Wizcrafts

My very first industrial sewing machine was a Singer 96k40 tailoring machine that was sold to me by a dealer who swore it could sew leather. I was making a vest from a Tandy pattern, with a semi-dense heavy garment leather from Tandy. It could only sew flat seams, broke needles when I came to doubled seams. I ended up buying another head, a Singer 31-?? with a spring loaded walking foot, that dropped into the same table. That machine did sew the vest and climbed over the thick seams. I have since learned that the best mechanism for sewing leather is a compound feed walking foot. With this system, the feed dog on the bottom moves in sync with the needle and the inside alternating "vibrating" foot. The outer foot is a presser foot that moves up and down to hold or release the leather. These machines have not one, or two, but three bars coming down: a needle bar, a vibrating presser bar, and a presser foot bar.

That stirrup plate is made for the Cowboy CB3500, 4500, and 5500. @CowboyBob Kovar, owner of Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines, is the primary dealer in the USA. Here is the Cowboy page of available accessories for the CB3200, 3500, 4500, and 5500 heavy leather sewing machines. The phone number on the bottom of the page is the one you need to call to order parts, accessories, thread, and machines.

@Cattleman I use the stirrup and holster plates on my cb4500. The stirrup plate requires the removal of the feed dog. The holster plate (that I have) doesn't. Both lift the work about the same height. You may be able to eek out a little extra lift of the feet by reducing their throw ratio. That's done by changing the position of the crankshaft coming out of the back of the head and attaching to a curved slot on the rear housing. I don't have my machine at home, so I don't recall which direction you have to move the crank. But, lowering the alternating foot lift allows you to eek out a little more sewing thickness in a pinch.

Yes, but it is also for us in the USA who may not be familiar with Metric measurements.

The bottom appearance can be changed somewhat by using different needle shapes. If your current needle is a wedge, try a diamond point instead. They give a bold exposure on the top and bottom, compared to a slicing point. Diamond and triangle points are close to round points in thread appearance, but penetrate leather better.

You're welcome! Yes, you can strop them and polish them. I wouldn't grind the points on a stone wheel. Rather, pull them on Emory cloth to deburr them, then buff them to a shine using green or brown buffing compound. BTW, here is a handy needle and thread chart to get the best combinations for various sizes of thread.

@1985, I moved your post from Help Wanted to Leather Sewing Machines. This is where you will get answers to questions about machines and needles. Help Wanted posts and replies require a moderator's approval before they become visible. I can tell you with certainty that synthetics and cloth require round/sharp point needles, no matter what system a machine uses. Leather point needles are specifically designed to sew leather and other animal hides. If you use round points to sew leather, the holes will be unsightly on the bottom and the needle may even get stuck in the leather. If you use leather points in cloth and synthetics, the slicing point may sever the fibers that hold that material together. However, a triangle point or diamond point leather needle is less likely to cause as much damage as a chisel point. Webbing and elastic are synthetics where you should always try to use a round point needle. With Velcro you can use any point. Vinyl (e.g., Naugahyde) doesn't seem to care either way. Denim doesn't like leather points at all. Garment and chap leather can be sewn with almost any point, unless the bottom is going to be visible and looks bad with a round needle. Patches are best sewn using a round point needle, even if they are on a leather vest. The back side isn't visible and a leather point needle will cut the threads on serged borders. Also, since most vests are lined with satin lining, a leather point will sever the fibers and the lining could run. Thus, I use round point needles to sew patches onto anything. I hope this helps.

You don't want a machine that only sews tiny stitches with thin thread.Seek out a heavy duty machine capable of sewing 5 to the inch, or longer, with up to #207 thread. You can probably get by with #138 thread if the layers are also cemented together. The dog harness would need double row stitching with #138 thread as it only has 22 pounds breaking strength. I personally use #277 on dog collars and harnesses, as well as holsters and knife sheathes. Number 277 thread has about 44 pounds breaking strength. This calls for a #25 needle. A lot of machines that can sew leather can't use this size thread, or even #207, and sew together 1/4 inch of veg-tan leather. I went through 10 machines trying to sew that thickness and more, with #277 and 346 thread. The 11th machine was the winner! It was a Union Lockstitch machine.

I could use 2 packs of #24.

You should hold back both starting threads so the top thread doesn't get drawn down prematurely, and maybe jams the hook. This machine would be damaged if that happened with #138 thread.

Yes, place the link. Just don't try to sell stuff in this section of the forum.

That is the machine you will need if you get into sewing patches onto Bikers' vests.

I own a Singer 211g156. It is a compound feed walking foot machine. I use it to sew in zippers, or to sew small upholstery projects, or to sew lined belts. It handles thread sizes 69, 92 and 138, using needle sizes 18, 20 and 23. Things to know about this machine are that it only takes a G size bobbin (1x), and the pulley is rather small. It is a little tricky getting it to sew slowly and still punch through veg-tan leather. Mine is equipped with a Family Sew 500 servo motor that is a bit underpowered at the lowest speeds. It could really use a 2:1 speed reducer to add more punching power. I added that motor after I removed the old clutch motor that came with it. The maximum stitch length that matches in both directions is 5 to the inch. The feet lift high enough to sew 3/8 inch of light to medium temper leather (e.g., thick seams in a leather jacket). It uses the same bobbins, needless, feet and accessories as the older Singer 111w153, 155 and 156. But, those machines had larger pulleys and are smoother at slow speeds operation. The machine is manually oiled. The stitch length is adjusted by pressing a button the the bed while rotating the balance wheel forward or backward. There is another button that controls the safety clutch that disengages the hook drive if you jam thread in the hook. If this happens, you have to remove all of the jammed threads, then unthread the needle, then press down the button and rotate the wheel until the clutch pops back into its operating position. If you want to sew seat covers, this machine will get the job done really fast! It isn't quiet at higher speeds and shakes a bit.

For non leather projects, I recommend System 135x17 round/ball point needles. Round points won't tear the fibers apart like leather points tend to do. Some of the best are Groz-Beckert and Schmetz. I use both. The GB are available with titanium coating. They are labeled Gebedur. Schmetz makes a ball point needle with an extra large eye, called Serv 7 needles.

As I've been told by people who've bought sewing machines directly from the Orient, the unboxing, clean-up (degreasing, removal of metal shavings) and assembly can take quite a while. Then, one has to do the timing and dial in the machine so it actually sews in both directions at its maximum capacity. This only makes sense if one has tools and knowledge of setting up these machines and the time to put into it. I don't know how often it happens, but if any required parts are missing, you may have to wait for the next low boat from China to get them, or buy them elsewhere.

I found and uploaded a manual for similar models of the Singer 133 series. I hope this helps you figure out the essentials. Manual Singer 133K8, 133K9, 133K10 and 133K17 (1).pdf

@fasdude, that chart has nothing at all to do with the Singer 133 series machines. It is strictly for the 29 series, which bear no resemblance to the 133.

I found these Google search results for the Pfaff 335gH3 on Leatherworker.net.

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!!!