Wizcrafts

I use a serger when I hem cloth pants, skirts, etc. If you tune it up and sharpen the blade, it will lay down a nice overcast stitch on denim jeans.

Be aware that parts for these ancient Singer 45 types are few and far between. Make sure you know what you are getting into. Missing screws may have to be custom turned.

All of the missing parts are available as aftermarket items. They may or may not fit without modifications. If you can locate old used, but not abused parts they may fit better and work with less binding. I tell you this from personal experience.

Bridles can be really thick on certain areas of the straps. I repaired one yesterday that was about 5/8 inches thick. Neither the 2500 or 3200 would have sewed that thickness as easily as the CB4500 (if at all). Anybody sewing horse tack for customers is bound to encounter these really thick junctions. But, if your Son will be only making his own tack, he can limit the thickness to what the machine can handle. As for a good learning machine, the forward feed only CB2500 will force him to learn the Poor Man's Reverse. Then he can learn to smooth out the tooth marks and needle hole puckering on the bottom.

Yes, tacky cement can cause skipped stitches. Ditto for Venture leather tape. Since I use the tape a lot, I switched to titanium coated needles on both patchers and on my long body Singer 139 walking foot machine. Unfortunately, there aren't any available for the big 441 clones yet. You may be able to compensate by using lubricated thread.

Nice work! I'm not surprised that the Consew handled it this well.

Sometimes the simplest errors in reassembly can cause the biggest grief to the sewer.

You should ask Cobra Steve what size bolts they're tapped for. He may even have a pair of bolts.

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.