Wizcrafts

Your work looks flawless. You should either pursue a solo career, or find a partner to work with, preferably one who already has various sewing machines and possibly a clicker press. You could sell your purses on Etsy, as do other small volume custom item makers. A well optimized website to promote and sell your leather goods is a must have, once you get going. But, one step at a time.

I used to have a pull down lever sole stitcher that clamped onto the edge of a table and looked a lot like the one in Bob's picture. I let it go many years ago for shit money and wish I hadn't done so now. I know where there is a rotary handle Gritzner but the owner won't sell it. As for Frobana's, they are just too expensive anymore, especially their curved needles.

If that machine can sew along the edge of a sole, or a narrow edge of a shaped project, with heavy thread, I'll take it.

I would go with either a Consew 206RB-x, or the Seiko. If you can find a made in Japan Juki it would be a good investment also. Just make sure you see them sew your material first on whatever machine you are interested in. BTW: There is nothing wrong with the current Consew machines.. Pfaff parts are very expensive.

Here is a Cowboy/Hightex automatic sewing machine, sewing a holster. I'll bet this machine costs a small fortune. Here is more information about these automatic patterns sewing machines.

I spray belt no-slip from auto parts stores on my v-belts on my Cowboy CB4500. That way I don't have to overstress the belts and bearings.

My biggest single purchase was my first Union Lockstitch machine and all manner of parts and accessories. Combined, it cost me about $4,000, way back in 1988. I spent another thousand adding needles, awls and more bobbins and special presser feet. Thread for it used to cost $25 a pound for nylon and $30 a pound for linen. The machine paid for itself over the first 5 years and began making a profit after that. I eventually sold it for $5,000, including boxes full of Barbour's Irish linen thread and heavy bonded nylon thread. Good equipment holds its value over the years. What's strange to me is that back in the 1980s and 90s, heavy duty leather sewing machines like the Union Lockstitch, Randall, Campbell, Adler 205, Juki 441 and such, always sold new for anywhere from $5,000 to $8,000, where the 441 clones made today sell for $1600 to $2700 --- and people bitch about how expensive they are!

There is a videos page on the Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines' website, demonstrating setting up and using Cowboy 441 type machines.

The CC in the new Consew brochures means "Consew Consolidated" - the name of the company. They are throwing in that designation to draw more attention to the newer machines. Advertising jargon.

I'm glad to hear that you have worked out your problems with Biothane. May I suggest that if you are going to be making a lot of Biothane tack, you consider investing in a Campbell Lockstitch machine?

Have you thought about spraying the throat plate with silicon, or using some drops of Tri~Flow?

I now Grok that the OP may have been looking for a hobbyist's sewing machine, with no plans for a full blown commercial machine. The two that come to mind are the Tippmann Boss and the Luberto Cub. Both are hand operated, mountable on the edge of a desk or table, or work bench. They can sew up to from about 1/8" up to 3/4 inch with #346 thread, using system 794 needles. They aren't cheap, but will suffice for small pre-production and one-off runs of holsters, belts, horse tack and such. They are also good for repairing these items. A determined hobbyist could pay for such a machine in a few months, then decide whether it is time to move up to a motorized machine, or stay put.

My thickest holster job in recent times was a full 7/8 inch along the stitch line. There were four 8 oz layers of filler inside the approximately 10 ounce front and back piece. I had to readjust the machine for minimum alternating foot lift, using the slotted plate and a #25 diamond point needle, with #277 thread. The presser bar had to be raised to clear the stack of leather and the inside foot position dinked with to get the leather to feed. This would have been much easier to accomplish on my last Union Lockstitch machine, which I already had modified to sew 7/8 inch. You can't beat a jump foot needle and awl machine for thick sewing. Here is a photo of the filler side before it was slicked and edge dyed.

The only thing automatic about this system is that raising the inside foot automatically also increases the lift of the presser foot. Older systems usually need to have a bolt loosened and a crank moved up or down to accomplish the same effect. The term Automatic is marketing jargon. A truly automatic walking foot mechanism would sense the difference in height (up or down) and change the lift ratio on the fly, by itself, then back again to the optimal setting.

Now I understand what Graywolf means by an "automatic climbing device." I have never heard of that advertising jargon until today. It is either a selling point from an ad agent, or perhaps a poor translation from German to English. So, what is the knob on top of some walking foot machines? Simply stated, this knob raises and lowers the inside alternating foot in relation to the outside presser foot. Because of the manner in which the two feet are interconnected, raising the inside foot also increases the lift of the outside foot. Lowering the inside foot with the big knob decreases the lift of the presser foot as well. In normal operation, one would set the alternating height to the minimum needed for everyday use. This might typically work out to about 1/8 inch, or 3.2mm. With that amount of lift the machine should easily climb onto the next layer of 7-8 ounce leather and back down. The machine will run more smoothly with lower amounts of alternating lift. When the project contains different layers exceeding 1/8 inch, turning the top knob in the correct direction will greatly increase the lift of both feet. The enables it to climb up and down over differences possibly approaching a quarter inch on the new Adlers.

I found 10 packs of system 29x4 at Wawak.com, in sizes 18, 22, 23 and 24. These are equivalent to system 135x16, with only minor differences. You would have to buy a few packs to make it worth the $4.89 shipping charge though. Next find is at SuperiorThreads.com, who carry GB system 135x16 in size 22, in 10 packs, for $4.40 per pack, plus shipping. On to eBay, we find a seller offering 20 GB system 135x16, in size 140/22, for $10.95 and free shipping.

You probably need to know that the typical leather sewing machines, in use by the majority of leather crafters, are based on mechanical designs going back to anywhere from the early 1920s through the late 1980s. Some of the longest lasting and most copied walking foot machines are Singer 111 types, made from around WW2 through the 1980s, or so. Just about every walking foot machine is somehow based on the 111 feed system. So much information has been published about machines of this type that there is nothing new to tell. If one was to obtain the US Army field manuals for the Singer 111 type machines, it will bring you up to speed. More modern developments were reverse levers, self oilers, large bobbins and various bells and whistles. The more up to date machines use a rotary stitch length dial and a push down reverse lever. The huge harness machines are clones of the original and still produced Juki TSC-441. Thus, they are referred to as "441 clones." They all use an oscillating shuttle with a long hook, a pop open bobbin case attached to the shuttle and cylindrical bobbins that hold gobs of thread. These machines begin at the end of the regular walking foot machine ranges and go up from there. These are the types of machines that are normally used to make gun holsters, knife sheathes, weight lifters' belts and Police gear. They can handle very thick thread and use huge needles. A Juki 441 manual tells most of what needs to be known about the Chinese clones. The Juki 441 was the Japanese answer to the German Adler 205 cylinder arm (and 204 flatbed) machine. It uses a similar shuttle and hook, as well as the same bobbins and needles as the 441 machines. The 441 sold for a couple thousand dollars less than the 205. When the Chinese began cloning both the Adler 205 and Juki 441, they sold them to dealers around the World at less than half the price of the originals. This left the dealers enough headroom to pay for the shipping and customs fees, then do the necessary uncrating, degreasing, assembly, oiling and setting up operations that consume anywhere from 2 to 6 hours (4 avg) - and still sell them for half the price of a Juki or Adler. It took a very long time for walking foot development to move beyond these basic styles. The most recent improvements are seen in the brand new Adler 969 series. Weaver Leather sells these surreal machines, starting at almost 10 thousand dollars. This is triple what most people on this forum already think is too expensive for them.

The higher your budget, the better the machine you will end up with. Brands to watch for include: Singer 111w155 Consew 206RB-(number) Consew 255 series National 300N Seiko walking foot machines Juki LU-562 Juki LU-563 Juki DNU-1541 Some Brother walking foot machines Mitsubishi walking foot machines Cowboy and Cobra walking foot machines (Chinese, but well made for USA use). All of the aforementioned machines max out with #138 bonded nylon thread.

Maybe you can find a used walking foot machine being sold by an upholstery shop, or an individual; who did upholstery at home, through your local and nearby Craigslist ads. We also have a classifieds section on Leatherworker.net, called the Marketplace. There is a section for used sewing machines. look for a compound (triple) feed walking foot machine, like a Singer 111w155, or Consew 206RB-something, with a 20x48 inch table with a big 1/3rd or 1/2 horsepower motor underneath. These often show up within a hundred miles of major metropolitan areas. A typical price is between $500 to $800 in working condition. Those in very good condition and having thread, needles, bobbins and other accessories may go for a little more. Junk machines can be had for $300.

When I have problems like that I turn the work around and sew over the stitches moving forward, rather than reverse. I also place the needle on the side of the original stitches, rather than head on. Diamond/triangle point needles are less likely to cut the previous thread.

Graywolf; Since you plan to only sew vinyl and your space and budget is limited, you might want to look into the Sailrite portable dual feed walking foot machines. There are two types: straight stitch and zig-zag. If you don't need zig-zag, you will save a few hundred bucks. The LSZ-1 is their lower priced model, at about $749.. You set the machine on the floor or on a table, as needed. It has top and bottom feed, with aggressive teeth to move vinyl along, but hold it firmly between stitches. Sailrite is now producing and shipping their 3rd generation of portables, with beefed up components that were wearing out prematurely on previous models. There are a couple of upgrade packages they offer, like the Monster II wheel, or models in a carrying case, or bias tape folders and edge guides. The bobbins are a standard Class 15, as is used in hundreds of domestic and industrial sewing machines. They hold plenty of #69 bonded thread, which should be fine for your vinyl projects. Note, I only recommend these machines for vinyl, not leather. Also, I do not recommend any of the cheaper Chinese knockoffs under any circumstance. The next step up would be the new Consew P-1206RB, which costs just under a thousand dollars, from Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines. It has triple feed and comes on a 4' x 20" industrial table, with a Family Sew servo motor. Most shops can accommodate a 4 foot table. I had two in the expando of my trailer home until I moved them into my rented shop. They only stitch out 20 inches. Allowing a couple inches for material to flow over the back still keeps the table under 2 feet away from the wall.

I used to have a walking foot machine with two pressure screws and springs, like yours. When I fully backed off the inside foot pressure spring screw, I could almost get zero pressure on the outer presser foot adjuster.

Your machine has two pressure springs.The big one is for the outer foot and the little one is for the inside foot. You can adjust them separately if desired. If the inside foot spring is screwed down almost all the way, the outside spring has little effect. Back off the inside foot pressure and you will have more adjustment over the presser foot.

No shit?

That is correct. I sew backwards a few stitches, spin the work 180, drop the edge guide if needed, then sew to the end, where I reverse and sew back again to lock the stitches. Sometimes I opt to just lift the feet and pull the material towards me, two or three stitch lengths, drop the feet and resew through those stitches. On other jobs, if the back side won't be seen, I may just hold the threads and start sewing to the end. Then I pull the top thread through the back side with a seam ripper and tie the starting threads together in a knot. Ditto for the ending stitch. This is especially useful of large projects, like bomber jackets, where spinning the work isn't trivial (I sew in zippers and patches all the time).