Wizcrafts

The Cobra Class 20 is listed as capable of tensioning #207 thread. That is doable by spacing the hook far enough away from the needle to let that size thread pass around the hook and bobbin case. I have a post bed machine that was adjusted to sew with #207 thread, so I know it is doable. But, sewing 1/2 inch of veg-tan leather with #207 thread is something that's not as simple as it seems. Each layer of 8 ounce leather adds to the density of the package that needs to be penetrated and then held down as the threaded needle ascends, carrying the overlocked bobbin thread with it. This is where problems manifest themselves when you try to sew thicker than the machine is setup to handle efficiently. The holding down part is done by a coil pressure spring. That spring would have to be as strong as the ones used in the Cobra Class 3 and 4 to keep the leather stack from lifting with the needle. Lifting leather, due to insufficient spring pressure, causes skipped stitches, bent and broken needles, needles stuck inside the leather and varying stitch lengths. These problems can occur with 3/8 inch of veg-tan too. I would ask for a demonstration of the machine sewing 24 ounces, or more, of veg-tan leather, with a #24 needle and #207 thread, top and bottom. Those are the minimum needle/thread requirements for such a stack of leather. Personally, I use at least #277, or #346 thread when I sew over 3/8 inch of veg-tan leather, or Latigo. This requires a #25 or #26 needle! And, I have to crank down the pressure screw to keep the thick stack of leather with thick knots from lifting on my CB4500 or my buddy's Class 4. Just my .02

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Yep; anti-backlash bobbin basket spring.

I found a Reliable 4000SW walking foot machine listed on Amazon, complete with specs, motor and table, price, questions and answers. It looks to be a pretty standard walking foot machine, meaning it uses thread sizes 69 through 138 and needles from #16 through #23 or perhaps #24. It is definitely not a holster sewing machine, but will sew belts, guitar straps, rifle slings, garments, wallets, backpacks, phone pouches and the like. Other than that, I have no experience with the machine. It is priced similarly to the Consew 206RB-5.

Honestly, these little motors don't have enough startup torque to overcome the weight of the large flywheel on my patcher. I had to spin the wheel with my hand to get it moving. Once in motion the motor could keep it sewing until I stopped the wheel.

I have one of those tiny motors on a Singer 29k71 patcher. It has a tiny pulley that feeds the larger pulley on the flywheel on the patcher. The speed reduction is probably 15 or 20 to 1. That's what it takes to drive a heavy mechanism. Your machine probably has a smaller pulley than my patcher. Thus, it may require an idler wheel with 3:1 gear reduction to get enough torque to turn the machine over from a dead stop and pierce veg-tan leather. You can find these reducers on the cheapo portable walking foot machines sold on eBay.

If you don't want to use linen thread and wax, use the lubricated bonded polyester thread that is sold by Campbell Randall. You will have to use a slightly bigger awl than if you used linen thread, which bends easier and forms tighter 'knots.'

Campbell Randall Lockstitch machines were designed before there was any synthetic thread. The standard thread for these machines is left twist glazed linen thread. The best is Barbour's Irish Linen Thread, which is sold by Campbell Randall. It works very well when run through Campbell's Lax-Wax in the lube pot. It can also be run through Sellari's liquid stitching wax.

Sometimes it is better to use a flat foot straight stitch machine, or a roller foot machine to sew floppy leather. A Singer 31-15 does a good job sewing thin, soft leather with #69 bonded thread and takes all manner of feet and attachments.

Use feet that are close together when sewing soft leather or cloth. Add more foot pressure to hold down the leather under the alternating inside foot. If it has its own top mounted pressure spring, screw it all the way down. Use glue or leather tape to hold the pieces in alignment for sewing and buy titanium needles to resist clogging from the glue or tape.

You are going to have to lower the presser foot bar. First, check the chain that lifts the foot to ensure that there is a little slack with the foot down. If not, move the chain down one link. If the chain isn't holding the foot up, you must remove the faceplate by loosening the top right and bottom left bolts holding it onto the head. Unthread the top thread first. With the faceplate off, locate two screws that secure the presser bar to the block that moves it up and down. Loosen the screw and pull the foot all the way down to the throat plate, then line it up and tighten the two screws. Reinstall the faceplate, making sure you place the slotted bracket over the pin under the top tension assembly, which lifts the blade that separates the tension disks. Someone may have a video of this. I am at work in my shop right now.

I moved this request from the Help Wanted forum because any replies there must be approved before they appear. As a registered member you will get better results in the Leather Sewing Machines forum.

Perhaps, if you knew where these motors are designed and manufactured, your expectations would become less theoretical and more along the lines of: "Thank God when I pull the lever down - the motor turns faster the farther I pull it and it doesn't explode." As for any thought you have about bugging the builders of the popular servo motors, we don't need another Sew Pro 500GR incident. Buyers and dealers complained about case warping problems that came from a redesign of their motor. They chose to close the company rather than fix the problem.

The side seams look like pleats, as in curtain pleats. The pleats may be held in place by the top construction, or an interior stiffener.

On all the servo motors I have and have had, the speed increases with movement on the control lever, not the force applied to the lever. The lever is held back by a spring that is just strong enough to let it return to the off position when the floor pedal is released. I don't know how many micro-ergs of force are involved in moving these levers, but it can be done by hand if a foot is unavailable.

@turbotexas You can gain insight from Lisa Sorrell's YouTube channel (It's a Boot Life) on boot making and her machines. She demonstrates insole and outsole stitching techniques. Lisa is also one of our advertisers for her boot making classes.

Okay, you have to sew the bag inside out, then trim the seams and pull it the outside out. Then drop in the assembled lining and top stitch it to the top of the bag, or just below the zipper chain. You will need to use a big tailor's scissors or a sharp pointed blade knife to cut slits or wedges in the seams that turn corners. If the bag is going to be piped, add the piping between the inside out layers and sew the package together. Other considerations are to use matching colors of thread on either side. If the outside is cream leather, use straw/cream color thread to sew the seams. If any thread shows through a seam, it will blend in. If the lining is a contrasting color, use that color on the bobbin thread as you sew in the lining to the top. I see that they used a twin needle machine to sew the bottom seams down. This is double-felled seams. You sew the bottom seams with the outside together, about 1/2 inch in. Then separate the seams and tape or glue them down butterfly style. Then flip the bottom over and use a twin needle machine to top stitch the felled/flattened seams. You can gain intelligence by purchasing top brand purses from thrift shops and disassemble them. Reverse engineer the purses to the best of your ability. You can get decent hardware from Ohio Travelbag.

That makes sense for the insole/welt. Puritan only produces machines to order now. They can't sew the outsole on a boot with two needles because they have straight needles and awls. There would only be room for one row of stitching on the outsole. There is a lot of danger of hitting the upper with a straight needle. I have resewn soles on my Cowboy CB4500, with the inline foot set, and you have to pull the upper leather away from the machine as you sew to avoid scratching it with the feet or needle. This (outsole stitching) is really the domain of curved needle machines (single row only)! Most bootmakers and shoe repair shops have a Landis 12F or 12G curved needle and awl lockstitch machine. Others use a Frobana/Gritzner, or Junker and Ruh hand-cranked curved needle only machine.

The insole was sewn on a chainstitch McKay stitcher and the outsole was sewn with a curved needle and awl lockstitch sole stitcher. Both only sew one stitch line at a time, with one needle and one awl.

Landis and McKay stitchers are needle and awl machines that sew one row of stitches. The OP is hunting for a Pegasus type sole stitcher that sews two parallel rows, like the Puritans do on show and boot UPPERS. To do two rows, one would need to find a custom builder, or have a Puritan post machine altered by a skilled machinist. If anybody sells a twin needle/awl sole stitcher, it would be one of the Canadian or German industrial sewing machine dealers. I was looking at shoe sole and edge stitching machines on a German website last week but can't figure out the spelling of their name.

Nope. That would require two needles, two awls and two bobbins. The Landis and Champion sole stitchers have one of each. They sew around the outside perimeter of the sole, upside down, just missing the uppers. There is no room for two rows of thread in that very narrow space. OTOH, I have seen two and three rows of stitching on the uppers (e.g., Redwing boots). Is that what you are looking to do? Puritan Industries makes multiple needle and awl chainstitch machines that do that.

That's reasonable. Bear in mind that none of the common industrial sewing machines are holster machines. They are usually either garment or upholstery machines. Garment machines don't feed leather well and don't handle heavier weights of thread. Upholstery machines usually have triple feed walking feet and can handle #138 thread (22 pounds test). Real leather sewing machines, those that can sew holsters, start at #138 thread and go up. Used ones can often be found in our Marketplace section.

This is what I use to sew holsters that can hold up to rigorous use. I use #277 bonded thread with a #25 needle for anything over 1/4 inch thick. Each stitch has about 44 pounds breaking strength. Anything less is asking for trouble, or is not meant for carrying outside of a pocket.

The normal size, triple feed, Cowboy and Cobra walking foot machines use Singer 111 type feet, as do most upholstery grade walking foot machines. However, once you cross over into the holster and harness grade machines, the feet are totally different. Most industrial sewing machine dealers don't deal in these large, specialized machines and may not have the special feet they require. I am referring to the "441 clones" like the CB3200, CB3500, CB4500, Cobra Class 4 and Techsew 5100. They are cloned from the super-expensive, made in Japan, Juki TSC-441. Cowboy, Cobra and Techsew sell all available feet for their machines. If you don't want to buy from them, that leaves Juki as a source. Ask your nearest Juki dealer for a price for a set of feet for the TSC-441 model. They will likely be special order only as this is a rarely sold machine.

I found a glove post bed sewing machine video!