Wizcrafts

Every leather or shoe shop needs a patcher. I use mine for sewing patches into places that a flat bed machine can't reach, like over a pocket, with the nose of the machine inside the pocket. They allow you to sew patches onto jacket sleeves. I even use mine to sew decorations and hole patches onto jeans. They are the only machine that can sew a shoe back together after it is assembled and some thread gives up. Use a patcher to install zippers into boots! Sew new zippers into side pockets on jackets! But wait, there's more..... Sew pool stick pouches up the snout! They're also great at sewing new straps and top zippers into purses. What a patcher cannot do No holsters or tack! These are light duty machines, best limited to #69 or 92 thread and work not exceeding 1/4 inch thickness. They were built to sew boot and shoe uppers.

1 mm thread is about #554. 0.8 would be close to #415. Use a #26 or #27 leather point needle with your 0.8 mm waxed thread, Run it through silicon lube on top of the machine to help it feed through the tensioners and guides. You may have to move the hook to avoid it hitting the needle. Some Adlers use spacers between the shuttle and its housing to properly space the hook from the needle. You can buy them to match the size of the needle, for about 6 USD. Since they are marked in metric, you'd want a #230 spacer for a #27 needle. The machines usually ship with a #200 (#25 Singer) spacer. Buy lots of #27 needles. They come in handy for securing porch boards that lift after the Winter. ;-)

The Boss may have trouble sewing thin leather, or bag leather. If you plan on using thread smaller than #138 you will have problems on that machine. You would have to send your samples to Tippman and ask them to sew them on a Boss and mail them back to you.. If the Boss does sew this material, it will go a long way between bobbin changes. The Patchers are top driven, in any direction, and can sew up to 1/4 inch of anything that the foot can grab ahold of. The bobbins are very small and are best used with #69 thread. Patchers are available in two arm lengths and two bobbin sizes (tiny and small). The maximum stitch length is 5/inch, but only at about 1/8 inch thickness. It tends to drop as the thickness increases. Older patchers, like the 100 year old model 29-4, may be totally shot regarding stitch length.

Also, #69 thread in a 441 machine requires you to tighten down the bobbin case spring and loosen the top tension spring and secondary tension disk, along with downsizing the needle. Leather point needles are hard to find in sizes under 23. So, you will probably be using regular sharp point needles. Because the #18 or 19 needle is so small, compared to a standard #25, it is farther away from the hook. I find that I have to turn the needle CCW a bit to reposition the loop towards the oncoming hook, when using even #92 thread. Otherwise, the loop might fold forward and the hook misses it entirely. Not all the time, but usually in reverse. I have also had a situation happen where the bobbin tension screw head protruded high enough above the spring that the top #69 thread got hooked on it, rather than flowing past it. This leads to a bunch of top thread wrapped around the bobbin case and shuttle and a halt to the sewing. This is one of the hazards of using #69 thread in a 441 clone. That is why I use multiple machines. My walking foot machine can sew a bit over 7/16" but not so well. It is best kept to 3/8 or under. I use #69, 92 and 138 thread in that machine and it handles all of them perfectly. Thicker work, or things requiring heavier thread go onto the Cowboy (or my friend's Cobra), which is setup for them. The 441 machines work fine with #138 thread, after you adjust the tensions properly and install a #22 or #23 needle.

For me it was #92 bonded nylon, using a #19 Schmetz needle. I can use the same size thread on my Cowboy CB4500. Neither is much good with #69 thread, for various reasons. To be honest, I stick with a minimum of #138 on my 441 machine and leave the walking foot flat bed machine to handle smaller gauges.

It is a Luberto Cub.

You should be using either a #23 or #24 needle with #207 thread. You'll probably have to increase the top tension (or lower bobbin tension) and the presser foot pressure when using heavy thread such as this.

I have owned and sold two Union Lockstitch machines. In both cases the machines were incomplete when I bought them. In both cases, they were complete and fully functional when I sold them. I spent over an hour with the buyers teaching them the basics of threading, tensioning and adjusting settings on the machines. Both buyers had no previous experience with large industrial sewing machines, but were able to sew on a Union Lockstitch because I taught them to. I would not recommend a Union Lockstitch machine to anybody unless the seller can demonstrate its operation and intricacies, or unless you have someone like me to show you the ins and outs.

Parts for the Union Lockstitch are dear. I spent a thousand dollars rebuilding my last one, which I sold a couple of weeks ago, for break even. Should you decide to buy the machine, all parts and the owner's manual/parts list are available from the Campbell-Randall Company, in Yoakum, Texas. Just to let you know what to expect, needles and awls are only sold in packs of 10, which last cost me about $34 a pack. Bobbins were going for $17.50 each. The threading rod was only about $10. Those 4-sided wrenches, of which there are three sizes needed, go for about $30 to $40 each. Once set up properly, a Union Lockstitch machine can sew 3/4 inch of leather, or penetrate 1/2 inch of plywood, with any size thread for which you have the correct needle and awl installed. This includes #554 thread!

You will want a machine known as a 441 clone. Or, a 205 clone. Or, a real Juki 441 or Adler 205. The problem with the real Juki is that it is not setup to sew leather or harness. You would have to pay extra to convert it. An Adler 205 is equipped to sew leather, out of the box. The 441 clones are what most of us here are now using. I have a Cowboy CB4500, which has a 16.5 inch cylinder arm. The equivalent in Cobra would be a Class 4. For Techsew, it is the 5100. These are triple feed walking foot machines, with huge bobbins, extra strong moving and take-up parts and very strong bodies. They are mounted on adjustable height pedestal tables, having powerful servo motors and large speed reducers. All of the above can sew at least 3/4 inch of leather, or a little more.

The Juki DNL-415 is a high speed, needle feed garment sewing machine. It has a standard size bobbin that is inserted from under the table, on the left side. The machine sits in an oil pan and has a pump to distribute the oil. It is designed to be used at very high speeds, in excess of 3,000 rpm. It is not built to handle bonded nylon thread, or to sew anything heavier than vest leather. You will not find that machine useful for knife sheathes or gun holsters. But, it will sew a pair of cloth pants in a couple of minutes.

Either the thread is not going through the take-up lever, or the shuttle timing has become retarded. If the latter, there is an adjuster accessible through a covered port on the lower front of the machine body. Don't attempt to adjust this without guidance.

Maybe will help explain your Mckay stitcher.

You are going to love that machine. I have a related machine: a National 300N, and it is a workhorse. The large M style bobbins hold about 50% more thread than a standard L bobbin.

Make sure that not only the length is correct, but also that the needle enters the hole dead center. If you install a needle whose shaft is too wide the needle will not be centered in the hole in the throat plate and timing will be affected.

Check the bobbin case to see if the thread has unwound inside it. Also check the shuttle race for cut thread between the shuttle and race. If neither of the above explains the problem, remove the throat cover and shuttle cover plate and watch the loop as the hook approaches and meets it. You should be able to see the thread get picked off and the top tread going around the shuttle. If the thread is getting hung up on something sharp, like the head of the bobbin tension screw, problems will arise.

I looked at some articles about your Adler and it appears to be just an upholstery grade machine. If so, you will not be able to sew 1/2 inch with it. Further. it will be limited to a maximum thread size #138. There are Adler models that can sew 1/2 or 3/4 inch, but they are very heavy duty machines. I had a model 204-374 that weighed at least 175 pounds, for the head only. It was so heavy it warped the table along the center line. It could sew 3/4 inch, with 4 cord linen thread, or #277 bonded thread, but the needles tended to get stuck inside the leather.

It is part of a spring edge guide presser foot set for a standard upholstery grade walking foot machine. Must have gotten thrown in by mistake.

Sounds like you are referring to the check spring that oscillates on the disk below the main tensioners. You might want to take the machine to a dealer for replacement and adjustment of the new spring.

Check out this chart - which has several different thread systems listed, including linen thread cord sizes.

SOLD Please delete this topic.

You need to know that on the sliding cam attached to the take-up lever barrel inside the trapeze, the words Dick and Dorf mean thick and thin. You set the position to "Dick" when you need extra thread on top for thick work, like over 1/4 inch. You'd set the lever to Dorf, for 1/8 inch sewing or less. 1/8 to 1/4 would use a medium position.

A bell knife skiver is the almost same as a band knife, with one difference. The band knife is a separate steel blade that lives inside the round bell. It is attached on the back to a hand cranked shaft that moves the blade in or out from the edge of the bell. One moves the blade closer or farther from the presser foot and wheel, depending on the thickness to be skived and type of material. The biggest advantage of the band knife is that the moving blade is what gets sharpened by the stones. When the blade gets too narrow to sharpen any more, you replace it with a new, relatively inexpensive blade. When a bell knife bell-blade wears out, the entire bell unit must be replaced and that will cost a lot more than a spring steel band blade.

Thanks for the links Ferg. I didn't see any band knife skivers like you have and I used to have. I do have a line on one from a member in California.

Thanks for that input Eric. I was hoping you would see this and respond.