Wizcrafts

I also prefer lubricated thread. Cowboy makes lubed thread. Weaver Leather sells a heavily lubricated bonded thread that has so much lube that it drips all over the machine guides and tension disks. You can buy a magnetic lube jar from various industrial sewing machine dealers. It sits on top of your machine and the thread passes down and back up, through whatever you fill it with. Liquid sewing machine silicon works best and won't discolor fabrics. I get mine from Toledo Industrial, in quarts. I think they may also sell the magnetic lube jars.

My sewing machines in the shop prefer to listen to KWKZ FM on the Internet. They play classic country and new traditional country music that doesn't get national airplay by the bubblegum networks, like Cumulus. A few drops of oil, plus bright lights and country music has those machines singing their own song!

Curved needle Landis machines often prefer soft rock, or soft Country Music. Speak softly when you talk to her. She is a good dancer, so don't try to lead. Just hold the shoe sole bottom side up and say words. Everything you need to know can be learned here, on this video.

I owned a Juki LU-563 and it was only good up to 3/8 inch. It fought me when I tried running #207 thread in it. The LU-1508NH is much more modern and better for higher lift work. I should warn you that those system 190 needles are very easy to bend and break if they get deflected. I found it best to use larger sizes, like 20 through 24, rather than #16 through #19. Of course, if deflection isn't happening, the thinner needles will work fine with #69 and #92 thread. As for clones, I believe that Toledo Industrial now has a 1508 clone. You'll have to ask them which sub-class it clones. I can tell you from experience that the crank shaft opening on the back of the head needs to be altered to allow for higher foot lift with those longer needles. I modified a walking foot machine I had to do that and had to file away quite a bit of metal. Without that alteration, the cranks hit the head and stopped cold. I would ask for a demonstration of a machine sewing at 1/2 inch with system 190 needles before buying it sight unseen. Truth be told, I think that 7/16" is more realistic for both the 1508NH and its clones. If you want to sew with #207 thread, at 1/2 inch, there are better machines that are built with this in mind. My CB4500 sews from about 6 ounces up to 7/8 inch, using thread sizes 92 through 415. I find that #207 is the sweet spot for medium thickness work and webbing. There is even a flat table attachment I got with the machine for times when a table surface is better than a free arm. The Cobra Class 4 is a similar machine and in the same State. If it is too much money, the Cowboy CB3200 sews up to 1/2 inch and is built for heavy thread. The CB3500 sews all the way up to 7/8 inch, as does the Cobra Class 3. All these are less expensive that the longer arm big brothers. You should consider the 441 class from the get-go if you intend to use #207 thread at 1/2 inch. Yes, a 1508NH can sew that high, with that thread, but you will be at its upper limit.

Jeff; The Juki LU-1508N uses the standard system 135x16 (leather) needles and can sew about 3/8 of an inch of compressed material with #138 thread. The LU-1508NH uses a longer Pfaff needle system: 190. These needles are about 3/16 inch longer than standard walking foot needles. Since the shuttle hook is still in the same vertical plane, the needle bar is raised up the 3/16" to keep the needle's eye in time. This also allows the presser feet to raise and alternate higher before they contact the bottom of the needle bar. The difference is that the class NH can sew between 7/16 and 1/2 inch of material. Also, changes to the shuttle allow it to carry #207 thread in the bobbin as well as on top. The list price is somewhere in the mid 3k range. As for heavy duty cylinder arm walking foot machines, I use the Cowboy CB4500, which has a 16 1/2 inch arm, uses up to #415 bonded thread and sews up to 7/8 inch of leather. It comes on a pedestal table with a powerful servo motor and a 3:1 speed reducer. It can sew extremely slowly (well under 1 per second), up to maybe 5 stitches per second, flat out.

The #18/110 needle must make a hole with just a little too much clearance for the lockstitch knots to settle into a happy place. The smaller hole made by a #16 needle makes for tighter knots that are easier to place. What causes this variance? The entire upper thread path affects the repeat-ability of knot placement in leather (or any material). If the thread uncoils differently every other turn, the upper tension changes. If the thread moves up inside the tension disks, there is a variation. If the speed changes in a jerky fashion, the knots will move. The bobbin can also affect the position of the knots. A stub of thread left sticking out the hole in the bobbin might rub against something once per revolution, or the thread may unwind unevenly, throwing off your knots. Try to figure out what is changing most often and see if it can be remedied.

I hear the train a comin', it's comin' around the bend....

I get all that with my Cowboy CB4500, which I bought from Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines. This machine can sew over 3/4 inches of hard leather, with up to #415 thread. I don't normally use anything bigger than #277, or, once in a while, #346 thread, as 44 or 66 pounds tensile strength per stitch seems to be enough for my projects. Similar machines are the Cobra Class 4 and Techsew 5100. If the CB4500 is too dear, look into its little brother, the Cowboy CB3200, also sold and serviced by Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines. It costs much less and only sews 1/2 inch. But, it uses the same bobbins, needles and thread as the bigger machine. These machines are part of a special class we call the 441 clones. They are based on a Juki TSC-441, which was first introduced in the late 1980s. That machine is still in production and sells for about $6,000 US. In contrast, you can buy two brand new Cowboy, Cobra, or Techsew 441 clones for less money than that one Juki.

I have used black biker sides from Springfield leather for seats, chaps, bags and biker accessories. I've had no problems or complaints.

I often see leathers similar to that selling for between $4 to $8 per square FOOT (144 Sq inches!) for sides. Entire sides of this type of leather can be purchased for $100 to $160. You should seriously check out Springfield Leather, Thoroughbred Leather, Maverick Leather, The Hide House, Weaver Leather, etc, etc.

If you choose to lower the needle to meet the hook, make sure the tip of the needle doesn't hit the shuttle or bobbin case! If you have to lower it that far, stop and get somebody with better tools to loosen the clamping bolt as per my original checklist.

How close it the tip of the hook to the center line of the needle, when the needle has lifted at least 1/8 to 3/16 inch from BDC? If it is within 1/16 inch, adjust the height of the needle bar instead. Just make sure that the hook is above the eye in order for it to pick off the thread loop.

When you go to or contact a leather supplier for the seat leather, ask or search for a large enough weatherproof piece that has plenty of stretch and give. Some leathers are easier to stretch than others. A stretchy piece will make this a lot easier to accomplish. The thickness will have an effect of the stretch. If there is a thinner piece that looks right and stretches nicely, buy it instead of a thicker cut. Your best hope is to find a cut than is no more than 3 to 4 ounces thickness. If you go to a Tandy Leather store, ask the sales person to test skive the flesh side on your desired cut of leather with one of the Tandy hand skiving tools (with a razor blade). If the skiver tool is able to remove most of the flesh side, without cutting through the top grain, it makes for better folded seams and finished edges. You will have to teach yourself how to use this tool without destroying the leather. Professionals have a motor driven round blade skiving machine to remove flesh material when seams and edges need to be thinned for assembly or appearance.

Debbie, I can help you fix this. First, find the metric hex drive wrenches that came with your Cobra 4. You will need the largest hex wrench in the tool set for this. Proceed as follows. Turn off the power switch to the motor. Unthread the needle. Remove the bobbin cover plate so you can see the bobbin case and hook. Set the stitch length/direction lever to the zero feed position. You can verify this by placing a piece of leather under the feet and hand wheeling a hole in the leather while adjusting the lever, until the needle goes into the same hole without moving the leather.. There is a removable round cover plate on the lower right front of the machine. Unscrew and remove it. Keep the screws in a safe place. Slowly rotate the hand wheel toward you from the top down, anti-clockwise, while peering into the now open hole. You will see a clamp on a shaft that exposes a large hex bolt head as you rotate the wheel. That bolt clamps the shuttle driver shaft in place. Your goal here is to watch the hook as it approaches the rising needle's eye then move the hook into the correct position above the eye. This is done by loosening the big bolt and moving the shuttle by hand. When the needle has moved up between 1/8 to 3/16ths of an inch from bottom dead center, the hook should intersect the center line of the needle, about 1/8" above the top of the eye. You can move the hook by loosening that big hex head bolt inside the right front of the machine, which allows you to move the hook by hand pressure. That bolt will probably be very hard to turn initially. You can employ a vise grip on the hex wrench to add turning power to loosen it. Most likely, the bolt head won't line up with the opening in the body at the right point in rotation to time the hook. That would be too easy. So, I usually loosen the bolt, then apply the slightest pressure to tighten it just enough to hold its position until I move it by hand. You can do the same thing. Once you have re-positioned the hook to intersect the prescribed distance above the eye, as the needle ascends, tighten down the big bolt as tight as you can get it. Re-thread the needle and try sewing in forward and reverse. If the stitches are perfect and don't skip any more, tighten down the big bolt with the vise grip and replace the cover plate.

Try installing a simple zipper foot. They are very narrow and have a slot down the center, which acts as a guide line. Spray silicon on the grain as you sew it it should glide just fine. There are also narrow Teflon feet available. Have you checked the timing of the hook to the eye of the needle? See if you can raise the needle a bit and still pick off the loop. I assume you are using the factory recommended system DBx257 / 1738 needles. It is even possible to make the longer Pfaff system 134-35 needles fit into the clamp in the needle bar and raise the bar about 1/8" higher. The distance from the eye to the point is a little longer on these needles, so be careful if you try this. If it works you can get more room under the foot. You will have to increase the foot pressure to hold down that much material. The machine has no tolerance for the material lifting with the needle.

There are straight stitch feet with rollers aligned across the front and back edges of the foot. They fasten like any other presser foot, but take away some bottom clearance. The option for regaining that space is to loosen the screw or screws securing the presser bar, then lower the needle bar to BDC and raise the loosened presser bar until the foot almost contacts the bottom of the needle bar and its thread guide. Make sure the foot si facing straight forward and tighten down its set screws. You can now sew up to the maximum the foot will clear and roll over. Of course,you will have lost ground zero for flat work and must reset the presser bar for a normal height foot..

I'm sorry TinkerTailor, I can't let you do that ...

It's another longshot, but try increasing the length of travel of the check spring. This spring keeps the top thread taut until the needle meets the top layer of leather. If the throw is too short, the thread slack increases until the take-up cycle begins. I normally backtack two or three stitches at the start and end of a sewing job. This locks in the thread and gives more consistent stitches the rest of the way. Also, make sure that when you initially drop the foot lift, that the top tension disk separator arm drops out of the disks and they close hard on the thread. If it hangs for a few stitches you will have very little top tension until it drops down.

Lisa Sorrell would agree. Not only does she talk to it, she even plays certain music for her curved needle machine when she prepares to sew on it. A happy machine sews better and doesn't break needles.

I suggest using a 4-5 oz split to line the guitar strap. I also would consider adding a piece of 1/2 inch thick green foam in the shoulder area. I glue these in with rubber cement, then use a bone folder to flatten the outer edges, then sew it all on.

If you identify where you are located, it sometimes makes answers to your posted questions more meaningful, if the responders actually note where you live. In most cases, it means little to nothing. But, if somebody in Europe makes a request for where he or she can buy parts or machines and a person in the USA thinks that this person is also in the USA, his or her answer may not apply to the person asking for assistance. One way to avoid confusion, which is used by a lot of members living outside the USA, is to simply mention "I live in {your country} and am looking for a supplier of parts for my {brand / model} sewing machine. This way, a person replying in the USA will not necessarily refer you to a US dealer (who may or may not be willing to handle the paperwork and packaging required ship overseas). Americans are not always familiar with European import taxes and the VAT that gets added to all parts and machines imported into these countries. The prices that we are used to paying in the USA can easily double or triple when shipped overseas.

Place an ad in the Marketplace section of LWN, under Items For Sale > Machinery > Sewing and Stitching > Used (link)

Back off the bobbin tension until there is just a slight resistance and a smooth easy pull. Back off the barrel adjuster inside the trapeze shaped lever on top and sew some test stitches. Adjust the top tension disks to position the knots. Add another couple layers of leather and screw the barrel adjuster in to add more lift to the take-up lever. This should raise the knots in thicker leather. If not, add more top tension as needed.

Sadly, most of the sewing machines we use in leather work are not self-adjusting regarding balancing the knots. Perhaps they will be in 2017... Until then, when knots form on the bottom layer, one or more of these adjustments usually helps. Tighten top tension by wrapping the top thread once around the guide post on top of machine. This also counteracts twisty thread tending to twist up out of the center of the top tension disks. Loosen the bobbin tension a half turn at a time. You only need a smooth steady pull on the bobbin. Move up one needle size. A bigger hole makes it easier to pull the thread up. Increase pressure on presser foot. This presses the work down a little more and may help set the stitches inside the material.

You're welcome! As for the needle breaking in a 7-8 oz piece, could the leather possibly contain untanned or raw hide areas? I have encountered this is some 10 - 12 oz Latigo I bought a year or so ago. I was cutting the back to get my straight edge and the blades kept hitting resistance and breaking in a certain area. After slicing it through with a head knife I discovered what I can only describe as rawhide in that section. FWIIW: I have 2 patchers. One is setup with #92 thread and a #19 or 20 needle. The other uses #69 thread and a #18 needle. The #18 gets deflected every now and then by differences inside of layers, or the leather itself. The #20 needles rarely deflect, but I keep them centered in the hole in the plate. Before centering, the needles broke more often. If centering your needle in the hole in the throat plate causes skipped stitches, try adjusting the timing of the shuttle. It is adjusted with a large flat blade screwdriver through the removable cover plate on the lower right front side of the body. There is an eccentric screw that connects the mechanism in the head to the long arm that moves the racks inside the gearbox. Once direction retards and the other advances the timing. Loss of the loop at the eye of the needle can be caused by a weak or broken/twisted check spring on the needle bar, just above the movable needle clamp bracket. Unfortunately, checking this and replacing that tiny paddle shaped spring requires removal of the needle bar from the head. There are a few ways to do this, none of which are much fun.