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CustomDoug

Consew 206Rb

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I picked up a Consew 206RB about a week ago and only got the one needle in it and no user's manual. Haven't used it yet, except when testing it before buying. What needle system do they work with and what are the largest needle and tread they're comfortable consistantly running? What max leather thickness to expect it to sew? Also, are there any free or at least reasonable online manuals available? thanks.

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OK looks like the needle system 135x16 (and/or x17) I use for my Singer 29K60 will work for the 206RB, now that's convenient. Still need to figure out what the largest size would be though...I'm thinking #22 with 138 thread?

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The needles in system 135x15 and 135x16 go up to #25, which will sew #207, top and bottom. The maximum thickness with these needles, on a stock setup, is 3/8 of an inch. You may be able to bump that up by reducing the lift of the alternating feet and possibly grinding down the top of the outside foot. This may allow you to sew 7/16 inch.

Sewing at full capacity or above will wear out the machine in a short time.

To be safe, use a #22 or #23 needle with #138 thread, top and bottom, and limit the thickness to just under 3/8 inch. The machine will last longer this way, if you keep it well oiled.

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The needles in system 135x15 and 135x16 go up to #25, ......

To be safe, use a #22 or #23 needle with #138 thread, top and bottom, and limit the thickness to just under 3/8 inch.

What factors would necessitate a choice between the 135X15 and 135x16 needles? I have plenty of the x16s in sizes below your above recommendations but none in the x15s. I will grab some of both (if need be) in the #22 & #23 sizes. Also, are there smooth needle plates and single thin feed dogs on the market for these machines (like I put on my 31-15)?

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I picked up a Consew 206RB about a week ago and only got the one needle in it and no user's manual. Haven't used it yet, except when testing it before buying. What needle system do they work with and what are the largest needle and tread they're comfortable consistantly running? What max leather thickness to expect it to sew? Also, are there any free or at least reasonable online manuals available? thanks.

CustomDoug,

You didn't mention what subclass 206RB, but the newest owners book can be applied to at least 95% of all model machines.

I have avaible for download on our Consew 206RB-5 product page full parts book and owners manual, both avaible for free download;

Consew 206RB-5 product page with OWNER and PARTS books

CustomDoug,

You didn't mention what subclass 206RB, but the newest owners book can be applied to at least 95% of all model machines.

I have avaible for download on our Consew 206RB-5 product page full parts book and owners manual, both avaible for free download;

Consew 206RB-5 product page with OWNER and PARTS books

If you need another 206RB book, for 206RB, -1, -2, -3, -4, (SH or TH serial number prefix) let me know.

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Thanks Gregg, my machine has no number after the RB... so I assume it's first generation (1), say's made in Japan. I'll take a look at that download and let you know if another book would be needed, thanks again.

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What factors would necessitate a choice between the 135X15 and 135x16 needles? I have plenty of the x16s in sizes below your above recommendations but none in the x15s. I will grab some of both (if need be) in the #22 & #23 sizes. Also, are there smooth needle plates and single thin feed dogs on the market for these machines (like I put on my 31-15)?

135x15 has a standard round sharp point that is used to sew everything made from cloth. 135x16 has a narrow twisted chisel point and is used to sew leather.

The only ways you will get a smooth cover plate is if a dealer happens to have one in a drawer of new-old parts, or if you get one machined. Ditto for the feed dog.

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Doug,

We have the slotted plate in stock that eliminates the feed dog & is great as it won't mark the bottom side.

Bob

post-7185-099877200 1318016266_thumb.jpg

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Are there any good videos somewhere or good explanations or attachments for these machines? I need to sew some piping but I'm confused by all the different feet - there are welting feet, double welting feet, piping, zipper feet, edge guide foot, tape binders, etc... then there are smooth feet, etc too. It's kind of dizzying wacko.gif. Is there one type of foot that would kill two birds, for instance maybe a zipper foot could be used to also sew cord piping? Is a left and a right usually even necessary, seems like not... but again I'm a bit confused.

Edited by CustomDoug

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Are there any good videos somewhere or good explanations or attachments for these machines? I need to sew some piping but I'm confused by all the different feet - there are welting feet, double welting feet, piping, zipper feet, edge guide foot, tape binders, etc... then there are smooth feet, etc too. It's kind of dizzying wacko.gif. Is there one type of foot that would kill two birds, for instance maybe a zipper foot could be used to also sew cord piping? Is a left and a right usually even necessary, seems like not... but again I'm a bit confused.

Doug;

I'm sure there are dozens of sewing machine videos on YouTube, many of which show a welting foot in action. With the proper arch (size) welting set you can lay a stitch line right along the side of the raised portion, which contains the cord. The material is formed around the cord and flattened at the bottom, by the feet.

You can use a single toe outside foot to sew close to the round edge of piped material. But, you'll never get as close as you can with a welting foot set, of the proper width.

Upholsters usually have two or more walking foot machines. One is setup with a standard double toe foot. The other is typically setup with a 1/4" welting foot set. If they need a different size of piping, they swap out the feet for the desired size.

I have a very narrow zipper foot set, only 1/4" total width, but it has teeth on both feet. It is great for sewing in zippers!

Most walking foot feet are smooth bottomed. There are only a few types that have teeth. Those are zipper and binding feet. Edge binding, running through a 90 degree side-feed edge binder/bias tape attachment, benefits from the added traction provided by teeth on the feet.

Bob Kovar stocks most walking foot sets. Call him (866-362-7397) and tell him what size cording you need to sew and how thick the covering material is going to be. The size of the foot set is determined by the overall thickness/diameter of the covered cord/material around it.

Edited by Wizcrafts

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OK, so sounds like a "piping foot" and a "welting foot" are essentially the same thing. Sounds too like the way to go on the piping itself, then I suppose a zipper foot for sandwiching the piping in between a seem, probably? I'll put some thought into which zipper foot side (left/right) would be most beneficial - I think "right side" taking into account the bulk of the material laying on the table. BTW, I do check youtube sometimes, but always seem to get sidetracked.

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OK, so sounds like a "piping foot" and a "welting foot" are essentially the same thing. Sounds too like the way to go on the piping itself, then I suppose a zipper foot for sandwiching the piping in between a seem, probably? I'll put some thought into which zipper foot side (left/right) would be most beneficial - I think "right side" taking into account the bulk of the material laying on the table. BTW, I do check youtube sometimes, but always seem to get sidetracked.

Yes, a piping foot is the same as a welting foot. Piping is sometimes the inside cord and sometimes the finished round product. You can buy premade cloth, leather and vinyl piping, or make it yourself with rope or piping cord.

There are four types of piping/welting presser feet.

  1. Standard piping foot
  2. cut-off back piping foot
  3. double piping foot
  4. double cut-off piping foot

The standard foot or feet have a channel going all the way from the front to the back of the left side of the outer (walking foot) or single (straight stitch) foot. If walking foot, the inner foot also has a channel or arc cut into it, although it is rather short.

The cut-off style uses the same inside foot (for walking feet), but, the back is ground off and radiused to allow the foot to turn sharp corners. Upholsterers often turn a sharp corner on covers and replacement coverings. A standard welting foot pushes the material into a straight line and fights the operator around hard curves.

The double channel piping sets are used to lay down two rows at the same time, of the same size piping. This is a decorative effect used by upholsterers.

Zipper walking feet have one toe: right or left, plus a narrower than usual inside foot. Straight stitch zipper feet are either movable left to right, or pre-made for sewing on the left or right edge. The single feet have a wide flat profile, with a cutout for the needle. You can literally sew right up the the side of the raised edges of any kind of project with a flat zipper foot. Unfortunately, the same does not apply to walking foot sets. The inside foot occupies at least 3/16" width, placing the needle about 1/16" away from the edge being sewn. I do have one very narrow left toe set that gets very close to the raised area, which is on its right side.

In the brave new world of the 441 clone machine, the presser foot design is nothing like the usual walking or flat foot machines. The standard feet that ship with the machines from China are a very wide set, with aggressive teeth on the bottom. They have a matching feed dog, with similar teeth on it. This set is known as a blanket foot set. It is used to provide flawless traction for sewing blankets, buffing wheels, tarps, awnings, parachutes, etc.

Most leather workers don't want to have tooth marks on either side of the leather, so, the dealers contract to have a smooth top feed dog made and what are known a harness feet. These feet have no steel in the rear middle area. They have a single left, or right toe, or a combination double toe configuration. The double toe is now shipped to the end customer as standard equipment. The dealers remove the blanket feet and the feed dog with the teeth and replace them with a harness foot set and smooth feed dog.

There are very few optional presser feet for the 441 clones. Were that they were Adler 205 clones, which some of the Cowboy machines are, then one could buy optional Adler feet for special uses. A single toe Adler foot has steel in the rear middle section. Some jobs are better sewn without any steel in the middle, others benefit from the extra support provided by rear-middle steel on the work. Don't forget, these machines are triple feed and have a moving inside foot.

One type of outer foot that is experimental is a single-center toe, behind the inside foot. This is either cut from an unwanted blanket foot, or made in a metal shop. Such a foot would only provide support to the leather behind the inner foot, to the rear of it's maximum travel. It would allow one to sew handcuff type cases with a narrow stitching flange, right side up. It could also be used to repair stitches on shoe out-soles. I think that most dealers have a grinder, sander and buffer that could create such a uni-pod rear foot from a blanket foot. Bob Kovar made one and a picture of it is on his webpages for the CB3500, 4500 and 5500 machines. Go to, say, the CB4500 page, find the underlined link for "See more photos of our optional pressor feet and throat plates for the CB3500, 4500 and 5500 models."and click on it to reveal a slideshow along the bottom of the page. One of the feet is the uni-pod set. It was experimental.

Edited by Wizcrafts

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Wow Wiz, what can I say.... will take me a while to digest this info, very concise as usual. Don't think it's not appreciated, it is. I'm off to read it again..

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Wow Wiz, what can I say.... will take me a while to digest this info, very concise as usual. Don't think it's not appreciated, it is. I'm off to read it again..

Doug;

I don't know what you are referring to as if that was a lot of information. I only typed 4167 characters, encompassing just 752 words. Shouldn't take ya more than a minute to read it all!

Some of my security blog posts are double that amount of characters and words.

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haha... it's just that it takes me a while to wrap my head around statements like this (for instance) - "One type of outer foot that is experimental is a single-center toe, behind the inside foot." These things make since after I read 'em a few times.

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haha... it's just that it takes me a while to wrap my head around statements like this (for instance) - "One type of outer foot that is experimental is a single-center toe, behind the inside foot." These things make since after I read 'em a few times.

Here's a photo of the trailing uni-pod "outer" foot set.

img_0156.jpg

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ah, "I see" said the blind man.

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CustomDoug,

You didn't mention what subclass 206RB, but the newest owners book can be applied to at least 95% of all model machines.

I have avaible for download on our Consew 206RB-5 product page full parts book and owners manual, both avaible for free download;

Consew 206RB-5 product page with OWNER and PARTS books

If you need another 206RB book, for 206RB, -1, -2, -3, -4, (SH or TH serial number prefix) let me know.

If still available I would like a copy of the 206RB Manual , No -1,-2. Just 206RB . Thank you

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