Wizcrafts

I have a Singer 168w101 and use it a lot. I just finished sewing a motorcycle seat with it. I started with #207 thread on the thickest seams, then moved down to #138 on thinner seams and the padded diamond patterns. These machines can sew up to 3.5 stitches per inch. If you don't want it send it to me!

DPx17 = 135x17 = SY3355, which is a standard geometry walking foot machine round point needle. This system is used to sew cloth and vinyl, but not leather. The leather points are System 135x16 and are made in several different styles, including LL, LR, Di and S point. Each produces its own stitch line and appearance. Most sewing machines purchased off eBay, or from upholstery shops, or Craigslist sellers come with round point needles, for cloth.

Some Pfaff parts are very expensive over here. Others not so much. There are Pfaff dealers in the USA who can probably get prices for you on those parts.

I modified a National walking foot machine to use system 190 needles and found that when I used #18 needles (sewing leather and suede rifle slings) they were very easily deflected and bent/broken. I went back to using the default system 135x16 needles and the deflection was all but eliminated. If you buy a machine setup for system 190 needles, try to stick with needles above #19/120 which calls for #92 thread. You can use #18 needles and #69 thread as long as the layers don't move or have anything in or on them that might deflect the long needle.

Are you aware that Strima is in Poland and that shipping may be expensive to the USA? You may have to meet a minimum price in the cart to order overseas and outside the EU.

I saw this machine in the Cowboy showroom at Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines. It is called the CB243. It has the same capacities as the cylinder arm CB4500, but is a flatbed machine on a 20" x 48" table with a servo motor and speed reducer under the table. It definitely sews 1/2 inch and then some with thread sizes up to #415. Adler used to make an extra heavy duty flatbed walking foot machine called the 204-374. I had one for a short time in 2011. It sewed a solid half inch of leather with #277 thread and a #25 needle. But that was about all it could penetrate despite lifting high enough to sew 3/4. If equipped with a 3:1 speed reducer this machine would be suitable for flat holsters, heavy straps and other items 1/2 inch thick. Singer used to make an extra heavy spring foot walking foot machine called the 132k6. It maxes out at 1/2 inch and can handle #346 thread. But, that's pushing it. It is best limited to #277 thread with a #25 needle. All of the above are extra heavy duty machines that use huge needles that move extra thick thread. But, if you can get by with #207 bonded thread, a Juki LU-1508NH can sew just about 1/2 inch using system 190 needles (Requires dealer to set it up for this needle system). It wasn't made to sew holsters, just extra thick things that aren't necessarily dense. A photo of the machine on the Juki product page shows it sewing a moccasin type padded slipper.

The Sailrite Ultrafeed machines are good for about 1/4 inch, or 16 ounces of combined leather or vinyl. The maximum thread size is #92 (T90) bonded nylon or bonded polyester, which only has 15 pounds breaking strength. It will not safely sew a holster that can withstand any serious force on the gun. Quarter inch thick pancake holsters need to be sewn with #277 bonded thread (44 pound test per stitch), for security against stress on the stitch lines, which is way beyond the capacity of a Sailrite. You will need to look at harness and holster machines that are built to handle such heavy thread and the huge needles they require and extra strong pressure and tension springs that tension and pull up very strong thread into very dense leather. As for portable heavy stitchers, there is the Cowboy Outlaw, the Tippmann Boss (both hand cranked), and the Artisan Toro 3200BT bench mounted motorized heavy stitcher. You can also sew holsters with a sole stitcher, like the Junker & Ruh sole stitcher or a Gritzner or Frobana hand cranked sole stitcher (rarer than hen's teeth)

Yes, the left of the two small screws. BTW, where is the spring and its screws?

Open the sliding bobbin cover on the right side of the throat plate. Look at the shuttle and bobbin basket inside it. There is a tension spring on the outside of the bobbin basket, with a tiny adjustment screw near the middle and another on the right end that fastens the spring to the basket. If you hand wheel carefully you will expose the middle screw. Turn it clockwise to increase the bobbin thread tension. Turn it counterclockwise to loosen the tension, being careful to not totally unscrew it, or there will be trouble. Also, make sure you load the bobbins so they feed counterclockwise, against the direction of rotation of the hook.

You should hold back the starting threads when you begin sewing. Failure to do so allows the hook to pull the top thread inside the shuttle, jamming it up and halting the machine (and even throwing the timing out). You are using the correct combination of thread and needle "size," but maybe the wrong point. Since your layers are mixed leather and cloth and the thread is thin, you should use a round point needle instead of leather point (which cuts fabric badly). Pulling knots up into leather requires much more top spring tension than cloth. Crank down the foot pressure and top thread tension until the stitches are hidden between the layers. It is also possible that the machine has already been thrown out of time, causing the broken thread and birdsnests.

When I owned Union Lockstitch machines I had to stand to operate them. The work height was too high to sit and see over the throat plate. My Cowboy CB4500 is high up on a pedestal table so I use a barstool when I sew on it. All my other machines are at standard sitting height and that works fine for me.

If you opened the gear box you may have reinstalled parts slightly out of sync. Try tweaking the timing of the hook, either by moving the gears, or the long rod under the arm. It is connected to an eccentric that comes down from the top. There is a hole in the base for a flat blade screwdriver to turn a big screw that moves the position of the hook. There is a locking nut on the inside of the parts that needs to be loosened first.

If you use this machine to earn money, buy a new hook. It is a writeoff and will keep you in business with the least downtime.

Are you aware that Ticket 10 thread is the equivalent of #277 bonded nylon thread ( .586mm )? This requires a #200 needle, which pokes a big hole and requires a harness stitcher to handle that thread and needle combination. The minimum thickness needed to bury the lockstitch knots is at least 4.5 to 5 mm (11 - 12 ounces). Will your wallets, etc, be this thick? If less, the only way to use #277 (Ticket 10) thread would be #277 on the outside and #138 on the interior side. This would allow for about 3.2 mm minimum thickness. It would also be tricky to balance the knots to keep them in the same vertical position. The reason why is because hand stitching is usually done with two needles doing a running saddle stitch, crisscrossing up and down through round holes, producing an equal appearance on both sides with thick thread, whereas a sewing machine has to over-lock two threads inside the layers to produce a lockstitch. The larger the thread, the larger the knots and bigger the holes must be.

I have various programs on my computer for editing photos. One of them is also installed on my Galaxy S5 smartphone. It is the previously mentioned FastStone Photo Resizer. This program ("App" for kids, or "Software" for people my age) lets you crop, resize, sharpen, rotate , rename and reduce the quality. Cropping, resizing and reducing the quality all reduce the file size. Using just crop, resize and quality reduction (to 80%) can reduce the original file size by 100:1. If a resized photo loses sharpness, add some using the Preview function. I find that adding 15% sharpness is plenty for web sized photos.

The Sailrite can't sew over 6 to 7 mm without mechanical modifications. It is also limited to T90 bonded thread. Keep looking for a real leather sewing machine that is rated to sew the thickness and thread sizes you want. 10mm is usually the maximum that an upholstery class walking foot machine can handle. But, most can use up to #138 thread. So, they are a step up from a portable machine. There is a new portable stitcher on the block! It is the Cowboy Outlaw and is a clone of the original Boss hand stitcher. This may be the machine you are really looking for to do short runs and prototypes.

Be sure to bring your material with you so Bob can help you find the best machine within your budget.

The half inch thickness is going to be a problem on a narrow (~2.5") cylinder arm lockstitch machine. Most are not designed to sew over 3/8 of an inch. High sewers need longer needles, like system 190, or 214, or 7x3. A post machine can sew along the bottom of a bag in any direction if the material goes over the post. I know of a very narrow snout post machine (and cylinder arm) that was made by Puritan. They are used to sew Redwing shoes and golf bags. The only drawback is that Puritans are chainstitch machines. You should check around to see if any turn up on Craigslist in your State.

The Consew CP206R portable is a light duty dual feed walking foot machine, with a 1/10th hp mini-motor feeding a tiny speed reducer. It is rated to max out at just over 1/4 inch thickness, with up to #92 bonded thread (15 pounds test). There are serious teeth on both feet and on the feed dog. It is often marketed to prisoners who earn money sewing and doing leather work. It would serve as a nice hobbyist's machine as long as the leather is soft to medium temper and not thicker than 1/4 inch. The items sewn with #92 thread should not be subject to a lot of strain (no holsters or buddy seats). The only way to compensate for the weak thread would be to sew parallel stitch lines on felled or piped seams. If your work requires #138 thread, top and bottom, go to a full blown industrial walking foot machine on a 20 x 48 inch table with a powerful servo motor. The previously mentioned Consew P1206RB-1 is an excellent walking foot machine that can produce professional results.

What make, model and voltage is your servo motor? A 600 wide x 400 high pixel photo of the motor would help.

If the model 26 is a triple feed walking foot machine, it probably uses standard type 111 inside and outside feet. They are sold by all industrial sewing machine dealers who aren't exclusively Adler or Pfaff associates. Ebay sellers have all manner of walking foot sets. Then again, try the place where you bought your machine!

Thread around that little spring loaded mini-disk on top, by the thread guide. It will help keep the thread down inside the upper tension disks. Make sure the thread stays inside the disks and doesn't rise up as you sew. Feed around the disks and down and around the check spring. It is necessary to prevent loose thread getting pierced by the needle. Operating and adjusting industrial sewing machines is mostly by feel, test sewing and intuition.

Are you saying that Beiler's flat plate retains the use of the moving feed dog? I thought you were telling me about an alternate narrow slotted throat plate that would sit above the top of the feed dog as it moves up and down. My holster plate already does that. I can leave the feed dog in when I install the raised holster plate. Could you post a picture of this new style flat plate? I Grok things better visually. Before I got my Cowboy CB4500, I used Union Lockstitch machines for holster and harness sewing. They are dual feed with jump foot and needle feed. This was a better system in my opinion, until you get into thinner needles.

Bob has always had a flat slotted throat plate since he started carrying the Cowboy machines. I have one in my shop. The only difference is that the Cowboy slotted plate requires removal of the feed dog. It is very thin, just like the standard curved plate. This takes me about 5 minutes. I will contact the Amish Country dealer about his plate. Thanks Glenn.

Okay, I Grok you now. Sewing thin material on a 441 clone requires you to dumb down the machine (read my blog article). This involves lessening all tensions and pressures. It also calls for some thin needles that are really easily deflected. In a nutshell, you need to spend 20 minutes or so changing settings and tensions in order to be able to sew 6 ounces or less with 92 thread with a #19 needle. I do this when I hem chaps, jeans and work pants on my CB4500 (because I don't currently own a medium duty cylinder arm walking foot machine).