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Messages - Mr. Stitchy

1
I have a Pfaff 1425 that runs with a Quick-Rotan P70SE.  I have had this machine for years, and it's always had an issue with the sewing programs.  The QR manual says the user can program up to 25 sewing programs, with up to 25 seam sections per program with a maximum of 99 stitches per program.  Ever since I got this machine, I have never been able to get more than 5 sewing programs with 5 seam sections per program.  I have been able to get by without the programs, but I am running a new job with lots of small sections and I really need the extra seam sections to work now.  I finally gave up and decided to see if a complete parameter reset might help.  So I went through and noted all of the parameters in my manual in case I couldn't remember how to set them back up.  I got both programming level B and C parameters noted.

My first issue is that I have several parameters that are not listed in the manual.  I made a note for what they are, but I have no way of knowing what they do.  I proceeded to follow the directions for a factory reset, but I get an error.  The manual says to turn the machine off, hold down 3 keys and the treadle, then release keys and treadle when you turn the machine on.  I get "error 1", which means the treadle is not in the neutral position on machine startup.  I have a standing operator treadle which actually has separate pedals for sewing, foot lift and trim, rather than the traditional treadle that you use the heel down for trimming.  I am wondering if I really need to reset all the parameters to solve my issue and if I am even able to reset it without a traditional pedal. 

If anyone can help, I'd really appreciate it.  As far as I can tell, Quick-Rotan was bought out by Pfaff and I don't think they will support it any more.  I'll try to call them tomorrow, but it's late and I thought someone might know what to do here. Any help would be appreciated.
2
I ended up doing the Ranger shortly after I started the thread.  Sorry for my delay in posting the pics.

The client had brought me these skins that we used for the seats.  They are Wildebeest that he bowhunted in Africa.  Since the skins were one of a kind and very important to the client, we had to be very careful not to make any mistakes with them.  I measured 4 times and cut once.  The rest of the leather is vegetable tanned cowhide.  We waterproofed the veg-tan leather so it will hold up to the outdoor conditions the vehicle is used in. 

The hardest parts were the side bars that hold you in the vehicle.  Since they are welded in a loop, the wrap had to be hand stitched on.  Also, the curve made it very tricky to make the pattern.  It had to be done in two pieces.  I machine stitched the outside seam with two double stitches, and hand stitched the inside seam.  The parts also had to be wet molded to take the shape of the bar.  It was quite a process that took two of us the better part of an entire day just for those two bars.  These bars also have foam underneath the leather to make it nice and soft if you slam into it.  The passenger T-handle was also wrapped in foam and hand stitched on, though it wasn't nearly as difficult.

I added an extra touch the client didn't know about until he picked it up.  If you look at the headrests, you will see a hole in the wildebeest skin.  Each headrest has the kill shot where the arrow wen in the animal on that seat.  I took a risk on this, and he loved it! 

The client had added the surface on the hood.  They use the Ranger for hunting and the hunting dogs ride up there.  So, I added two built in leashes for each dog, one connects to each side of the dog's harness that they wear.  The leashes are adjustable so they can get it dialed in right for each dog. 

Overall, I think this project went perfectly.  It took a few days to complete, and wasn't without any issues or injuries, but the finished job turned out even better than I had envisioned.


I couldn't figure out how to load the images properly, so here is the link to the whole album of images for the project.
http://imageshack.us/g/1/10175130/

Theres a few more pictures in this album on our facebook too, https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.281280715338786.1073741827.161465187320340&type=3
3
The Business Of Upholstery / Polaris Ranger Seats
February 11, 2012, 03:10:53 pm
Hi all,

I'm brand new to the forum, but I have occasionally read here over the past few years.  Glad to finally be an active member!  I have a small leather shop, in which we produce upper end leather goods like holsters, belts, dog collars & leashes, wallets and other leather fashion items.  One thing I have never really done is upholstery.  I have an employee who has done some upholstery work, but it is brand new for me.  I have been presented with a job to make new seats for a two passenger Polaris Ranger.  He wants it done in leather, so it's right up our alley.  However, not having done much upholstery like this, I know that we will be running into all sorts of issues I don't expect.  So, I am having trouble figuring out how to bid on this job and would be grateful if anyone can help me out on how to quote this.  Material cost is not the issue, it's just the labor I am trying to figure out.  I assume it will take at least twice as long as it should, but I don't want to charge extra just because we are going to be a little slow, that's not really fair.  But at the same time, I have to pay my employee and make sure I make some money on the job.

The seats are really pretty simple.  The bottom seat is basically just a bench seat with a little  hump of foam in the middle between the two passenger seats.  The OEM seats don't have any sort of curves sewn in them to accommodate the rise in the middle foam, nor did they cut the foam on a curve.  So, when the vinyl goes from the higher foam to the lower part of the bench, there is a void on either side of the hump where the vinyl doesn't touch the foam.  It's pretty cheap, in my opinion.  I'd like to make this a little better by filling that void if we can.  The back cushion is also one piece all the way across for both passengers.  It has a little more shape to it, but it's still very simple.  Finally, there are headrests for both passengers.  Everything is really simple looking, so I feel confident that we can do a good job on it.  I just don't know if I will make much money because it will probably take a lot longer than it should!  Oh, and the seats are in excellent condition.  So, we can use the existing foam and pull the upholstery off to make a pattern without any issue.  It's a pretty straight forward job. 

We will be using hair on hides for the back of each seat, and vegetable tanned leather which we are going to hand glaze and oil for the rest of the back, the bench and the headrests.  The vegetable tanned leather is a little stiff to be wrapping with, so we will likely have to wet it a bit to get it to wrap around the back.  It will not be as easy as using the vinyl that's on there now, that I know for sure.  Overall, it will be a very interesting job for us, and I am looking forward to it!

I'm hoping someone has has done one of these and can provide some first hand experience as to how long it took.  If not, I think the seats are really similar to a golf cart.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thank for reading,
Mr. Stitchy