For quick relief from the Brother DB2-B791-015/industrial sewing machine information, here are some pictures of shoes made on the Brother. They are constructed from canvas and leather (two sheets of leather, one at 5/64″ and another at 1/8″), with “Extra Strong” 100% Polyester thread by Gütermann (sometimes spelled Guterman, Gueterman, or Gutterman in the States). The leather is very basic rawhide ordered from McMasterCarr, and the canvas is picked out from bulk at Michael Levine Fabric in the heart of Los Angeles’ fashion district. The soles are made of two pieces of leather - the midsole (5/64″) being sewn to the canvas upper (with a canvas insole) and then the bottom sole (1/8″) being glued to the midsole with PowerPoxy “Super Crystal Clear” and “Shoe Glue” Adhesive. All of the template is taken right from the foot, without any pre-determined pattern. Some bias tape is used as necessary to clean up the raw edges between the upper and insole, so the canvas does not fray too much. These shoes were made initially as a small project for something which lived between performance and sculpture. As it turns out, they are quite comfy and totally slick in the pedestrian sense of the word. Since their inauguration in the spring of 2006, many more pairs have been made with small improvements along the way. Although they are not completely refined they do enjoy use by a select few.

As to the last comment left about the thread trimmer, vs. thread trimmer, vs. Brother DB2-B791-015. The question can be summed up with one word - both. Or at least should it be said that yes the picture which reads “Brother DB2-B791-015 No Thread Trimmer” does lead one astray. It should read - Brother DB2-B791-015 shown here without a thread trimmer to see what it looks like when there is not one - so readers can compare the two pictures and better understand the mechanical difference, whether that is to be believed physical or not. Although, the comment also brings to light another very sophisticated question about the Brother DB2-B791-015, and whether or not it is not just an industrial sewing machine. To this, it must be said that the Brother DB2-B791-015 is more than just that, it is a very unique device that depending on why it is thought to be used can alter its productive outcome. Some may think that it can only join material together, but in reality, by doing that it must also then have a very deep relationship with materials (trickling down or up from there when one zooms in on what either comes before or after that) that sets it up to push and pull physical matter in a way that people may not always consider. Suppose - maybe the Brother is a unit which travels throughout it’s history in a non-linear manner (much like it was mentioned this site or blog may work) therefore not just joining material, but truly endeavoring in what material is, why it is joined together, and how these normative functions of a (perhaps) textile based society have either progressed or not. However, unfortunately, these are only terms used to describe less than an inkling into how it may be something other than an industrial sewing machine, which may abstract too easily. Ideally with time, as this site grows, the information provided within it will help describe the separation between industrial sewing machine (for producing product) and industrial sewing machine as brain - and this overarching issue will become more transparent.

Before we continue on, it is probably good to get out of the way, what the thread trimmer is. In the picture (without text overlay) you can see a small elliptical like washer with a hex bolt in its center, and an arm below it, next to the feed dog, this is the thread trimmer (probably like a top “cap” [?]). Essentially the thread trimmer is a small cluster of bushings which are driven by a simple mechanism to control a small knife. When the thread trimmer is activated it tells the knife to sweep across the thread - underneath the throat plate (or needle plate, what the material is running over, which has the grooves cut for the feed dog to pass by) - and trim the bobbin thread. How it trims the upper thread coming in from above is unclear. What a thread trimmer is good for is that; it saves a lot of time from having to constantly pull the fabric out and trim each side separateley (after your seem is made), it cuts very close to the fabric (probably closer than a human can), and it leaves the remaining thread at the optimal length to begin sewing again (this saves thread, and saves the person sewing from having to always pull a little excess out before laying down the next seem).