Wizcrafts

This machine is a clone of the ancient Singer 16-188. It is a dual (top/bottom) feed walking foot machine with a Class 15 bobbin and tensioning system. Excellent type of machine for sewing denim, marine vinyl and outdoor fabrics. Fine for chrome tanned leather up to about 5/16 inch. Not for use on veg-tan unless you plan to rub out or stamp over the tooth marks.

I would add that if one of the sellers is willing to give you some instructions for operating the machine and the other isn't, buy the machine that has personal instructions. Non-sewers can make serious, costly mistakes on industrial sewing machines. Some mistakes can land you in the ER. Others can require professional servicing.

KGG already mentioned a few things to check for excessive wear. The things that really affect performance are an overly loose needle bar, feed dog, stitch regulator, reverse hold down spring (on the 226) and the crank shafts inside the head (incl take-up lever). Other areas of concern are the shuttle and shuttle driver and belt from top to bottom. If the belt is too far worn the timing can be erratic.

135x17 are round points meant to penetrate cloth. They tend to heat up and stick inside veg-tan leather and squeak until that happens.

Try them both out. If one feels easier to use, or sounds tighter, go with it. Both designs are valid. But, if they both have a lot of slack and are noisy, you may want to avoid inheriting somebody else's troubles.

Try to buy a pack each of diamond and triangle points. They make a different type of hole than the slanted wedge points.

This is the servo motor I use. I order them from this seller refitted with a smaller than standard 2" pulley. They also sell speed reducers that slow the machines down another 2:1 or 3:1. If you install a 3:1 reducer you won't be able to speed up much on straightaways.

Assuming the machine is really threaded correctly, the needle may be a size too small for this particular leather. Get yourself some #23/160 needles and the holes should be large enough to get pulled into the leather. Note that some thread is stiffer than usual making it harder to pull the knots up. Veg-tan leather takes a lot more tension to pull the knots up if the hole clearance is marginal. Some leather points work better than others in dense leather. Try some DI or TRI points.

You have stated that it is your hope to be hired to move here and work as a leather crafter for a US or Canadian company. Most leather work here is done by self employed individuals who sell their work in craft stores, flea markets, antiques shops, or online (e.g., Etsy). You are unlikely to be hired in advance to work in North America and paid to move here from Vietnam. The paperwork involved is enormous, costly and time consuming, with no guarantee you would be allowed to emigrate here, or even be granted a work visa. You need to consult with the US Consulate, or an immigration lawyer in Vietnam before attempting to come here to pursue a career that is usually a solo job. In the meantime, there is nothing to lose by looking into setting up an Etsy store and a PayPal account, if they even allow payments to residents of Vietnam.

#18 needles are more likely to deflect and break than #19. I use #19 on machines with #92 (T90) thread (top and bottom). I know that a #18 needle produces a tighter hole and might resort to using one for a particular job where the knots could move with a #19. I would be very careful while sewing to avoid deflections. Breaking needles on industrial sewing machines can be like mini-IEDs. Sewing face up probably refers to sewing on the top grain, or outer side (e.g., wallet back), as opposed to sewing from the inside out (e.g., wallet interior side). The top side (needle entry) always looks nicer than the bottom (needle exit) on a typical sewing machine.

How many industrial sewing machines are on those shelves? I couldn't ell from the photos.

I use FastStone Photo Resizer to reduce, crop, sharpen and change the quality of .jpg and .png images.

Your personal collection?

Plus 1 on this reply!

Try cutting off a half inch of the belt and punch a new #0 hole and clamp it together. The belt will eventually stretch out a little but will have better grip until then. There is a solution sold at auto parts stores that can be sprayed or brushed onto v-belts to avoid slippage and squeal. Something called "Belt No Slip" or the likes.

If you truly need to sew 5/8 inch thickness, go for the full size, high lift CB4500, or equivalent. I have one and have sewn over 3/4 inch with it, using #346 thread. Get a common upholstery class compound feed walking foot machine for your wallets and belts. There are many makes and models that fit the bill, including the venerable old Singer 111 series, various Consew, Seiko, Chandler, Juki, Pfaff, Adler, etc. The upholstery machines can sew from ~3 ounces up to about 3/8 inch, using thread sizes bonded 69 through 138..

Somebody sold a Thompson mini walking foot machine for $300. Here is the ad for it. I'd guess that your Mini-Brute is the same machine with a different name tag.

The side motion as you sew is caused by the bottom feed dog being adjusted too high (and the use of a single sided foot). The specs call for a maximum height of 1mm above the throat plate at maximum lift (with a standard double toe or blanket foot). I set my CB4500 feed dog to half that amount of lift. The needle and inside foot feed fine on their own and only need a modicum of help from the feeder. So, loosen the big screw securing the feeder and push it down at maximum lift so it rises just above the top of the throat plate, then tighten it up. You may have to remove the shuttle to fully access that big screw. Let us know how this works out.

Did you back off the bobbin spring tension screw? The bobbin tension shouldn't be so tight that the top tension causes the thread to snap as it goes around the bobbin case/shuttle. Too much bottom tension needs to be offset by excessive top tension. This causes the thread to dig in more. Back off both tensions and rebalance the knots.

Badem; This is the servo motor I and a lot of our members are currently using. The knob is a potentiometer, but used to be a multi-position switch. It is equipped with a 50mm pulley. I can sew at about 1.5 stitches per second direct from the motor. On another machine I installed a 3:1 speed reducer. I can sew a stitch every other second. It has brushes that are replaceable and has a cork brake that can be ground down or removed, as you prefer. See if you can find one like this in your Country.

If the knots or loops are constantly showing on the bottom, back off the bobbin tension spring a half turn at a time until they are centered in the leather. If the knots always show on one side or the other, the thread is too large for the thickness being sewn. In that case you need to use a smaller thread on the bottom, or on both sides, along with a smaller needle.

Contact the seller to see if they insured the package and its contents against damage in transit and for how long after delivery.

Please contact Ron at Techsew, one of our sponsors. This may be a defective motor, or he may have things you can try to do to fix it.

NO! The 31-15 is a bottom feed only tailoring machine for soft cloth and very thin and soft leather. It is best limited to #69 bonded thread, or possibly #92, depending on the installed throat plate, hook and shuttle driver. Your largest needle would be a #18 (or #19 for #92 thread). My 31-15 is from the early 1920s and can't handle any thread larger than #69, using no more than a #18 needle. Serious holsters need to be sewn with thread sizes #277 or #346, which are magnitudes beyond a tailoring machine. This is an entry level holster sewing machine. It sews up to 1/2 inch of veg-tan leather with #346 thread. This is what I use to sew holsters that sometimes reach or exceed 3/4" along the side.

This mechanism is not friendly towards cloth lining material. You will need a bottom feed only machine to sew linings. Think tailoring machine. Here are a couple of walking foot machines that will fill the gap between 4 ounces and 18-20 ounces: the manually oiled Consew 206RB-5 and the self oiled Consew P1206RB