medion

Hi all, This is a bit off topic as it's not a leather machine per se (this is my only non-leather sewing machine), however I know there is a wealth of knowledge and industry here and I was hoping someone might have an answer. Does anyone own a dedicated blanket stitch / crochet stitch machine - most commonly built by Merrow? I own one for whipping blanket edges. I currently use a 5/2 weight cotton yarn for this, however I am noticing the yarn I use often has knots in it, which is ripping through my needles. Has anyone worked with these machines and able to recommend what kind of yarn/brand/weight is commonly used in production blanket edge stitching? Cheers! Medion

I'm also noticing something else which is contributing to inconsistency - thread spooling off my thread cones is not smooth. I can feel it jerk, especially as it spools off the bottom, as if there is a minor stickiness factor in the cone thread. Is this a result of a bad batch of thread? Or?

Thank you everyone for your help - so, for future people having this issue, it seems like an increase in needle sized has likely resolved it in tests. I need to run a few actual wallets now, however, with scrap it looks like it's resolved. I'm running M40 thread needle 130/21

This actually looks like it's not an entirely uncommon problem

Thanks, I'll take a look! Honestly, I have so many tension issues with this machine, none of my other 3 machines cause me so much drama... I feel like I'm constantly fixing a hangup or battling a bizarre issue like this...

Thanks very much for all these ideas - I will try swapping in a new needle to start with and see how I go. With regards to twisting thread, I wonder if the thread is twisting when I round the corner? My corner rounding is done by spinning the wheel by hand, as I cannot reliably control the clutch and round the corner. So, I sew up to the corner, stop, hand crank and turn the corner with the needle down and the foot up. This is how I've always done it, and I've rounded literally hundreds of corners on hundreds of wallets and other objects, but for some insane reason this is now plaguing me... Anyway, let me try a needle change and changing the bobbin direction. Thanks again.

Hi all, I'm working on 10 wallets and 3 of them are having the strangest loss of bobbin-tension after rounding the corner. I cannot work out what's going on, and I've re-worked two of them hand-winding through the existing holes, to the same effect. I cannot for the life of me work out why this is happening. It's on a JUKI 1508 NH - any thoughts on what's going on would be so very helpful! Cheers, Medion.

The honest truth, is that I like working with unusual and high performance materials... There is no reason other than that I do currently use v69 right throughout my wallets though, it has held up well so far - what are you using for your main wallet stitch line if only using v69 for wallet internals? The honest truth, is that I like working with unusual and high performance materials... There is no reason other than that I do currently use v69 right throughout my wallets though, it has held up well so far - what are you using for your main wallet stitch line if only using v69 for wallet internals?

Hi all, Does anyone have any input on what could be considered the strongest modern machine sewable thread for leather? I currently use a bonded nylon #69 thread which is fine, but I do wonder what the strongest machine sewable thread may be, I'm thinking in terms of Kevlar and Dyneema (or others?) - does anyone have experience with high tech threads? I understand there comes a point where the thread is significantly stronger than the leather, however I'm wanting to avoid that part of the discussion. -p

THANK YOU everyone - you're all right, it is the clutch being in brake mode when the machine is stopped. If I run the pedal very lightly, the stiffness disappears - thanks so much, I was getting all worried about having to fit a new motor or something

Hi all, I have a Pfaff 335 - the older style, image attached as an example. I'm having an issue which appears to be getting worse, whereby the motor is hard to turn/sticks. It's not the machine, if I take the belt off the machine itself turns over smoothly. That being said, the clutch/motor still works perfectly fine, and you wouldn't notice it if you didn't hand crank the needle into position or around tight spots. I'm just wondering if this is normal behaviour/the motor is wearing out/bearings are toast/or other. Am I not doing something maintenance-wise? My other two machines are much newer with servo motors so I have nothing to compare - I also live in a remote place without access to industrial machine mechanics. Any help greatly appreciated! Cheers!

Cheers - sorry to be a pain, but are you able to show me a link to the bits you changed on your machine?

Ohhh, please tell me what changes you've made to your machine since we have the same one! I've tried loosening off the presser foot just now, and I'm still having a track issue, particularly on the shiny side. Did you do the aforementioned sanding mod on the feed dog?

Thanks, I will try re-adjusting the foot and buy another feed dog to sand down. Regarding thread size on your chart, I have a lot of 69 (T70) [Tkt 40] - is this strong enough for wallets or should I move up to my original idea of 138 (T135) [Tkt 20] ?

Hi all, I have a Juki 1508 (1508NH specifically) that I am now experimenting with for production wallet sewing. This machine, along with my others, have primarily been used for canvas work and I'm very inexperienced with leather sewing. I pulled out some leather scraps yesterday and now understand it's going to be quite a bit of fiddling to get a nice finish! I was hoping I could get some advice on some immediate issues - I have no access to a machine mechanic because of where I live unfortunately, however this machine will be dedicated to this one task, so it can be tweaked for its purpose. The presser foot & feed dog are leaving tracks along my leather. Can the presser foot be replaced with something made of nylon? Are there special 'leather feed dogs' which have less aggressive teeth, or is it all about tension and adjustment? I'd like to use M20 nylon bonded thread - what is a leather point needle recommendation for this thread size? I need to slow the machine right down (clutch motor) - is a smaller pulley the way to go or must I get one of the more specific speed reducing pulleys which also gear the machine for torque? The Nick-O Sew dual speed reducers on eBay are nice, but after USD conversion and shipping to Australia it's an expensive bit of gear. Thanks so much! -m