AlZilla

I haven't regretted starting with a beginners set of leather crafting tools. I've accumulated a lot more since then, but it got me a base of things to start with. My kit included a couple of projects to do, a sheath, wallet, etc.

How tightly can I turn without stopping with a 441 clone? The attached pic shows where my first turn to the left is way too shallow because I was afraid I'd skip stitches. I know on a hard corner I need to stop, raise the needle a 1/4" off dead bottom, turn the material and start sewing again. But at about what degree of turn is the point where I can't just keep running and run a smooth curve? I took this stitch line out and resewed it. Between dark dye and rewetting the leather, the errant holes aren't noticeable.

I'm finding that diluting the Burgundy about 3 or 4 parts of water to 1 of the dye gets a redder color. Something I'm working on attached. I didn't think to save some other scraps where I diluted it so much I got to a salmon kind of color. I'm applying it to wetted leather and find that the dilute mixture goes on well with the wool dauber. EDIT: Actually, the outer edges of that scrap piece are the same dye mixture, just fewer applications.

Well, now my axe is jealous and nagging me to make it a new ensemble. All quite nice work and an inspiration.

Well, this is going to be interesting. According to ISMACS all 110W iterations have "Continuously moving wheel feed (3 gears) in combination with a needle feed".

I appreciate you making the effort. Straightforward design. I can see where getting the belts just right might be ticklish but tensions are pretty forgiving on these things. Looks like the axle shaft just floats? The belts should keep it from walking sideways. Very nice.

@fibersport, I'm not seeing any pictures ...

I replaced the tension unit on my 111W with a unit from Amazon (china) a while back and it works fine. You could go either way, depending on what's most expedient. You can always keep and repair the old unit later on if originality is important to you.

But simplifies your leather inventory, makes you less reliant on supply chain and gives you the ability to do other things going forward. And probably gives you a tax write off.

Here's her local ad: https://maine.craigslist.org/art/d/detroit-1911-singer-sewing-machine-29/7650322519.html Quite a complete package and very honest sellers. I'll add a screenshot because we know that classified link is going to die.

Are you saying that you're going to carry that metal frame around in your pocket? You're going to need some of those pants made from firehose material... Begins with a D.

Definitely a food for thought kind of thing. Great concept.

I'm pretty sure the Pfaff 130 has the same base as Singer. So, most of the Singer tables and cabinets you find at thrift shops, yard sales, etc., should be candidates. There should be a pretty wide range of options.

She's somewhere on this forum and I know she's going to advertise it for sale locally so I don't want to start throwing numbers out in case she wants to list it differently. We weren't terribly far apart but I didn't want to beat up on her. She did a nice job resurrecting it and it was the first industrial she'd tackled. I want someone to come along and give her the asking price. I dragged an Elna Supermatic home along with a project (well and thoroughly disassembled) Necchi BU. I'm happy. For now ... Certainly not low enough to just buy it for the base but fair for someone looking for a hobby machine.

It looks like the 111w bobbin case, with a little latch across the bobbin, Mine jump up when you flip the latch up quickly. A little practice, luck and speed you can catch it.

If the news had been better about parts availability, this would probably live at my house now. She wasn't at all unreasonable, especially with it having all the bells and whistles. She has 6 stitches per inch and didn't do the bell crank lever. I can feel a enough play that I think that's all it would take. It's not totally dead in the water. They're less than an hour away, very nice people and I suspect more of their machines will come live at my house eventually. I still dragged home a couple of nice domestics.

Ok, folks, I appreciate all the information. I'm going to get a domestic or two from her, so I'm headed that way in any event. This particular machine looks very nice and is supposed to be 100% mechanically. Might be hard to resist if she's reasonable (and all indications are that she is ...)

I'm going to look at a 29-4 tomorrow. Not really sure I'll be able to work out a deal, but I do have a question. How is parts availability for the -4? I couldn't get a bell crank and some other part for my 29-3 and had to modify a later version. I got the impression at the time that parts were much more available for the -4 and later.

Very clean work. And some nice touches, tool holder, etc. I agree that the extra brace really doesn't seem to add any strength in the position it's in. Especially with 1 bolt on each end. I think the only possible weak spot is the back of the table. I looks like it's the only thing preventing the weight from torquing down. We've all seen those table tops droop over the years. I'd consider a 2x6 across the span between the left and center legs, right up tight against the top and fastened to the legs.

It's just all going to depend on the final look a person wants. Here's a link to a good breakdown: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0579/8857/9507/files/Cutting-Points-schmetz_db_schneidspitzen_6s_20190510_en.pdf?v=1643753018 It's a PDF but I didn't post it directly because I'm not sure about copyright status.

Nice stuff but probably way too tedious for me!

Mighty fine piddling you're doing there. Welcome aboard.

Nice looking sheath. I completely agree about no knives or guns behind my back. I've seen a very cool small of back holster for 2 J Frame S&Ws, one right hand draw and one left hand draw. I just couldn't be comfortable with that setup.

Nothing Rube Goldberg there at all. I can see that being very useful. An edge guide might be something to consider.. Very, very nice.

I'm hoping someone more knowledgeable than I will chime in here. i have a couple of Eagle EA-550s and they start at 200 rpms. No ramp up, no slow start - BAM, instantly 200 rpms. I've read things that lead me to think the "other" style of servo, with a knob and it looks more like a clutch motor, will go much slower but at the expense of losing torque. One of my EA-550s is on a machine with a 3:1 speed reducer so my "instant on" speed at the needle is only about 52 stitches per minute. Actual, counted speed.