- Joined
- Aug 29, 2010
- Messages
- 13,837
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.
We stayed in Ft. Benton that night at the Grand Hotel. It's a really nice old Hotel.
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"
Couldn't have been better timing, we had ice fog all morning and a snowstorm had just started.
Got everything unloaded into the shop and it was time to dance.
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.
Heavy duty locking casters and a stand that you could mount a damned anvil on.
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.
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
In June we took a trip to Ft. Benton to canoe part of the Missouri River for my daughter's birthday.
We stayed in Ft. Benton that night at the Grand Hotel. It's a really nice old Hotel.
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"
Couldn't have been better timing, we had ice fog all morning and a snowstorm had just started.
Got everything unloaded into the shop and it was time to dance.
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.
Heavy duty locking casters and a stand that you could mount a damned anvil on.
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.
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
