Adler 205-374

[Wizcrafts]

Another quick question. There is a protrusion on the bottom of the middle presser foot that presses the top stitch into the leather. It leaves a flaw at the beginning of the stitch line where it starts -- a little line. Any problem if I grind this off? I plan to continue using a hand cut grooved stitch line top and bottom to keep the stitches flush and don't need the foot to press the stitch into the leather.

I did the same thing to a Cobra inside foot I bought. After grinding off the groover tab and buffing it to a high polish, I re-positioned the now shorter inside foot so it meets the leather with the point of the decending needle. All if well when that happens.

[llucas]

Wiz, thanks very much for sharing your experience. Most helpful, indeed. I am probably going to pick up an open-toed presser foot so I can actually see what the needle is doing. It might help as I try to keep the needle in a preformed stitching groove or use the lever to adjust the point of the needle into a corner where I need to change the direction of the stitch. At least, I hope it helps. But the open-toe foot also has that stitch pressing protrusion on the bottom that will need to be ground off. Knowing you have done it successfully encourages me.

Edited February 26, 2016 by llucas

[llucas]

Any insight on changing to a 50mm pulley on the servo instead of the stock 3" pulley? Will it slow the stitching speed further?

[Uwe]

Yes it will slow things down. It's all about the ratios of the pulleys. If you replace the 3" pulley on the motor with one that is about 2", your machine will run at 2/3 of the original speed. This is basic high school geometry stuff. Remember Pi (3.141....)? At 3" diameter pulley will have a circumference of Pi*3"=9.5" so each revolution will move the belt by 9.5 ". A 2" diameter pulley has a circumference of Pi*2"=6.2" so each revolution of that pulley will move the belt 6.3".

Edited February 26, 2016 by Uwe

[llucas]

So I would get roughly another 33% reduction? I'll take it! Even that much as a novice will help me immensely with control -- and hopefully a better product for clients. Thanks very much, Uwe. I have found all your advice very helpful. I'll order the 50mm pulley tomorrow. Math was never my strong suit -- I was a history, philosophy, linguistics guy, lol. And here I am at this stage in my life needing math more than philosophy. Life is filled with irony. But sewing that slow I can still meditate on the implications of Kierkegaard, Gadamer and Heidegger for Western culture as I sew, lol. Thanks very much.

Edited February 26, 2016 by llucas

[llucas]

The 50mm pulley is ordered from Weaver, as is an open-toe center presser foot. When it arrives I will grind off the stitch-pressing ridge on the bottom of the foot and polish it. I also bought a sewing machine motor and pedal to make a dedicated bobbin winder (since the adler bobbin winder will no longer work on my modified machine). I sewed my first project on the machine today -- a holster for the Walther PPK/S. It is not finished (clean-up, sanding and finishing of belt slots; burnishing of edges, dyeing of edges left to do), but it is stitched and formed (as much as is possible) to the pistol. You can see the machine is still a little too fast for my lack of skill. I missed the stitch groove in a few areas as I was trying to follow the curve and hit the stitch groove without using the edge guide. I discovered free-handing is not easy for a beginner:

This is the first thing I have stitched using the Beast, other than scraps and samples. By the end of next week with the additional parts I should see an improvement. This holster is not good enough to sell as it was only an experiment using some old leather I acquired, but it will hold my Walther just fine.

This photo is also a sample of some prefinished leather I bought from a company that closed six years ago. It will not mold with any detail like veg tan, so I am assuming it is not veg tan. It will shape generically to the gun, but with no detail. It heavily resisted water when I soaked it to mold it. I am assuming it is either bridle leather or chrome tanned. How can one tell the difference?

Edited February 28, 2016 by llucas

[llucas]

The experiment above can be contrasted with this:

I have a ways to go using the Beast to stitch my work. I am thinking at least six to seven stitches per inch using the Beast, not five per inch.

Edited February 28, 2016 by llucas

[llucas]

"This photo is also a sample of some prefinished leather I bought from a company that closed six years ago. It will not mold with any detail like veg tan, so I am assuming it is not veg tan. It will shape generically to the gun, but with no detail. It heavily resisted water when I soaked it to mold it. I am assuming it is either bridle leather or chrome tanned. How can one tell the difference?"

I have since learned that this leather is Wickett-Craig English Bridle. Who knew? I suspect it will be great for belts, not so much for holsters that need to be molded. As it is from a leather company that closed six years ago, I have discovered that it needs a little conditioning to restore 100% usability. Part of the learning curve for a sewing machine newbie.

The new parts for the Beast are scheduled to arrive tomorrow. Slower speed and I will be able to see the needle via the open-toe center presser foot. One baby step at a time.

Edited March 2, 2016 by llucas

[llucas]

The pulley and open-toe center presser foot arrived, but unfortunately, the pulley was the wrong size. Waiting now for the new 50mm pulley to slow the machine even further.

On a related topic and in keeping with my noobie status using a sewing machine, I found this video on YouTube:

I found the instruction helpful, especially the focus on the needle going just past bottom dead center; lifting the presser feet and turning the corner with the needle plunged in the leather so as to avoid skipping the stitch. But there is a problem. The video illustrates the Cobra class 4 which apparently has the needle on the down stroke piercing the leather just before the center presser foot comes down for the backstroke of the cycle. On my Adler 205-374 the needle touches the leather about the same time as the presser foot, which is different from the Cobra 4. This raises a question: is there an analogous process for the Adler 205 series? I watched one video, but it showed lifting the foot and re-positioning the leather, dropping the foot after repositioning and continuing. I tried this, but it resulted in a slightly different stitch length. Sorry for the noob question, but I am very much a novice. A few times I have thought I should return to hand-stitching. But then I remember how long that takes.

Edited March 5, 2016 by llucas

[llucas]

Any advice on turning corners or direction with the Adler 205 series? This is old hat for most of you, but as a sewing machine novice I find it a difficult skill to master.