Wizcrafts

I experience these moments when I sew on my patchers. At any given moment in time, one or both of them will skip stitches on an important repair job. The very next job will be sewn perfectly. They both prefer to listen to Internet Country radio stations. They agree with my choices of KEQX in Texas, or KWKZ in Cape Girardeau, Mo.

The reason a CB 341 might sew up to 1/2 inch has to do with it being setup with System 190 needles. Even then, I believe that the needle bar would hit the top of the raised feet at 1/2 inch elevation. I had a National 300N that I converted over to System 190. I was able to sew 7/16" of leather, maximum. Sewing any thicker would require a set of feet with lower top surface profiles. NB: Sewing such thicknesses on a walking foot machine causes the crank that comes in from the back of the head to move higher in the head. Metal has to be removed from that area in order to let the high riding crank shaft clear the head. Basically, the machine is being converted into a "stroker."

For those of you who are thinking about instituting a pot pedal, are you aware of the floor pedal used by pedal steel guitarists? They are made of aluminum and are fully enclosed. Some, like my Goodrich pedal, have a power jack on the back that uses a standard wall wart converter. Others, like the Hilton, use a different jack for a plus/minus supply. These pedals come up for sale on the Steel Guitar Forum on a regular basis. Here is an ad for a used Goodrich pot pedal for sale.

I sold my 300N a year ago for $750.00, complete with a servo motor I bought and installed. It was a most awesome walking foot machine. It is a lot like a Consew 206RB-5.

Thanks for that suggestion. If I ever decide to remove the commercially produced gradient and make my own, I will use lead pencil strokes. The one I have in there was pre-printed on thin plastic for Leather Machine Company and offered to their customers.

My last Union Lockstitch machine was like that; touchy about changes. She preferred Travis Tritt when I sewed fast on her. Sometimes I'd play "He Walked On Water" (Randy Travis) to calm her down for fishtail stitching on gun belts.

The piece in your hand is the Shuttle Driver and driver pinion gear.

Cliq; If the Family Sew motors (FL-550/FS-550) are not available where you live in Europe, look into "Jack" brand motors. If you really want control and lots of power (and special features, with a big price tag), look into Efka motors.

I obtained a printed out gradient from Cobra Steve and installed it in a push button servo motor I have. It definitely improves the slow speed controllability of an otherwise touchy motor. But, and this may be my fault, there is a momentary dead spot in the travel, as I increase the speed. Maybe I didn't tape the gradient on 100% perfectly. It passes quickly. I would recommend trying this if you have a touchy servo motor. In the end, I bought a Family Sew servo motor from Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines. It starts rotating at an almost immeasurable rate and has a very smooth transition to whatever maximum speed I set on the dial. I relegated the gradient modified motor to another less critical machine.

Many of our members are using the Family Sew FL-550, fitted with a 50mm pulley. I have this setup on a walking foot machine and I can easily sew 1 or 2 stitches per second, all day long. The final slow speed is determined by the diameter of the pulley on the machine. These motors have a rotary switch or potentiometer that limits the top speed. When set to the minimum, the motor turns over at about 350 rpm. When set to full speed they spin at about 3600 rpm. To really slooooow these motors down, add a 2:1 or 3:1 speed reducer wheel between the motor and machine. The reducer multiplies the torque by the same ratio as it reduces the speed.

Get a stronger top tension beehive spring.

I just answered your question in another topic. You will probably do better with a straight stitch machine and a custom curved foot. It might resemble a very broad piping foot, which has an arch ground along the left side. The problem is you will require an arch that has a radius broad enough to conform to a 16mm to 20mm (or more) watch strap. It may be possible, but I doubt it. The largest piping foot I have is 5/8" US measurement. That's probably close to 15 or 16mm. A lathe might be able to broaden out the radius for your straps. There are piping foot sets for walking foot machines. Again, the widest I have found online is 3/4" radius.

Beveled men's belts are factory sewn on straight stitch machines fitted with a curved presser foot and edge guide. The left portion is cut in a broad arc to ride on top of the raised portion, while a very short right portion presses down on the very outer edge. To sew beveled belts on a walking foot machine calls for some creativity. Your basic task will be to find or make a smooth left toe foot set, then adjust the alternating lift high enough so that the inside foot fully presses down the edge and the outside left toe lifts enough to let the belt move along with the needle feed.

Basically put, a zipper foot is a single sided presser foot, with either a left or a right toe only. In the case of a walking foot machine, you must have an inside foot to cause the outer foot to lift and lower. Thus, zipper foot sets are sold as matched pairs. 99% have teeth on the bottom. Some are very narrow, down to 1/4 inch (~6.4mm) total width. Right toe zipper sets usually have the hole offset to the left edge on the inner foot. If you want a poor man's zipper foot, buy a regular smooth foot set, with a narrow profile, and grind off the right toe from stem to stern. Polish and slightly round the sharp bottom edges of the outer presser foot. This will serve as a left toe set when you need to sew close to the edges. You may have to buy this foot in person to get one that has the left toe close to the inside foot's left edge. Otherwise, you may end up with a big gap between the inside and outside feet.

I neglected to use the term parallel when describing the lines of stitching I sew into tow straps.

I have seen a picture of a CB3200 with a hand crank. Not ideal, but an option for unpowered sewing. I will conjecture that one could be adapted to a patcher base and be treadle operated. Slippage of the leather would be a recurring problem though.

This reminds me of the 125 pound Adler 204-374 flat bed walking foot machine that I bought privately in 2010. It had a 1/2 HP clutch motor with a 2" pulley feeding a 3:1 speed reducer. I could easily feather it down to 1 stitch every few seconds. The top speed was all of 2.5 stitches per second. The beast could sew a solid 1/2 inch of leather with #346 thread. I traded it off for a Union Lockstitch Machine.

I searched our own forum and found the video in question embedded into a reply concerning using a Sailrite to sew leather Renaissance gear. It shows a person using one to sew a knife sheath. Read the entire topic to gain some background.

I sew webbing tow straps on occasion. I sew a series of vertical lines about 1/4 to 1/3 inch apart, at 4 to the inch. I back tack at both ends, into the same holes for at least 1 inch, covering about 5 inches of folded length. In the past I would sew a rectangle with a X pattern inside it. But, I found that the row going across the front end was the weakest point because it went across from side to side. I looked a heavy tow strap that was used on bigger trucks and it was sewn with multiple rows inline. This is similar to the technique used in heavy horse tack, where the buckle and squares ends are never sewn across the strap, but inline along the sides. Bob Kovar sells round point system 7x3 needles in most sizes up to #27. I have some packs I bought from him in #25, 26 and 27.

Since you asked, I can already feather a clutch motor down to 1 stitch per second, using the standard control arm and proper adjustment of the slack bolt and return spring. However, a long extension arm would make it easier on the ankle to hold it at slow speed.

He is. Darren is in Australia.

Our member, Darren Brosowski is the official dealer for the "Able" brand of Chinese patchers in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres on this side of the Atlantic Ocean. When he sees this topic he may reply about the ability of his machines to sew 20 or 21 ounces ounces of veg tan leather at 5 stitches per inch or better. He may be "able" - pardon the pun - to set one up specifically to do this for you.

I have 2 Singer patchers (long arm big bobbin and short arm small bobbin), a long arm version of the Singer 111 walking foot (a 139w109) and a Cowboy 4500. Here is how I divide up work among them. For sewing patches over pockets or sleeves, or for sewing on new strap tabs on the sides of purses, or for sewing zippers onto purses, bags and boots, or for top stitching shoe or boot uppers or cylindrical items, or sewing a patch onto a wallet back, I use a 29k series patcher. I keep the small bobbin model fitted with #69 thread and the large bobbin model with #92 thread. A Singer 29 series "patcher" is only good for repairs. For sewing wallets, phone cases, denim goods, chaps, jacket front zippers, and most anything that is between 3 ounces and 15 ounces, I use my long body Singer compound feed walking foot machine. I normally keep #92 thread in it with a #19 or #20 needle. I'll occasionally use #69 and a #18 needle for pigskin wallet interiors. Once in a great while I'll thread it with #138 thread and a #23 needle. You can use the Singer 111w155 for the same kinds of jobs. In your case you will probably use it more often than I do with #138 thread, which can sew pancake holsters together. Just sew double rows, 1/8" to 3/16" apart, for added strength. It maxes out with #138 thread. It maxes under with #69. Any jobs that are 1/4 inch or thicker, or that require #207 or larger thread are done on the big Cowboy CB4500. This includes holsters, gun belts, knife sheathes, thick cases, tow straps, animal collars and harnesses, headstalls and bridles. I typically keep it threaded with #277 thread and a #25 needle. These are not all of the machines I have in my leather shop. I also have a straight stitch drop feed Singer 31-15 tailors' machine for sewing cloth and linings and a very old Singer 42-5 spring foot for heavy upholstery work. But, the two patchers, the Singer compound feed walking foot and Cowboy machines are the ones I use the most. A well equipped leather business can not only make new items, but can repair old ones. Repairs are often a good stream of cash flow. So, since you are just starting out, my advice is, if there is any way you can swing it, buy the patcher and the Singer 111 now and the Cowboy later, using money earned from repairs and new builds to help pay for the machines. I see that you mentioned a Cowboy CB2500. It will sew up to 7/16 of an inch with #277 (and probably #346) thread. But, it is a bottom feeder only and the large teeth will leave very noticeable marks on the bottom layer. Further, its lower thread capacity is #138 thread with a #23 needle. No smaller needles are commonly available for this machine. If tooth marks are unimportant, this may be a viable option for you. Plus, there is an optional wide roller foot for it.

If the motor is attached to a bracket on the back and connected by a belt, it is a 15-90. If the machine has a pod motor built into it, it is a 15-91

I started this topic to alert members of LWN that the email problems with the Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines website have been acknowledged and fixed. I then posted a little piece of potentially helpful advice to self-managed website owners using shared hosting accounts to log into their control panels and verify that the email server settings they are using are still valid. Then my friendly little post got hijacked into a rant against Microsoft and other matters. So, I am using the powers vested in me to close this topic, as it is only going to denigrate further if left open.