Wizcrafts

The needle bar position could have been moved up due to impact with the feeder or throat plate. This would retard the timing, possibly beyond picking up the bobbin thread. The hook hitting the needle means that the needle deflector plate has already passed by and is out of the equation. That means that if the hook saddle is positioned to just miss the scarf of the needle with the deflector in play, that the tip of the hook will intersect the needle with the deflector out of play. Your machine also has a safety clutch that disengages the bobbin drive in the event of a serious binding from thread or a broken needle. If the clutch has popped, the shuttle won't turn at all, or very little, as you rotate the handwheel. If that happened, clear the broken piecs and any thread in the bobbin case, then hold down the push button on the right side of the arm as you turn the wheel one way or the other (with no thread in needle!). The clutch will re-engage at some point of rotation and timing will be restored. If the clutch has not popped, the culprit would be the needle bar raising from impact. You'll have to remove the top thread and the face plate, then locate the screw or screws on the needle bar clamp that secure it to the bar. Get the correct screwdriver or Allen wrench ready. Remove the bobbin cover and throat plate and take out the bobbin from the basket. Slowly rotate the hand wheel towards you until the needle reaches BDC and raises up about 1/8 inch, then stop. The hook should just be approaching the scarf area above the eye of the needle. The deflector should be touching the needle below the eye, pushing it ever so slightly away from the hook. If these things are not happening together, something has shifted out of time. Troubleshoot as follows. Examine the needle bar inside the head and see if it has one or two thin rings cut into it and visible below the rock frame that it goes through. Those are timing marks. One mark is for the setting the bottom position and the other for the raised position for the hook to work. If there's only one ring, it's probably to time the hook intersection. Loosen and retime the bar as necessary to show both of the rings at the bottom edge of the needle bar frame, in that/those vertical positions. If there are timing rings on the needle bar and you have set the position of the bar to show and hide them at the appropriate points of motion, the following will test the hook's position for correctness. As the needle raises about 1/8 inch (or to its second timing mark), the hook has not yet reached the needle (retarded). You'll have to advance the hook until it is centered above the eye, in the scarf. Consult your manual about moving the hook position. The hook has passed the needle already. Retard the position of the hook. The hook meets the needle above the eye, inside the scarf, but the hook impacts the needle. Bend the deflector plate slightly to the left until it pushes the needle out of contact with the hook. If you don't have timing rings on the needle bar, adjust it up or down as necessary, as follows. The needle's eye and scarf is too far below the hook after raising ~1/8 inch above BDC. Raise the needle bar to get the hook over the eye, inside the scarf. The needle's eye is above the hook. Lower the needle bar to position the eye about 1/8 inch below the hook. After positioning the needle's eye to the hook, check the deflector plate and move it as needed to protect the needle from the tip of the hook. Examine the hook for damage from the broken and impacted needles. If it's chipped or has a burr, it will need to be reshaped and polished, or replaced. Don't forget to lock down any screws you have loosend. Take advantage of the open face to oil the internal crank arms in the head.

You would use #18 needles with #69 thread. Move up to #19 or 20 needles with #92 thread. #23 (160) is for #138 and possibly #207 on top. Your machine is not meant to sew with #207 thread in the bobbin. It is beyond the tensioners design specs and will probably leave the knots laying on the bottom of the leather, if it sews at all with that size thread. It could possibly void the warranty on the machine. Always use System 135x16 leather point needles with leather, or 135x17 round point with vinyl, webbing or cloth.

No.

I believe that Darren does (or did) have a large supply of new Chinese cylindrical bobbins for the Singer 42 class machines. That was in early 2017.

Good choice. Now remember to always pull back the starting threads for a few stitches as you begin a stitch line. If you start by reversing, hold the starting threads until you cross back over them in forward.

There is a reason why leather causes stitch and needle problems to be revealed where cloth has no problems being sewn. The leather is denser, thread tensions are higher, and this pulls and deflects needles to the left as you sew. Thinner needles (#110/18) deflect more than thicker ones (#200/25). Needle deflection by the thread can be controlled somewhat by lowering both the top and bobbin tensions and using one size larger needle if necessary. This combination will reduce deflection of the needle, but may lay a lighter stitch than higher tensions do.

I have a 42-5, and even with its original long needles, it cannot sew much over 5/16" (20 ounces) of medium temper leather. These were upholstery machines, made in the 1920s. The needle system made for the 42 series machine is long gone. Most owners have lowered their needle bar so they can use System 135x16 needles, which are about 1/8" shorter. This reduces the thickness you can sew to no more than 1/4 inch (16oz), if even that. The spring loaded follow foot system is not modern and has fixed links that are not variable like more modern systems. If the 42-7 uses the same cylindrical bobbins as the 42-5, they are harder to find than hen's teeth and very expensive if you do find some.

Emily; Did you know that you can turn a leather point needle on a slight off center angle to get offset stitches? Try it!

The primary dealer of Family Sew servo motors on this forum is Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines. Best of all, they will install a very small 50mm pulley and help calculate the length of the new Type 3L v-belt needed for this motor.

There is no point using a bigger needle than #18 with #69 bonded nylon thread. That is the largest diameter thread your machine should be able to sew with. The only thing you might do to help the thread stay intact is to lengthen the stroke of the check spring a little at a time, watching how much slack is in the thread as the needle makes contact with the material. Garment machines, like your 5550, usually have a short default check spring travel that works best with soft cotton or polycore garment weight threads. Bonded nylon thread is a whole nuther story.

I got three packs of 10 System 332 LLG needles today (#19, 22 & 23), from Bob Kovar, owner of Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines. They are indeed left twist leather point needles and are made by Organ Needle Company. Bob told me that he bought 100 each of these needles in sizes 18, 19, 20, 22 and 23. I will be getting a pack of #18 and #20, giving me one pack of each size. That leaves 9 packs of each size for you guys with high lift Adler patchers. If you are wondering, the needles are in printed packages of 10, inside metal foil.

If you are holding back the starting threads and still have a nest on the bottom, and a clunking sound in reverse, something may have changed with the timing between the top and bottom main shafts. There is an access port on the right front of the machine that exposes an large hex head bolt on an eccentric bearing that drives the shuttle and feeder. Before you explore that opportunity to throw the machine completely out of time (or get it back in time), verify that the needle' to hook position is close to specs. That is, when the needle has risen about 3/16" above BDC, the hook should intersect the needle in the scarf area, about 1/8" above the top of the eye. This is set or checked with the stitch lever set to zero feed. If you find that the hook is crossing the needle too close to the eye and loop, it could have been caused by forced upward movement of the needle bar. That usually happens when the needle gets deflected into the feeder or throat plate under power. Also, replace the needle, just in case it is at fault.

Watch any local online or newspaper classified ads for private sellers or businesses trying to get rid of an upholstery walking foot sewing machine. These machines are used to sew cloth and leather seat covers, boat covers, banners, tarps, tents, bags, etc. By the time the owners sell them they are well used and worn out. But, you may be able to find one you can afford, then pay to replace worn parts as you go. Seven years ago I decided to get back into sewing leather after selling all of my machines. The second machine I bought was a used, but not abused walking foot machine that had been sitting idle in a business that made window blinds. I only paid $300 for that machine! It paid for itself in one month of home sewing jobs!

Did you order round (R) point, or Leather (LL) point 332 LG needles? I need LL, not R. R points tend to stick in veg-tan leather as the friction builds up. Plus, the round holes look horrible in straps.

I've never heard of an Atlas brand sewing machine. It might be a house brand of the dealer who imports them from China. A double needle can still be used as a single needle machine if necessary, but not vice versa. You should go for either a compound feed walking foot or top and bottom roller feed, capable of handling up to #138 bonded thread, top and bottom.

Correct. I got a reply from Shoe Systems and they only carry round point System 332 LG needles.

I have sent inquiries to the above mentioned companies. I will reveal their replies when they arrive. So far, all I can find are 10 packs in round point. Very few suppliers stock #23 needles in this system.

I didn't expect this hunt for needles to be as difficult as it is turning out to be. I have recently acquired an Adler 30-7, long arm, big bobbin, high lift patcher. I got exactly one pack of System 332 LG #22 needles with it. Since then I have been trying to find a place to order various sizes in 10 packs of leather point (332 LG: L point), to no avail (in the USA). I did find a source for a boxes of 100 (Adler Durkopp Corp), in one size per box, which is way beyond my needs. So, if any of you (in the USA) own an Adler 30-7 or 30-70, where do you currently buy your leather point needles in 10 packs? I am mainly seeking #19 and #23. I would even settle for #20 and #23. I will gladly buy these needles privately is anybody has extra packs to spare. I can PayPal you (verb). Please don't confuse the System 332 LG with just 332. They are radically different lengths.

Maybe the shorter needle is a 214x1, aka 328, aka 45x1

I can probably make that type of collar. It won't be cheap or be done quickly. send my an email or PM to discuss the details.

And weaken the stitch strength to that of the thinner #207 thread. This is where trade-offs happen in the leather sewing business. If one sews a gun holster with #207 thread in the bobbin, there is no point in using anything larger on top, except for appearances. A properly balanced tension system on a 441 type machine should easily hide the knots of #277 thread between two layers of 8-9 ounce leather. If the knots keep moving up and down, either the spool of thread is poorly bonded, or is twisty coming off the spool, or the top thread is lifting and lowering inside the top tension disks, or the check spring action is too strong, or the bobbin spring is worn where the thread feeds out of it, or there is crap in the bobbin case, or the bobbin thread starting stub sticks out and interferes as the bobbin turns inside the case, or the bobbin length or end shape is out of specs.

I own three patcher machines. I use them for odd jobs that have lots of turns, like sewing patches onto vests and jackets, especially over sleeves and pockets. Seiing as how the 29 type machines are top fed, via teeth on the foot, and the foot can be turned 360 degrees and they have a very narrow snout, they can sew where no one has sewn before! There are a few things one should keep in mind when considering buying an old used patcher, as outlined below. The 29-4 machines were produced around the turn of the 20th Century, until the 1930s or so. This makes any surviving machines ancient and usually well worn. A Singer 29-4 can only sew and safely advance about 1/4 inch of leather, although you can drag about 5/16" under the foot. The maximum stitch length is 5 to the inch at 8 ounces thickness or less. This usually decreases as you approach the maximum usable thickness. As the feed mechanism wears down over time, the maximum stitch length gets shorter and shorter. It's not uncommon to see a Singer patcher that only gives 8 stitches per inch. They are top feed machines that depend on aggressive teeth on the bottom of the presser foot to drag the leather back as it sews. These teeth can leave very impressive tooth tracks in the top grain. The bobbin on a 29-4 is about the size of 4 dimes stacked together. Unless you load them with #69 thread, you'll run out of bobbin thread after only a few projects. There is no standard way to attach an edge guide. If the front barrel locking thumbscrew is missing, the foot can freely turn as you sew. Getting straight lines on a patcher is a challenge. If you turn the foot around to sew backwards, you can't see the stitch line as well as in the forward direction. Some of the parts that wear out may not be available from aftermarket makers in China. They tend to support later models of these machines, from the mid 20th Century. The last Singer patch machine was the 29k172 or k173, made in the 1970s in Japan. I own a 29k172, which is a long arm, big bobbin Singer patcher. I use it to sew patches and fix purses. Finally, Singer long ago dissolved its industrial sewing machine business and sold off all assets and tooling. They will be of no help if you need parts, manuals or advice.

I bought a sticky tape backed yellow tape measure from Wawak and just peeled and stuck it onto tables where and when needed. It as accurate as any tape measure can be.

I don't know what "a Martingale" means. Would you care to elaborate? I am a general category leather maker. I don't specialize in horse tack.

Thanks for your info. This helps. I will probably order a #153-10 frame with a #10 punch tube and get a #9 tube with it (both work in a #10 frame).