Wizcrafts

Dave4; I know this can be a confusing topic. Sewing machines have so many different designs and capabilities. I started sewing leather in 1984. It started with just a vest, which was a challenges in itself, due to topstitched fringes and thick seams from the 5 ounce leather I used. I tried three different sewing machines before finding the right one. Then I decided to try sewing belts, then other items that pushed the limits of the machines I had. This led to more heavier sewing machines, some of which didn't pan out, despite their size. In fact, I still go after sewing machines when one presents itself as different and is affordable. The old iron Singer sewing machines of yesteryear were built to last a century and then some. I have a rack in from of my leather shop and it has 6 old machines for sale; two of which are aluminum bodied and the rest cast iron. I have rebuilt them and test sew each one with 4-5 ounce leather or suede. One in particular, a 1902 Singer 27, has sewn into 8 ounces of bridle leather with #69 bonded thread. It is a small piece from my scrap drawer and I used it to demo the machine. The customer was amazed, but didn't buy the machine. Go figure. When it comes to golden oldies, here's what I've found. The models with built in motors are to be avoided. They have only the torque left in that pod motor and cannot be ramped up. Overloading them with tough leather makes the motor groan and it starts smelling bad. Models with external motors can be refitted with a 1 or 1.5 amp motor that can punch through leather without bogging down or smoking. The old bullet shuttle 27 types stay in time under load and can sew a little thicker. Almost all these machines max out at 5 stitches to the inch, with most giving only 6 or 7 (a Model 66). None can handle over #69 bonded thread, with some refusing to handle even that. None can sew over 1/4 inch of material effectively. Most are lucky to sew 3/16 inch of cloth. They don't do a good job of transporting leather, except for suede or veg-tan with a rough flesh side. All feed is on the bottom. Domestic sewing machines have fairly weak tension and pressure springs. The pressure spring over the presser foot sometimes has to be cranked down almost all the way to hold down veg-tan leather belts as the needle rises. If the leather lifts with the needle, there are skipped stitches. Increasing the pressure on the foot makes it harder to feed some leathers. People often use a Teflon foot in these situation. Teflon feet are deep top to bottom and take away from the usable sewing clearance. If you forget what the foot is made of and drop it down onto the feed dogs, the teeth leave a lasting impression. The so called walking foot, or even feed attachments are useless on most leathers, other than garment leather. they basically only follow the top layer, without any feed action of their own. They also take away from the clearance under the foot. These are some of the things I have learned about the old domestic sewing machines. They are nice to look at and collectors love them. But, when it comes to sewing leather for a living, they cannot be trusted and cannot be tweaked to exceed their physical limitations. Bottom line: if you are going to sew leather things and get paid, buy a proper leather sewing machine. There are lots of dealers representing our forum, either with banner ads, or simply with their freely givin technical advice. Call them and pose your questions. Most will tell you which machine types will handle your anticipated projects without being at their limits all the time. Some may be too heavy duty for light work and thin thread. There is no all in one sews it all machine that handles from a couple ounces to 3/4 inch, with thread sizes 69 through 415, that doesn't require a lot of readjustment to go between those extremes. Heavy 441 clones are not so good under 6 ounces and may actually eat thin soft leather. Straight stitch industrial machines max out at 1/4 inch or less. Only the heavy duty machines made for upholstery, tents, harness, and webbing are capable of sewing holsters and sheathes, using big needles and thick thread. I hope this helps!

A decent condition walking foot machine can usually be found for sale by the owner in the $600 to $800 range. Check your local and nearby Craigslist, under Sewing Machines > Business. But, they are usually upholstery machines with clutch motors and 1:1 pulleys. You will probably have to change to a 2" motor pulley and a 2" shorter v-belt, or buy a new servo motor with a 50mm pulley and matching shorter belt. This will drive your cost up by about $150 or $160. At this point you are better off buying a brand new Consew P-1206RB.

If the clones don't improve the design and metals, they will be next to useless. I had to tweak the Boss at my downstate Tandy store last week, to get it to sew. Even then it began binding for no apparent reason. A real tinker's toy.

Dave4 asked about the range of thread that machine can handle and tension properly, wondering if it could do #69 through #207. The range is the opposite, going down from #69 bonded thread. No way it can handle anything thicker.

Uwe; Try re-positioning the slot in the check spring regulator bracket. If that doesn't matter, try lengthening the travel of the spring.

I corrected my incorrect spelling of your last name, Darren. If you have the bobbins for a 42-5 and can sell them for the price range you mentioned, you'll have buyers on this forum. What woult the International Postage run on items like those? I am referring to the cylindrical bobbins, about an inch long.

There is a multi-page Singer 431 owner's manual online, here.

Anne Bonny's Locker has been renamed to the owner's actual name: Darren Brosowski - who is alive and well and a frequent commenter on this forum.

I just uploaded a 48 page manual for the 42-5 to my server (3.6mb Zip file). I think it is what you all are looking for.

I couldn't find a spring for my sliding plate (that covers the bobbin and shuttle area), so I glued earth magnets to its sides. It works as good as the spring loaded original. I use my 42-5 for chaps and similar projects. I've used thread sizes 138, 207 and 277. I think it best to limit it to #24 needles/207 thread. I have enough of those $12 bobbins to preload them with the colors and sizes of thread I use the most. It's currently powered by a 1/3 hp clutch motor, fitted with a 2" pulley. I can feather it to single stitch if I need to. As for replacement parts, I've had no success finding ANY parts, other than bobbins. I'm lucky enough to have gotten lots of leather point needles with the machine, in the correct system 16x64, in sizes from 21 through 25. There is also a pack or two of 16x63 round points in the box. My biggest issue with this machine is its lack of a thread tension release rod. I compensate by hand wheeling back and forth as I pull the work away from the needle. This lets the take-up lever draw thread for me. The spring loaded presser foot does a good job on soft temper leather and the overall feed is positive. Like many of you, I didn't go looking for this machine. It came looking for me and I took it in, like a lost kitty. Now I have a loudly purring, 1926 Singer 42-5. It's neat watching people's faces when I show them the beast.

I get 4 to the inch on my 42-5. So, 5 is not standard spec.

I think that a one head, 6 needle Melco EMT16 can embroider leather, because Leather is listed in the left sidebar among the items it can sew onto. It sews on hats, baseball caps, jackets and jerseys. An email or phone call to Melco should get an accurate answer. It would be about the cheapest full commercial embroidery machine that I know about.

We could all pitch in on a Melco 6 head commercial embroidery machine for the OP and do time sharing on it!

I once owned that Singer model. I found it was best used with #138 and smaller thread. Actually, the standard size bobbin doesn't hold much size 138 thread, so I tended to restrict it to #69 or 92. It ended up being my vest and hat making machine. The 153 machines may be physically able to sew up to 3/8, but are more reliable at 5/16 and under. In order to penetrate that much hard veg-tan leather, with a #23 needle and #138 thread, you'd need a speed reducer between the motor and machine.

Will they honor your warranty if you damage the machine? If you tell them you tried to sew/embroider leather or suede, you may void the warranty. The most likely issues you may run into are causing the needle bar to move up from impact with the leather/suede - knocking it out of time - and overheating the motor and overstressing the drive components. Keep in mind you have a plastic body machine containing light duty gears and cranks. It was built with cloth embroidery in mind. You may destroy this machine sewing 5 ounce leather or suede. Do you have another $500 to spend on a replacement machine?

Add that to your post and we'll move it to the Used Sewing Machines section of our Marketplace.

I will move this post to the Marketplace once the OP sets a price.

I can buy both system 135x(16|17) and 190 in sizes 16 through 25. The sizes 16 and 18 are best for sewing #69 bonded thread into about 4 - 5 ozs of leather, or 3/32" of vinyl or cloth. #19 and 20 needles are best fo #92 bonded thread, into about 6-8 ozs leather, or up to 1/8" of material. A #22 needle is for sewing #138 bonded thread into vinyl or cloth and a #23 for sewing it into leather.

Sew it on like you would sew a regular embroidered patch. A straight stitch machine should be fine, as long as you use regular sewing tread on a cloth shirt, or nylon thread on a leather shirt. You can buy heavy duty thread from Joann Fabrics in 100 yd spools. It is very strong. Use a #16 leather point needle with heavy thread, or a #14 with regular sewing thread. Hold it in place with double sided tape. Try to avoid taping the edges along the stitch lines of the star. If the star is to be applied over a pocket or sleeve, a patch machine will be needed. These machines sew 360 degrees, with #69 bonded thread.

Jeff; Needles don't just vary in length. They can also have different upper barrel diameters and barrel lengths, before tapering down to the designated needle size. Your machine may or may not accept or properly seat the system 190 needles in the mounting hole.

Do you mean system 134-35? That is another size peculiar to some Pfaff machines.

When you call CowboyBob, ask if he can set a CB3200 up with blanket feet and throw in the harness set for those occasions when you need to sew something where tooth marks would be a problem. The blanket feet also include a matching feed dog with teeth. These parts provide solid hold and feed of bags and horse blankets. The machine sews with medium to large sizes of thread, like #138 up. The CB227 stops at #138 and possibly #207. You will need non-leather point needles for cloth. They are available in more sizes than the leather point needles. Be as accurate as possible when you describe your anticipated type of sewing. You want to get the best machine from the get go. The 227R is a lighter duty walking foot machine with a rotary shuttle. It will still sew blankets, but straw and dirt in the cloth may jam the shuttle faster than on a 3200, which has an oscillating shuttle that clears dirt better.

I meant to type "rubber" covers. I just corrected it. lol There are two bolts securing the faceplate to the left top of the machine. Unscrew them and pull the plate off. All the cranks inside have little oil holes. Failure to oil these cranks may lead to the machine seizing or binding, as happened to a friend's Cobra Class 4. He simply didn't know about opening the plate to access those little holes.

I placed an M bobbin on top of a Juki LU bobbin to see the difference. It amounts to about 2mm smaller diameter and just about 1mm thinner inside. The LU bobbin probably can hold about 20% more thread.

I just realized that the machine does not have a standard foot; just a hoop foot. Unless you buy or received an accessory presser foot, and can raise a feed dog, you can't sew seams with that machine.