Wizcrafts

Stickandtin; Look at the banner ads on the top of every page on LWN. There are quite a lot that are leading to industrial sewing machine dealers who support the forums through advertising. All of them are reputable and very knowledgeable dealers. Click through and see what each has to offer for the types of sewing you want to do. All of our member-dealers ship at a reasonable price. Most can be reached on the phone, during their business hours.

The Adler 105 is a step up from the Pfaff upholstery grade machine and is a step below the (Adler 205 or Juki 441 or the 441 clones) heavy leather stitchers many of us here use. The two machines your cousin is selling are perfect for starting in the sewing business. The Pfaff 545 is a superb upholstery machine that sews leather up to 3/8 inch, or 7/16 inch, depending on which needle "system" it has been setup to use. It is best limited to using bonded thread sizes 46 through 138, although it might be able to handle #207 once in a while. The Adler 105 can sew up to about 1/2 inch and should be used with thread sizes 138, 207, or 277, with respective leather point needle numbers 23 (160), 24 (180), or 25 (200).

The Juki LU-563 (and small bobbin 562) were designed and built using 1980's technology. Things have changed markedly since then. Even the feed dog system is different on new Juki machines (rectangular drive). Adjustments are easier to make and return to. The hooks are much higher quality. Reversing actually sews into the same holes on newer Juki, compared to the 563s that I owned, and forever had to adjust. But, if you can find a later edition of the LU-563, that has not been abused and was properly setup and adjusted, it would make a good starter machine for an upholstery shop. Older walking foot machines with reverse levers tended to float their stitch length at higher operating speeds, limiting their usefulness to about 25 stitches per second, maximum. Newer machines have conquered this and will allow one to sew longer stitches at 2500 stitches per minute, or about 41 stitches per second. At these speeds, long runs on boat covers, awnings, tents, banners, couch covers, etc, can be done more quickly. In professional upholstery, time is money. While upholsters (especially cloth only) prefer to sew at very high speeds, leather crafters cannot do so. Any leather other than genuine upholstery hides tends to heat up the needle and burn the thread at any rate faster than about 10 stitches per second. When I sew long cloth or vinyl jobs at work, I turn the speed dial on the FS-550 to maximum and floor the foot pedal. My edge guide takes care of keeping the lines straight.

All DNU-1541 machines have a reverse palm lever under the stitch length dial. This model is in current production and is a high quality machine. The old LU-563 is ancient by today's Juki standards. The 1541 has a double capacity bobbin. The only Juki that outperforms it is the LU-1508N or NH. They sell for about $2,200, plus or minus, with a servo motor installed. An upholstery shop with skilled sewers might prefer a clutch motor with a large pulley, for constant high speed operation, where time is money. This would save about $50 off the price of an assembled machine and table. I would recommend the servo, especially the Family Sew 550s. It is easily controllable from about 1.5 stitches per second, up to maybe 25 per second. All depends on the diameter of the motor pulley.

Juki sewing machines are made in Japan, as I believe are Seiko. The most popular current Juki model for upholstery and medium weight leather sewing is the DNU-1541s. They sell for around $1600 - $1800. You probably won't find much that's any better at that price point. Check with our advertiser-dealers first before you buy from parts unknown. Dealer support can be the difference between a day or so, versus a week or more, of downtime when something goes wrong.

Sometimes, wrapping the thread once around the needle will stop thread breakage and skipping problems caused by left needle deflection. It's worth a try and if it works, is a quick fix.

Once you clean and lube it, then replace any badly worn parts, you are going to love the machine. Just remember that it is a patcher, not a production machine and not a holster machine either. The correct needle systems are 29x4 or 135x16. The original design of the 29x4 is no longer made. Now, everybody has switched to 135x16 needles. Also, don't break it by using thick thread. Stay with T90 or T70. Needle sizes 100, 110 and 120 and 125 should handle those thread sizes just fine.

The Singer 29 machines are known in the shoe trade as patchers. They are used to repair shoe and boot uppers, to sew patches onto vests, repair purse straps and even install zippers into leather garments. Because they have universal feed and a very long, narrow snout, a patcher can sew things over and onto a pocket without sewing it shut. The limitations are the extra small bobbins and low lift of the presser foot. A Singer patcher's foot may lift up to 5/16" as it operates, but cannot sew that high. It requires some clearance to pull the material along and jump forward for the next stitch. Thus, I find Singer patchers are really only effective at sewing 1/4 inch of leather. One might be able to eek out a tad more on webbing, or vinyl that is slicker, by helping the machine feed the work. I wouldn't do this with any leather that is easily marked by the teeth on the foot. While it is possible to load #138 thread into these "bigger" bobbin models, it only goes a short distance relative to standard walking foot machines. This size thread stresses the machine beyond its design criteria and will cause premature wear on the entire drive and take-up system. Replacement parts aren't cheap, nor are they made by Singer anymore. I find that the current offshore parts are not a good fit in my two patchers and require modifications. To avoid wearing out a patcher, try to limit your thread size to #92 (T90) maximum. If you don't require any more holding power than 11 pounds per stitch, use #69 bonded thread, which goes much farther and creates less wear and tear of the machine.

The #18 needle is the biggest you'll want to use with #69 thread. The #20 needle is for #92 bonded thread. If you want to sew with #138 thread, get some #23 needles. Use leather point only for anything tougher than garment or light chap leather.

I neglected to mention in my last reply that the kind of thread (little spools of cotton or polyester) used in domestic sewing machines is smaller and softer than most thread used in walking foot industrial machines. It is normally sewn with needle sizes 11, 12 and 14, with 14 being the largest needle of the three. In contrast, a #14 needle is close to the smallest size usable in a walking foot machine, like the CB227R. The springs and take-up mechanism are not usually balanced for such soft, thin cotton thread, because upholsters and leather workers deal in much heavier threads.

That changes things regarding the range of thread and needles you can use. We thought you had a big Cowboy CB3200, 3500, 4500, etc. Your machine is an upholstery grade walking foot machine, using a smaller size and range of needles and not capable of sewing with anything heavier than #138 on top and in the bobbin. There is a possibility that it will handle #207 on top, depending on how it was set up by the seller. Your machine uses standard walking foot system 135x16 (leather point) and 135x17 (round point) needles. They are widely available is sizes 14 through 24. There may be some dealers who even have smaller and larger needles in this system, which is 1.75" long. Your machine is much smaller than the big "441" type most of us thought you had and our descriptions were off the mark. You still only have one tension disk for the top thread. However, since the machine uses smaller needles, you can buy variegated thread (multi-colored) and use the appropriate needle for it. As for needle/thread sizes, if you took a sewing class at Joann Fabrics, they mainly use domestic machines, with the exception of the long body quilters' machines, which are a step up. All of the domestic sewing machines can handle very small and soft thread. Zig-zag home machines accept a twin needle and some may even have a second tensioner on top for a second thread. Your CB227 does not have have zig-zag, cannot accept twin needles. What needle sizes and thread sizes came with your machine? What are you sewing on the machine and what are your plans for it?

I cannot imagine why somebody with a machine capable of sewing with #346 or 415 bonded thread would even want to sew two #138 stitches instead. #415 thread is almost 1 mm thick. The tensile strength is almost 60 pounds per stitch. #138 thread only has 22 pounds breaking strength. Double stitched, you get two rows of 22 pounds strength. The best that can provide would be 44 pounds combined. One stitchline with #277 thread accomplishes the same strength, with less to go wrong.

The 12/80 size needle is typical for cotton thread sewn into broadcloth, shirts and ladies skirts. A #12 needle cannot be used in normal leather work, or on a 441 type machine, like a CB3200. But, amazingly, it might be used by a Western boot maker (in a post or flat bed machine) to sew decorative patterns onto boot uppers with #33 bonded nylon thread. Actually, the first number is not just a US designation. It was the sizing system developed by the Singer sewing machines company, more than a century ago. A 441 type machine uses system 7x3 round point and 7x4 (794) leather point needles. The smallest size I have been able to get are #19/120. These needles are so long that the thin shank on a #19 is easily deflected and extreme caution is needed to avoid bending or breaking them. I use them to sew with #92 bonded thread, which I found to be the practical lower limit for my CB4500 and for a Cobra Class 4. Sometimes I can get #69 to sew, but it requires so many readjustments to the tensioners and check spring as to be impractical. Rather, I use other machines (patchers) for such minute thread.

The 29k172 is the Last Of The Mohicans in the Singer patcher line. It has a removable gear box, long arm and large bobbin. The long rack inside the arm is adjustable via an eccentric inside the lower part of the body. It is used to set the timing of the hook. The take-up lever has a threaded barrel inside the trapeze on top. That adjuster affects the minimum lifting height of the take-up lever. I find this useful for getting the best stitch in thick or thin leather, or leather that has been held together with double sided tape. Thin leather without tape doesn't need much help from the adjuster. The adjuster has numbers starting at 0, representing how high the lever is forced to raise on the up stroke. Thicker or sticky leather or vinyl definitely benefits from turning it between #2 to #3.This causes more thread to be presented for the next stitch. It seems to help preserve the loop that might otherwise dissolve too soon. This adjuster on an Adler 30 is labeled Dick and Dorf (thick and thin), I think.

When you get back to the machine, back off the top pressure adjuster screw (over the presser foot). Stop just shy of it popping out of the head. That will lessen the pressure on the foot and lift parts. If it's still hard to raise the foot via the foot pedal, something is mis-adjusted or binding in the lifter path. Sometimes just rotating the top pressure adjuster a few degrees can free up a slightly tight or binding presser bar. They hole may have been bored off center, or the presser bar could have a woop-de-doo on it up top.

I'm your huckleberry.

FYI: Most of us with big sewing machines will run test stitches every time we change thickness, leather, thread, or needles. If I'm edge sewing into a belt that is skived on the buckle end, I back off the top tension a turn until I reach the full 10 - 12 ounce area. Then I add that tension back and continue around the belt, until I reach the thin end on the flip flop. Back off a tad and stitch over the first 3 or 4 stitches. Much of this is done by feel, visual inspection after x many inches, and just getting used to your machine and the thread.

If your machine was setup to place the knots in the center of a 1/2 inch stack, when you sew a 1/4 inch stack the knots would be too high with the same tension adjustments, thread and needle.

That's not too bad. Just back off the top tensioner a half turn and see if the knots drop down a little more between the layers. When you received the machine, how thick was the stack of sewn off leather under the foot? Was it sewn off with the same needle and thread as you used in your example?

Also, can you see anything on the outside-rear side of the machine that is preventing the lifter rod from moving down at the back end and up at the front? Is it perhaps binding on the big pivot bolt holding it to the machine? Is the lever that separates the top tension disks jamming the lifter due to not being placed squarely on the round stud on the lifter, near the front of the machine? Or, might that disk separator be jammed against the thread guide by the top tension disks?

Okay, the problem lies between the lifting bar and the presser bar. You'll have to remove the faceplate to troubleshoot this. If it is held on with two bolts, remove the top thread, loosen the bolts holding the faceplate to the left side and pull the plate off. Lie it down with the inside face down, so the bolts stay put. With the face plate off, locate the presser bar, which is the rear most bar that goes down to the outer foot. It's downward pressure is controlled by a hollow threaded adjuster screw directly on the top of the head, with the presser bar protruding from the hole in the adjuster. Loosen the locknut on the adjuster and unscrew the adjuster, then remove the pressure spring that surrounds the presser bar. The presser foot and bar should now be movable with your fingers. You will find a solid metal block inside the head, screwed onto the presser bar. When you engage the hand lift lever (with the ball knob), the block will move up. Note the distance between the bottom of the block and the crank on the end of the foot lifter rod. Move the rod and see what is blocking it from lifting up the block as the hand lifter does (but higher). When you see what is wrong, loosen whatever screw is holding it too far down and free it. Lower the hand lifter and push down on the presser bar on top of the head. Reposition the lifting piece on the foot lift mechanism until it is just under the lifting block. Tighten that piece in place. Reinstall the pressure spring and adjuster, hook up the chain if you had removed it and test the foot lift pedal. It should move freely and lift the feet almost as high as the fully raised tip of the needle. I'm not at my shop and cannot give you any better help without opening up my CB4500 and hoping the parts are the same as your machine. My terminology is just user terms, not technical labels from a parts manual. If in doubt, post some close up photos of the presser bar and the parts mounted to it, inside the head, with the faceplate removed.

Thread #277 is very close to .5mm in diameter. It takes at least a #24 needle to pass that thickness freely. In practice, the hole a #24 needle makes is sometimes a bit too narrow to bring the knot from the bottom thread well up into the bottom layer. It depends on how dense the bottom leather or material happens to be. So, most of us with a 441 type machine will use a #25 needle, which definitely pokes a wide enough hole for both the top and bottom thread to move as required. The relationship between various needles and thread is demonstrated on the needle and thread chart on the Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines website. You can use it to select the best needle for any given size of thread in common use.

I'd be following the path from the chain, to the pivoting long rod on the back of the machine, to the place where it makes contact with the lifter block that raises the outside "presser" foot. If the block is set too high, the presser foot bar may not be getting lifted by the floor pedal. If the hand lifter releases the thread tension but not the foot pedal, that is most likely what is wrong.

Think of the bottom roller as a kind of momentum brake. The stroke of a 441 machine is very long and quite violent at at the moment the take-up changes direction. Without some type of damping, the top thread could develop slack fro shock in the wrong places resulting in unpredictable thread binding hassles. As the thickness of the thread increases, the affect that the bottom roller has increases. It can add to the overall top tension due to friction between adjoining windings. The bottom roller disks also maintain a smooth flow to the check spring.

Why not just use a larger size needle and thread to start with? My CB4500 can handle up to #415 thread. That is almost 1mm in diameter.