Wizcrafts

You can get some answers from the Singer 168w101 manual (pdf).

You can order a modified stand-alone industrial bobbin winder from Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines, altered to fit the 441 bobbins. They are modded as ordered. I have on order for my Singer 42-5.

Thanks Bob. I didn't know that Ferdinand made a foot with a bottom tab.

Anybody wanting more info on these Cowboy/Hightex 205 clones can call Bob Kovar, at: 866-362-7397. He knows as much about them as anybody I know of. Like i said earlier, I contemplated buying that model over the CB4500. The difference was a thousand dollars more and about a hundred pounds more weight.

Make sure you don't use leather point needles on nylon webbing. The non-round points will slice and separate strands of nylon. If you have been using leather points, buy some regular rounds and see if they stop the thread splitting. I usually use a #19, or sometimes a #20 needle with T90 bonded thread. The only times I get splitting top thread is when the thread itself is poorly bonded.

The Hightex 7205 is sold in the USA as the Cowboy CB205. It is a clone of the now deprecated Adler 205 series. They are or were sold and serviced by Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines. I almost bought one when I got my CB4500. The 205 is much heavier and pricier than the 4500, but Bob said it ran smooth for its size.

Tagger609; How did your machine end up with a Cobra style inside foot? They have the tab on the bottom that is designed to push down the leather in the stitch line. It is meant for the Cobra slotted plate which has a long, narrow slot. Your machine seems to have a shorter slot. You can work around the problem until a replacement foot arrives by shortening the stitch length so the inside foot stops before the end of the slot. Or, grind off the bottom tab.

Armor is sometimes made of sole leather. You ain't gonna sew that with much less than a harness stitcher. These machines can sew 1/2 inch with the heaviest bonded threads in common use. Other models with longer arms can sew over 3/4 inches of hard leather.

You will find that out shortly after changing to a #18 needle ;-) Most upholstery grade machines are set up to use from #18 through #22 needles. I think your machine will be fine with a #18. If not, try tweaking the position of the check spring, or its travel. This little spring keeps the top thread taut as the take-up lever moves down. When it lets go can affect the quality of the loop that forms on the right side of the needle, as it begins its ascent from BDC.. The broader the loop, the less chance you have of getting skipped stitches.

Bob's movie is in the .mov format. I use Windows 10 and when I clicked on the file, it offered to play it in an app called "TwinUi" - which is a built-in Win10 Movie and TV player. In previous OS's, I would have used the Quicktime Alternative from Free-codecs.com.

I think a #18 will serve you better, with #69 bonded thread. I rarely ever use a #16 needle except for super thin material using cotton or polyester garment sewing thread. Technically speaking, a #16 will allow #69 thread to flow through the eye, but it is tighter than would be with a #18. My actual working range of needles for this type of machine is from #18 through 23, covering thread sizes 69 through 138. I use #18 or #19 with bonded 69 thread. I use a #19 or #20 with #92 bonded, or #80 polyester jeans thread. I use a #22 or #23 needle with #138 thread.

I was about to say the same thing about the top tension disks. It looks to me as if there is little to no top tension. It is sewed fine before and suddenly has loops on the bottom, either the bobbin thread is jammed tight inside the case, or the top thread has jumped up out of the center of the tension disks, or you forgot to thread through the take-up lever.

No

Regarding going bobbinless, the top thread has to pass both over and under the bobbin and shuttle. In standard operation the bobbin case/shuttle holds the entire bobbin load and only exposes the loose thread on top of the case. The top thread is picked off the eye of the needle, then fed around, and over and under the shuttle. This is how it forms a type 301 lockstitch knot. This works fine when there is a bobbin in play, but fails when the thread is fed from under the bobbin, then through and out the top. In effect, the top thread captures the bottom thread twice; on top and bottom of the shuttle. The results is a chain, not a lockstitch.

If one is experiencing dropped stitches, one should remove the throat plate and observe what the heck is going on with the loop. The loop might be too small, or might twist away from the approaching hook. I've had situations where a particular needle and hook timing led to too much of the loop forming on the left side of the eye of the needle. The hook that was approaching on the right had a hard time getting enough thread loop to pick off. Sometimes a smaller needle cures that problem. Other times the check spring needs to be readjusted. Still other times, the needlebar may need to be raised slightly so the forming loop clears a cutaway on the left side of the shuttle (meant to aim the loop towards the hook).

I recommend making every adjustment a machine is capable of to obtain the strongest loop possible. This includes trying different settings and tensions on the check spring and fine-tuning the timing of the hook. It must also take into account any unusual twist the thread might have, such as in double dyed black bonded nylon thread. With a maximized loop the needle can be just raising from pickoff time as you lift the feet and turn the material. My Union Lockstitch machine used to drive me crazy by routinely dropping the loop after picking it off the barbed needle, on hard right, but mostly left turns.

Possibly. It depends on if the inside foot fits between the toes of you OEM outer foot. This would have to be at all heights, in action. It it fits without binding, but the alternating lift is wrong, adjust the lift via the bolt on the back of the head that feeds the crank that screws into the curved slot. The inside foot is usually timed to meet the top of the feed dog hole either at the same time as the point of the descending needle, or very slightly after.

Here you go! This is my 29k172, long arm, large bobbin patcher, with a darning attachment.

I bought a set of presser feet like the ones the OP has. I cannot use the short left toe foot at all, unless I am starting to sew completely on the material and the material is not soft and floppy. The foot is too far back to hold down the leather and causes skipped stitches. If I try to start sewing at the leading end of a belt or strap, the outer foot doesn't even make contact with the leather and there is no feed! It is a design flaw. You can either buy a left toe foot that is long enough to reach the front of the inner foot, or buy a second double toe foot and grind off the right toe.

The blue patcher looks just like my 29k172. It is one of the last ones ever made by Singer (mid to late 1970s). I have lots of experience using this machine. Here's what it can and can't do. Sews no more than 1/4 inch compressed thickness. Might manage 5/16" if foot is set to maximum lift. Stitch length will be tiny. Sews chrome tan upper leather. Sews patches onto motorcycle vests and jackets, especially over pockets and sleeves. Great for purse repairs. Can sew fairly close to the toe of a normal flat lace-up shoe. Has an 18" long arm for sewing along boot uppers, or cue stick covers, jacket sleeves, and other cylindrical objects. Can sew in new zippers onto thin leather or cloth jackets Sews light to medium temper veg-tan. Handles thread size 69 through 138 (large bobbin models only). It does best with #69 or #92 bonded thread. The large bobbin holds enough #69 thread to sew a lot of shoes or 10 belts (see last item). The small bobbin models need to have bobbins changed quite often. If using #138 thread it will only sew about 5 belts (large bobbin only) Uses needle system 29x4 and 135x16 (various leather points) and 29x3 and 135x17 (round point). Sews no more than 5 stitches per inch, decreasing with thickness of leather. A worn out drive cam reduces maximum stitch length drastically. If it has the top mounted darning attachment it can sew long stitches manually. This is useful when sewing across closed zipper teeth, where hitting the metal will break the needle. Has a two position throat plate with a large hole on one end (#21, 22 and 23 needles) and a small hole on the other (#20 and under). The needle can be moved sideways as long as the larger needle hole is in place. It sews in any direction, with top feed only. You will have permanent tooth marks on some leathers. Will NOT sew shoe soles Will NOT sew gun holsters Since there are no edge guides, they are not so accurate at sewing belt/strap edges, unless you groove the stitch line first.

Are you aware that at least one of our member-dealers, Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines, sells brand new Consew walking foot machines for a little as $995?

Every one of our member-dealers sells these needles. They have banner ads on the top of every page. Refresh the page to load a new set of dealer banners. Most have competitive pricing on needles, thread, bobbins, oil and accessories that are used in 441 type machines. In fact, this reminded me to order more system 794 needles from Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines. Ask Bob Kovar about some diamond point needles in #24 and 25. I use them where the usual chisel type S cuts too long of a hole between stitches. The diamond point (actually a triangle cut) gives the thread a longer visual stitch length, top and bottom, and doesn't weaken the trailing edges like an S point might. You can get closer stitches this way.

The auction was in Toronto, Canada, not in the USA

Yes. The round point are system 7x3 and the leather points are either system 7x4 or 794.

Black bonded thread is double dyed making it sometimes act like a coil spring. I had to use Weaver #207 thread to sew a couple dozen rifle slings last Saturday and it kept twisting around posts and guides and even itself. This caused numerous skipped stitches. The Weaver Chestnut brown thread did not have quite as much springiiness. If I find a source of non-coily black bonded thread, I buy more than one spool.