Singer 155W Is $300 A Good Deal?

[Eldorado]

Folks,

I have a friend/leather-mentor who is a professional leatherworker (saddles, tack, automotive, etc.) who has gotten into buying the assets of leathershops that are going out of business. He then sells the pieces around the country.

He tells me he has acquired a Singer 155W (probably made in the 1960's or early 70's) that might be perfect for me, because it is in good shape, but not great, and should keep me sewing very thick leather for years to come. He believes the machine would be better for me as a studied amateur, rather than for a professional shop because it has a couple of minor issues that would cause a "high production shop" more trouble than they need.

I hadn't really intended to get a sewing machine at this point, because my plans for taking my leatherworking on the renaissance fair road are a number of years off. I mostly rivet or handsew my stuff now. This machine comes with a mounting table and motor, and it has a walking foot. It also is in an "arm" configuration, which means it can be used to sew something like a quiver tube for arrows.

He's a good friend so I'm taking his judgement that the "issues" really arent going to be a problem for me.

So the question is, is $300 a decent enough price that I should act sooner rather than later?

[Wizcrafts]

The machine in the picture is a Singer 153w, not a 155. It is capable of sewing just under 3/8" of medium temper leather, with a #22 needle and #138 thread (top and bottom). While the machine is able to use up to a #25 needle (series 135x16), it won't sew with much thicker thread than #207 on top and #138 in the bobbin. The larger the needle, the harder it will be to penetrate the leather. The thicker the thread, the harder to pull it well up into the leather.

That said, $300 is a fair price, with a clutch motor and table. Needles and bobbins are readily available, as are replacement parts, which you are probably going to need.

While these machines are old and limited in their handling capacities, they are great for sewing things that have curves, or raised tops. I had one of the 153 Singers that I used to sew saddlebags (upside down), hats, vest and jacket arm holes and cuffs on chaps, pants, shirts and jackets. Do not expect that machine to sew sole leather at all. It will be damaged trying. The same goes for tack and harnesses, except for soft, stuffed bridle leather (2 layers 10 oz max). This is not a saddlery machine in the biggest stretch of the imagination.

These are not a good machine for dense leather, or over ~5/16" thickness (they can be customized to sew almost 3/8"). The bobbins are standard industrial size, which are about the same as a home class 15 bobbin. They go a long way with #69 nylon thread, but only half that far with #138. You probably will want to use #138 thread, top and bottom, on any leather project of 1/4" or thicker. You cannot efficiently use any thicker thread in the bobbin. Spools of bonded nylon thread sell between $16 and $20 a pound, from our dealers. I often use #138 Linhanyl thread in my National walking foot machine, which I buy from Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines, where I also get needles, bobbins and extra bobbin cases (to preload for big jobs).

Edited September 9, 2010 by Wizcrafts

[Eldorado]

The machine in the picture is a Singer 153w, not a 155. It is capable of sewing just under 3/8" of medium temper leather, with a #22 needle and #138 thread (top and bottom). While the machine is able to use up to a #25 needle (series 135x16), it won't sew with much thicker thread than #207 on top and #138 in the bobbin. The larger the needle, the harder it will be to penetrate the leather. The thicker the thread, the harder to pull it well up into the leather.

These are not a good machine for dense leather, or over ~5/16" thickness (they can be customized to sew almost 3/8"). The bobbins are standard industrial size, which are about the same as a home class 15 bobbin. They go a long way with #69 nylon thread, but only half that far with #138. You probably will want to use #138 thread, top and bottom, on any leather project of 1/4" or thicker. You cannot efficiently use any thicker thread in the bobbin. Spools of bonded nylon thread sell between $16 and $20 a pound, from our dealers. I often use #138 Linhanyl thread in my National walking foot machine, which I buy from Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines, where I also get needles, bobbins and extra bobbin cases (to preload for big jobs).

Wow, this is a tremendous answer. Thanks.

Just to see if I understand correctly, as a maker of historical reenactment stuff, I'm likely to be making sewn pouches out of Deer Tan Cowhide (4-5 oz), satchels (maybe assembled from pieces of 6-7oz), and if possible, sewing pieces of veg tan saddle skirting together.

I'd assume this machine would work fine on the pouches, is it reasonable to imagine that it would sew the saddleskirting? or would I be limited to sewing something thinner *to* the saddle skirting?

Any help is appreciated.

Eldorado

[Wizcrafts]

Wow, this is a tremendous answer. Thanks.

Just to see if I understand correctly, as a maker of historical reenactment stuff, I'm likely to be making sewn pouches out of Deer Tan Cowhide (4-5 oz), satchels (maybe assembled from pieces of 6-7oz), and if possible, sewing pieces of veg tan saddle skirting together.

I'd assume this machine would work fine on the pouches, is it reasonable to imagine that it would sew the saddleskirting? or would I be limited to sewing something thinner *to* the saddle skirting?

Any help is appreciated.

Eldorado

You're very welcome.

The 153 is perfect for the light weight projects you listed, but probably not for double saddle skirting. Saddle Skirting is usually 13 to 15 ounces thick and sole bends are 16 ounces. That machine will not sew any leather exceeding 20 ounces combined, if it will even go that thick. You are going to be limited to using #138 thread, which is too weak for projects that are subject to forces trying to rip them apart. Number 138 bonded nylon only has a tensile strength of 22 pounds pull.

Without sounding like an ad agent, it is beginning to sound like the flat or roller foot Cowboy 2500 may be your best bet. I'm embedding the spec sheet for it, below. Bob Kovar, owner of Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines is the distributor (866-362-7397). I do believe you can get this machine, with both regular and roller feet, and a swing down roller edge guide and reverse, for about a grand, plus shipping. It sews from a few ounces up to almost a half inch of leather, cloth, bioplastic, etc. It has bottom feed only, but is extremely heavy duty and can sew with very heavy thread, and has huge bobbins. It comes with a gear reduction servo motor that can be foot controlled down to a stitch every 2 seconds, or up to maybe 6 stitches per second, at toe down.

I call this machine a sleeper machine, because many people ignore it in favor of the more expensive walking foot machines. It does a great job on flat top layer projects, up to almost 1/2" thickness. If your work doesn't have to walk over different layers or big seams, this machine will do everything you have listed. This includes sewing two layers of 15 ounce saddle skirting together, with #346 bonded nylon or bonded polyester thread (or even #415 I think).

[Eldorado]

You're very welcome.

The 153 is perfect for the light weight projects you listed, but probably not for double saddle skirting. Saddle Skirting is usually 13 to 15 ounces thick and sole bends are 16 ounces. That machine will not sew any leather exceeding 20 ounces combined, if it will even go that thick. You are going to be limited to using #138 thread, which is too weak for projects that are subject to forces trying to rip them apart. Number 138 bonded nylon only has a tensile strength of 22 pounds pull.

Without sounding like an ad agent, it is beginning to sound like the flat or roller foot Cowboy 2500 may be your best bet. I'm embedding the spec sheet for it, below. Bob Kovar, owner of Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines is the distributor (866-362-7397). I do believe you can get this machine, with both regular and roller feet, and a swing down roller edge guide and reverse, for about a grand, plus shipping. It sews from a few ounces up to almost a half inch of leather, cloth, bioplastic, etc. It has bottom feed only, but is extremely heavy duty and can sew with very heavy thread, and has huge bobbins. It comes with a gear reduction servo motor that can be foot controlled down to a stitch every 2 seconds, or up to maybe 6 stitches per second, at toe down.

I call this machine a sleeper machine, because many people ignore it in favor of the more expensive walking foot machines. It does a great job on flat top layer projects, up to almost 1/2" thickness. If your work doesn't have to walk over different layers or big seams, this machine will do everything you have listed. This includes sewing two layers of 15 ounce saddle skirting together, with #346 bonded nylon or bonded polyester thread (or even #415 I think).

Boy, this is great info.

Now I have to decide *if* I'm likely to sew the really heavy stuff enough for it to make sense. Getting out of hand sewing the first place is pretty big stuff for me, to begin with. He tells me I should come over to his place and use his machines, then he tells me I shouldnt, because I'd never go back.

I really appreciate the depth of your responses. Thanks again.

Eldorado