MtlBiker

That model looks like it's one of the clones very similar to the Sailrite LS. It MIGHT be possible that the Sailrite "WorkerB" servo motor conversion could fit. I bought my Sailrite just before that motor came out, so it had a clutch motor and was a bit difficult to control slowly. But after buying the WorkerB conversion it's superb! I can sew as slowly as I want, with full control. Probably a good idea to contact Sailrite to see if they might be able to help you.

@kgg - Nice job, as usual. I wish I had your skills, equipment and most of all, time. SIGH I've got a similar press (two of them in fact) from Kamsnaps. Since I use it almost exclusively to put snaps into bags and purses, I don't need a fence or larger surface. I also use it for grommets, jean buttons, rivets, etc. But I also have a 1-ton arbor press that I got on sale about a year ago and one day I'm going to have to figure out an adapter for it so that I can use stamps, etc. The 1" square vertical tube has about a half inch round hole in the bottom 1.25" deep and a set screw in the side. Do you know of any ready made adapters that are versatile for it? Or more likely I guess I'd be looking at something custom made. One of the holders for Tandy stamps that I bought doesn't fit in the hole. Cheers!

You're looking for a leather guild in NH yet your profile says you're in Nevada. Bit of a commute that would be. Pardon my ignorance but is the purpose of a guild for you to sell your products or to make them together with others?

@NerdyLeather - That actually sounds pretty expensive. Are you by any chance connected with ZipperStop? Buying 36" separating zippers, at least to me, is fairly limiting. Much more versatile (not to mention cheaper) is to buy continuous zipper and then cut it to whatever length you need for your project. Add zipper pulls and you're in business. I generally buy my #10 YKK Vislon zipper from JT's Outdoor Fabrics. The prices shown are in Canadian dollars (I'm in Canada) and even if we say the US and Canadian dollars are the same (which they're not) these prices are a lot cheaper than what you're uh, promoting. Heck, even Wawak.com is cheaper! And for finished #10 nylon coil 36" zippers (YKK), in a quantity of 20 or more, JT's price is only $4.75 US (at current exchange rates). Much much better prices available than from ZipperStop.

You really do amazing work! Design and implementation. Kudos! I love the carbon-fibre look of your table. Very cool. The only thing I don't care for is the velcro strap you have for swinging the table away/down. Makes it look kinda cheap in opinion. I'd rather simply remove the table and store it elsewhere when not in use. I can see that for your purposes such a small table attachment (you'd use it mostly for bindings I guess) is fine, but for me I'd prefer a much larger table. The purchased aluminum flatbed table attachment I bought for my 2750 Pro is really the minimum size I'd want. Otherwise I don't think it could replace a dedicated flatbed machine like my Consew 206RB-5. Do you have any plans/needs to make a larger table? I could actually see a use for two sizes of table... one for small things where you really only need a small tabletop and another for larger items. But my opinions are only worth two cents (Canadian!).

I think it would be pretty tough (maybe impossible) to find ONE machine that can sew everything from wallets to holsters. At least not without a LOT of re-adjusting the machine. I don't do holsters but my understanding is that you need a really heavy duty (monster) of a machine to do that, and those machines wouldn't do well with wallets.

@shoe - That looks like an old domestic machine, in spite of the (what appears to be) leather piece. It's unlikely that it would be suitable for any leather sewing other than just for the very thinnest. Do you have any sewing machine now? What do you intend to sew? There is NO one machine that is the best (or even suitable) for every use, which is why so many of us have many machines.

I thought Ritza Tiger thread was for hand-stitching and not for sewing machines.

If it's just a belt you're looking for, can't you take the existing belt to a hardware store and buy another one? I see you're in Canada (as I am),... I've often gone to Canadian Tire with an old belt or the specs for one and found what I needed. Usually there's a display in the hardware section with different belts on a pegboard but it's also possible that the automotive counter guys could have other types. Good luck!

@fredk - Ya forgot to add the (tm) after ever mention of Resolene.

I wish there was a "Like" button here because your reply is excellent and would certainly deserve it. With the exception that the Tandy code you mention is for NEEDLES (which you certainly meant to say) and not Chisels.

@AussieTanker - I've never used Sozo Stamping Tools, but I have used SoSO Stamping Tools. They were just, uh, S0 SO. Forgive me... I just couldn't resist.

Just use the "Image Size" app (on the Apple App Store) by Vitalij Schaefer (I've been using it for years) to downsize your image(s) to a size that can be uploaded here. Works perfectly. The free version (ad supported) works just fine but I like it so much and use it so regularly that I sprung for the ad-free version. He's also got "Batch Resize" which I also use when needing to resize multiple images. I generally set it to a maximum pixel size of 1024 and have never had a problem here.

Just FYI, I've posted videos here before and the trick is not to make them too long AND to compress them first. I use a program on my iPhone called "Video Compress - Shrink Vids" by Brachmann Online Marketing GmbH. Available on the Apple App Store.

I thought 794 was the needle system type, but maybe the "DIA" means diamond point. The Thread Exchange suggests that for 277 thread needle size should be 24-26. So depending on the leather assembly, #24 might be a bit on the small side.

@falcon45 Just to add to what CowboyBob said... Size 25 needles are for v277 thread. Is that what you're using? For v346 you'd use size 26-28. You're sewing leather? If so, make sure you get leather needles if possible.

Thanks for that. I believe you but I would have never imagined that a compound walking foot wouldn't be really desired for the multiple layers of sail material.

I was curious, so I looked at that machine. Funny that the specs don't mention whether or not it's a walking foot (or compound feed) machine. Is it possible that it's just feed dog feed? I mean, even the Sailrite has a walking foot. And I'd imagine that several layers of Dacron in a sail would really need at least a walking foot, preferably compound triple feed.

@Jeff96 - My two cents says that you're not going to find a suitable machine for your budget of $1,000 Canadian. A cheap clone just won't do the trick and you're likely to end up in the same place as you did with the cheap Sailrite clone you bought. There's little doubt that the genuine Sailrite LSZ-1 is made a lot better and has better quality control and machined parts than the clones. But one of those will cost you way over your budget. I have an LSZ-1 Premium with their WorkerB servo motor and I love it, but even if I were to sell it, it would be quite a bit over your budget also. Your best bet might be to get your old Pfaff 138 back and even if you had to put a little money into maintenance, it would be more cost effective than anything new that would be a solid performer. I certainly wouldn't suggest you buy a Zoyer (never heard of it) because quality certainly wouldn't be equal to a genuine Sailrite and service/support would be pretty much non-existent.

What type of edge paint was it? And the brand?

@SUP - I've been thinking about the experience you reported for a few days and the possibility of that happening worried me as everyone in my company and myself included often downloads files from the web and prints them. Those could be text files, graphics, PDFs, etc. So I asked questions about this on a couple of the computer tech sites I frequent. The overwhelming majority of replies insist this couldn't happen, but here are some of the comments... "You can theoretically give a printer a virus by altering its firmware but it is highly doubtful a file that is sent to the printer would do that. It is called firmware for a reason and there are mechanisms built it to prevent anything from changing it." "No, this is the same hocus pocus logic that JayzTwoCents used in claiming that NewWorld was killing graphics cards. Imagine how widespread fatal malware would be if such a thing was actually possible. Hardware is either built well or it isn’t. End of story." "Technically absolutely. But did it happen? VEEEEERRRYYYYY low chance. More likely the printer just happened to die during that print due to some hardware issue. So, in theory, a badly written printer firmware could screw up and destroy itself (or the settings). After all, settings can obviously be written to, same goes for firmware on most modern devices. The chance that the manufacturer has such a bad bug in their firmware that straight up kills the printer by writing garbage are, as they say, low, but never zero." I have a sandboxed computer and printer that's not on my network and I'd love to try that file. Would you share the details of exactly where/how to find that file?

I don't understand how that is even possible. You download a pattern and it either prints or doesn't. How could it "damage" your printer settings? I don't even see how it could change your printer settings... you'd have to do that yourself. And because of this you had to replace your printer? Please elaborate!

I know you tagged me, but you didn't tag kgg, which is why I thought I'd try giving you helpful advice.

Unfortunately, there is no one size that fits all. Tension, needle size, etc. will vary depending on the thickness of the leather, it's hardness (softer chrome tan vs veg tan) and I think you should be trying a larger needle as I and @kgg both suggested. And by experience you may find after a couple of stitches that you need to tweek the thread tension. Are you also by any chance using black thread sometimes and another color at other times? That too would probably require a tension adjustment. Black thread (because of the dye is my understanding) is stiffer than other colors. I suggest you first try a larger needle and see if that reduces the problem. By the way, if you want someone to be flagged about a reply, it's not enough to write @kgg as you did... you need to start typing the @ and then the name and you MUST pick it from the popup that appears. Like I did earlier in this reply.

@PISTOLs - As @Northmount already replied, you haven't answered what SIZE needle you are using with the v92 thread. 135x16 and 135x17 are needle systems. Does the problem happen most often when you turn a corner or does it also happen along straight stretches? When you come to a turn, make sure you bury the needle, lift the pressure foot, turn your assembly and lower the presser foot again before continuing to sew. That needle is at the lower end of what's recommended for v92. Can you try switching to a #18 needle to see if your problem persists?