Wizcrafts

This forum is for discussing leather sewing machines. Your for sale ad should go into the Marketplace, under Machinery - Sewing and Stitching

If you change to a 2 inch pulley, the original belt will be 2" too long. You should locate the length that is stamped on the existing belt (e.g. M42, 3L43, M44) and buy one that is 2 inches shorter. The v-belts used on industrial sewing machines are type 3L. A Teflon foot (with a long slot between the left and right toes) will work fine until you forget to keep it lifted after you pull the material out and drop it down on the teeth of the feed dog (personal exp). As long as you don't let the feeder teeth hit it, this is your cheapest solution. I would buy a couple so you have a spare when you forget to keep it off the teeth. I am looking at a roller equipped foot I bought for my Singer 31-15. It has SPK-3 etched into the side where it mounts to the presser bar. There is a roller inside the front of both the left and right toes, plus four rollers across the middle of the back, behind where the needle stops. It has a long slot to work with either a needle feed or a fixed needle straight stitch machine. I probably paid under $20 for it. While the feed dog teeth can't hurt it, the rollers being lower than the bottom of the foot prevent all of the foot from making contact with the material. This allows some materials to lift with the ascending needle, causing puckering or even occasional skipped stitches. The roller foot conversion comes in two sizes. The smaller wheel lets you get in closer to the needle and lets you turn sharper corners. They work very well on soft and medium temper leather (e.g. shoe uppers, vests, zippers in leather jackets, thin belts, et al).

A servo will allow you to dial down the speed, especially if it has a 2" pulley, rather than the 4" that you probably have now. Garment workers usually sew at 30 to 50 stitches per second. Soft leather is best sewn under 15 stitches per second (-800 rpm). Veg-tan should not be sewn faster than about 9 or 10 per second (~600 rpm). That said, your machine may clear 1/4 inch of soft temper leather, but will need either a Teflon or roller foot to feed it evenly. There are both roller equipped presser feet and roller wheel conversion kits available.

Your square drive machine is not square driving, or else the needle is flexing too much. Check the needle feeding system for excessive slack. Make sure that the presser foot lifts completely off the leather until the feed motion comes to a halt. It must not be down as the needle is feeding.

You haven't listed your location in your profile. Where is this stuff located?

The needle feed I referred to is a straight stitch, bottom feed only machine. The needle pulls the material in sync with the feed dog. This system provides positive feed for light weight material that has few or no thick seams. These are production garment making machines that typically sew at 30 stitches per second or faster. Hence, the need for an oil pump and gasketed oil pan. Walking foot machines can be double or triple feed. Double feed involves the outside foot moving in sync with the feed dog, while the needle and inside foot only go up and down. These feet usually have aggressive teeth. Triple feed means the outside foot lifts and lowers as the inside foot and needle move in sync with the feed dog. Most leather sewers use a triple feed machine with smooth bottom feet. Needle feed garment machines are able to sew cloth and lining material without ripping it or getting it caught in the bottom needle slot. Normal straight stitch machines are only bottom fed, and have very small needle holes. A roller equipped or Teflon foot is a must for sewing leather or other sticky materials on a straight stitch, static needle machine. Walking foot machines tend to be harsher on light fabrics and linings. The feed dog is typically 1/4 inch wide, with an elongated or oval needle hole in the dead center. The hole is much larger than the needles, allowing for variations in the needle's position as it moves and flexes. One can still use a walking foot machine to sew light cloth if one relieves most of the pressure on the feet and the thread, top and bottom.

Common enough that I developed some new, custom swear words! I actually put a funnel over one spool of black thread to keep it from twisting over the thread guide on top of the thread stand.

If you get a needle feed machine, change the presser foot to one equipped with rollers on the front and back (or a good quality Teflon foot). This will prevent the soft Plonge from gathering as it feeds. You will definitely benefit from an easy-to-control servo motor, preferably with a rotary speed limiter dial, rather than up/down sequence buttons. Note, that needle feeders are garment factory machines with oil pumps that are meant to spin at 2000 rpm and higher. However, sewing leather goods is done at very slow speeds, typically less than 600 rpm. You may need to occasionally remove the top thread from the take-up lever onward, raise the presser foot, then spin the machine at high speed to distribute the oil to the extremities. Most walking foot machines are manually oiled through numerous holes and can run at very slow speeds. Some are built for lighter duty goods and would be a better match for sewing soft leather goods. Such machines would have a smaller hole in the feed dog and lighter pressure and thread tensioning springs. You probably will not be sewing with any thread larger than #92, or cotton/polyester T80 to T100 jeans thread. Contact our dealers who advertise on or contribute to the forums and ask about a light duty walking foot machine, with a servo motor, setup for soft, thin leather. They will steer you in the right direction and stand behind the machines they sell you.

Use a home sewing machine for thin cloth projects. Or, buy an industrial straight stitch machine for this work. If you have long stitch lines, like several feet at a time, a high speed machine (3000+ rpm) will save time and money. Do not try to sew leather, or short runs on a high speed machine!

A #20 needle is way too big for #69 thread, in most cases. I use either a #16 or #18 needle with such small thread. A number 20 needle is okay for #92 bonded, or #80 to #100 cotton-polyester jeans thread.

Buy the longest arm machine you can afford. You will thank me later.

It is a CB3500 rebranded and set up by Ryan O'Neel, who runs Neel's Saddlery in Lima, Ohio. It has all the capabilities of a CB3500 and would make a great holster sewing machine. It does have reverse built into the stitch length lever. Just go up to sew in reverse. Note, you can buy a new CB3500 for about $2100. Hopefully, this used machine has plenty of bobbins, needles and thread for $1700.

I own both a 31-15 and a walking foot machine and I strongly recommend that you test the Consew 225 and buy it if it works as designed. The 31-15 is a tailor's machine that can be altered to sew leather (change feed dog, presser foot, throat plate, add more clearance in shuttle driver, dink with bobbin case retainer ring). The 225 is already made to sew leather, up to 3/8 inch, with up to #138 thread (possibly even #207 on top).

Nope. It is a chainstitch blindstitch garment hemming machine.You need to do more research on what a leather sewing machine is and isn't. Have you read my pinned topic at the top of this section of the forum? Chandler does make a nice, entry level walking foot machine, called the 406RB

Negative

You are not going to find a new industrial sewing machine for "a few hundred bucks." Check your local Craigslist for used industrial sewing machines. Get what you can within your budget, then buy any parts or accessory feet needed to get it to sew wallets. Try to find a walking foot machine in good working condition. I have seen them sell on Craigslist for as low as $400 to $600, from upholstery or tailor shops. New, these are often worth $1200 to $2000. Stay away from high speed garment sewing machines with self oilers. They need to spin at a minimum speed of about 2000 rpm at the machine to get the oil distributed to all ends. You cannot sew leather that fast. Most leather is sewn at no more than 600 to 800 spm (stitches per minute), with most of our members usually sewing at less than 300 spm. Also, the domestic machines sold on eBay as "Industrial Strength" are just glorified home machines being marketed with a fancy phrase. They may or may not sew your wallets at all. If they do, it will be with a maximum of #69 bonded nylon thread, which is only 11 pounds test. Still, this is okay for thin wallets. You will be responsible for taking care of repairs, accessories and parts, when you buy from a private party (not a dealer). As a first time sewer you will encounter your share of problems. If you purchase a machine from a reputable dealer, they will usually assist you over the hump.

Gregg is too modest. Thanks. FYI: Gregg sells industrial sewing machines and attachments of all kinds, including custom made edge guides. He stocks a bunch of good motors. Gregg needs to think about placing an ad banner on LWN.

I thought you already had a walking foot Consew 206RB-?. If not, here is a link to read its specs. That is a perfect machine for heavy cloth, canvas, webbing, denim and medium density leather (up to 3/8 inch thickness). Your old straight stitch machine will do shirts and cloth pants. I use an old Singer 31-15 tailor's machine, or an ancient Singer 66-1 for flat work with cotton thread. Now, here is a heavy duty leather sewing machine that can easily handle #277 (and more), into over 3/4 inch of real leather.

Yep. They are sold as a 3 piece kit.

BINGO! The smooth round nut IS the pressure adjuster! Turn it clockwise for more, or counterclockwise for less foot pressure. You'll have an easier time turning it if the foot is all the way down, rather than lifted (personal experience).

kpkpkp; Based on what you have been describing, you'll need three machines: A heavy duty stitcher, like a 441 or Adler clone, for use with #277 thread and thick materials. A walking foot machine for jeans, canvas and upholstery. A straight stitch, light duty, high speed, cloth sewing machine that handles thin cotton thread without breaking it.

I can sew medium weight cloth shirts and pants on my walking foot machine, which is similar to your Consew. However, you'll need to back off or remove the top pressure spring and loosen both upper and bobbin tension springs and use a very small needle that best suits the thread (e.g.: a #12 round point needle with #40 or #50 cotton or poly-core thread). The bobbin spring should just exert enough tension to keep the thread from unloading by its motion (install backwards to rotation). A star shaped anti-backlash spring inside the bobbin case helps prevent unloading of the thread with rotation and with sudden stops & starts. Reduce the upper tension to place the knots inside the shirt. You should be able to sew two layers of cotton or similar cloth using this technique. Note: if your Consew has a heavy duty upper tension beehive spring, it may not be easy to balance the top tension against a minimal tension bobbin thread. You can order a lighter beehive spring from Bob, or borrow one from an old domestic sewing machine. FYI: I use a separate machine that is just a straight stitch, bottom feed machine, for flat cloth sewing. The springs are lighter, the feed dogs are finer and the hole in the throat plate is smaller than the big hole inside the feeder on a walking foot machine.

Yep, a 31-15 is the ticket. I put a roller foot conversion on mine and use it at home to sew with #92 thread, into garment or chap leather. It is great for installing zippers.

To clear up some confusion from another member, the L shaped bar is not used to adjust the lift of the foot during normal sewing. It is a darning foot lifter, which raises the foot well beyond its normal range of motion, allowing one to pull the material any distance they desire. This allows for temporary stitching, like 2 or 3 to the inch, or you can use it to cross over rips (darning). Because the foot is lifted so high by that rod, the tension disks are released on the upper tensioner. That is why a second set of disks is mounted on the front of the machine. This set never gives up its tension. The bent rod is lifted by the edge of the knuckle that holds the needle bar, on its way up. The normal sewing lift is controlled by the sliding puck containing the butterfly nut and its bolt on the back of the head. At the maximum lift, the top tension disks should not be opened. That should happen only when you lift the presser foot lift lever on the lower part of the back of the head. With the foot manually lifted, the top disks are forced to open and release tension. The darning lift rod also causes them to open, as it exceeds the maximum closed disks position.

Your take-up lever spring is missing (picture 3). It rides on top of the hump protruding from the top of the take-up lever and connects under the thumb nut on top. Check the thread check spring inside the needle bar, just above the needle mount. The paddle shaped spring needs to make good contact with the thread, or else the loops go away before the hook picks them up. The L shaped bolt is a darning attachment. Turn it so that the take-up mechanism hits it on the way up. This causes the foot to lift off of the material so you can place the stitches any distance apart you want. You need to rethread the top thread through the front disks instead of the top disks to darn stuff.