sewing wet leather.. bad?

[beltbuckles]

so when i sew vegg tanned leather and i have it wet to be able to mold it and sew it well.. is that bad for the machine??   do i just dry it by dabbing it with a towel or paper towel after?

 

[Troy I]

Set your project to the side for a day or so until it is completely dry then sew it on your machine.  

[beltbuckles]

the problem is that i need the leather wet to be able to bend it while im sewing....

1 hour ago, Troy I said:

Set your project to the side for a day or so until it is completely dry then sew it on your machine.  

the problem is that i need the leather wet to be able to bend it while im sewing....

[Yetibelle]

That is a good question.   I don't think it will hurt the machine to sew wet or moist leather, just wipe it down and re-lube after your done.

I have been making some rather large round leather sandbags (about 3-5 pounds). I also found that it is less work if you wet the thick leather and then sew it, however if the mold is going to pull on the stitching as it dries you may get some stretch marks.  Also if your sewing wet leather then I assume your not gluing the edge.  That brings up the whole project workflow.  First mold your project and clamp the edge to the right shape so you can sew it once it has dried, then prepare the edge with glue, then clamp and let that set-up, then sew the edge and burnish it.  I suspect those are the correct steps, but if your not using glue and don't mid a little stretch in the project then there is no harm in sewing it wet?  Lets see what Wiz has to say....

good topic

[Wizcrafts]

I rarely sew wet leather. But, when I do, I sew it on my Cowboy CB4500, which has stainless steel feet and throat plates. The feet and feed dog will dig into the leather, so you should back off the foot pressure to the minimum needed to hold the leather down as the needle ascends. Because the thread will be pulled deeply into the surfaces of the wet leather, increase your stitch length to at least 5 to the inch, if not longer.It might even be a good idea to reduce both the top and bottom tensions for a lighter thread lay in the wet leather.

[beltbuckles]

7 hours ago, Yetibelle said:

That is a good question.   I don't think it will hurt the machine to sew wet or moist leather, just wipe it down and re-lube after your done.

I have been making some rather large round leather sandbags (about 3-5 pounds). I also found that it is less work if you wet the thick leather and then sew it, however if the mold is going to pull on the stitching as it dries you may get some stretch marks.  Also if your sewing wet leather then I assume your not gluing the edge.  That brings up the whole project workflow.  First mold your project and clamp the edge to the right shape so you can sew it once it has dried, then prepare the edge with glue, then clamp and let that set-up, then sew the edge and burnish it.  I suspect those are the correct steps, but if your not using glue and don't mid a little stretch in the project then there is no harm in sewing it wet?  Lets see what Wiz has to say....

good topic

sounds about right,, i posted on the "how to do that"   with a  how to sew corners ... basically asking about methods.. i do feel that the one you describe is a solid way to do it..     i tried gluing it with weldwood then sewing it but it didn't go well...   soaking the leather then sewing it came out better...   but if i could get a really good mold then glue it.. that could be the best.   (thankyou by the way)

 

6 hours ago, Wizcrafts said:

I rarely sew wet leather. But, when I do, I sew it on my Cowboy CB4500, which has stainless steel feet and throat plates. The feet and feed dog will dig into the leather, so you should back off the foot pressure to the minimum needed to hold the leather down as the needle ascends. Because the thread will be pulled deeply into the surfaces of the wet leather, increase your stitch length to at least 5 to the inch, if not longer.It might even be a good idea to reduce both the top and bottom tensions for a lighter thread lay in the wet leather.

   what about a consew 227   any stainles stuff on that ?   oh and the tension.. i find that the top tension is really light usually when i sew stuff...  (veg tanned)  -thankyou by the way

Edited October 12, 2017 by beltbuckles

[Wizcrafts]

To my knowledge, the feet and plates on the Consew machines are regular steel. You would have to locate a custom set of feet to get stainless to fit that machine. The Cowboy stainless feet are custom made for the big harness stitchers only. They will fit other 441 clones. The stainless throat plates may or may not fit other brands of 441 clones.

[SolarLeatherMachines]

Sewing wet leather isn't good for the leather or the machine.  

Especially if the leather has been chrome tanned.  Chrome tanned leather has been tanned using chromium salts.  If you add water to the equation, and you have dissimilar metals in contact with the leather, ie, chrome plated needle plates and carbon steel feet, you can actually set up the conditions for a battery.  Over time, the plain steel feet will corrode(rust) and cause staining issues on the leather.  This is one of the reasons we use stainless steel feet on the Cowboy machines.   I've seen cases where the wet leather caused corrosion to occur in the hook assembly, and the entire hook & race had to be replaced.  (the leather was soaking wet!)

Always, always dry your machine off after sewing wet leather.  

[Hockeymender]

3 hours ago, SolarLeatherMachines said:

Sewing wet leather isn't good for the leather or the machine.  

Especially if the leather has been chrome tanned.  Chrome tanned leather has been tanned using chromium salts.  If you add water to the equation, and you have dissimilar metals in contact with the leather, ie, chrome plated needle plates and carbon steel feet, you can actually set up the conditions for a battery.  Over time, the plain steel feet will corrode(rust) and cause staining issues on the leather.  This is one of the reasons we use stainless steel feet on the Cowboy machines.   I've seen cases where the wet leather caused corrosion to occur in the hook assembly, and the entire hook & race had to be replaced.  (the leather was soaking wet!)

Always, always dry your machine off after sewing wet leather.  

Thanks for that info Alexander, very interesting (and informative) stuff!

[thunter9]

you just don't want it dripping wet more like if tour going to tool leather . keep in mind the the presser foot will leave its impression