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We have an Adler 30-15 treadle sewing machine for sale. Asking $2,000 OBO. Our friend who owned a leather and saddle shop recently passed and we purchased the entire contents of the shop from his estate. We have never used the machine but seen it being used while spending time at his shop. My wife is the leather worker in the house and her bad knees precludes the use of a treadle machine. We are keeping the other modern electric machines that came with the estate. We are located in central Wisconsin so pickup at our location is preferred but I am willing to discuss other possibilities. I know this is my first post so if anyone is concerned I am a scammer, but interested, please message me. I am willing to do whatever to help alleviate those concerns. I have many more photos and higher quality photos I can send interested parties, I wasn’t able to post them here due to the data limit. If there are specific photos of certain parts of the machine you would like, message me, I am more than willing to take more and send them.

Good morning! My daughter and I are starting a sewing business and wanted one machine that can handle thick leather. That said, I’d love for it to be a beautiful vintage piece, like the singer 29 (but I read they don’t handle thick layers) as folks would be coming in to the store to sew along with us and take pictures when they are done. I think an old beauty that is also a workhorse would be phenomenal. We figure if someone wants leather straps or other features, we can prepare those parts ahead of time for them so they can finish the rest on their regular machine. is there something that fits into this category? If not, what would you say is an affordable machine we could use instead?

I have a machine we bought to do shows and it just did not work out doing shows(not the machine,the shows) So we added a treadle base and made it usable as either a hand cranker or a treadler. It sews light leathers, uses regular machine needles (including the home type leather points). Easy to clean and take care of and would be great if you wish to use it out front at a ren faire or the like. I have video of it going and all on FB so using the link to my page there for pictures ETC. Email me dancethellano @ hotmail. Asking $300.00 for it https://www.facebook.com/pg/Cassandras-Dragonworks

I been in need of a stand for my shop. One that would hold saddles that I am working on or waiting to be worked on. I didn't want some cheesy stand. I searched the wide web for just the right stand. I finally decided it didn't exist. What to do? Make it myself. So I found a cheap treadle and repurposed it. I scrubbed the base with a wire brush and painted it. Then went to forming the top. This is what I came up with. Thought I was done and decided it needed a drawer.

I noticed an old flip-up cabinet style machine in my next-door neighbors garage today. Only label was an "MW", I told him it was probably Montgomery Ward. They are going to get rid of it, apparently old family thing from way back. Any value to something like this? My guess, it's so basic, and so old, that they are a dime a dozen. There is a broken belt, that is more like a cord, to drive the beast. Jeff

I have a cast iron treadle for a Landis 3 for sale. I have used this with my Landis for several years but recently motorized my Landis and do not have a use for the treadle any longer. It is in good shape and runs well. I totally refinished it and fabricated a wooden top for it when I purchased it. I am located in Coeur d'Alene, ID. It probably weighs between 100 and 150 lbs. Contact me at: winckler@wssaddles.com

Have any machine users had to deal with rolling blackouts like they were having in Venezuela recently and in some states back a few years ago, where they shut your electricity off for a period of time each day? Are there any members of this site in Venezuela, or does anyone have contact with someone who is there, or in another country where the problem exists? I would like to hear how they’re coping with trying to get some production done with the power going off so often. If the shop is equipped with manual-operated sewing machines, the sewing might continue but lighting and possibly heating/cooling or ventilation would still have to be provided. But is there even that much business in most sewing shops during the times when electricity is intermittent, especially during economic hardship like in Venezuela? Do you think that regular rolling blackouts could ever effect your shop location? Have you thought about what you would do to keep your operation going? Would you want to or need to? If you have electric machines, could you sew during power on and do some other task during power off? I’ve assembled a group of manual machines that can do the job of most of our electric machines in our little sewing shop (wife and I), but I don’t know if they will be of any need for that use. I don’t know if people will still need much sewing done under those conditions or not. I suspect that all of my treadles and hand cranks exist mainly just for my own amusement. We’ve used our manual machines for one outage in 10 years, and only because we had a hint that the power would only be off for a short time, and it was. Otherwise, we close up and stay closed for the longer outages like the 5-day ice storm last December. Except for the kids in cars and pickups that were playing on the icy streets, most people stayed home like we did and waited for the ice to clear off and the power to come back on. We did get five days worth of quiet sewing done on our manual machines at home, but it was sewing our own things. CD in Oklahoma

Hello everyone, I have question; maybe there is already a technical solution for this: I've recently bought my first sewing machine: an old Alder 30-1. It works well enough for me but the first thought that comes to my mind while seeing the bobbin is: Is there a way to feed the bobbin with thread from an external source? The bobbin is very small and the thread is slippery and unwinds like a spiral-coil-spring after I wind the bobbin from the spool Maybe something like: the thread loops around the bobbin once and after that the tread going outside the shuttle… I use European strength 20 Amann Serafil thread (Polyester), and I think the machine would work perfectly with even thicker thread if it wasn't the limit imposed by the bobbin. I like making veg tan leather handbags, pouches, holsters…and I don’t sew very long lines but still… I am sorry if the question is naive: I am just curious (and I don't want to try reinventing the wheel if the problem has already been solved). Thank you!

For those who've seen the movie by Adam Sandler, in which he portrays a Jewish cobbler in modern day New York City, I'm wondering if anyone recognizes the old, old treadle used throughout the film?

I'm looking to get a leather stitching device on a budget. I don't have huge production needs but I do need something that is reliable and not too complicated to use or to maintain. I also have some space limitations since I'm working out of my apartment. I like the idea of not having to use electricity but I will if it's the best option. With that iin mind I've been thinking that an old treadle machine for under $200 on CL might be the way to go. I'd like to know what people's experiences with this sort of machine might be when it comes to sewing a double thickness of somewhere between 6-12 oz leather. Are there some old makes and features that are recommendable and some to be avoided? Are there advantages or pitfalls? Leather stitching machines also seem like a fine option but the ones I have found online cost more than I can afford right now. Are the really old ones I see on CL and eBay adequate or are they show pieces? I'm also open to getting a modern sewing machine but the ones that seem would do the job are either out of my price range or my space constraints. Are there any inexpensive ones that might be adequate? I realize that this topic may have been addressed previously in these fora and I regret any redundancy. A cursory search did not reveal the information I need. I appreciate all replies and welcome information. Hole punch weary, Ximpe

Hi there, So I'm new to the forum and i was just wanting to post some questions about a machine I'm looking at purchasing, and don't want to make a purchase ill regret. The Singer 201 Treadle machine is the one I've had my eye on, I'm from New Zealand so its not to often you come across a nice one, but i seem to have found one, just wanting to know from some more experienced leather workers if this machine would be suitable for leather sewing, nothing to heavy duty but just wallets and accessories with 4-5oz natural vegetable tanned leather. Thanks a lot, Not sure if this link will work but you might be able to find the machine here. http://www.trademe.c...px?id=633169999