these economic times Diamond Needle will be be willing to deal. I'm in for 200 of each needle type for myself. Ed

It should be something like 5 or 6 pounds for you, yes. Get a good idea of what kind of needles you need, then invest in a bulk order with Campbell Bosworth. See what they can do on shipping. Perhaps a few of you guys over there can go in on a bulk order. I'd just stick with schmetz. I like having Serv1 , diamond points, and LR on hand.. The Serv1 and LR points when you want to get the closest to needle and awl quality. I'm willing to bet Campbell Bosworth will be good to you guys on the shipping. I've got an order to put through with them for some thread and a few packs of needles. For probably no additional shipping charges to me, I can order the needles you need and forward them on to you. I realized only about a month ago that CB seems to have the best prices on these 794 needles over here by about $1.50 for a ten pack. I've been meaning to ask what you guys pay for thread over there. Perhaps we can open up a trans-Atlantic needle and thread run. Make that trans-Atlantic needle-thread-brass lock run. Ed

$50, Australian or U.S., does seem very high. I believe campbell bosworth has the 794 needles for just about $10 for a ten-pack. I always try to use 346 thread on a project, as I think the 26 needle performs better overall due to its larger girth, which is sturdier with thicker leather. If I move down to 277, I'll try it with a 26 needle on some scrap. If it's spaghetti down a manhole, as Steve says, then I will go down to a 25 needle. Also , some leathers take the puncture of the needle differently and you can get away with needle/thread combinations that won't work on other leathers. I like the LR and Serv1 needles, as I think they put down the nicest stitches. I've never tried LL, which I imagine puts down a twist opposite to that of the LR needles. ed

I was just about to ask about availability of needle plates for the Seiko CH8B.

I'd like to put in an order for a dye lot (25 pound minimum) of Eddington chestnut 277 bonded poly 25 pounds. I'd like to keep about half of this. Anyone interested in the surplus at $16 a pound and actual shipping. I'll put the order through if there is combined interest in 10 pounds or so. Here's a picture of some of this Eddington chestnut in action.

I recently got a flex shaft and motor to replace my dremel. With this new setup I needed a C-clamp vertical holder. I bought four to get free shipping, and now have three to sell if anyone wants one. $9 plus actual USPS shipping charges for a 1 pound 12 oz box from zip 11221. http://www.widgetsupply.com/page/WS/PROD/d...ent/SFH4-KL1821 ed