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MikePatterson

CHAMPION LOCKSTITCH SHOE MACHINE

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I thought some of you would enjoy seeing my pride and joy, conversation piece of my shop. I bought this old machine back in the early 70's. From what I can find out about the machine it was built in the early 1900's. As you can see in the photos the machine still has the three pedals and the old tractor style seat as it came from the factory. It still has the wax pot attached although it has not been used in years since nylon thread. It is still powered manually and since it will easily sew through over 1 inch of heavy leather I have never wanted to put a motor on it. The machine has served me well for over 30 years and has been used daily and is still in use at this time. I have had to make a few parts as they have become very hard to find and anytime I could find parts I bought them and put them back in case I needed them later. The old machine has a awl that comes down from the top and punches a hole for the hook needle to come up through from the bottom. A lock stich is tied and the cycle repeats. I have several machines in the shop but when I need to get serious I get in the old tractor seat and start to pedal. If anyone can tell me anything about these old machines or would happen to have any parts please let me know.

champion_f.jpg

champion_dd.jpg

post-7959-1230177341_thumb.jpg

post-7959-1230181435_thumb.jpg

Edited by Johanna

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WOW! That's a monster! Nice machine

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I love it! At work we had a Campbell that I painted yellow in the hopes that it would reflect a little more light than the dark blue. I still used linen and wax, it made the most beautiful stitch and you didn't have to worry about anything coming apart.

Then in the late nineties, customers started whining "I want the thread to match the leather". So in 2000, I said lets at least come into the twentieth century, so we got an Adler 205. Yeah, I guess its easier to change thread colors and it has reverse, but I don't EVER look at the stitch and think "that is pretty, I'd like to just see that stitch on something" like I did with the Campbell.

But what I want to know is, Why three pedals?

And what is holding up that seat? Surely not just that 1/4 inch rod.

Merry Christmas everybody,

Kevin

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the seat is just held up by the 1/2" rod and it slides from side to side depending on how large the project you are sewing is and you can use any of the three pedals depending on where you are sitting.

Thanks Mike

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100_1204.JPGglad to see someone using a champion stitcher,i have been using mine for 40 years for saddles,harness and holsters it still sews good. it has a foot clutch and can sew very slow, yours is a good looking machine

post-6213-1230952038_thumb.jpg

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Gloomis, that blue machine looks like a Singer 98k52 patcher. How's that workin' for ya? I have one that I struggle with, but it works.

Daggrim

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Daggrim,The patch machine is a Singer 29k171 it has a motor that goes way to fast,so I use the hand wheel.I only use it for making a cell phone case or something very lite weight. I would like to get a treadle for it

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Mine has a treadle, but until I get more adept, I find myself using the handwheel often to get more control for odd curves.

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Have you sewed any boot soles with it? I've got a chance to buy one. Still on the factory pedestal, with a motor. Kicking it around because I'd like to do some resoles, but want to get a machine that will let me do that and some tack to.

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Hi Mike my name is Al. I saw your old post and photos and wanted to talk to you about your Champion machine. I just picked the exact machine up at an auction and was hopeing i could pick your brain. I know very little about it. Year? Manual availability? Access to parts? Posable value? Your picture is the only one i have found that looks exactly like the one i have. Except i have no seat and mine needs a little cleaning and posable tune up. I would really apprciate any info you can share? Thanks Al

Hi Mike my name is Al. I saw your old post and photos and wanted to talk to you about your Champion machine. I just picked the exact machine up at an auction and was hopeing i could pick your brain. I know very little about it. Year? Manual availability? Access to parts? Posable value? Your picture is the only one i have found that looks exactly like the one i have. Except i have no seat and mine needs a little cleaning and posable tune up. I would really apprciate any info you can share? Thanks Al

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I acquired one of these recently as an amateur to the industry. Was a complete rust bucket mostly on the outside. I worked a little every night to clean and free up the pieces and parts. I feel I saved it just in time because most of the tolerances seem to be ok for what I know..considering I have had to build some of my own parts and figure this out with very little available info. I was wondering if there was any clearance or adjustment specs out there to help me fine tune this recovered gem? Wish someone would've posted a video on youtube. The only one I found wouldn't play for me. I have it stitching by hand but finding needles has been tuff. I have had to craft my own so far. Any advice or info would be highly appreciated and rewarded with karma.

Thanks for your wisdom and pics above. Huge help to me when fabricating my pieces!!

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Try Pilgrim Machine for literature. They may even have the Operator Manual.

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Just joining the Champion Awl and Hook sewing machine club . I pick up the old girl tomorrow in Ontario Canada . Can’t wait to show it some love . I’m also an amateur machinists so making parts is in my realm of expertise.It looks like a small group , hears to another 100 yrs for these beauties.   

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On 12/25/2008 at 4:57 AM, MikePatterson said:

I thought some of you would enjoy seeing my pride and joy, conversation piece of my shop. I bought this old machine back in the early 70's. From what I can find out about the machine it was built in the early 1900's. As you can see in the photos the machine still has the three pedals and the old tractor style seat as it came from the factory. It still has the wax pot attached although it has not been used in years since nylon thread. It is still powered manually and since it will easily sew through over 1 inch of heavy leather I have never wanted to put a motor on it. The machine has served me well for over 30 years and has been used daily and is still in use at this time. I have had to make a few parts as they have become very hard to find and anytime I could find parts I bought them and put them back in case I needed them later. The old machine has a awl that comes down from the top and punches a hole for the hook needle to come up through from the bottom. A lock stich is tied and the cycle repeats. I have several machines in the shop but when I need to get serious I get in the old tractor seat and start to pedal. If anyone can tell me anything about these old machines or would happen to have any parts please let me know.

champion_f.jpg

champion_dd.jpg

post-7959-1230177341_thumb.jpg

post-7959-1230181435_thumb.jpg

Love that tractor seat treadle. Was there not a longer arm version, thought I saw one for sale the other day. I've heard they are hard to get parts for.

Tor

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Can anyone tell me more about these i just picked up 2 and am trying to get information on the size of motor to run them. Thanks

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On 8/29/2020 at 4:14 PM, Trox said:

Love that tractor seat treadle. Was there not a longer arm version, thought I saw one for sale the other day. I've heard they are hard to get parts for.

Tor

Doesn't look heavy enough IOL that's beautiful my friend .

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On 8/3/2021 at 2:32 PM, MSARPACKER said:

Can anyone tell me more about these i just picked up 2 and am trying to get information on the size of motor to run them. Thanks

I've used whatever was on hand from a 1/3,1/2,3/4 hp put the smallest pulley on the motor you can find to keep the speed down.

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On 7/18/2020 at 6:06 PM, UberStu said:

Just joining the Champion Awl and Hook sewing machine club . I pick up the old girl tomorrow in Ontario Canada . Can’t wait to show it some love . I’m also an amateur machinists so making parts is in my realm of expertise.It looks like a small group , hears to another 100 yrs for these beauties.   

Were you ever able to get any additional information on these machines?  Possibly a manual?  I’ve owned one for about 18 years, never had any major problems, just don’t know much about it. 

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I've got a couple of Champions...A narrow throat I modified for special work and a regular depth Champion.   I don't know if any manuals still exist? But truthfully they're so simple and heavily built I don't think you'd ever need a manual if you know anything about sewing machines.  I like how they sew.  As far as parts go they are nonexistent.  Best thing to do is scour for a used junker an steal what you need.  I use cut down UL needles in mine.  I run z twist linen on top and s on the bobbin when using linen.  Z on both when running poly.   Maybe my favorite old hook and awl stitcher, just something about them.

Edited by Cumberland Highpower

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Common Industrial Sewing Thread and Needle Sizes
Tex Size Ticket Number Govt
Cord Size
Needle for
Nylon Thread
Landis Needle Landis Awl
T-70 69 E 110/18    
T-90 92 F 125/20    
T-135 138 FF 140/22    
T-210 207 #5 160/28    
T-270 277 #6 180 14 14
T-350 346 #7 230 15 15
T-400 415 #8 250 16 16
T-600 554 #9 280 17 17
T-700 693 #10 300    
A size larger awl than needle can be used for repair work or hard material.
A size amaller thread should be utilized in the bobbin than in the machine.
           
Champion Narrow Throat Stitcher
           
Stitches
Per Inch
Top
Thread
Bobbin
Thread
Champion Needle Champion Awl  
10-12 5 Cord 4 Cord 6 5  
8-10 6 Cord 5 Cord 5 4  
7-9 7 Cord 6 Cord 4 3  
6-7 8 Cord 7 Cord 3 2  
4-6 9 Cord 8 Cord 2 1  
           
Left Hand Thread goes on the machine, right or left hand in the bobbin
           
           
Thread Size Thread Tex Size Needle Size Metric Needle Size    
15 16 10-12 70-80    
33 35 12-14 80-90    
46 45 14-16 90-100    
69 70 16-18 100-110    
92 90 18-20 110-125    
138 135 20-22 125-140    
207 210 22-24 140-180    
277 270 24-26 180-220    
346 350 26-28 220-260    
415 410 28-30 260-330    
554 600 30-32 330-360    
           

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I Tried to upload the manual but had to create a share folder please see the following post

 

Edited by Kingdog3

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I have uploaded the Champion manual to Google drive you may access it from the following link. If you have any Champion questions I would be happy to help in anyway I can.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eWjXd4EakVpCkA7ZTEugrUgXwCwTeJIb/view?usp=sharing

Needles and parts are partially available from:

Landis Machine Co, Eli Slabach, 115 E Cr 500 N Arthur IL 61911, 217-543-3464

Campbell-Randall, Dan Naegle, 405 FM 3083 Rd Conroe, TX 77301, 800-327-9420

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aadlFLbTz9ViUXpB69c24CO9wVfmrswu/view?usp=sharing

Frankford Leather Company, 1820 Byberry Rd, Bensalem, PA 19020, 215-244-0400

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aadlFLbTz9ViUXpB69c24CO9wVfmrswu/view?usp=sharing

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That's a pretty awesome find. I've never seen a manual for a Champion.  

I can see why it lists such heavy thread/cord being a shoe stitcher.   I have a Peerless 30 I modified to sew a special item and I often run 3 and 4 cord on it.  Works great and stitches beautifully with even these lighter weight cords.    I'm using Randall and UL needles in mine.

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For some reason I cannot edit my posts on here maybe that's just the way it is......the link for the Frankford Leather did not paste correctly I pasted Campbell twice refer to the following for the Frankford link.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TMfUSTmEIAe6V2jiF9lmkHUI8Ws_t1Ps/view?usp=sharing

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