Wizcrafts

While the Singer industrial sewing machines company is long gone, there are lots of aftermarket parts made in the Orient. The 100 year old machine uses the same tiny shuttle and bobbin as the last ones sold in the 1980s. It is a shoe and boot patcher, meant for short stitching jobs, like darning, re-sewing loose threads in shoe toe boxes, sewing patches over pockets, fixing purse strap tabs, and sewing cylindrical objects. I use T70 bonded thread in my short arm, small bobbin patchers. They can sew up to 1/4 inch of stuff that isn't too dense. Unfortunately, the stitch length suffers badly at this thickness. You get the longest stitches into 6 ounces of leather that isn't too grabby. Think of smooth shoe upper leather.

If that machine is a binder machine as built, there will not be any way to get 4 way motion on the feed dog. That motion is caused by cams that would likely be missing on a binder machine. It was not intended for normal sewing operations. I was offered a Pfaff 335 for a couple hundred bucks at the same time I bought a long arm big bobbin Singer patcher (over a decade ago). After seeing how strange the feed operated, I declined the Pfaff. If you haven't bought the machine yet, ask the seller if the feed dog has normal up/down/forward/backward motion, or just forward/backward? It will be one or the other, not both..

It already has the synchronized sliding plate and spring attached to the arm. All it needs if the actual folder part and a platter to hold the edge tape. There have been other discussions about using a Pfaff 335 for standard sewing. It usually requires alterations to the feed dog. As is, the feeder is a flat, polished plate that moved forward and backward. The inside and outside feet will have a different shape than a standard sewing machine.

Yes. This machine is a synchronized binder machine. It is one of the best money can buy. Do you intend to sew items that require edge binding?

There are YT videos from Campbell Randall Company. Campbell took over rebuilding the Randalls and sells them as Campbell-Randall Lockstitch machines. You can buy a manual from CR and learn to thread the machine, which is half the battle. The book will have a list of recommended needles and awls for various sizes of thread. You can buy everything you need from CR in Texas. Hopefully, this machine comes with some extra needles, awls, bobbins and a threading wire.

Your John D. Randall 311, is the 311th machine built. This puts in in the late 19th Century, or the very early 1900s. I sewed on an early model from 1910 and it sewed flawlessly. I was offered to buy it in 1988, and like a fool, I declined. It was the personal stitcher of the owner of Freedman Harness, who sewed harness for the Rockefeller's race horses. If that machine is in working condition, ask for a demonstration. If some parts are worn, they may be replaceable with parts from Campbell-Randall Company, in Texas. If the machine doesn't sew, or turn over, it can be very costly to repair.

Merry Christmas!!!

All Singer 111 models use System 135x16 (leather point) and 135x17 (cloth round point) needles. They are sold by all industrial sewing machine dealers, and on eBay. Here is a thread and needle chart to match the needle "size" to the thread "size." Your machine uses approximately 1.75 inch long needles. The needle size and system are two different things. The size refers to the diameter of the needle above the eye, but below the mounting shank. The System defines a particular architecture (length, shank diameter, eye shape). A "size" 18 (metric 110) needle is fairly thin and is used with #69 bonded thread.

Maybe you can find a narrower feed dog and throat plate to accommodate that narrow foot set.

Sometimes, History continues into the present day. The Amish in the Thumb area of Michigan still use Landis and Randall needle and awl harness stitchers to make and repair harness for their horse drawn carts. They are either foot pedaled, with twin bicycle style pedals, or line shaft driven by whatever power source they deem acceptable. I was offered a rebuilt and working Randall, for $2200, by an Amish who used to visit my shop until 2022. I should have taken him up on it when I had the money in the bank. These machines lay down a stitch that closely resembles hand sewing on both sides. Note: parts and accessories for needle and awl machines are often hard to get and usually very expensive.

Every bonded thread manufacturer uses a different chemical formula to process the strands. Once of the steps involves dyeing the nylon the color to be wound in that run. It is my understanding, from a discussion I had with a thread manufacturer in Canada, that black thread is/was doubled dyed, where lighter colors were single dyed. If I recall that discussion, they first dyed the filaments deep blue, then black. This resulted in a beautiful black finish, but a stiffer thread that tended to be "coily" as it unwinds off the spool. It was only their black bonded nylon that had this stiffness. As for the thread size, there is a standard chart that shows the recommended thickness of each size. Manufacturers try to stay close to the standards, but nobody forces them to do so. Some brands will be thicker or thinner than others, but not by much. Then, there is a variation in thickness based upon whose standard you build to. The American thread sizes are referred to as a number, like b69, v92, 6.6. European thread uses a different measurement called TEX. A US b69 is also known as Tex 70. US 277 is Tex 270. There is sometimes an actual difference in diameter between some spools of 277 vs T270. Your softer thread was probably single dyed and not bonded as aggressively.

Both the Randall and Union Lockstitch machines were designed to sew harnesses and saddlery. They originally used Z twist linen thread run through liquid beeswax. Other uses for these machines included holsters for law enforcement, tug straps for sulkies, weightlifters belts, footballs (Union Lock), briefcases and some saddlebags. Both use a separate barbed needle and an awl to punch holes. The Randal machines use the awl to move the leather, while the Union Locks are needle driven. The Randalls like to chug along at about 300 stitches per minute, maximum while the Unions are designed to fly at 800 spm. They are a higher speed production machine for long straps, whereas the Randall is for more precision sewing. If you ever get to meet someone selling a Union Lockstitch in person, have the owner run it flat out for you. Bring earplugs and hold onto your junk!

@JoshHov Once you settle upon a price, or choose to take offers, please place your ad in our Marketplace section, under Machinery > Sewing > Used. Include your location, pertinent details, and asking prices, as well as some small file size photos. 800x600 pixel jpgs (sometimes called 3x4) are fine and should be well under the forum's upload size limit. Let members contact you via our personal messages system.

This was first done by Campbell Randall, the rebuilder and primary dealer for Campbell and Union Lockstitch machines. Check out their video where they sew a penny onto a stack of leather. There is a full description of the machine and its setup.

I sewed professionally on a Consew 206RB, making ballistic material blackout window blinds for schools. The machine takes a large M style bobbin and has no problem sewing with #138 thread. I also used Nomex thread in that machine to repair some firefighter turnout gear. I normally kept it threaded with #69 bonded nylon for the thin blinds. But, it didn't hiccup with #138..

Watch this video clip:

You ain't the Lone Ranger! Today, I was hurrying to sew a wallet for a customer on his way to pick it up. I had to re thread from #277 to #207 thread. I changed the bobbin and needle, then ran a test in a piece of bridle leather. Strangely, the knots were all on the bottom, where they were perfectly balanced earlier with one size larger thread and needle. I decided to add some top tension and looked at the tension disks as I went to turn the nut. That's when I noticed that the top thread was NOT inside the disks! Doh! It even happens to seasoned sewers.

@boarlord, you didn't state what make and model your patcher is? Parts and accessories vary with the make and model. The Boss hand operated stitchers normally use thicker thread than any patcher can handle. The largest thread I've used in my Adler 30-7 is #138, The small bobbin Singer patchers are best limited to #69 and 92 bonded thread. Parts are available in the aftermarket supply chain (e.g., Amazon, eBay, Etsy), and from established industrial sewing machine dealers, like this one. We also have a member who goes by @shoepatcherwho has parts for Singer, Adler, and Claes patchers.

Yeah; get a 2:1 or 3:1 speed reducer.

My thinking was that you might get the benefit of the wax from the bottom thread. All of the knots would be waxed by the bobbin thread when they get pulled into the leather. They sell spools of 5 and 6 cord left twist glazed Irish Linen thread at Campbell-Randall, in Texas. I also found one spool of 3 cord still for sale on Etsy.

I have a 111w153. I mostly use #69 or #92 thread in it. But, I occasionally thread it with #138, which is the maximum it can practically handle. This calls for a #23 needle, which requires a hell of a lot of torque to punch it through 1/4 inch of veg-tan leather.

Do this at your own risk. Wax on the top thread will clog up the top tension disks, then the paddle spring, then the eye of the needle. I imagine you can use it if you clean those items after each use. This means ramming the threading rod down the thread channel in the needle bar to push out the wax. You should be able to simply wind waxed linen thread onto your bobbins. It might be worth trying waxed thread in the bobbin and dry glazed linen on top. You'll have to clean the wax that gets caught under the bobbin tension spring and the thread feed slot and the little output hole in the case.

The harness stitchers are cylinder arm machines, best suited for use with heavier thread and thicker work. For a smaller machine, consider a flat bed upholstery class walking foot machine. They are comfortable to operate as you are sitting down in a regular height chair. These machines keep the material flat so the seams stay aligned as you sew. You can keep smaller size thread spools on the walking foot machine, in sizes 69 and 92. System 135x16 and 17 needles are not as likely to get deflected and break as the longer System 7x3 when using thin needle sizes 18 and 19.

Have you checked their website to see if they have a lease to own program? I know that our Cowboy dealer has one.

It's new to me too. Since there is no reverse on this machine, you'll have to use the old fashioned methods to lock in the starting and ending stitches. Those are sew all around and cross over 5 to 7 stitches; or sew a few stitches, then with the needle up, pull back and resew into those stitches; or sew backwards then spin the work 180 degrees (I call this Poor Man's Reverse).