Wizcrafts

For #277 thread, top and bottom. This is the standard configuration for this machine.

Nice repair Eric!

Down the road, if need be, you can change to a vari-speed servo motor. I have two Sew Pro 500GR and two Family Sew servo motors. The Family Sew have a wide range of top speeds that are easily changed via a rotary switch. The Sew Pro motors have a potentiometer on the back to limit the speed. Either will sew under 1 stitch per second all day long, then speed up to their maximum with your foot position on the gas pedal. The Family Sew can go over twice as fast as the Sew Pro, making it useful on leather, vinyl and garment sewing machines. I don't know how high your Hydro rates are in Sudbury, but your clutch motor consumes lots of watts (and generates heat) as long as it is turned on. A servo only consumes measurable power when it is at work. Is the ground still as hard as the moon up there?

A smaller pulley increases the torque/punching power, as it reduces the speed. I personally don't go below a 2" motor pulley because there is nothing left for the straight-aways when you need to get done NOW. That is a good reason to switch to a servo, unless you are good at feathering the clutch. I would not reduce the maximum speed below 600 RPM at the machine, because you will need it for sewing webbing, upholstery and garments. That machine, like my National, can sew with thin bonded thread, like #69, or #80 jeans thread. You just need to loosen the top and bottom tensioners. But, these walkers are not made for sewing very light or silky cloth (e.g. rayon shirts or linings). It's best to sew relatively firm material that won't get pushed down into the fairly wide slot in the feed dog. A straight stitch machine is better for thin and very soft material. I have an old Singer 31-15 for such work, threaded with #69 thread and under, or #60 jeans thread or under.

I own a similar machine, made in Japan under the brand name National. It has the same specs as your machine. Here are my own findings on the capabilities of this type of sewing machine. In stock configuration, the machine can only sew through 3/8 inch of leather or non-compressible webbing. Trying to sew thicker material causes the inside (alternating/vibrating) foot crank to make contact with either the presser bar or the back of the head itself. Do NOT try to sew 1/2 inch of leather! You will damage the machine! I was able to get it to tension up to #207 bonded nylon thread (tensioner tricks), but, It works much smoother with no larger than #138. The machine uses the standard system 135x16 or 17 walking foot needles. They can be had in sizes up to #25. But, the force required to punch through tough veg-tan leather with that large a needle makes it impractical to use. For continuous use at 3/8 inch one should reduce the ratio or alternation to its minimum. This reduces the noise, pounding and stress. Oil the machine in every red marked oil hole once every 8 to 10 hours of use. Once a month, open the front cover and place a drop of oil into each of the tiny oil holes on the cranks inside the head. Limit the top speed to about 10 stitches per second and the machine will live a lot longer. This may require a reduction in the size of the motor pulley to 2". Upholstery shops usually run them flat out at 2000 RPM, using a 4" or larger motor pulley. Check for slop in the needle bar, inside vibrating foot bar and presser foot bar. Make sure that the take up lever doesn't have a groove worn through the eye from high speed use, or Kevlar thread. Make sure that when you lift the foot with the knee lever, that the tension disks on top release their grip on the top thread. Make sure that the needle lines up dead center in the moving feed dog and that the dog raises about 1mm above the throat plate. Test the stitch length knob to see if it gets a full range of lengths without binding. Test the reverse lever to make sure it sews backwards on demand. The holes may not line up though.

A buddy of mine packed up an Adler patcher into a heavy box, then strapped it and the iron base onto a standard pallet and shipped it from the UPS depot in Flint Michigan to California for about $250. Our dealers routinely ship the large Cowboy and Cobra machines across the US and Canada for prices ranging from about $220 to $350, give or take. If the trucker has to navigate a side street and lower his lift gate, he charges another $50 to $100. Therefore, it is cheaper to ship from a terminal to a terminal, than residence to residence.

If I read your request properly, you have $300 to spend on a machine that can sew up to 1 inch of leather and are wondering if a Singer 15-91 can do this? Is this a joke? In case it's not, I'll answer you. A Singer 15-91 is lucky to sew even 1/4 inch of leather and that with #69 thread, maximum. They were made for domestic sewing of cloth. They have pod motors built into the body that are not powerful enough to feed and sew holsters. And, nobody I know of would sew one using #69 thread. In order to sew up to one inch of holster leather (veg or bridle), you need one of the following machines, listed by their capacity. Campbell High Lift (1 1/8") Luberto Classic (1 1/8") Cowboy CB4500, Cobra Class 4, or Techsew 5100 (7/8") Adler 205-374 (3/4") Juki TSC 441 and other brand clones of it (3/4") Union Lockstitch (3/4") Campbell-Randall Lockstitch (3/4") Other ancient harness stitchers Since you have $300 to spend, you need to know what those machines typically sell for. about $8,000, plus or minus about $5,500 (not currently in production) about $2,500 to $3,000 $5995.00 about $5,500 between $1500 for private sales, auctions, used, not rebuilt, to $4500 rebuilt to specs. Randall Lockstitch machines sell for between $3,500 used, up to $7,000 rebuilt to specs Old harness machines in working condition, with needles (and awls), typically sell for anywhere from $1000 to $5,000 All of the above machines can easily sew with heavy bonded nylon or polyester thread, in size #346, which has about 66 pounds tensile strength per stitch, using a #26 or #27 needle. The needle and awl machines (numbers 1, 6, 7 and 8) can also use glazed linen thread run through a wax pot, up to 8 or more cords, with the proper needle and awl combination. You can now see that $300 will not get you a sewing machine that can sew 1 inch of leather, with any thread size. You will need about 10 times that much money to get to even 7/8 inches.

I use the front mounted tension disks to control the tension when I wind bobbins. Otherwise, they are used for free-hand sewing/darning, where the presser foot is out of the equation. Under normal sewingstances (I just coined a new word!) the presser foot mechanism can only lift so high before it lifts the tension off the top disks. If your thread is routed around the top disks and the foot lifts the preset amount, you will lose top tension during that stitch. By using the front tension disks instead, you will never lose top tension. With no tension release on the front disks, you must pull the thread through with your hand before removing the work. Otherwise, pop goes the needle...

If the machines are recent models and have not been rode hard and put up wet, any of those 3 will serve you well.

You're correct Darren! I meant Puritan, when I typed Pilgrim. Puritan makes machines. Pilgrim rebuilds machines, mostly for the shoe trade.

If you buy a modern/current walking foot machine, it will have either a rotary stitch length knob, with click detentes, or a a single lift/lower lever that controls both direction and stitch length. The Consew 206RB-5, Chandler 406RB and Juki DNU-1541 all have a rotary dial and a press down reverse lever, plus large bobbins. I have another system on the long body Singer 139 I recently bought. It has a 1" diameter knob protruding from inside the end of the hand-wheel. Turning the small knob clockwise shortens the stitches, while turning it anti-clockwise lengthens them.

I recommend the 16.5" arm 5100, rather than the shorter arm 4100, or bottom feed only 3650. It will handle #346 thread, top and bottom, using a #26 needle. Be sure you order #25, 26 and 27 leather point needles with the machine, along with the thread.

If you are using a #22 needle with #69 thread, it is 4 sizes too big for the thread. A #22 needle is meant for use with #138 thread. #69 thread should be sewn using a #16 or #18 needle. Leather should always be sewn with a leather point needle.

The CB227R or Techsew 2700 are similar machines, with similar capabilities. They use the standard type 135x16 leather point, or 135x17 round point needles, have compound feed, handle #138 thread and sew up to 3/8 inch of leather. They are usually sold with very easily controlled servo motors. I believe that these two machines are probably within your price range. You'll need a couple hundred more for shipping, needles, bobbins, thread and oil

It will probably have an old clutch motor installed. If that motor turns too fast, buy a smaller pulley and belt. Most upholstery shops consider time as money and run their sewing machines at 2000 or 2200 RPM. That is about 4 times too fast for leather sewing.

Definitely, the Consew 206RB is better for upholstery and leather work. The Adler would be a nice high speed garment maker's machine.

The portable walking foot machines can normally only sew up to a tish over 1/4 inch of material, although the feet lift higher (they need additional room to alternate up and down). If the leather is compressible to 1/4" or less, a portable may do the trick for your particular projects. But, they are driven by teeth of the bottom of both feet, as well as on the feed dog. I understand that there are some smooth presser feet available in the aftermarket for these machines. The portable walkers are very fragile and are easily damaged by hard leather, or by being dropped during shipping (personal experience). A better option is a full industrial waking foot machine with a servo motor. They can sew 3/8 inch and have all manner of feet available. You would be well served to find a local source for the machines and bring your material with when you try them out. If a machine in good working condition sews your worse case samples without slipping, or eating the lining, buy it.

I buy silicon lube in quarts from Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines. You can probably get it from any industrial sewing machine dealer, anywhere. You will need a special attachment to run your thread through the silicon. I know that Toledo Industrial has some different types of attachment. Weaver also sells a magnetic bottom jar with stuff inside to position the thread inside the liquid. Or, make one yourself.

You are referring to a separating zipper. They have hardened nylon or plastic tabs at the bottom of each side. This plastic tab gets sewn into the layers of the jacket. If the knots aren't penetrating, try moving up one needle size. Or, reduce the bobbin tension, or increase the top tension. People with modern patchers can simply rotate the thickness assist nut inward to get the thread to pull up higher (Dick-Dorf on Adlers)

One thing I neglected to mention is that industrial walking foot machines and tackers are usually equipped with either a clutch or servo motor, rated at the equivalent of between 1/2 and 3/4 horsepower. In contrast, the most powerful domestic sewing machine motor I have seen is rated at just about 1/8 to 1/10 HP (@150 Watts). This is woefully underpowered if you want to sew large upholstery panels together. I am telling you about these machines and their capabilities, rather than describing domestic machines, because you seem to want to go into a commercial venture. This calls for commercial machines that won't bog down or snap plastic components under a heavy load. You would do well to go visit a place where people sew leather, or even denim clothes. You will see little old ladies in babushkas, sewing on walking foot machines that go tapokita, tapokita all day long.

I think you will find the programmable pattern tackers appealing for automotive embellishments. They can easily sew with up to #69 bonded polyester thread, although #33 or 46 would build layers more gracefully. Some of these machines have very large pattern sewing fields. Methinks that such a machine, equipped with a #12 needle and #33 or 46 bonded polyester thread, would lay down a very nice repeatable design into 2 - 4 ounce auto upholstery leather, or heavy weight Naugahyde. The polyester thread is UV resistant, which is important for items exposed to lots of sunshine. You can also choose one of the pre-programmed patterns to X or bar-tack Velcro onto your seat covers. The Juki 1508NH is a high lift variation that can actually sew into 7/16 inch of material. There are many different presser feet available for the machine, including right and left zipper feet, and a wide range of sizes of piping feet. I doubt that you will really find much use for a serger in leather or Naugahyde sewing. They are meant to stop denim or other cloth from running on cut edges. Still, an overcast might look interesting if you space out the stitches. Most industrial sergers will handle #69 bonded thread and #16 or 18 needles.

You should know that industrial sewing machines are typically single purposed. The 1541 is a good upholstery machine, but the 1508NH is a step up, able to sew 7/16 inch, using system 190 Pfaff needles. The 441 is the basis for most of the machines used by members of this forum for heavy work, up to 7/8 inch. As for sergers (overlock), I recommend a 4 thread, two needle machine, with a servo motor. Juki makes a few models, as does Consew. Some sergers offer more than one pattern. Pfaff makes a decent zig-zag industrial machine that should drop into the same hole in the table as the Juki. You also should look into pattern tacker machines. Some of the newer models can stitch any pattern you program in, within the constraints of the holding frame. They were borne of bar tackers and X tackers. Some mattress factories use programmable tackers to do decorative stitching, one section at a time.

My Cowboy CB 4500 has stainless steel feet and throat plates, including the optional accessory plates I got.

The GB needle in the photo is a metric 120, which translates into a Singer size 19, which is about right for B92 bonded thread, or size 80 jeans thread. "System 190" is a Pfaff needle system, which I happen to use on my two walking foot machines. These needles are about 3/16 inches longer than the usual system 135x16 and 17 used in walking foot machines. Using System 190 needles allows you to raise the needle bar by 3/16" above its normal timed position. This gives the presser feet that much more room to alternate when sewing thick material. This high lift system comes in handy when you sew piping with a 1/2 inch piping foot set.

AFAIK, there aren't any piping foot sets made commercially for a 441 type machine. You will probably have to get them custom made.