Wizcrafts

You can do the Poor Man's Reverse. Start about 3 stitches forward of where your first stitch will be. Hold the threads taut. Bury the needle. Lift the feet enough to move the leather. Spin the work 180 degrees, sew three stitches. Spin the work 180 and sew through and past the first stitch, holding the threads taut. Let go of the thread. Repeat the reversal at the end, backtacking 3 stitches with the leather reversed. The above is how I sew on my industrial machines that don't have reverse. There is another way to lock the starting and ending stitches that doesn't require any reversing at all. It was told to me by elves from Narnia. This system works best on machines like big 441 type stitchers with a single lever for forward, reverse and stitch length. Set the stitch lever to the zero length position. You can learn where it actually is and mark the stitch length plate with a Magic Marker (again, from Narnia). At the zero position, sew three stitches into the same hole. Stop with the needle up. lower the lever for your desired forward stitch length and sew to the end. When you sew the final stitch, but before the needle moves forward, zero the lever and sew two more times into that hole. Voila: locked starting and ending stitches!

Compound feed walking foot sewing machines must have two feet alternating up and down. The inside foot and needle moves up/down and forward/backward. The outside foot moves up and down, opposite the action of the inside foot and needle bar. If the feet on your machine are too wide to let you sew close to a particular designated position, look into getting narrower feet. I have managed to buy very narrow zipper foot sets on eBay. One is left toe and the other right toe. Either will work on a Consew 206RB-x. As for Cobra Class 4 and Cowboy type harness stitchers, there are special left or right toe outside feet available. The inside foot is always about the same width. They are triple (compound) feed machines.

I used to have an Adler 204-370. This is the same machine as the Cowboy CB-243. If you think the CB-243 is too expensive, at $2900, try finding a new or unused Adler 204-370 for under $5,000.

I don't think that you are going to get the same feeding of thin cloth as canvas, vinyl, denim and leather, on the 1541. You may have to lower the presser feet to their minimum alternating lift. Back off the top pressure screw over the presser foot. Then, load standard garment weight cotton or polycore thread into a bobbin and readjust the bobbin tension for a minimal pull tension. Back off the top tension to center the knots. Use a #12 or 14 round or sharp point system 135x17 Schmetz needle. Your biggest enemy will be the large needle hole in the feed dog and the rectangular cutout in which it moves. Your friend is Juki's new square drive feed dog, if your machine is so-equipped. Ask Ron. I think with reduced foot pressures and thread tensions, you can sew light cloth, with testing and practice.

Glad to help, Hanna. I know you are going to love your new Juki! Tell Ron Wiz said Howdy.

Gregg; Your revelation about the different shank diameters on type 214/328 needles explains why the GA5 type machines are only offered with a range of needle sizes from 23 through 27. This includes the Cowboy CB2500 and other clones of the Singer 45k. One cannot simply find a smaller needle and pop it in, without first changing the needle bar. Or, find a needle bar with a clamp needle mount, like the old Singers used.

Patchers are meant for repairs to shoe and boot uppers and for sewing patches onto vests and over pockets. They have very narrow throats, either 12 or 18 inches in length. There are two bobbin sizes: small and tiny. The small bobbin holds about half as much thread as a standard class 15 bobbin. The tiny bobbin holds half as much as that. The mechanisms are designed for thin shoe thread, typically size 69 bonded nylon. They will handle #92 if you can get the tensions right. Even with thin #69 thread, the stitch length of a patcher with zero wear is only 5 per inch, at 1/8 inch thickness. The stitch length deteriorates as the thickness increases. The maximum thickness that can be sewn is about 1/4 inch. As patchers are used and abused, the stitch length driving mechanism wears out. A typical patcher that was used in a shoe shop will only sew 7 or 8 stitches per inch after 50 years of use. Some won't even sew that length.

You will definitely need a walking foot machine for this work. It needn't be the heaviest duty machine either. Just an upholstery class walking foot machine. Any one of our member-dealers can ship to Canada, Duty Free (for industrial sewing machines). Techsew (Raphael Sewing) is located in Canada, in Montreal.

I'm pretty sure you will need either a roller or walking foot machine. Either is within you budget. Can your work be sewn entirely on a flat bed, or do you need a cylinder arm for parts of the project? How thick, in total?

You are correct! The Eye Of The Needle. I still think about Donald Sutherland's character every time I thread a needle on my sewing machines. Das ist die Nadel.

Here is an enigma for you, Constabulary. Tell me if you know what film this is from: "Hier ist die Nadel." Translate it for our English speaking friends.

I have a very similar machine; a 31-15. Despite my best efforts, the largest thread size that clears the shuttle and bobbin case without snapping or binding is #69. I tried opening up the shuttle to clear #92, but it caused skipped stitches from the excess slack in the hook to shuttle driver positioning. Mind you, my 31-15 is first generation; 1920s. Your 31-47 may be newer and may allow thicker thread to pass around the bobbin case. Don't push it if you hear a distinct snap as the thread goes around the bobbin case. That is the beginning of the danger zone.

For $395 more, plus shipping or gas to Toledo, you can buy a brand new, setup, fully adjusted and sewn off Consew 206RB-5.

Not that I have ever seen. Contact the seller about this. Something has shifted inside the machine and may be binding the mechanism; possibly from impact from rough handling or being dropped. Or, if that didn't occur, the machine may not have been setup and adjusted before it was sold to you. Where did you purchase the machine? Was it "drop shipped" from the Orient?

Never heard of it. If you are remotely interested in it, call the seller to arrange to test the machine. Take your material with and see how well it sews it. Also, ask what size and type of thread the seller has. There's little sense in sewing heavy webbing with light weight thread and a tiny needle.

I have a Singer 31-15 at home that I use for garments and flat work sewing. It has a wide range of presser feet available, including a full roller foot conversion. Although it's manually oiled, the machine is still capable of spinning at over 30 stitches per second, into denim. A Juki DDL-8500 would be nicer, but I have no commercial need for such a machine in my situation. Still, the thought of controlling a sewing machine capable of sewing 90 stitches per second stirs my imagination.

I guess what you are finding is that being a leather sewing forum, nobody here uses those garment machines. You would be better off contacting an industrial sewing machine dealer who carries Juki machines. I know that Raphael/Techsew is a Juki dealer, located in Montreal. They are also an advertiser here.

You are describing a welting or piping foot set. The outside foot is the presser foot and the inside foot is the alternating or vibrating foot.

I consulted the thread/needle chart on the Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines website and found the .6mm Tiger thread is just slightly larger than the diameter of #277 thread. Technically speaking, you could use a #25 leather point needle to sew with #277 thread on top and #207 in the bobbin. But, your hook and latch opener may not allow #277 thread to go around the shuttle without binding, unless you apply some creative filing and polishing to the parts. The hook is not designed with that size of thread in mind. It will be a crap shoot if you can get #277 to sew on your machine. The standard limit is #138, top and bottom. Consulting the chart, I see that #138 thread is .414mm in diameter. This is the safest large thread for your machine, unless you modify the hook. You would want to sew it using either a #22 or #23 leather point needle. The maximum thickness it will sew properly is just under 10mm. It depends on thow your presser feet are adjusted. If the feet are at their maximum working height, you will sew up to 3/8" (10mm). Otherwise, you may be limited to 5/16".

It is a "Pinned" topic among others, on the top of this forum: The type of sewing machine you need to sew leather

Your machine takes system 135x16 leather point needles and 135x17 round point for cloth. They are sold everywhere industrial sewing machines are sold. The typical walking foot machine is best limited to using #69, 92, and 138 bonded nylon or bonded polyester thread. This corresponds to needle sizes 16/18, 19/20 and 22/23 (tight/standard holes). You can use the smaller of the two sizes when sewing soft leather and the larger for denser leather. Smaller holes make tighter lockstitch "knots" and vise-verse.

I refurbish and sometimes sell old iron body sewing machines. I can tell you for a certainty that none of them can sew over 1/8 inch (8 ounces) of veg-tan leather without extreme difficulty and then, only with very thin thread. The machines are not built to sew any leather tougher than garment or chap types. The feed is via teeth on the bottom only. This simply doesn't move leather along without it dragging on the presser foot, which must be cranked down hard to prevent the leather from lifting with the ascending needle and thread. Please read my sticky topic about the type of machine you need to sew leather, then adjust (upwards) your budget and target machines.

If you have a Singer 132k6, it is a heavy duty machine. You can sew dress belts, but not with the thinnest of thread. I would recommend starting with #138 bonded nylon thread, using a #23 (160) leather point needle, of the same needle "system" as the machine is set up for. Hopefully, you got a package of needles with your machine and that package will have the system as well as the size on the front. When I owned a 132k6, I was able to sew with up to #346 bonded nylon, using a #26 leather point needle, into 3/8 inch of leather. But, if the project was a belt that I had polished on top, the presser foot slid on the top without helping to transport the belt for the next stitch. The result was stitches varying in length. If your belts are not highly polished, this probably won't be a problem for you. It will be much easier to sew with #277 bonded nylon, or less. Use a #25 needle, or smaller, to match the top/bottom thread. As Constabulary recommended, review the thread and needle chart on Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines' website..

A CB3200 from Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines would probably handle all your work, up to 1/2 inch, and thread sizes up to 415. Best of all, it sells for under $1600 (plus shipping).

I read the listing and noticed this important declaration: This is a new machine factory packaged in original box with new accessories and instruction manual. It doesn't say if they have opened that original "factory" box and setup or tested the machine. You better ask them before buying it. I would not assume anything.