Wizcrafts

Melco makes hat hoops for their commercial embroidery machines. If you search classified ads for your state, you may turn one up for sale, used, in the $5,000 range (well under half price). Older models with 6 needles can be found at that price.

I own a Singer 15-91. The first thing I had to do after lubing it was to rebuild the potted motor and replace the wires. This became a messy and expensive operation. Then, the foot speed control lost its slow speed range and had to be replaced with a new one. This doubled the cost of the machine before it ever sewed a stitch for me. Your $100 investment could easily double if these items need replacing. Besides, decent running models that have already been rebuilt sell for $200 and up.

Go to your nearest Joann Fabrics and take a look in the Viking sewing machines section. You will find exactly the machine you described, under either the Singer or Viking brand name. The least expensive ones (around $800) require a computer to be connected to the machine to do embroidery. The installed manufacturer's software and downloads from compatible pattern makers loads in to computer, then drives the machine. Without the computer, they only do the usual multitude of fancy or straight stitches. Note, I don't recommend using any of the newer plastic body machines for sewing leather, unless it is very thin (no more than 1/16 inch), and using normal domestic sewing thread, not bonded nylon. These machines are fragile!

I use liquid silicon lube, which is sold in quarts or gallons, from industrial sewing machine dealerships.

Try using a Schmetz #23 leather point needle. Also, run the thread through a lube pot, or buy some pre-lubed thread. This makes it easier to fight the friction and heat. Crank down the pressure spring or springs on the feet. If the leather lifts with the needle it causes skipped stitches and frayed thread. Try using a double toed foot. Reduce the bobbin tension, then balance the top tension.

These are fickle machines. The angle you sharpen on must be correct and go from the tip of the blade, upward about 3/8 inch. This usually means you start with the blade some distance from the foot, so the tip barely gets sharpened. Then, begin moving the blade towards the foot and backing off the sharpening wheel, to create a long taper. Finally, use your deburring sticks on the inside of the spinning blade to get rid of inside burrs. That's how I sharpen the blade on my Fortuna. The rest is a balancing act between the height of the drive wheel, the presser foot and distance the edge of the blade is to the right of the foot. Moving it farther away makes it easier to feed.

That lower roller disk setup is to add a little more controlled top tension, or not. I usually run mine fairly loose, unless I'm sewing something very thick. Then, I'll twist on some spring tension on the bottom disk. You have to double wrap the thread around it for the tension to matter. Get the bobbin tension right, then the top disks, then fine tune with the lower disks, if needed. Also, if the check spring is way too strong, it affects the top tension.

Here is a close up shot of my shuttle, showing the bobbin thread coming out from under the bobbin case tension spring. The thread must feed through the diagonal slot in the case, until it passes under the center of the spring. The spring tension screw is visible on the upper right edge of the spring. If it is too tight to turn, locate the small set lock screw to one side, in a hole and loosen it. Adjust the tension downward for more pressure, until you have to exert a smooth, but definite pressure to pull the thread out of the case.

We have a failure to communicate. The spring that sets the tension is on the outside of the bobbin case. You can see a photo of it on this web page - for the Adler 205-370 compatible model HAD-204 Large barrel shuttle hook. The spring you photographed is a beehive internal spring used to help eject bobbins from the case. Did you get an owner's manual or any documentation with your machine?

Okay, I found some details about the machine. It is a clone of an Adler 205. The bobbin case is much like the one in my Cowboy CB4500. It opens on a hinge pin to insert or expel the bobbin. There should be a long slot on a diagonal, running from the edge of the case to a leaf-like spring. One end of the spring is simply screwed down to the end of the case. The other end has an adjustment screw going through an elongated hole in that end of the spring. On my machine, a set screw locks down the adjuster screw. You may need to use a flashlight to locate a locking screw, loosen it, then tighten the action of the main bobbin case tension spring. It should have a moderate amount of tension, requiring a smooth, but steady pressure to pull the thread out of the case. Most of us insert the bobbin against the direction of the slot, so the thread has to make a sharp turn into the slot. This is done to appease the Hobbits.

Sorry, but I'm not familiar with that model. But, every bobbin case should have a smallish, mostly flat spring at the end of a slot, where the thread feeds through on its way out of the case. You must feed the bobbin thread under that spring to have any tension on the bobbin thread. If you haven't done this, or, if the spring is missing, you won't be able to control the position of the knots.

That machine is a shoe sole skiver. It was not meant to skive craft leather.

If none of the above work, check the bobbin thread to make sure it is feeding under the tension spring on the bobbin case. Tighten the bobbin tension if necessary to lower the knots..

It looks like a tacker machine. No use in leatherwork.

I suspect that the Cobra patcher should be able to use the same size thread as the Cowboy CB29 machines, shown here. It handles up to #138 thread.

Machines that feed up the arm are called "transverse feed" machines. Some are very old designs, others are brand new. All are more expensive than similar across the arm machines. Contact our dealers and see if any of them have a transverse feed machine in working condition, for sale. If you can find a good working Singer or Adler patcher, or a good clone, buy it. The Adler 30-7 and 30-70 sew thicker material than the Singer 29s. But, a new Claes patcher outsews them all!

Take note that the eBay auction is for the head only, for $750. You need to consider that the k-legs, table with proper size cutout, oil drip pan, thread stand, flex lamp, motor and belt are going to add another $300 to $400 to your cost. You'll also have quite a bit of time involved assembling everything and custom fitting any mismatched cutouts. You can buy the entire Chandler unit, assembled, adjusted and sewn off, shipped strapped onto a pallet (or knocked down into several boxes), for about $1300 (shipped).

Don't be discouraged. Save your money until you can afford a real leather sewing machine. It will serve you well for years to come. For most holsters, this suggests either a Juki TSC-441 clone or an Adler 205 or clone.

Yes and no, Andrew. The average straight stitch industrial sewing machine is built for sewing soft material that is not sticky, with cotton or polycore garment thread. I am talking about dresses, shirts, pants, aprons and such. Most of this work is done at very high speed, where time is money. High speed machines need self-oilers to keep them from seizing during long production runs. Springs for both thread and foot tensions are usually light duty, to handle the soft cotton thread used in garment production. That said, some types of straight stitch machines are and were built for heavier and slower speed uses, with beefed up take-up levers and connecting rods, bigger bearings, manual oil ports. Think about the ancient Singer class 25 machines as an example. These are cylinder arm machines, with very heavy moving parts, a large roller foot, heavy duty springs all around, a very large cylindrical bobbin and the ability to sew with #346 thread. Modern equivalents of the Singer 25K series include the Cowboy CB2500, Techsew 3650 and the GA5-1 that is sold under various brand names. These machines are 25K clones, with modern improvements like a reverse lever, harness foot or roller foot option, and tech support (if bought from a reputable dealer). They are priced lower that the 441 clones, and a little higher than the average upholstery grade walking foot machines. With large tooth feed dogs and heavy hold down springs, these machines can lay down a tight stitch into about 7/16 inch of real leather, with #346 bonded thread. The only reason you don't hear more about them is because they leave deep tooth tracks on the bottom and maybe foot tracks on top, both of which can be smoothed out with some elbow grease. Also, some holsters exceed 7/16 inch and these machines just aren't meant to sew, feed, and hold down anything much thicker. One other limitation of the aforementioned machines is that they all use a needle system which has a #23 needle as the smallest leather point available (which is for use with #138 thread). This means no thin work with thin thread (wallet interiors, thin finished wallets, thin pouches, patching, typical zipper replacement, etc.).

This is not the machine you need to sew holsters. Consider its shortfalls in these critical areas. The maximum thickness that can be sewn is about 1/4 inch of compressed material. The longest stitch length this machine produces is about 6 or 7 to the inch, into thin material. It might be only 8/inch at 14 ounces of veg-tan (almost a quarter inch!). It has bottom feed only, with a flat foot that will drag the top grain, reducing the available stitch length. The presser foot spring is not made to hold down this much leather. If the leather lifts with the ascending needle there will be skipped stitches and bent/broken needles, plus a wad of thread on the bottom and maybe a jammed bobbin shuttle. The top tension beehive spring is light duty, allowing for better control of using thin cotton or polyester thread in dresses, shirts and pants. The thickest thread this machine can properly tension is #69 bonded thread, which is too small and weak for holsters. The largest needle commonly available for home machines is a #18 (good for #69 thread) A 14 ounce pancake holster should be sewn with at least #138 bonded thread, with #207 being more secure and better looking. This machine cannot come anywhere near handling those thread sizes. The treadle will probably slip as you try sewing almost a quarter inch of leather. That means it probably won't be able to punch through 14 ounces of veg-tan leather without help from your hand on the hand wheel. The take-up lever is thin steel and all the moving shafts and gears inside the head are designed for the pressure of sewing shirts and pants, not hard leather. These are just some highlights of what that machine will be up against, trying to sew holsters. You will end up with using undersized thread, skipped stitches and thread wads on the bottom. If you jam the shuttle with top thread that didn't get picked up properly, it will knock the poor machine out of time. Please read my sticky topic in the top of this section of the forum, where I explain the differences in drive mechanisms and what type of machine you really need to sew leather.

Yes, as long as the machine is able to run at slow speeds, under 600 or 800 rpm without running out of oil. Some modern straight stitch machines must be run over 2000 rpm to distribute the oil to the important extremities..

Prisoners also use these portable walking foot machines, which they pay for with money earned while in jail, then take home, if/when they are released. Then they become instant sewers/leathercrafters, until they offend again and end up back in the joint. Don't become a prisoner, buy a real industrial sewing machine, not a Thompson or Alphasew mini walking foot machine.

If you hand stab the holes through 5/16" veg with your stitching awl, you'll understand how powerful a machine would need to be to do the same with just the needle. Not only must the machine punch through the leather, it must also hold it down as the knotted threads get pulled up inside the layers. You are probably using 4 to 6 cord waxed linen thread now. Most machines don't do well with waxed thread, so we use bonded nylon or bonded polyester instead. The closest equivalent sizes of bonded thread would be #277 or #346. Only the biggest stitchers can properly handle these sizes of thread, while still forming a well positioned lockstitch and holding down the leather as the needle ascends. Ferg accurately described the solution. You are probably not going to find such a machine on Craigslist, or eBay, unless it is a Juki 441, Adler 205, or clone. We have dealers who support the LWN forums and they have ad banners at the top of every page. Reloading a page loads a new set of banners. The big three represented here are Cowboy, Cobra and Techsew. I'm not sure if Consew produces a 441 clone. If they do, it may not be setup as a leather sewing machine. Why bother when the three brands I mentioned are already available, set up for leather and properly equipped to do so?

I care. That's why we have this forum. You're a member just like the rest of ussens.

Remove the top thread completely. Remove the front face plate by loosening the two large screws holding it to the body (upper right, lower left). Raise the presser feet with the hand lift lever. Locate the presser foot bar (to which the outer feet are connected. Using the hand wheel, position the presser bar so that you can access the screws that secure it in position. Use a screwdriver or hex wrench as needed to loosen the screw or screws that clamp the presser bar. When they are hand loose, without raising or lowering it, rotate the bar slightly until the toe or toes are facing straight ahead. Test this by installing the double toe foot. With the toes facing true forward, lock down the screw or screws on the presser bar. It is also possible that the inside foot is screwed on at an angle. If this appears to be the case, loosen its screws (slotted screw or Allen screws) and turn it until it faces straight ahead, then lock it down. Using a precision oiler, place a drop of oil into every little oil hole you can find on both ends of each moving shaft and crank inside the face area. Do this internal oiling once a month. Carefully replace the faceplate, making sure you get the black lever with the slot cut in the end directly over the pin on the back of the head. That pin is connected to the foot lifter shaft and causes the lever to move up and separate the top tension disks. Tighten the faceplate bolts and thread the machine. The feet should all face straight ahead now.