Wizcrafts

Liquid bees wax or other compounds that get into the linen fibers and harden after they dry. When I had Union Lockstitch machines I used Ceroxylon from Puritan Industries (the makers of Puritan chainstitch post and cylinder arm needle and awl machines). It is a clear liquid wax that air dries and locks the stitches and fills the holes when it dries.

I must be living in my own time zone. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!

This is December November of 2018. The topic you replied to was last updated on June 14, 2016. The annual Weaver auction won't happen again until June of 2019. If you need a machine and skiver now, you will be buying them new, not used. The prices are in the catalog and online. If you file a business and tax ID with Weaver, you will get lower prices on most items than the listed prices. Weaver Leather is one of our paying supporters. They run banner ads in the groups of ads on top of every page. Sometimes they offer a discount code to members of this forum. If you refresh the page you get a new group of 6 ad banners. Eventually, you will see Weaver banners. If you don't see any ad banners, please turn off your ad blocker. These advertisers are keeping the lights on at Leatherworker.net.

I am only addressing the needle, not the tension (which is variable). That is an S point System 794 needle. It is probably a #25. Check the open package to verify the number. There are two commonly available types of leather point needles for the 441 type machines. S and D. The S slices lengthwise. The D has a triangular or diamond point and it pokes a 3 sided fairly narrow hole in comparison. For any stitch length setting, a D point needle lays a longer looking stitch on top and on the bottom. The needle bar pivots from the top, like a pendulum. The thicker the stack of leather, the shorter the stitches are, compared to a single piece of 8 ounce leather. Throw a slicing point needle into the mix and you get those huge dashes between the thread ends. You can compensate by lengthening the stitches for thick stacks. Do this by lowering the stitch lever. Loosen the nut on the threads to lower the lever. If you want to sew close stitches in thick leather, buy some D point needles. The gaps will be farther apart than an S point needle.

The presser feet, feed dog, throat plate and needle clamp need to be replaced. The shuttles will need to be moved to match the new needle positions. Then the timing will need to be set on the hooks. That may not be everything. An industrial sewing machine dealer can assist you with getting all the necessary parts in a complete kit.

I think that the lifting of the top layer may be controllable by adding more thread slack on the upstroke by adjusting the check spring travel and its position in the slot in the disks on the bottom of the tension disks. Shortening the travel adds more slack thread. Moving the position of the disks to the left and right fine tunes the slack. I adjust the check spring disks position to reduce the snapping as the top thread goes around the shuttle.

Sometimes, for no apparent reason, I count the stitches as I sew them. I also move the light around from time to time and move my head for a different line of sight of the stitch line. On long runs, like belt edges, the edge guide does all the work and I just sit back and guide the belt against it. I used to sew dozens of the same thing in one sitting. Moving my head, body and fingers all helped me to stay alert. It is harder to concentrate if your hands and eyes are the edge guide.

You are either going to have to grind down the head of the hex bolt or reposition the lifter block on the presser bar, along with the associated parts that ride on that bar. This might include the tension release pin or bell crank.

I think I Grok your problem. If the feet are staying put on the leather but the unsupported edge is lifting as the needle pulls out, the thread tension needs to be reduced. Lower both the top and bottom tensions to balance the knots. It also helps to tape or glue the layers together before sewing them. I use 3M Venture Leather Tape, or contact cement to secure lined items for sewing. Another tweak is to attempt to cause the inside foot to stay down longer as the needle ascends. Sometimes this can be done by raising the lift of the inside foot vs the outside foot so it hits the top just after the needle. It will then lift later, as the needle exits. You may even be able to adjust the foot lift timing enough to keep the inside foot down until the needle is fully out. The theory is that the downward motion of the inside foot causes the outside foot to lift off the material and vice versa. If that adjustment doesn't help, there may possibly be an internal adjustment the alters the lift ration of the two feet. Certain Singer 111 sub-models have an eccentric inside the head to vary the foot lift ratio. I have no experience with your Pfaff model.

The first table. listed at $199, has no machine cutout, hinges, or rubber mounting pads, although there is an option for a standard lockstitch cutout measuring 19 inches long and 7 inches wide. Further, there is no oil pan, knee lever, lamp, tilt back post, bobbin winder, or thread stand. There is a servo motor option. Adding these items drives the price to $319. You may as well contact one of our advertising or supporting dealers and see what they would charge to set up a k-legs table that's fully equipped and ready for your machine to drop in.

Singer 111wsomething.

It could be oil on the bottom of the foot that is staining cloth, but not vinyl. Wipe the feet and needle (with power off) to remove excess oil before sewing. Oil in the head flows downward onto the three shafts coming out of the bottom of the head.

Look up member Singermania (Steve Bonnett), in Bundaberg, Queensland.

You might want to keep your eyes peeled for a needle and awl harness stitcher. They were built during a time frame when waxed linen thread was the normal thread.

Folks started complaining to the makers of the now-defunct Sew Pro 500GR servo motors (I have one of the last ones) about problems with casing changes they made in the second generation. They were in China and decided to go to lunch to discuss what to do. They never returned from lunch.

You can run waxed thread through a 441 clone, but it is going to gum up everything it rides across, including the eye of the needle. You will need to keep Goof Off by the machine to clean the rollers, guides and needle after each sewing job. The needles will need to be one size larger than normally used for the diameter of thread you use. See this thread and needle chart for a reference. If you really want to sew with waxed linen thread, get a Union Lockstitch or Campbell-Randall, or Landis 3, or 16, or a Landis 12 series shoe outsole stitcher. These machines are meant to sew with wax and keep on going. They still need cleaning, but the barbed needles are less likely to gum up. I learned to operate a Union Lockstitch in about 1 week. Mastering it took a lot longer.

No sir, not without a huge amount of custom building/modifying of an industrial k-legs table and proper cutout rectangle, with an oil pan. That is a portable dual feed walking foot machine with a self contained motor system. It is what it is.

Two of my servo motors (different brands) do the same thing (no power at turn over speed, or too high a workable speed). It is a manufacturing defect, or resistor/electronics tolerance issue. The only recourse is to try another motor (ask the dealer to test it before shipping it), or live with it.

I bet you didn't know that there is an adjustment for the brake on the right end of the motor. There is a big hex head bolt in front of the output shaft that screws into the housing. You can loosen the locknut, then turn the bolt in or out to adjust the amount of slack the pedal has before the brake lets go and the clutch engages. In order to get the most range of pedal throw, tighten up the spring loaded thumbnut on the right end of the activating lever under the motor. If the spring action is backed off the lever will hang lower and won't have much movement before the clutch activates.

Have or can you measure the voltage at the outlet where you plugged in the motor?

That is the model I sewed on.

Different densities and thicknesses.

The new outside foot may be rubbing against the inside foot, causing the hangup. It could be twisted slightly due to a manufacturing issue. I have purchased aftermarket feet that were misaligned. The original feet would have been installed by the dealer and they made sure they were inline and not rubbing. If the feet aren't misaligned, the new foot could be wider inside, causing it to grab the inside foot at a certain lift position. Adding more foot pressure overcomes slight misalignment.

There is money in making and pleating drapes.

Take the needle out every now and then and feel the tip with a fingertip. If you feel a burr, toss it out. If you are down to your last needle, pull it across Emory cloth to de-burr it, then polish it on a piece of veg-tan leather that has jewelers' rouge on it (like you strop a carving knife blade). Vinyl is trivial to penetrate and pull lockstitch knots into, even with undersize needles. Leather is not. You will almost always need more top tension, or less bobbin tension, or a bigger needle to bury the knots inside leather. The denser or thicker the leather, the larger the needle, or higher the top facing tension needs to be upped.