Auden

@chriscraft did you ever find the answer to this? I have the same question. Thanks!

I am located in southeast Virginia and looking for a bell skiving machine. I would like to buy direct from a dealer if possible to have some support and save on shipping. Open to suggestions, but looking for something like the Cobra NP-4 or similar clones. I am skiving 4-6 oz chrome tan leather for handbags. I am also possibly interested in a vacuum attachment. Does anyone know who on the east coast sells these machines? Thanks!

Thank you! That's kind of what I was hoping to hear, that they're mostly relaible. The bobbin thread doesn't catch/stitch or else needle thread breaks. It will do great on scrap leather of the exact same hide and layers and then I go to stitch the bag and I have problems. I followed Uwe's youtube video about the hook and needle timing and that helped a lot, but I'm still having problems with it.

Thank you for replying! It's not that unusual in bag making. I need to topstitch where the straps attach to the bag. My straps are 4 layers thick, on some designs the top of the bag is 2 layers. I can ask him! That's a good idea.

I've obsessively read tons of posts until all the machines are running together in my head. I really want the Juki 1341. But it's expensive and this is a hobby for me. Would a clone be okay? I like to sew every day. 2-6 layers of 2-4 ounce chrome tanned leather (but that could change!). I'm a beginner and this is a hobby. I might sell extras I don't give as gifts or keep for myself, but probably not as a business. I'm not that great mechanically. I'm okay. Are ALL industial machines kind of temperamental? My Singer 111w155 was in rough shape when we got it and it seems like it's always having little problems. Like 30 minutes of TLC troubleshooting a day. I kind of want something to just work when I sit down to sew every day. Kind of like driving a Honda car. Not exciting, it just works (apologies to the American-only cars crowd). I was wondering if you could give me advice on a sewing machine? Or a dealer? I'm in Chesapeake, Virginia. I was thinking a cylinder arm with one of the attachments Uwe makes for the flat bed. Do I need to pay for the Juki 1341? It looks like they're around $5,000 USD just from a quick internet search. As usual, I'm kind of looking at the Techsew 2750 pro. But I'm nervous that it might be kind of prone to problems compared to the Juki and maybe I should get like a refurbished Juki 341 or 1341? Thank you! Auden Oops, I like to sew handbags and wallets. Forgot that part.

Thank you both for the recommendations! I'm still working towards this. I'm not sure if I can say this on a leather forum, but right now I'm making a bag out of quilting cotton and marine vinyl to get the hang of the bag making part. I've been ordering leather samples to try and decide what kind of leather to try first for any kind of project. And I'm putting a new motor on an old industrial sewing machine I'm intenting to use for all of this. I appreciate everyone's input!

Thank you! I'll check them out.

Hi, did you ever find a source for the cold rubber tape? I'm watching the same course.

That makes sense! Thanks - leather is kind of expensive, I want my first few peojects to at least be something I can use, even if they have a lot of mistakes so I'm asking lots of questions.

Thank you. Handbags! I really like the "vintage Coach" leather. I did some research - it's called glove tan leather. A thread from several years ago said Buckskin Leather Company carries that, so I emailed them to order a sample. They said it's 3-4 oz cowhide glove tan and it's chemically tanned. Maybe I should also look into other leathers like lambskin? Everyone says veg tan is the best, but it doesn't seem right for my project. Maybe a different tannery would be better. The veg tan samples I have start at 4 oz and go up to 10 oz. They're Chahin leather. I'll try putting water on it just to see what happens! I think my sewing machines should be able to handle the project. I need to put a new motor on one before I can be sure. It's an older industrial walking foot Singer 111w155 that I just bought. I also got a Singer 31-15.

What are the steps to make something out of leather? I recently got some leather samples and they seemed kind of dried out and dull. Am I just looking into the wrong type of leather? It was veg tanned. Step one: get leather. Then what? Do I clean or condition it? Then I cut and sew. How do you finish it? Should it be polished? I want to sew leather bags on a sewing machine. Thanks!

Thank you! I found a 111w155 yesterday, so I got that machine instead

I have the same question. Did you ever find your glovetanned leather or a good substitue?

It's 9 years later and I have the same question did you buy this machine?

Hi, I'm new to leather. I would like to sew a leather bag that's not extremely stiff/heavy. What type of leather am I looking for? And about how much should it cost? I think I would prefer to use a sewing machine (Singer 31-15). I would prefer the bag be unlined, but I'm open to lining. I was thinking at first to use 1-3 oz leather, but I do want the bag to last. I like the "buttery soft" leather texture, but also the flexibility. I'm not sure how to explain it. "Vintage Coach" is the best I've come up with. I also looked into buying a vintage Coach bag on etsy and it might be less expensive to go that route, but I want to learn to work with leather and customize the dimensions of the bag and pockets. Thanks!