Wizcrafts

The Pfaff has very similar capabilities as the Singer 153. It is built for medium duty sewing, with #138 thread and under. It can be pushed to sew into thicker material by changing to Pfaff system 190 needles. Other than that, unless something is worn out, it is a very good and fairly quiet sewing machine. I owned a flatbed, zig-zag Pfaff for a short time. Very smooth, albeit very expensive for replacement parts.

I have one of those also. I use it rarely, on tight pockets, or on patches with yellow or gold borders. I keep it threaded with yellow-gold #69 thread. My main 29k172 patcher has four spools sitting on the thread stand, but is usually used with black (#69 only).

I used mine to sew curved items, like vest arm holes, bags, pouches and purses. The old Singer industrial sewing machines often hold up for a 50 to one hundred years, with periodic maintenance (oil, lube, clean, adjust) and if not badly abused. It won't hurt to ask the seller to try wiggling the needle bar and presser bars to see how much lateral slack they have. Nothing should bind, either during operation, or when the feet are manually lifted. With the vbelt removed, one should be able to lift the feet (via a lever or pedal), then literally spin the hand wheel with your right hand and have the needle and feet cycle once through. Mine did. The 153 can sew #138 (T135) thread, top and bottom, using a #23 (160) leather point needle (Schmetz is best). The bobbin is only a standard size, so you won't sew too many belts before needing to swap bobbins (with #138 thread). Some members here are able to tension their 153 to use #207 on top and 138 in the bobbin. Everything needs to be cranked down hard. It stresses out the poor old machines. But, they chug along anyway.

The Singer 136x100 is a light to medium duty post machine. It is best limited to #69 (T70) bonded thread and under. You would use #18 (110) leather point needles with #69 thread. Cowboy boot makers use these machines to sew patterns onto boot uppers. Typically, they use #33 bonded nylon thread with a #12 needle. Post machines are also very good for sewing hats and caps.

I read the ad for the Singer 153 cylinder arm machine and I can tell you as the former owner of one, it cannot sew 20mm, as stated in that ad. It can only sew up to 10mm (~3/8 inch).

Call Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines and ask for a shipping charge quote based on your type of building and location. The number is 866-362-7397.

I would run the feet at minimum alternating height when sewing cloth and vinyl. Then, raise them if necessary to clear new layers when sewing leather.

It could be the needle itself, squeaking due to friction inside the leather. This can be caused by very dry or dense leather, or by a needle that has material stuck onto it (glue, basting tape, leather particles). Change the needle (Leather point only) and try again. Also, make sure you are using the best size needle for the thread combination. For #277 thread, that would be a #25 needle. If #207, use a #24 needle. If the noise persists with the thread removed, but only with the needle in, dethread the machine, remove the faceplate. then sew empty holes. Try to locate the source of the noise inside the front face of the machine. Maybe it is the presser foot parts slightly out of perfect alignment. Dink with the pressure screw on top to try to fix this. Oil everything inside the head, then leave a drip cloth under the foot. It will really help if you can actually isolate what parts are squeaking. I had some squeaking in my speed reducer at one time. Oil helped. If it turns out that your thread or leather is too dry, you should get a lube pot to mount on top of the machine. Then load it with liquid sewing silicon and run the top thread through it.

On most walking foot machines, lowering the movable crank arm in the curved slot on the back makes the feet lift higher and raising it does the opposite. Higher lifting feet can walk over thicker new layers. But, the added motion causes some imbalance and forces you to slow down. When you are sewing upholstery, the material is usually very thin, with new layers typically under 1/16 inch higher or lower than the existing layer. For smoothness and higher operating speed (time is money in upholstery), shift the movable crank arm to the lowest lift position. You will still be able to walk up and down 1/16", but the machine can sew faster and smoother, with much less pounding. Change your stitch length to at least 5 to the inch, or even longer if the distance between stitches is less critical for puckering. Back off the top and bobbin tensions as necessary to reduce puckering with long stitches. Use bonded nylon for inside-only goods and bonded polyester for sails, tents, awnings, banners and outdoor cushions. Titanium coated needles are your friend here, especially if you use double-sided basting tape.

Don't forget to back off the tensions on the top, check spring and bobbin. Then add tension back on top or bottom as needed. Use left twist only. As I mentioned before, Puritan sells a clear liquid wax, called Ceroxylon. Campbell-Randall makes Lax Wax, which is a milky liquid. Both are meant for use in wax pots on machines sewing with Barbour's linen thread.

None of the shoe patchers are meant for production. If you care to post your planned projects by material, thickness and density, we can offer some better alternatives. For instance, if you are sewing belts, straps and flat items, not much exceeding 5/16" inch total thickness, with #138 bonded thread, a standard industrial walking foot machine can usually sew them. Holsters, weight belts, saddle bags, pouches, cases and knife sheathes are best sewn on a full size harness stitcher, which has a cylinder arm, special harness feet, huge bobbins, and sews up to 7/8" with the thickest of commonly available thread.

That machine in the picture is not a 29k anything. It is pre-k and only has the solid barrel take up driver. The K models had an adjustable take-up system, via a threaded part protruding inside the top rack, which forced the take=up lever to stay raised. I would say this machine is possibly older than the 1920's. That said, anything made of metal can be fixed and brought up to specs. I once had a 1920 model 29-4 that gave horrible stitch length. I disassembled the head and applied bronze brazing to the puck that rides inside the round ring. After filing, sanding and then buffing it to a polish, I got a solid 5 stitches per inch into 3/16" of leather and only slightly less at the maximum of 1/4 inch. Still, even at 5 stitches per inch, the machines are only patchers. The bobbins are tiny, the thread handling capacity very light and they still cannot sew more than 1/4 inch. Every leather repair and shoe shop has at least one (I have two 29k types).

It is worth maybe $400, if it is in good working condition. By working condition, I refer to not only a freely turning hand wheel and butterfly shaped presser foot direction knobs, but a maximum stitch length of between 5 and 6 stitches per inch into 1/8 inch of leather. A tight machine will produce up to 5 stitches per inch. But, a hundred+ year old model 29-4 may only be able to move the leather 1/8th inch per stitch (8/inch), which is unacceptable to most of us. If this turns out to be the case, expect to spend a lot of time and money bringing it back up to normal sewing specs. As for capacities, a Singer 29-4, if that is what it is, can only sew up to 1/4 inch of leather. It uses #69 bonded nylon thread and system 29x4 or 135x16 leather point needles, primarily sizes 16 and 18. The bobbins are tiny, but can hold enough #69 thread to sew two thin belts. Do not even consider a 29 type as a production machine. These are patchers only. They are used to sew patches onto vest, fix purse straps, throw in a few missing stitches here and there, sew over missing thread on shoe uppers, and even sew new zippers into thin jackets or pants.

I use my Cowboy CB4500 sometimes to re-sew leather soles and sometimes thick neoprene soles onto biker and cowboy boots and even dress shoes. It depends on how wide the flange is on the top sole. If one is making shoes from scratch, one could have the soles protruding out about 3/8 inch from the body, providing plenty of room for a right toe presser foot to make contact with the outside of the sole. In my case, I got a special paddle shaped right toe foot for my CB4500, from Bob Kovar (Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines). It has a paddle on the front the wraps around to completely cover the sewing path and inside foot. After sewing, one could trim the soles on a 3 in 1 machine.

Doug; 3 cord is more like #138 bonded in diameter. I wouldn't try using anything less than 5 cord, left twist, Barbour's in any closed eye machine. That will require a #24 or #25 needle. Back off the top and bottom tensions for the softest tug on the upstroke. Puritan's Ceroxylon might be a better wax in this instance. It dries clear and flakes off parts, whereas Lax Wax is milky and a little stickier. Do not mistake liquid silicon thread lube for thread wax. They are different altogether. Wetting the thread make it break more easily until it dries. Running it dry defeats the purpose of using linen thread in the first place. Real waxed linen or nylon thread will gum up the works on your machine. If the machine is not designed to operate with wax on the take-up and feed components, it will be totally gummed up, or maybe even damaged. Get a needle and awl machine for sewing linen thread.

I have have no success running 4 or 5 cord Irish linen thread through my CB4500. The mechanism is too brutal and breaks the thread, especially if I run it through Lax Wax (Campbell) or Ceroxylon (Puritan). It is possible that 6 cord left twist Barbour's Irish Linen will hold up better. The wax is like rubber glue and fowls up the tensioners and needle. I recommend getting a Union Lockstitch, or Campbell Randall needle and awl stitcher if you want to sew with Barbour's Irish Linen thread. They are designed to use that thread.

This is what I refer to as "Poor Man's Reverse" - which is the only reverse I have on two of my 6 industrial sewing machines. None of the needle and awl harness stitchers have reverse, nor do shoe sole machines.

The cheapest sewing machine that is fully capable of sewing 3/8" of leather or Biothane would be the Cowboy CB2500, which is bottom feed only, with a 10.5" cylinder arm and the capability of sewing with thread sizes 138 through 415, using needle sizes 23 through 27. It sews up to 7/16 inches of material and sells for around $1000, without reverse, or about $1300 with reverse, plus shipping. The next better option would be the newer CB3200, which has triple feed, just like the bigger, more expensive machines. It sells for $1600, plus shipping. That machine sews 1/2 inch, with needles up to #27, which is big enough for sewing #346 bonded nylon into Biothane. If these prices are too high for your budget, the next best option would be to find a used upholstery grade compound feed machine and settle for using #138 bonded thread. These machines can be found on local ad sites for anywhere from $500 to $1000. Note, old Singer 111 types do not usually have reverse and are limited to just about 3/8", if not slightly less. Newer upholstery machines will sew through 3/8 inches, with #138 thread; possibly even #207, if the machine is in very good condition and the hook is readjusted to pass thicker thread.

I'd suggest you look into a 441 clone, like the Cowboy, Cobra and similar large body, cylinder arm machines with extra heavy duty parts. Examples are Cowboy CB4500, Cobra Class 4. Based on my own experience, you may have to use one size larger needle than would suffice for leather.That is because Biothane tends to heal the bottom of the hole. Thus, to sew Biothane with #277 bonded thread, top and bottom, I'd probably use a #26 needle, rather than the usual #25.

Carol; You can buy type 794 and 7x3 in packages of ten needles from dealers who's banners appear on top of our pages. They can mail them anywhere in the World. It will be a lot cheaper than buying 100 needles in .EU. You can also buy them on eBay, from sellers in .EU.

It would be a good idea to rotate the outside foot so it's inline with the indie foot and not hitting outside the throat plate.

You're better off relocating this ad in the Marketplace section, under Sewing Equipment, Used. This is the wrong place to sell stuff.

I'm happy to have been of help to you. Now, go back to the proper needle/thread combination.

You definitely should be able to easily pull the work out (usually backwards) with the presser feet all the way up (by knee, foot, or hand lever). With nothing being sewn, simply engage the presser foot lift pedal or knee lever all the way while watching the upper tension disks. They should open up and allow the thread to flow with almost zero tension. Failure to release the disks can be due to excessive upper spring tension, where the thumb nut is screwed in so far there is no room left for the disks to separate. If this is what's happening to you, back off the top tension until the disks can separate enough to let the thread pass freely. Go to the bobbin case and back off the spring tension screw until there is just a slight amount of tension on the bobbin thread, as it comes out the top. The bobbin thread must not be jammed. If it is, investigate to find out where it is binding. If you have backed off the upper tension nut and still cannot get the disks to separate with the (foot/knee) lifter, call Ronnie on Monday and ask for assistance troubleshooting the lift mechanism settings. This is inside the head adjustments and I won't delve into them on your new, warrantied machine. If the 2700 has a top facing bobbin that drops in, there is probably a "latch opener" arm that has a single screw adjustment. Ronny can talk you through any changes to that arm. It's job is to pull the bobbin case tab forward to let the top thread pass freely. It also has to release the case at the right moment to let the thread finish its trip without getting hung up by the latch opener. If the top thread does get stuck on the opener finger, your tension settings go down the toilet. If the bobbin tension is good, this could explain why adding more top tension doesn't help.

LRanger; Make sure you check the top thread path to ensure that it hasn't risen up out of the middle of the upper disks. That will cause birdsnests due to no top tension. Also, always hold back the threads, or at least the top thread, for the first three stitches. Reverse not lining up with forward is correctable with adjustments to the machine, which I won't touch on here. But, you can try to equalize the stitches yourself using this method: Use the hand wheel to lower the needle until the point just reaches the feed dog hole. At this position both feet should also be fully down. If the inside foot is raised above the feed dog, do the following: Loosen the large straight blade bolt on the knuckle on the back of the machine, which is driven by a vertically movable crank shaft coming out of the body. It's not the crank arm you need to adjust, but the bolt on the top rear. This bolt tightens down the shaft that moves the presser feet. When you loosen the big bolt the outside foot will snap down, if it isn't already down. The inside foot will be movable by hand. Push the inside foot down with your finger until it is solidly against the feed dog (with the outside foot down all the way). Tighten the big bolt. What this does is to more or less equalize the lift of the feet, in sync with the point of the needle. It often is a simple way to also match forward and reverse stitches, all else being set correctly inside the machine. Your machine has 10.5 inches inside the body. If the backtack stitches still won't line up, use the Poor Man's Reverse. Spin the work 180 degrees, sew three stitches, then spin it back and sew to the end. Repeat the reverse direction at the end. This is how it was done on industrial sewing machines from the time Noah emerged from the Ark.