Wizcrafts

You can view the picture on FB and long press or right click to reveal the option to download and save it. Then upload the saved photo in a reply, reducing the filesize as necessary. There are various utilities/apps for resizing photos.

That machine does have a walking foot system called dual feed. The feed dog and presser foot move together. The stitch length can vary with the thickness. and layers could separate. Sailrite offers a version of their machine they call "The Leatherworker." It has knurled teeth on the feet to minimize marking the top of the leather. They also have upgrades that include a heavy flywheel and "WorkerB" motor for better punching power. By the time you upgrade that machine, you could buy a Consew 206RB-5, which is a full industrial compound feed walking foot machine.

There is no such thing as a semi-industrial sewing machine. That's a marketing term created by eBay sellers. ;-) The Juki in the video is a portable bottom feed machine, which was marketed to quilters. it could possibly okay for your work because the bottom of the skins can be gripped by the feed dog teeth. If you look closely at the video, you'll' see that the machine has a Teflon presser foot to help it glide without grabbing the top layer. It has a built in motor, similar to other domestic sewing machines and even uses standard household sewing machine needles. This would limit the maximum thickness to about 1/4 inch of soft to medium temper material. It might have trouble feeding reliably if your skins get heavy when butted together for sewing.

First, the Consew model you have is a mini-walking foot machine with top and bottom feed..It is similar to the Sailrite mini-walkers that are used in boat upholstery and sail repairs. Second, Your combination of needle and thread is mismatched. Number 69 (aka: T70) thread calls for a #18 needle. Number 92 thread calls for a #19 needle. Number 138 thread requires either a #22 or 23 needle, depending on what type of material you are sewing. Your number 21 needles are too big for your thread and too small for #138 that you want to buy. To be fair, number 21 needles are probably a good fit for #105 thread, which is rare and is sometimes used to sew denim clothing. Third, your machine's foot lift under power is only 5/16 inch thickness. That would be soft material, like sailcloth, denim, or marine vinyl. Practically, you should limit the thickness to 1/4 inch. You can probably buy accessories and upgrades from Sailrite. They also have some very informative videos.

There are newer mini motors that have at least twice the power of the originals from yesteryear. They should be paired with a new electronically controlled speed pedal. You'll have all new wiring that shouldn't overheat and burn up like the old wiring tends to do after 50 or more years. You can find combos of a high power motor and matching control pedal on eBay and Amazon. Look for one compatible with your Singer 15k. Or, PM me if you need help finding the proper pedal. Your wall connector will be different that ours in the USA.

The 15 class machines are bottom fed only. The presser foot's job is to hold down the material as the needle ascends. The feed dogs come up from the bottom and push the material backwards; away from you. If the material is heavy, as is leather, the feed dog teeth might slip due to the pressure exerted on top by the presser foot. This causes the stitch length to vary, or be unpredictable. You might thing that you'll just back off the pressure screw on top to make it easier to feed the leather. That might help to a certain point, which is reached when the leather starts lifting with the ascending needle. This causes skipped stitches, and, possibly, even a broken or bent needle. In order to overcome the feeding problems of bottom fed machines, some people equip their sewing machines with roller feet. and a matching inline feed dog and throat plate. All of this will be moot if the tiny motor is unable to power the machine as it tries to penetrate and feed the leather. It was this problem that led to the development of the class 15 industrial swing machines. These machines came out in the early 20th Century. The Singer 31-15 was popular with tailor shops, alterationists, costume makers, and garment factories.. If you bought this domestic machine with the intention of sewing leather, I recommend that you read my pinned topic about the type of sewing machine you need to sew leather.

@jezzell First of all, #277 is too thick for 8 ounces of leather. Move down to #207, on top and in the bobbin. Your #24 needles is the right size for #207 thread, not 277. That calls for a #25/200 needle. I you insist on having 277 on top, at least wind a bobbin with #207. Then the #24 needles may work better. The next issue is the shape of the needle. You seem to be using an S point needle that causes the edges to be pulled into the leather, shortening the appearance. Get you some diamond or tri-point needles. They let the stitches stay on the surface on both ends.

Can you upload a picture of the current roller edge guide?

@Dwight That's a whole nuther aspect of sewing patches than I described. You'll be sewing cloth patches onto cloth garments. The garments will be much more flexible than leather vests. You'll probably be using a lot of Olive Drab 50 weight garment sewing thread. That calls for a #14 needle and a gentle machine. A singer patcher will handle the job, as will a post bed machine. The Chinese shoe patches are pretty rough in the castings and will need to be gone over with Emory cloth to smooth out any rough spots that could cut the cloth. FWIIW, my Daddy was a tailor. For the longest time we had the tailor shop on the ground floor where the 5th Army was housed. He sewed patches onto uniforms and dress shirts. I removed the old ones for him. He sewed every patch on a Singer 31-15 straight stitch machine. I think he hand sewed the ones on sleeves. He didn't know about patchers. That's something I accidentally fell into. In case you weren't aware, patchers are top fed by the teeth on the presser foot. There is a small hole in the needle plate, which is polished steel. All true patchers have butterfly handles to rotate the foot over 360 degrees. Whatever machine you end up getting, learn to reduce the foot pressure and thread tensions to avoid damaging the patches or cloth garments. Typically, patchers are built and setup to sew shoe leather, not cotton shirts.

@Cumberland Highpower I wished that my roller guides were adjustable. What I did back then was to add a washer to the pivot screw and tighten it down once I found the sweet spot for the work at hand. My first ULS was made by Randall in NY in 1968. I bought it from Tandy Leather in 1988 and it only had a needle, awl and bobbin in it. there were no accessories or tools! They used it to sew totes and the operator retired. The first batch of parts and accessories came from a machine made in the early 20th Century. I also bought dozens of parts from Randall Corporation, in NY. I sold the machine in 1999 or 2000 when my wife to be complained about that big ugly black thing in the dining room wasting space and hardly ever being used any more. I never should have sold that machine, but got rid of the wife instead (she left a few years later)! It ran like a top.

@Dwight I am a professional patch sewer. I sew for MCs. As such, I'd like to respectfully pass on this advice to you. If you intend to get into the patching business to make money, especially from bikers in MCs, don't dink around with f'n Chinese sh*t. Invest in either a good condition used Singer 29k71 or 29k72, or an Adler 30-1, -7, 0r -70. Also, try to find one that is already on a powered steel base. The Singer patchers were usually mounted on cast iron treadle bases that require a lot of foot power, plus hand spinning the balance wheel to get the treadle going in the right direction. The Adlers on steel power bases have 1/2 HP clutch motors that start spinning the right direction on their own. The clutch motors are easy to adjust for slack before they engage. Or, you can replace the motor with a servo motor to save weight, noise and heat. Here's the difference in bobbin sizes between the aforementioned models. The Singer 29k71 was made in Scotland and has a 12" arm, with a 5" vertical harp, and takes a small (read, tiny) bobbin that is 5/8 wide by just under 1/4 inch deep, outside. It only holds 3/16 X ~8/16 inches of thread inside. The nose is 1 inch wide by 7/8" deep and gets into tight front pockets. The balance wheel is mounted on the right read. It is best limited to Number 69 bonded nylon thread. Use a #18 round point needle. The Singer 29k72 has a 17 inch arm and takes a larger bobbin. The nose is 1.25 inches wide. It may struggle sewing patches onto front pockets if the patch is close to the sides or bottom of the pocket. It holds about twice as much thread. This model can sew with up to #138 thread. Use #69 for patches on thinner pockets, or #92 on thicker leathers. If you have to open the bottom or a side, use #138 thread with a #22 leather point needle to close them after your patches are sewn on. The needles to stock are #18, 19 and 22. The Singer patchers originally used system 29 needles, which are obsolete. They didn't have a cutout scarf. We now use System 135x 16 (leather) and 135x17 (cloth) needles, which are the same geometry, but have a scarf that the hook can pass through to pick off the thread loop. These machines are pretty much limited to a maximum sewn thickness of 5/16". But, I find they struggle past 1/4 inch. The Adler 30-1 has a small bobbin and an 18 inch long arm. The balance wheel in mounted on the front right side. Use #69 thread and a #18 round point needle for patches. The Adler 30-7 and 30-70 have 18: arms and take a Singer large bobbin and shuttle. They can easily sew with thread sizes from #69 through 138, and even #207 (on short seams). These Adlers use a much longer needle than the Singers: System 332LLG (round point) or 332 LLLG (leather point). Thus, they are able to walk and sew higher, sewing into 3/8 of an inch seams. I use the 29k71 to sew patches over front pockets, or inside pockets that the patch gets close to the inside of the pocket lining. I use the long arm machine to sew farther into big pockets that might have a thicker seam that the Singer can clear or sew through. I use the Adler about 90% of the time. Another difficulty you are going to experience is that a lot of the vests being sold now have a zip-open back lining for a cooling pad or bullet proof insert. The owners may not want that lining closed when you sew on club patches. For these jobs, a long arm Adler (or Claes) patcher is a must have machine. The Adler can get 18 inches in from the zipper before you need to start folding the bottom to get near the top for upper rockers. As for thread, buy good quality #69 (T70) bonded nylon or bonded polyester thread. Stock it in black, white, straw, light brown, medium brown, dark brown, red, bright yellow, gold, orange and some shades of blue and maybe green and gray. Buy Schmetz needles if possible. As mentioned, use #18 with #69 thread, top and bottom. Regarding invisible thread; it can sew over any color border. But, the stubs where you cut it are strong and can irritate the skin if they touch the rider's body. Monofilament doesn't lies as flat as twisted strands in bonded thread.

I have a CB4500 and it came with a t-bar bracket and roller guide. But, my roller guide has a cast or milled flange hanging down on the front edge. The flange stops the backward movement at about the center of the t-bar. It is not adjustable at all. I've had two ULS machines and neither of their roller edge guides were adjustable. They looked exactly like the one that came with my Cowboy, which was in 2012.

The main advantage of a lockstitch sewing machine is the stitches resemble each other on the top and bottom. As leather sewers, we are accustomed to a different result on the bottom and sometimes fight to hide the lockstitch knots from both sides. This stitch is very strong and can hold together somewhat if some of the stitches get cut, or simply break under stress. Off course. a lockstitch machines stops forming stitches the moment it runs out of bobbin thread. The answer to this is the chainstitch machine. It only has a top thread. There is a looper mechanism on the bottom, under the needle plate, which forms a loop around the thread on the bottom. The top will almost always look perfect, unless the tension is way too tight. The stitches are as strong as the thread rating. But, if one stitch breaks, the entire chain could unravel. In the days of yore, hard shell rifle cases, some boots and luggage were sewn on chainstitch machines. The loops were hidden behind material glued to the inside of the cases, or the insole on the boot. In many instances, the machine had a top mounted wax pot containing heated beeswax that the thread ran through. The hot wax hardened after a minute or so and those stitches could last a century. From the late 1800s through the mid-1900s, Puritan was the premier brand of needle and awl chainstitch machines. Some are still in use in the RedWing factory, making work boots using two or three needle chainstitch machines. But, now they usually run dry, bonded polyester thread.

The Landis 12 sole stitchers have a curved awl and curved barbed needle, called a "hook" in the shoe repair trade. They are only meant to sew the outside edge of a shoe or boot sole. Originally, they used linen thread run through a heated wax pot. In modern times, you can run bonded polyester thread in them, on top and in the bobbin. One notable oddity in these stitchers, vs modern industrial sewing machines, is that the huge flywheel is spun clockwise, away from you when you are in front of the machine. If you were to clamp a stack of veg-tan leather under the foot and rotate the wheel towards you, you will probably break the needle at the barbed tip. This is because the awl hasn't stabbed a hole for the needle to pass through. The correct operation calls for using an awl that is one size (number) larger than the needle. These machines typically run linen thread ranging from 6 to 10 cords. The shoe is sewn upside down, with the bottom facing up. As was mentioned earlier, Lisa Sorrell Bespoke Bootmaker, has a YouTube channel in which she has posted three video tutorials about her Landis curved needle sole stitcher. It's a Boot Life: threading the curved needle 12: Curved Needle Straight and Curved Needle Machines

I've always gotten great service from both Leather Machine Company and Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines, on the phone, or via emails. Techsew has also been helpful when I had issues with a used model 2700 I bought locally.