Wizcrafts

More professional leather sewers use Adler 205s than TSC-441s. Dealers who specialize in leather sewing machines usually set the Adler 205 up as a sub-model 374, which has a smooth feed dog. They also offer what we call harness foot sets and special purpose throat plates, which are very useful to holster and harness makers. The Juki 441 is usually configured to sew heavy webbing tow ropes or thick buffing wheels. It will have teeth on the feed dog and both presser feet. An Adler 205 set-up by a leather machine dealer will be mounted on a pedestal table, with a powerful servo motor, feeding a speed reducer pulley, feeding the machine with combined 8 or 9 to 1 speed reduction/torque multiplication. It will usually come with harness feet and a smooth feed dog.

A 200 minimum RPM motor may or may not have a smooth transition from off to 200. Some go directly from zero to 200, with a jerk. This would not be the motor you want. The Family Sew and Toledo SewSlow (formerly known as SewPro 500GR) servo motors have very long tapers from off to on. They both can turn over at a few RPMs. What really counts is the total pulley reduction between the motor shaft and machine flywheel. If you have a 2 inch motor pulley and a 4 inch machine pulley, the top speed is cut in half and the torque is doubled. A leather sewing machine doesn't need to sew any faster than 600 RPM, or 10 stitches per second. This would be into soft leather, not belts. I usually sew belts at about 5 stitches per second, or 300 RPM, on the straight-aways. But, I slow down to one or two per second around the back and the tip. The tougher and thicker the leather, the slower the needle should move. I sew really thick holsters at one stitch per second or less.

Yep. That was it. If you ever decide to change the email address used on your website and here, contact me for a better solution, which the email harvesters cannot usually detect. If at all possible, do not type out your email addresses in plain text, or as clickable "mailto" links. Obfuscate them so people can use them, but bots cannot.

Go to the dealer selling the Juki and try out the machine. Then you'll know if the servo in it will sew as slowly as you want. If it doesn't, the Family Sew servo that is sold by Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines and Keystone Sewing, among others, does slow waaaaaay down. It has a multi-position rotary switch on the front, limiting the top speed from very fast, down to about 350 RPM. You will want one that has a 2.25" pulley, rather than the standard 70mm that are normally on them.

Steve, Steve: Do you know what have you done? Edit your last post while there is still time.

A Singer 31-15 can sew with #138, IF it is a later model, or has been modified to have a newer hook. The one I have is from the mid-1920s and cannot handle #138 thread at all. The shuttle and driver don't have enough clearance and the beehive spring is too light to tension #138 thread for leather.

Most industrial sewing machine shops can sell you the parts needed for different "gauges" of twin needle spacing. But, you'll have to move and time the hooks yourself, unless you have a dealer nearby.

Tom G; The good folks at Kwokhing are probably not going to know what a Singer 111W155 is or looks like. From what I have read from our member, Trox, they only understand current brands and models of machines, especially those built in Chinese factories.

I sewed with clutch motors exclusively, from 1984 through 2009. I got my first servo, a SewPro 500GR, in the summer of 2009, replacing the clutch on my National walking foot machine. The only reason I did this was for easier foot control while sewing around the top of rifle slings. I am able to feather any clutch down to one stitch per second, but holding my foot in that magic place for very many seconds is teejus

A #21 or #22 needle will open up a bigger hole, top and bottom, and that might be what it takes. Still, the top tensioners should have sufficient pressure to bring the knots well up into the material using a #20 (recommended) needle. You should not have to relieve all of the tension on the bobbin. Something is wrong in the tension path or parts. Make sure that the top disks are fully released when the lift lever is down. Sometimes the lifter can hang and keep the disks slightly apart. No top tension results in knots under the work.

If it can't be repaired, it can be replaced.

Heavy Neva Clog B-3/8 staples may hold the round corners in place. If you lack a Neva Clog stapler, a regular 3/8 to 1/2 inch heavy duty stapler can be used, but bend the prongs manually.

Maybe it can be bronze brazed to stay put.

I use double sided leather tape that I buy from Wawak Tailoring Supplies. It's sold in 1/4 and 1/2 inch width x 50 yards.

Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines has patcher parts. I replaced my shuttle driver there, and bought an extra bobbin case, which includes the hook.

You still have Poor Man's Reverse. Just turn the work around and stitch backwards. Or, lift the foot to release the tension, pull the work forward two stitches, then lower the needle into a hole two stitches back and stitch forward two stitches. I do this all the time on my Singer 139-101. Sometimes I just go back and forth between two stitches, lifting and pulling the leather forward one stitch.

Your machine must be modified to use system 190 Pfaff needles. They are 3/16" longer than system 135x17. These needles are good, but bend and break more often if there is anything misaligned between the layers being sewn. If all your work is properly aligned and secured, system 190 needles will allow you to exceed 3/8 inches of thickness sewn. But, since they bend and deflect so easily, make sure that the hook doesn't hit the needles as you sew.

Sometimes I use staples on the edges.

Yep, walking foot, probably compound feed (triple feed).

Right. My bad. The roller occupies a single bottom width of between 1/8 and about 3/16 inches, depending on the size and who cast it. The feed dog can only feed material when there is pressure from the top, via a presser foot. Since the narrow footprint roller is all the pressure on top, it makes sense to use a feeder that lies directly under it, as the other teeth have nothing to work against. However, you can leave in your original feeders if the roller makes good contact with the left-most row. You may or may not get the best feed, depending on the width and aggressiveness of the teeth, and distance to the needle hole from the right edge of the left-most row of teeth. The feeder in a roller foot conversion lies directly next to the hole, allowing you to place the edge of the roller very close to the needle.

Domestic (home) sewing machines are not designed to sew leather that is thick, dense, or large, or requires thread larger than B69 (T70). It doesn't matter what brand name is on the body. If it has drop feed only, and neither a roller or walking foot drive, it is not going to feed leather properly. The result of trying to sew leather that is beyond the handling/feeding capacity of a machine is one or more of the following. Skipped stitches Shorter than usual stitches, or stitches going into same hole and not moving along Top thread knots on bottom, or bunched up on bottom, or wrapped around bobbin Bent and broken needles Bent take-up lever or cranks inside head Shuttle hook knocked out of time Needle bar knocked up, out of time with hook. Ruined leather goods

The cast iron treadle base for Singer patchers are specific to those models, in long and short arm setups. No other treadle base will work at well as the proper one for that model.

You can buy replacement parts from Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines (an advertiser here - see banners), or from Gregg at Keystone, or any other sewing machine dealers who place banner ads on this website.

If you are contemplating buying the motorized machine and converting it to a treadle base model, locate the base first. They are hard to find in the size used by the long arm patcher machines. Also, the base is very heavy and will be expensive to ship.

That motorized patcher on a pedestal stand is worth more than one on a cast iron treadle stand. The stand and motor would cost about 250 to 300 alone.