Wizcrafts

Hmmm. Light weight, soft lambskin leather. I sew that on my Singer 139w101 walking foot machine every now and then. You are smart to want a Juki, as they are quality machines built in Japan. But, even better, some models of their walking foot machines have what they define as rectangular drive. This defines the motion performed by the feed dog, which I understand is user adjustable. By carefully balancing the motion and lift of the feeder, those Jukis can sew thinner and softer materials than typical upholstery class walking foot machines. Here is a quote from the Juki web page for their DNU-1541 class machines.

Those spacers are a nice idea, but only for people using a straight stitch fixed foot machine. The O.P. has a walking foot machine that exceeded its preset alternating foot lift height. The adjustment Gregg offered will increase the lift of the inside and outside feet, allowing him to walk and sew over thick seams in jeans.

Be careful if you buy one of those cylinder arm machines with a binder attachment. Some have a feed dog that only acts as a lower thread guide, but does not lift above, or even close to the top of the throat plate. Those machine will not feed leather properly. Make sure what you buy has compound feed, with a feed dog on the bottom moving in sync with the needle and inside foot, while the outer foot just lifts and lowers to hold down the material.

Avoid all of the straight stitch tailoring machines if you want to sew holsters. This is the entirely wrong "class" of machine. The "entry level" for sewing pancake, or concealed holsters not much thicker than 5/16 to 3/8 inch, is an upholstery class walking foot machine, with compound feed. Preferably, you would want one with a large M style, or better yet, a Juki LU style bobbin and hook. All of this class can sew with #138 bonded thread. Some can even handle #207 thread. Note, there are new machines of this type that far exceed the capacities of the older walking foot, upholstery class machines. These machines are made by Juki and Adler. But, be prepared to take out a bank loan to buy one. If you really intend to go into the business of holster making, forget about the medium grade and move directly up into the super-heavy duty, type 441 leather stitchers. The primary dealers for these machines run paid banner ads on top of every page of Leatherworker.net. Our supporting them by purchasing machines, parts and accessories from them, keeps this wonderful forum alive.

Tor; Are you suggesting that this (as yet non-existent) lower needle guide would move like a normal feed dog, but would stay under the plane of the throat plate at all times? If so, an accessory smooth or toothed feeder could be modified so its vertical position slot allows it to drop down out of the way. This would require grinding down the curved bottom of the feeder and slightly increasing the upper length of the height slot, to let it drop farther down. It will probably still have enough usable vertical range to raise it up for normal use. The clamping screw might need a lockwasher between the screw head and the feeder shank, to lock it down against the pressure of the inside foot and leather. I suppose that someone willing to experiment on an extra feed dog might come up with your solution. I don't know about 441 clones in .EU, but most of them sold in the US and Canada have the smooth harness feet and feeder installed and the Juki presser feet and feeder with teeth in the accessory bag. Somebody who isn't using, or planning on using these so-called blanket feet might try modifying that feeder to drop down out of the way of the slotted and stirrup plates. Interestingly, my smooth feeder does not make contact with the bottom of my holster plate, so I can leave it in place without lowering it for that plate. But, it will not drop down far enough to clear the slotted or stirrup plates. Final note: my "blanket" feed dog (with teeth) has a more or less round needle hole that is nowhere near as wide as the smooth dog with a long slot in it.

The motor only turns when you apply pedal to it. The combined sound of the servo motor and speed reducer is nowhere near the level of sound of a typical clutch motor that spins all the time. I don't even notice the reducer, aside from the power boost it gives.

You don't know the Amish. It is what it is.

The machine should have a stitch length adjuster. If it does, set it to as close to zero as possible at the beginning and end of the stitching. Sew about 3 or 4 in place chain stitches, then turn it up to your preferred stitch length and sew to the end. Zero it again at the end, sew a few in place, and you should be locked in. Or else, use a dab of hardening glue at the start and end of the chain. Another way to lock the starting stitches is to sew one in, then pull the top thread end across the top of the skins and sew the loop over it. Locking the other end could be done by sewing past the end, pulling it out close to the feed wheels, flipping it over 180º and sewing back over the last inch of chain stitches.

I have one machine that is powered directly by a FS-550 and another with a FS-550 going to a 3:1 speed reducer, then up to the machine. Both motors are fitted with 50mm pulleys and are unmodified. The direct powered machine has a maintainable slowest running speed of about 1.5 stitches per second. But, it is trivial for us to do single stitches and stop needle up or down. The other machine, with the reducer, can actually be kept at the blazing pace of one stitch in 10 to 12 seconds (it has a bigger flywheel pulley). The only practical use for such a slow speed is to watch exactly where the needle is going to hit, which is useful when doing repairs to previously sewn work. More useful is simply turning the speed limiter switch to the slowest setting and flooring it. This gives us a steady speed of one stitch per second. This is useful when I sew fishtails or other patterns onto belts and straps. In hindsight, I should have had a speed reducer installed on the other machine when I ordered it. Adding it on now will require repositioning the bobbin winder and possibly enlarging the belt slot in the custom cut table. Do I recommend speed reducers for leather sewers? You betcha! The ones now for sale from our member-dealers should all have ball bearings, rather than the old style sleeve bearings. If you are buying a new sewing machine and the dealer offers a speed reducer installation option, take it. You'll save yourself a lot of trouble later on.

The Family Sew FS-550, fitted with a 50mm (2") pulley will do that easily. You can get even more punching power by adding a speed reducer between the motor and machine. They are sold by industrial sewing machine dealers whose ad banners appear on top of the pages on LW.N.

Type 3L belts are 3/8 across the top, hence 3L designation. They are sold by industrial sewing machine dealers. You are unlikely to find them at auto parts stores that usually stock 4L (1/2 inch) belts for car pulleys. But, I just remembered that you made your own motor pulley. Measure the motor shaft and order a 2" replacement with the correct inside diameter from an industrial sewing machine dealer, along with the new, shorter (3L) belt.

Replacement servo and clutch motors all normally ship with type 3L pulleys. The Family Sew motors I got from Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines were fitted with 50mm (2") 3L pulleys. The shaft ID is about 1/2 inch, I think. Clutch motors usually have 3/4" shafts. But the pulleys I have are all for 3L v-belts.

I don't know your setup, but the standard pulley and belt combination for industrial sewing machines and motors is 3/8 inch; Type 3L. 3L belts are available from every industrial sewing machine dealer in the World. In the USA they come marked in inch designations. In Canada and non-SAE countries, they are marked in metric notation. Type 3L v-belts can be purchased in one inch increments, from the low 30s through the high 60s and beyond. I have a peg full of them in my shop, ranging from 38" through 59". If your previous 46" belt was too long after installing a smaller motor pulley, order a 44" 3L v-belt. Or, remove the C-clip from one side of your existing round belt, cut off the necessary amount to get a tight fit, punch a 1/16" hole about 1/4" in from the new end, push the open end of the clip through the hole and use your pliers to squeeze it down.

There are a lot of times when I use a size smaller on the bottom. One in particular is on 9 - 10 oz belts when I add decorative edge stitching. I'll use 207 on the bottom and 277 on top. Once I get to a quarter inch I usually run the same size on both sides, for added strength per stitch. This is especially true for the holsters I sew. I go out of my way to tell the customer how many pounds of strength each stitch possesses.

I almost always use the same size thread on top and bottom.

That narrow space only exists for about 5 inches or so. Then, it begins to expand as you progress down the arm.

Have you read the specs on the Cowboy CB3200? It's much less costly than a 4500 and sews up to 1/2 inch with very heavy thread..

Another reason for the price difference is that the Juki LU-1508 series is a premium, current line. While the straight N sub-model can be had for as little as $2200, some of that series sell for over $3,000, depending on the bells and whistles attached to it. The 1508NH is just one step down from the CB3200 in capacity (it uses a longer needle system).They are made in Japan and parts are readily available. Also, they have a unique rectangular feed dog motion that helps maintain matched feeding on the top and bottom, no matter what material you are sewing. The Adler 467 will do about the same as the 1508N, but sewing over 3/8 inch all the time will be running it at its limit. Both have larger than standard bobbins and hooks. Being an older machine, make sure the Adler wasn't rode hard and put up wet.

I did a little searching and found one dealer that shows that system 176x1 is the same as the commonly available DBx1, which is also sold as 16x257 and 1738. I use those needles in my serger and my Singer 31-15. They have a thin shank and are quite short. I know that Bob has DBx1 because I bought a bunch of them a year or so ago for my 31-15. They are available in ballpoint, sharps and leather points. The worst thing would be you might have to move the needle bar slightly if the new needles are longer or shorter than type 176x1. I may have read that information wrong. It appeared to be a needle matching chart, but isn't. So, DBx1 might not fit after all.

Call Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines, one of our advertisers, at: 866-362-7397. Bob Kovar will either have those particular needles, or an equivalent system.

Sometimes, when I am only able to hold onto the top thread tail, the knot will get pulled to the top on the first stitch. Other times, the knot may be entirely on the bottom. Holding back both threads equally almost always centers the starting knot.

I was unable to find your blog, or the article you mentioned. As for prices for the various machinery, it is hard to say anything without having a knowledge of that particular industry. I'm sure they cost a lot more than most of us could conceive. What does one ask for a used machine that sold originally for $12,000? Have you considered hiring an auctioneer? He would place ads and arrange for the location of the sale. Auctions can be a winner or loser for the seller. But, if you list these huge machines on eBay, people may want them packed up and shipped. If you advertise on Craigslist, only people in your area may see the ad. Or, you can place an ad in our Marketplace, under Sewing Equipment, Used. List them all, with good details about each machine, then outline your desired prices, or ask for offers. Another line of thought is to show the price you paid, or retail value for everything and accept a certain percentage for the entire lot. If the buyer removes them you are so much further ahead.

I can't tell you if anything is missing based on your photos. You'd need to do close ups of the various areas. As for capacities, I have the same model in my shop and can tell you that they cannot exceed 1/4 inch, or 6mm on your side of the pond. The thread size should be kept at T70 bonded thread.

The LU-563 is a standard upholstery class walking foot machine, from the late 1980s and early 1990s. I owned two of them from 1987 through 1992. They were quite happy sewing with #138 bonded thread, using a #23 leather point needle, all day long (keep it oiled!). They were somewhat less happy when I tried sewing with #207 thread, using a #24 leather point needle. Don't try using larger thread than 207, or a larger needle than #24. Every industrial sewing machine dealer in the World stocks system 135x16 (leather) and 135x17 (round/sharp) walking foot needles. I buy mine from Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines who advertises here (see banners). All of the dealers advertising on LW.N have these needles.

Masters Contact cement (for shoe soles) dries really quickly. Apply one or two light coats, 10 minutes apart, wait 10 minutes, smack em together and sew. If tape or glue is a problem, run your thread through a lube pot filled with liquid silicon.