Wizcrafts

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.

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.