Wizcrafts

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.

I have a few observations based on your comments Danno. First, the thread lying flat on the bottom can be caused by the following misadjustments: Bobbin case spring way too tight Top thread spring way too loose Top thread too springy, causing it to flip out of the center area of the tension disks (no top tension) Needle too small to pull knots up into leather Normally, the bobbin thread tension spring is set for a light, even pressure when you pull on the bobbin thread. If it is very hard to pull the thread that emits under the tension spring, something is binding as the thread leaves the bobbin. It could be a burr on the spring, or maybe the thread has unwound around the bobbin inside the case, or you left too long of a starting stub after cutting it off with your thread snippers. Also, if the bobbin case has an anti-backlash spring inside it and the bobbins are just a little on the wide side, the case and anti-backlash spring could jam the bobbin against the shuttle face, adding a lot more tension than you expect to have. Always prove the bobbin tension after pulling the thread up through the feed dog hole. Issue #2 can be fixed by adding more spring tension to the top disks. Screw in the adjuster nut to add more pressure from the beehive shaped spring. Improvements are usually noticed right away, unless issue #3 exists. Issue number 3 is trickier. This happened to me last year, as I was sewing. It is a known secret among professional leather sewers that a lot of times a spool of black thread will unwind like a coil spring. These windings tend to form twists and even knots along the path to the needle. One day, as I was happily sewing long strap on my walking foot machine, the top thread started bunching up under the leather and motion ground to a halt. There was zero top tension! When I followed the thread back from the needle to the top tensioner, I found that the thread was literally sitting on top of the disks, rather than down inside them. It was black #138 bonded nylon thread and it unwound like a clock spring. First, I tried looping the thread around a post on top of the machine, which added back tension, which helped pull the thread down into the business area of the disks. But, due to its springiness the thread formed another loop around the post and jammed the machine to a halt, filigreeing the leather. When this kind of trouble happens and you have no other suitable thread to change out to, you find unusual solutions. My unusual solution, which I am still using, is to feed the top thread under the little 1/16" diameter steel pin that keeps the top tension disks in alignment. The disks have a little semi-round cut-out that flits over the little spring-pin. My thread feeds straight through the top post, winds around the three hole guide over the right side of the tension disk assembly, goes under the little spring-pin, then a sharp turn up to the left and around the tension disks, then down to the check spring assembly and on to the take-up and feed down guides. With this configuration my top thread has never again twisted itself out of the top tension disks. The sharp turn up from the pin adds more tension, so I no longer feed through two holes on the top post. It simply isn't required any more. I explained in the last paragraph that some thread is more springy than other threads. This is especially true of bonded black nylon, which is often redyed from a dark blue to black. I now keep different brands and batches of black thread on hand, purchased at different times. Some is springy, some is less so, some not at all. Bonded polyester tends to be much softer and less springy in all colors I have on hand. As for the needle sizes, #69 (T70) thread is usually sewn with a #16 or #18 needle and usually produces a great stitch in thin materials, like Naugahyde and garment leather and motorcycle patches on vests. However, if the tensions are decent, top and bottom (no jammed threads), but the knots lie under the leather, and the machine is properly threaded and the top thread has not lifted out of the top disks, increase by one needle size for a larger hole. If necessary, you can even try sewing with a #20 needle. Matching your reverse stitches can also be fine tuned by changing the timing of the alternating presser feet on the back of the machine head. In my photo below, the big six sided bolt locks down the timing of the feet, while the nut-secured sliding piece, that moves in the curved slot, controls the amount of lift the raised feet have. By loosening the big bolt, and rotating the shaft connected to it, you can adjust the moment when the inside foot makes contact with the feed dog to happen just after the tip of the needle passes the top and begins to enter the hole. Do this while the needle and inside foot are on the down stroke, without material under the foot. You will probably have to adjust it a few times before you zero in the stitch length to match in forward and reverse.

I used to have two old Singer post machines, both equipped with roller feet. I used them to make leather caps and cowboy hats, as well as to sew moccasins. Most of the newer post machines can sew with up to #138 thread, whereas my old ones barely handled #92. Cylinder arm machines can be had in light, medium and heavy duty constructs. A shoe patcher (Singer model 29 and 29k) is what I would call a light duty cylinder arm machine, capable of maybe sewing no more than 1/4 " of leather with #69 or #92 thread. A Consew 227 type machine, such as the Cowboy clone that I pictured in my previous reply, can sew all day with #138 thread, up to 3/8" of leather. A big Cowboy, Cobra, or Techsew 441 clone cylinder arm machine can sew up to 7/8", with #346 thread, and even #415, using huge needles resembling porch finishing nails in diameter.

Yes, a needle feed machine, slowed way down, with a slotted Teflon or roller equipped presser foot will serve well for most flat work and linings. Just make sure you buy feet with a long slot between the toes. Some straight stitch feet just have a fixed position hole, which would be a disaster for you. Also, most of those machines are meant to sew shirts and have small needle holes and dog teeth. If that machine doesn't do what you want, or runs too fast, sell it and buy a common, manually oiled straight stitch with a fixed position needle.

I use different sewing machines for different tasks and materials. I have found that my large Cowboy stitcher does not do as well sewing with thin thread and with heavy thread. I have to dink around more than it is worth to change over from sewing with #277 to #92. Tis better to keep a medium duty walking foot machine for middle weight jobs, small thread and small needles. Also, long needles bend more easily than short ones. So, I use a harness stitcher for holsters, a walking foot machine for thin flat items and a shoe patcher for sewing in different directions, or on top of pockets, or inside sleeves and legs.

I keep a straight stitch machine, with a servo motor and a big variety of presser feet, for such projects. A few nights ago I used my Singer 31-15 (a straight stitch, bottom feed only machine) to sew a lining that had separated, inside a pair of leather pants. I then sewed the fixed lining between two layers of garment leather. The machine was threaded with #69 bonded nylon and I had a flat, roller foot equipped attached to the presser bar. The little rollers allowed both the satin lining and garment leather to feed without any binding whatsoever. The machine is equipped with a medium tooth feed dog and a round throat plate hole big enough to clear a #20 needle (I only used a #18 needle for this job). My National walking foot machine might have eaten the lining, because of the way the feet work and the largish oval hole in the moving feed dog.

This is a cylinder arm machine: This is a post machine:

Palermo; If you do buy a 441 type machine with the intention of sewing soft or thin leather, also get the accessory flat slotted throat plate and some packs of thinner needles (e.g. #18, 19, 20). You'll need to remove the feed dog and standard plate to use this plate. It has a long, narrow slot for the needle to move the work. The width of the slot is much smaller than the hole in the feed dog. That large hole causes skipped stitches and stitch length inconsistencies in soft garment leather and other soft materials.

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