AlZilla

You're doing one of the exact things recommended for new sewists. People starting out with domestics are recommended to sew on paper until they get the hang of it. I would switch to cardboard instead of using up your leather and just keep sewing patterns without thread. Build muscle memory.

A lot of people sand edges like I would a table top, progressively finer down to pretty fine grit. I use my sander to roughly clean up edges with 80 to 120, depending on what's on the machine. Never hold it long enough to build heat. For the most part I'm evening up layers or cheating an edge to parallel with the stitching. I might hit an edge with 150 by hand before slicking it down. Bear in mind, I'm not interested in super slick, polished edges. But, yeah, that sander can do a lot of damage in a hurry.

I like the jig idea. Centered and spaced correctly, all at once.

I couldn't picture that shaft until I went back and looked at one of mine. Now I see it runs in the lower part of the arm! Another lesson learned for me. I, too, will have to double check where it gets oiled.

Is leatherworker.net a tool? It's been a great learning resource for me.

Some things never change. In 1787 Thomas Jefferson called out the British gazetteers of the day for fake news: "Wonderful is the effect of impudent and persevering lying. The British ministry have so long hired their gazetteers to repeat and model into every form lies about our being in anarchy, that the world has at length believed them, the English nation has believed them, the ministers themselves have come to believe them, and what is more wonderful, we have believed them ourselves. Yet where does this anarchy exist? Where did it ever exist, except in the single instance of Massachusets?"

I moved this over to the sewing machine sub forum. Somebody here will know what you need.

I know nothing about this machine. But if I had to make a scientific wild assed guess, it would be this.

Let's tag the OP to be sure they see this. @soulcraftgoods

Welcome aboard. You've found the very best place on the net to learn about any and all aspects of Leathercraft. It was pretty much the first place I landed a few years ago. For the adult stuff, we keep that in the sub forum at https://leatherworker.net/forum/forum/46-oh-no-dont-stop/ You'll need the secret password to enter, which is "adult" without the quotes. The password just keeps it from showing up in the regular flow of more family friendly content. Have fun!

I did watch the video. I had to go look at my 153. I found the clamp in the attached pic that looks like it would affect the position of the needle bar. Haven't a clue. Yet. EDIT: The part number is Simanco 202666 and comes back as "Rock Frame Position Bracket". Do we have a winner?

I have a couple of this class machine but haven't run into this problem. Forgive me if you've done this, but it seems like popping that cover off and turning it by hand should yield some kind of clue. Just observing and following the mechanism back. I poked around a bit and couldn't find any videos on adjusting the needle bar position other than height. Tomorrow if it's warm in the craft room I'll look at mine and see if anything jumps out at me. Now I'm curious, too.

Based on what Constabulary says, it's like my 111W151 and I agree with his assessment. I like my 151 and it might work for what you want (I've done small leather goods w/o trouble). The lack of reverse is not a big deal until you get to small leather goods. The backstitch with larger thread becomes important from a visual perspective. There are a couple ways to do the back stitch but they take a little learning curve and practice and you'll still fluff it once in a while. For not much more money you should be able to find something with reverse and *know* that it actually works. Besisde, 300 bucks for a run of the mill machine that might work? Even if you know what you're looking at, it's still too much.

Here's a pic of the same machine right here in this very forum. I think it looks like a longer tension arm. I'd send pics to whoever "fixed" it and ask them.

I know zero about your specific machine but lots of these machines are clones of one another. Take another look at the videos you were sent and be sure they're not the same machine.

@noahjoshu We need the location/shipping info with this one, too. Looks like you're listing a few ads. If I notice any more lacking the above, I won't tag them, just be aware all ads need that info. Thanks for listing this stuff here.

@noahjoshu We need a location and shipping info to be in compliance with the Marketplace rules. Thanks!

I can't get that video to run this morning but it sounds like you're talking about what I would call the "case opener". A finger that contacts the bobbin case at exactly the right time and pulls it counterclockwise (in my machines) to be sure the needle thread clears when exiting the tab area under the needle plate The tab keeps the bobbin case from spinning around. If the machine is sewing, it can't be too far off. If the opener was holding full pressure all the time, the thread would hang up on the side where it enters the tab area. That said, it should have some float - I could see it accelerating wear on some parts if it's under even slight pressure 100% of the time. On my machines, the case opener finger itself has a slot on the end, where it screws down. I think there's even a spec to set the clearance. I know that doesn't tell you exactly what to do on your specific machine, but the concept is the same. Unless you're not talking about a case opener. If not, ignore everything I just typed... 😃

Welcome again and good luck with this venture. I looked at the website and I'm wondering if it's correct that shipping is free? I threw a couple things in the cart and it says Free Shipping, unless I just didn't go far enough.

Ah! Evidently something to hold a seal while you're carving it. Thank you! Ey! Belli ki onu oyarken mührü tutacak bir şey. Teşekkür ederim!

Our friends at google say it means "Clamp for engraved signature seal". I haven't a clue and I'm not clicking the link. @Veli, the language of this forum is English. It would be appreciated if you use a translation service. Thank you. Bu forumun dili İngilizce'dir. Çeviri hizmeti kullanmanız memnuniyetle karşılanacaktır. Teşekkürler.

It's very odd that it'll pierce the leather without thread but just stop when you thread the needle, but the hand wheel turns. There's a cover on top right next to the hand wheel. Open it up and see if the arm shaft is turning when it won't pierce the leather. I wonder if the needle bar isn't clamped tight ... Still very odd behavior.

Do you mean the hand wheel just spins and the rest of the machine stops? Maybe a safety clutch problem or the hand wheel is loose on the arm shaft? If the belt is slipping, the solution is obvious ... Can you turn it through by hand when it stops?

So, I moved you over to the sewing machine area. I don't see any problem talking about the old Kenmore. Ask away. @cpo1wh Is it a flatbed and the guts look something like this?

Seems like it ought to turn. Heat from a hair dryer or heat gun and/or I'd take one or more of those screws all the way out and put some kind of penetrating oil in there.