AlZilla

Well, good luck with it. I found it about a year ago and it seems to be at either a major turning point or end-of-life. It has quite a lot of information and it would be bad for the sewing machine community if it were lost. Apparently, someone had a database of W&G (if I recall right) serial numbers that disappeared when he passed away. I still can't envision how a US based person could run a UK based organization, but I hope you get it stabilized.

Impressive work and the photography isn't too shabby, either! Thanks for sharing.

Red Nichols recommends horsebutt strips. I keep looking for some to order but the link below only has thicker pieces for now. https://maverickleathercompany.com/product/russet-horsebutt-narrows/

Reading through this thread, I'm wondering if it might make sense to have 2 or 3 shuttle hooks, preset to different threads for these big machines?

Let me give you a shortcut to the usual rabbit trail of inadequate sewing machines. Get some kind of flatbed machine that will do up to V138 thread and one of the large harness stitchers for bigger stuff. Tons of choices in either category for you to research. It's where you're going to end up anyway ...

I'd agree and I think laying out the grid was a stroke of genius. I always have trouble staying symmetrical when stamping. I'll be incorporating grid lines going forward ...

That is a beautiful piece, for sure. Echo that the signature is a great touch. How great is it that you not only get to make things like that, but that someone PAYS you to do it?!? Lucky guy ...

Well, that would be worthwhile just to have on hand. Maybe I should re-visit it. Nice find.

Nah, the last time I looked at prints larger than 11x17, it was $50 or $75. Not that I want to make that particular holster, I was just curious in general.

Nice stuff, but how would a person go about printing them to be a usable pattern? Looks like they're enormous.

Nice job on the pics. Thanks for the effort. Why 5 complete thread stands and guides? It only sews 1 at a time. Looks like you're going to have fun with it.

Not to me. You can stamp w/o carving, but not the other way around. Carving takes more hand/eye coordination.

I'd be interested. Sending a PM.

OK, gun belts and western holsters are all I need to hear. Those I have an interest in making. Thank you!

I' appreciate some examples of projects that can be done on a longer arm machine like the CB4500 that can't be accomplished on the shorter arm machines. Unless I needed to sew a seam down the center of a piece more than 9" wide, why couldn't I just put all the width to the outside of the shorter arm machine? I don't expect to make any saddles. Thanks for any thoughts.

Thanks. I sure wish there was less ambiguity. Alibaba has scads of machines that *look* alike, but who knows ... ?

I give it a year and it'll be so cluttered, you'll have to walk sideways everywhere you go ... Congratulations on a great workspace.

Aren't they the exact same machine, from the exact same factory in China? More like Chevy vs Pontiac. I'm closing in on the funds to buy one, so I'm watching all these threads closely.

To me, unless it's going to be totally stripped down, disassembled and done right, it's not worth doing. For a working machine, I wouldn't go to the effort. For a collector machine, it's only original once, so again not worth the effort to me. That said, if you just enjoy the process and want to make it look great again, totally worthwhile. At that point, the hammertone paints look pretty nice. I've used them on a couple of projects. I can not recall the brand I used.

I'd say just call them. I've been there a couple of times and they treat me like a visiting prince. I bet they'd be happy to email a picture of whatever your interested in. One of the cobra hides I got has a small chunk out of it and the guy really wanted to swap it out for me. But I'm just going to cut it up for inlays so he finally relented and let me keep it.

Oh, there's no veg tan in the pics. The light color piece is a small buckskin hide, which I'd say the color is fairly yellowish in person. Having never seen a piece of Herman Oak, I can't really compare the veg tan color. I can say it was a fairly rich color.

Yeah, I made a belt with one of their blanks, a holster and a coupe of small things. It tooled and worked fine. That was a 6oz hide I grabbed last August.

I'd like to plug Glacier Wear, who sells mostly furs and hides. If you look at their website, you'll see an amazing variety of things we like. I live close enough to go there and even though they're not really a retail store, they accommodate my visit. I've had the treat of walking around their incredible warehouse and all the stuff you see on their website is right there. Giant stacks of it. Everywhere. A side note, they supplied the big bear skin coat in the movie "The Revenant" and stuff for lots of other movies. Attached are a couple of pics from my recent trip. Cobra skins, a few pieces of pig suede, a little buckskin.

They have black, blue and brown. The cobra is much more subdued than the rattlesnake. I got one of each. The scales on the black are not as contrasted as the blue. Very thin but seems to be durable. They almost feel fragile but I tried to tear a corner and it held up fine. https://www.glacierwear.com/buckskin-leather-hides-deer-buckskin/snake-leather.html I live close enough to go there. I can't even describe the giant stacks of hides, skins, you name it. Amazing place.

Interesting variation on the belt loop. I have a K-Bar that I've struggled with a sheath. Maybe that's my answer. I just today picked up a few pieces of Cobra hide to try some inlays.