A Stitch in Time

Redmeadow Knives

John Conner
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Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Aug 29, 2010
Messages
13,521
Wanted to chronicle this timeline for future reference.

In June we took a trip to Ft. Benton to canoe part of the Missouri River for my daughter's birthday.
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We stayed in Ft. Benton that night at the Grand Hotel. It's a really nice old Hotel.
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While walking around town the next day we saw some folks unloading windows and I offered to give them a hand. They happened to be bringing them into a leather shop. After we got everything unloaded, the owner gave me a tour and let me fool around with a leather sewing machine (Cobra 20). These ain't your Granny's Singers, they are built like tanks, but surprisingly easy to use (once they're set up and tensioned correctly, which sounds like can be a nightmare).

I did some reaearch and though these are insanely expensive (and I mean insanely), I entertained the idea of adding one to the shop.

The next step was to ask the guys in the sheath section of the forum, so I posed a question here and was met with helpful advice.

I usually let some time pass before a big purchase to make sure I'm not being impulsive and to see if there are other options so I sat on the idea for a few months.

While on a trip to San Diego for a wedding recenty, I happened to be driving by the Leather Machine Company. I gave them a call, asked if I could stop by, got a quick tour of the machines and ordered a Cobra 4 Premium while I was there. Nice people to deal with.

The other day, in about 10 degrees fsrenheit, 295 pounds of sewing machine was delivered roadside freight.

"Hang on honey, almost there"
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Couldn't have been better timing, we had ice fog all morning and a snowstorm had just started.
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Got everything unloaded into the shop and it was time to dance.
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A quick inventory later and I started to get things set up. It came with a functional set of tools, better quality than your usual sheet metal wrenches that you sometimes get with a machine.
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Heavy duty locking casters and a stand that you could mount a damned anvil on.
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Everything was going well until it came time to huff the 111 pound machine onto the stand. Once I got it lifted all I had to do was hook the belt onto the pulley and bolt her down. But......

The belt seemed a little short, while balancing 111 pounds I tried everything I could but it wasn't gonna happen. A quick hernia check and a call to the shop and yup, they sent the wrong belt. I should have a 56" not a 50 argh.
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They shipped one out and it should be here Saturday. Until then, I have a really heavy paperweight that makes a 200 pound anvil look like a toy:eek:
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Other spot saved

Sounds like a grand time! Thanks for the back story and visuals. So, um, is this'n here new gadget gonna be used for making Camp knaves sheafs? Maybe?

Enquiring minds need to know...
 
Still no belt. Maybe Monday. This is a whole lotta machine to be held up by a 7 dollar belt.

I checked with my local auto parts stores on the 23rd to see if they carried them, they don't but they could have had one there on the 26th. Just wait I says.... be patient I says....

Remember when you had to fill out a form and send a check or MO to order something? I guess I can wait:thumbsup:
 
Looks like a great choice, John! Glad you made a solid decision and should save you lots of time that can be used for making videos!:D:thumbsup:
 
I agree SpyderPhreak SpyderPhreak , I try to go with the "Buy once cry once" mentality, this one had me curled up in a ball for a bit though

Good to hear from you mitch4ging mitch4ging ! I'm really hoping it will improve workflow and broaden my skillset.

Just saw today that the Grand Hotel that I mentioned above is for sale at $1.75 million:eek:
 
Good luck! Use it wisely. That speed and ease with which it will stitch a sheath will also screw up a lot of hard work quite quickly... :eek:
 
Good luck! Use it wisely. That speed and ease with which it will stitch a sheath will also screw up a lot of hard work quite quickly... :eek:
Right? This thing's gonna create a lot of new cusswords and kill a lot of cows I'm sure!
 
If you make a Cowbell right front pocket sheath you're not happy with, I'll take it:D
 
I've been researching a lot of leather work lately and have been trying out a few different products. I tried making a belt for the much better half with mixed results. The project was an overall failure but I learned a lot and was able to figure out proper threading and how to dial in the tension on the machine.

I took, some 8 oz veg tan and backed it with a 2-3oz liner. Once everything was cut and glued together, I ran a groove a little more than an 1/8" down each side and fired up the beast. Things went fairly well, I could see that I had some issues with the bottom knots pulling up through the top it it seemed to correct itself. My stitch line wasn't perfect, but it was definitely functional, and from there it would have made a surprisingly quality belt.
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But nooooo I say, I don't leave things well enough alone. Let's do a boot stitch down the center I say, it'll be fun I say.....

It was an excellent learning experience and let me get some mileage under my belt but everything went to hell in a handbasket and things got ugly, knots all over the place.

It had potential, I had laid out a design but ended up free handing it and it wasn't terribly difficult.

Here it is with a little bit of oil on it.
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I was able to troubleshoot the problem, re-thread the machine and adjust the tension. It was good to know that my issue was operator error, things being threaded incorrectly were the biggest problem.

Anyways, back at it.
 
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