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Found this Consew 225 on Craigs List for a good price it is in very good shape.. I wanted a lighter machine so I could use it with a binder. I bought a number of binders off of eBay that didn't work. Contacted Tennessee Attachment and purchased this binder it works like a dream I use cotton twill for the binding. This saves me time on my light weight bags not having to double hem all the edges. I use the CB4500 to sew all the leather onto the canvas. Here is the Waxed Canvas Bag I just finished..

Well I have been looking for a sewing machine to do leather on for some time now. After much reading I decided financially to convert an older machine for my first go-round. I have a budget that has increased. When I first started out I wanted to spend roughly $500. Go ahead and laugh lol. I learned quickly that was NOT going to happen. So after a few months I decided $1,000 MAX! I looked really hard at the Tippmann Boss and still think that would have been a great purchase. Still may end up with one? Their customer service seems to be outstanding. I’m a tightwad and enjoy building stuff so I kept looking on marketplace and Craigslist for an auto machine. I read a lot and watched a lot of YouTube. And with a little guidance I finally found what I think is what I want. I purchased a Consew 225. Guy wanted $450. Said it worked and has a newer clutch motor. Which I new was going to be replaced right from the get-go.... I went and looked at it and saw it was not all it was cracked up to be and needed more work than anticipated. The timing belt was loose and needed replaced. The timing was WAY off but everything looked to be operational. I walked away with it for $300. Had a few boxes of extras I have no clue what they are but I’m sure will come in handy some day. I want thru the machine and cleaned it up, it was rather dirty! I oiled it pretty heavy to allow it to soak for a while till I got it all fixed up. Obviously I had to tinker with my new toy. The timing belt was SO loose that it had jumped time so I fixed the timing best I could and ordered a timing belt. Called every place around and they wanted $60+ and nobody had them in stock. Amazon had them from $12-$28 with 2-4 weeks shipping. I ordered one for $30 with shipping from sewingmachinepartsonline so it should be here this week. I also plan on putting on a servo motor so I decided on a Consew CSM-1001 cause I want the needle position sensor. I found one “missing the power cord” on Amazon for $95 with 2-day shipping. I’m pretty electrically inclined so I ordered it. Hopefully it’s really just the power cord, I can figure that out pretty easy. I probably have one in my box is 200 cords lol. A couple days and we shall see! I also plan to build a speed reducer. I have some shaft in the garage. I got to dig it out and see what size I got so I know what pulleys and bearing to get. I do a little blacksmithing and fab work so I hope that’s not too much of a PITA. again, time will tell. I’ve found some info on this machine but not a lot. I do know it’s the same as the Singer 111W155. The timing belt number is Singer 224195 and there are a lot of helpful videos on YouTube for basic help. I was going to have a professional go thru the machine but as I was cleaning it up I convinced myself it looks relatively easy to do myself. I found enough videos I believe I can tackle this and save myself the $150 the shop wants to go over it. so hang out with me on my journey over the next few weeks and Maybe, just MAYBE, you’ll see me get this thing running. Regardless, you’ll see what works or what doesn’t. Here’s a pic of it when I picked it up.

Well hello everyone. My name is Jim. I’ve been doing leatherwork for about 3 years or so. I’d consider myself mediocre at best. I make everything I can figure out; wallets, sheaths, holsters, some tack, and have really been working on my tooling. I currently saddle stitch everything but this week I bought a Consew 225 which prompted me to sign up here. I’ve resourced this site for quite some time for info but never had anything to add till now. I plan on starting a thread with my journey with this new piece of equipment so that hopefully it will help someone else in the future.

I finally found time to install the new (original Juki!) Thread Release Guide part on my Tacsew T1563, a Juki LU-563 clone. I made a video to celebrate the occasion and document the process. Since the part is somewhat deeply nested and connected in the head, I had to take apart and put back together a good portion of the head, including removing the presser foot bar and various connected parts. So the video might be useful even if you don't need to replace that particular part. My thread release guide works as intended and the manual foot lift movements no longer catch and annoy every time you lift the presser foot. The new part itself was cheap at $7.33, especially for an original Juki part. When I checked, ABC Sewing Machine was the only U.S. vendor who had this part (Juki Part Number B14602460A0) in stock AND listed on their online ordering system. So props to them for that. So here's the video for your viewing pleasure and edutainment:

here it is 1.5in on the 3400rpm motor to a 10in with a 1.5 headed to the machine total cost 48.00 maybe I should have just bought a servo motor but whats the fun in that lol still might up grade one day hope the pics upload first time trying to upload