Wizcrafts

I don't normally recommend dual feed machines for leather work, if any of it involves veg tan that will hold the tooth marks. It is best to stick with triple feed walking foot machines. Smooth feet for the Rex 188 are as rare as hen's teeth. If you do find a set they may cost a fair amount. It would be cheaper to fill in the metal between the teeth, with liquid steel, or some other permanent compound, or braze bronze into the valleys and grind it smooth. This will effectively render the machine as single, bottom feed, with what amounts to a follow foot.

That is a Singer 29 class patcher. I can't see the brass ID tag on the body, but it will tell the actual sub-model. My guess is that it is a one hundred year old 29-4. This machine is known as a shoe patcher. It's job was sewing uppers on boots and shoes and sewing patches onto leather vests and onto jacket sleeves and over pockets. It can only really handle #69 bonded thread. They are top feed machines that feed the work in any direction. This is done by clawing the work with teeth on the foot. The bobbins are the diameter of a US nickel and don't hold very much thread. The stitch length on a factory quality patcher was only 5 to the inch and that occurred at about 1/8 inch. The stitches get shorter as the thickness increases. The maximum they can sew is about 1/4 inch or a tish over. Unfortunately, the moving parts that determine stitch length wear out over time and extended use. A worn out patcher may only be able to sew 8 stitches per inch. If the machine is being sold as the head only, minus the fitted cast iron base, it is only worth about $200, if it sews and isn't missing any parts. If the shuttle is rusted out, or missing, expect to spend about $40 to replace it..Bobbins are about .75 each and a threading rod may cost you up to $10. Some of the driving gears under the arm are no longer made. If the bobbin winder assembly is missing, a used replacement could cost almost $50. If you know anybody who has a Singer patcher, try to take them with you to look over the machine. It could be a diamond, or a stone.

Domestic sewing machines lack the clearance, motor power and compound feed system to move leather along equally on the top and bottom, over over changes in thickness that easily exceed 3.2mm (1/8 inch or 8 ounces). They do not accept industrial needles that are available in much larger sizes, like 200 (US/Singer #25). Further, they cannot properly tension and control thread that is stronger than what we know as upholstery size 69, or Tex 70. Many domestic machines cannot even tension that size thread. Lastly, many domestic sewing machines can only sew very short stitch lengths, which can weaken the leather if too close together. Of course, this depends on the size of the needle and thread. People who sew fancy stitching onto shoe and boot uppers use tiny stitches and tiny needles and thread. This is a whole other field than typical leather sewing done by most here. Therefore, I categorize domestic sewing machines as NOT being leather sewing machines at all. This doesn't mean that they cannot be used to physically sew some type of leather, with some type of thread, at often tiny stitch lengths. As for your second question, about needle sizes, this may or may not be the case. Sometimes, different machines use the same needle "system." They would share needles in any size. But, if you have three sewing machines, all capable of accepting a #200 (US 25) needle, they might use different lengths and systems of needle. You could easily end up with your Singer 29 patcher that requires system 29x3, 29x4, 135x16, or 135x17 needles, a Pfaff walking foot machine that requires system 190 needles, a Singer 45K that uses system 328 needles and a 441 clone that uses system 794 needles. Your question involved a #200 needle. This refers to the diameter of the shank that penetrates the material. The length top to bottom and diameter of the top of the shank varies with needle system. The system describes a needle profile. The "number" defines the diameter of the business end. As for those #200 needles, your shoe patcher will probably not sew with that size. It is just too wide and may be damaged by the hook on the shuttle. Patchers, like your hundred year old 29-4, should not be fitted with such a large needle. It is simply not built to use large thread and needles. There will be problems if you try. Most upholstery machines will accept up to a size 180 (#24), and may even accept a #200 needle (depending on the type of hook and shuttle system and clearances), without breaking something, but not the thread it is matched to. A #200 needle is best used with US #277 (Tex 270) bonded nylon or polyester thread, top and bottom. This thread has a diameter of almost 0.5mm. Most sewing machines cannot pass it around the shuttle and bobbin. In contrast, machines that are built to handle large thread, like sizes 277 and up, and needles over size 180 (US #24), don't do so well with thinner thread and needles. Just my observation.

My first industrial sewing machine was a 96k40. It was one sub-model before this and lacked reverse. If I didn't already have a 31-15 I would buy your 96k41, just to have one.

I classify the 29-4 as a light to medium duty leather sewing machine, meant for sewing shoe and boot uppers and patches on leather vests. It uses needles up to size 130 or 140, but usually we equip them with no more than a #110 needle. The 45k25 is a heavy leather sewing machine, meant for harness, saddle parts, holsters and other hard leather items. It is usually equipped with a large roller foot. It uses large and long needles (sizes 160 through 230) and can handle thread sizes T135 through T350. This is way beyond the capacity of the 29-4, which is limited to about T70 thread. The Singer 45k is sort of the forerunner of the Adler 105. It is a bottom feed machine. The Singer 29 series are top feed machines.

By Consew, in Indo-China

Here you go!

In my first reply in this topic I alluded to this very issue. The outside presser foot bar (aka: "presser bar") is binding when lifted beyond a certain height. This can be caused by any of the following things. Check the chain feeding down to the lift pedal to see if the links are binding, or if the S hook has bent over the tab on the floor pedal. Check the rod along the back from the chain end to the left side of the head for binding. Make sure the separator tab is not binding on its shaft, or jamming in the thread guide loop behind the top tension disks. An off-center hole in the top pressure adjuster, over the presser bar. Turn the adjuster slowly and see if the bar drops at a particular amount of rotation. If so, enlarge the hole a bit. This happened to a couple of 441 machines I've worked with. A bent presser bar. You would have to completely remove the parts in front of the bar and remove it, then roll it on a flat table. If it really is bent, try straightening it. Or, replace it. This is unlikely on a newer machine. Is the lifted outside foot jamming against the inside foot? If so, reposition the inside foot to clear the outside toes. If the inside foot was facing true forward already, the outside foot toes might be misaligned. The presser bar that holds the outer foot is secured with one or two set screws. Loosening them allows you to rotate the bar. This may clear the binding. The crank arms inside the faceplate connect both the inner and outer feet. The slightest misalignment can cause binding, as can a lack of oil on those parts. I recently serviced a 441 machine that had a binding presser bar. The owner didn't know about opening the faceplate to oil internal moving parts. It took a long time to free them and remove the rust.

Vinyl fabric, like many types of leather, is basically sticky on top (except the glossy finish types). It drags under the presser foot, causing the top layer to move out of alignment with the bottom layer. Your stitch length may be shorter than expected and inconsistent.This is bad, because most Class 66 machines don't normally have stitch lengths much longer than 7 or 8 to the inch. You may end up filigreeing the vinyl if the drag is too great. Moving along, the presser foot lift is maybe 1/4 to 5/16 inch. The even feed (so-called walking foot) attachments usually waste at least 1/8 inch of that clearance, leaving you with just over 1/8 inch sewing height. I think that a roller foot would work better. The thread handling capacity is no more than #69 (T70) bonded nylon or polyester. The needle size for that thread is either #16 or #18. A standard sharp point needle will sew vinyl, as will a leather point. You would do well to get a 1.5 amp motor, foot speed control, new drive belt and wiring for sewing vinyl, or denim. It has more than double the punching power as the original. Figure on about $75 to $100 for those items. Forget the attachments. They were meant for sewing light cloth. The only attachment you will probably need is an adjustable edge guide and thumb screw. If the machine faults at sewing vinyl, you can use it to hem your pants and lady's dresses, which is what it was built to do.

Bottom has loops. This can be caused by the top thread lifting out of the payload area of the upper disks, by the top thread getting jammed as it passes around the bobbin case and shuttle, or by the bobbin binding inside the bobbin case. Advanced timing can lead to snapping of the top thread due to excessive tension from a small loop.

If that photo shows the top of the leather and the bobbin tension is steady (not jammed or jumpy, yet not loose), then something is jamming the top thread along the path. Watch your top thread from the spool to the upper disks. Does it twist hard and possibly get caught over, under, or around something (including the thread spool itself)? Is it wrapped twice around the lower disk, then up through the eyelet, then through the check spring loop, up to the take-up lever, down through two guides and the hole in the top of the needle mount? Is the scarf cutout in the needle facing to the right? Is the needle all the way up? More things to check are: does the presser foot move all the way up and down when you lift it with the foot lifter? Does it release the top disks when fully lifted and engage them when lowered? It should do these things. If not, something is binding in the presser foot mechanism. It could be the chain that feeds down to the pedal. Handwheel the machine through some leather with the end cover off. Watch the top thread as it gets pulled around the bobbin case. Does it make a snapping sound as it passes the edge of the shuttle, as it lets go? Top thread getting stuck going around the bobbin and shuttle may be resolved by slightly loosening the two spring loaded screws that secure the shuttle race to the end of the machine. I usually run mine backed off about 1/2 turn. Over...

There is an interior adjustment to match the stitch lengths, probably on the undercarriage, but I don't know exactly where it is. Call or email a Juki dealer, or the dealer who you bought it from.

I worked for a friend in his leather shop and he had a similar machine. It pulled like a son of a bitch, but marked the leather pretty deeply. Other than that, it didn't match the capacity of the compound feed machine I had at home. Both were National brand machines. I believe you will be better served by a regular compound feed machine, like the Consew 206RB-5.

The 205 has top and bottom feed, with teeth on the presser foot. It is primarily a vinyl and cloth sewing machine.

Venator; There are several industrial sewing machine dealers in Toronto, most of whom know Adler machines inside out. Techsew is a division of Raphael Sewing in Montreal and is one of our advertisers. However, I think you should return to the check spring assembly and try again to loosen up the sliding stop bracket on the bottom that acts as a spring travel stopper. Most machines that have that type of check assembly secure the movable stop bracket with a screw on the lower right side. This is separate from the screw that secures the entire assembly to the hole in the body of the machine. That screw lets you turn the assembly, which either loosens or tightens the action on the check spring. You will probably want to tighten it to get the full amount of travel, as limited by the stop bracket under the spring. Where did you buy your Adler? Have you tried contacting the seller for help?

Lengthen the travel on your check spring. It is letting go to soon.

Your experience is similar to what many other people go through as they strive to sew leather on machines. That is why I published the sticky article about "The type of sewing machine you need to sew leather." It is among the other sticky topics on top of the Leather Machines section of the forum (this section). The information in it can save others from going through what I endured, learning about what type of machine it takes to sew real leather projects. To be fair, some old machines can sew some types and thicknesses of leather, with what I regard as upholstery grade thread. In my own experience, this meant about 1/8 inch with #69 thread. It also required changing the presser foot to either a roller equipped foot, or a Teflon foot. Ancient machines, like your 27 type, have a solid presser foot that usually mounts the wrong way compared to modern machines. This requires changing the presser bar to use newer feet that flex, or have rollers or are made of Teflon.

That little spring is very important. Did you run the thread through it until you heard it snap in? pulling up on the thread should lift the top of the spring, if threaded correctly. If this spring was not threaded, it explains your ripped thread problem.

I Googled for close up images of your machine and found this one, which clearly shows the lower left knob has an external "check" spring on its shaft. Your thread must pass through this spring on the way to the take up lever. That spring follows the thread with the upward and downward motion of the take up. As the needle descends, so does the take up lever. The check spring should be adjusted to maintain tension on the thread as the take-up moves down. The travel of the spring can be adjusted by moving some kind of limiting tab on the mechanism where the spring is mounted. Please consult your user manual for better instructions.

Check the travel on the check spring. Too little travel allows the thread to form a semi loop near the point of the needle, on top of the work, leading to thread separation. Too much travel dissolves the loop before the hook picks it up, causing skipped stitches. The check spring should keep your top thread under tension until the needle penetrates the material. then, it should release the tension and allow slack so the loop can form underneath. IHTH.

That is a model 27 and probably one hundred years old. It is not meant to sew leather; just textiles. You would have to remove the original solid presser foot and the presser bar and convert it to a modern foot and bar system. This would allow you to install a roller or Teflon foot to help feed buckskin, which otherwise might not slide under the foot very well.

My US Cowboy holster plate does not have those grooves. However, the standard plate did (past tense), until I sanded them off.

Check the motion of the feed dog relative to the needle and inside foot. It might need tweaking to move in sync in both directions. They have an adjustment somewhere that allows the feed dog to move at a different rate then the top. This is used to ruffle drapes and garments.

I do believe you can duplicate that sewing with a "441 clone" machine. (e.g. Cowboy, Cobra, Techsew, etc), or an Adler 205-370 (recently deprecated) They have cylinder arms that can sew inside bags and can run thread sizes ranging from #92, through 415. Most can clear the entire handle and even sew right through it. The bag in your photo appears to be sewn with #138 bonded thread, which is a middle weight thread that home and most tailoring machines cannot handle at all. The holes suggest that they may have used a #23 leather point needle. If the handle was sewn all the way through, it would call for either #207 or #277 thread. It could also be sewn on a Campbell Lockstitch machine (needle and awl harness stitcher), using 4 or 5 cord Irish linen thread run through liquid wax.

I have a servo motor powering my 1920s Singer 31-15. It uses the stock 16x257, aka: 1738 needles. I have a variety of presser feet and feed dogs, including a complete roller foot conversion kit. I typically run it at about 15 to 20 stitches per second, but can slow it down to 1 per second if needed. This is a tailoring machine. As for needle sizes, I use whatever the job calls for. Right now it has a #12 needle and common 50 weight household thread that was used to hem a shirt. When I sew zippers with it, I switch to a #18 needle and use #69 bonded nylon thread. The smallest needle I have used in it is a #10, but it can take smaller. The largest is a #19 or #20. My machine doesn't like any thread larger than bonded #69. Some 31-15 owners have more modern hooks and shuttles that can manage #92 thread. Not mine ;-( The only time this machine sews leather is zipper replacements on lightweight leather coats. However, it can be used to sew patches onto biker vests, using the roller foot conversion. Again, it is a tailoring machine for garments.