Wizcrafts

I normally set the presser foot so it actually makes contact with the raised feed dog, whether the dog has teeth, or is smooth on top. This is on machines that have a moving feed dog. Not all machines have one. For those machines I set the presser foot so it goes all the way down to the throat plate. You have a roller foot machine, and are sewing leather, right? You need the roller to make firm contact with the top of the work, no matter how thick or thin it may be. If the roller is marking the top grain objectionably, reduce the foot pressure. If the reduced pressure causes the leather to lift with the ascending loaded needle, increase the needle size by +1 size. E.G, go from a #22 to a #23 needle if the leather lifts and you get skipped or loose stitches.

I often find type 3L v-belts at my local Ace Hardware store. They seem to have almost everything a person could want.

What make and model sewing machine are you asking about? What type of foot or feet does it have?

If you are able to achieve the slow speed control and punching power you need at that speed, you don't need a reducer. However, if your motor power drops too far down to punch the needle and thread trough the work at that slow speed, a reducer will allow the motor to spin faster while the machine turns at the desired slower speed. For instance, I have multiple sewing machines that have analog servo motors like this one. This type of motor has a simple knob on a pot or rotary switch that varies the top speed. At the lowest top speed settings the torque drops down to the point the motor won't turn the machine over without help. I have to increase the speed setting a little to get the machine to turn over. This also translates to a higher slowest speed. If I really need to sew slower, and steadily, at a rate below what the direct motor give me, I can add a speed reducer. Some are 2:1, others are 3:1. This hasn't addressed to part of the O.P's question about the difference between having a smaller motor pulley versus a speed reducer. I would try changing to a smaller motor pulley first. Adding a reducer is a hassle no matter what type it is. Plus, it requires an additional belt. Note, that changing the size of the existing motor pulley may also require purchasing a different length v-belt.

Oh how true this is! About 6 months after I began doing leather work, I decided to make a leather vest from a Tandy pattern pack. I didn't have any sewing machines. The Tandy store manager had his Wife's slant needle Singer for sale on consignment and he let me try it on a piece of the leather I was going to use. It proceeded to break the needle upon contact with the leather. He suggested looking for an industrial sewing machine dealer. We looked one up in the Yellow Pages and I headed over there. The dealer sold me a heavy black Singer straight stitch model 96k40 I think, with a table and 1/2 hp clutch motor. That machine managed to sew the flat seams until I got to a third layer. Then it just stayed in that position and sewed through the same hole. I called the dealer and told him what was happening and he told me I needed a walking foot machine. He refused to take back the 96k and told me that the head would fit into the same hole in the table; just move the knee lever activator. What he called a walking foot was actually a spring loaded follow foot and a light duty model at that. I thought that the follow foot machine was the cat's meow until I tried to sew a double leather belt and a pancake holster with #138 thread. No way, Jose! It took me four more wrong industrial machines before I got an actually qualified leather sewing machine that could sew holsters and double leather belts (gun belts, weightlifter's belts). This was before we had computers and the Internet in every home. All sewing machine purchases came from dealers or private persons who pushed what they had on hand. Now, we have knowledge being shared on this forum and dealers who know what makes a real leather sewing machine that can handle tough work and thick thread. BTW: The first machine I found that could actually sew thick leather with thick thread was a Union Lockstitch machine. It came along about 3 years after I bought my first industrial sewing machine. Until then, I struggled to sew anything over 1/4 inch and couldn't effectively use #346 thread on anything except a Singer 132k6. Even that machine had trouble maintaining an even stitch length and holding down the leather as the large needle came up. Later on I learned that the 132k6 was meant to sew buffing wheels, not leather.

According to the Wikipedia, "Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hogs, and aquatic animals such as seals and alligators." A "fabric" is defined as any thin, flexible material made from yarn, directly from fibers, polymeric film, foam, or any combination of these techniques. The word 'textile' comes from the Latin adjective textilis, meaning 'woven', which itself stems from textus, the past participle of the verb texere, 'to weave'. Originally applied to woven fabrics, the term "textiles" is now used to encompass a diverse range of materials, including fibers, yarns, and fabrics, as well as other related items. So, a fabric is synonymous with the term Textile. It refers to materials that are fabricated by weaving, spinning, yarning, or other treatments to fashion them into a usable material for garments, rags, covers, etc. On the other hand, "leather" is always made from actual animal skins, or hides, that have been chemically tanned to stop them from rotting and then to give them the desired thickness, pliability color or texture the tannery wants for each hide. The bottom line is I wouldn't use the words "fabric or textile" when describing leather, any more than I would use the word "leather" to describe a textile product. Those things are of a different ilk.

I found a few online manuals for some of the model 51 machines. But, none match you tall arm machine. That's where a long time industrial sewing machines dealer might be of more help. You could justify the phone call consulting time by purchasing needles, bobbins, thread, oil, thread snips, etc. PM me for a number.

If your H4 sews better with the shorter system 135x16/17 needles, this tells me that somebody before you lowered the needle bar about 3/16 inch and set it to be in time with the hook. There can only be a few explanations for this. They didn't have any system 190 needles, so they set the needle bar lower to work with the shorter needles on hand. They were bending/breaking the longer probably very thin needles and didn't need the extra sewing height they afforded. They have other Pfaff machines that use the shorter system 134-35 needles and just wanted to standardize the one you bought to match the others. They had other non-Pfaff walking foot machines that used system 135x16/17 needles, so they downgraded your machine to use that system rather than stock another needle system. Along with lowering the needle bar, they also had to reduce the maximum lift of the feet so that the bottom of the needle bar doesn't hit the lifted feet on the bottom of its stroke. Other changes could involve changing the top thread tension spring to a lighter action unit, and lightening the action and reducing the travel of the check spring. The spring changes would only make sense if the machine was not going to be used with any thread heavier than #69/T70.

Originally, the Singer 51 series machines used system 126 or 128 needles. These may be rare and hard to match. It may be simpler to replace the needle bar with a common bar that takes either system DBx1 or 135x16/17 needles. An industrial sewing machine dealer may have a cross reference chart to find a compatible needle or needle bar.

I'd stay away from that Juki 8700 unless you plan to make cloth garments, or work aprons. It is a high speed, flat foot, straight stitch, bottom feed machine with an integral oil pump. The machine is expected to spin at up to 5500 stitches per minute. Simple math says that equals 91 stitches per second! Now, a half decent servo motor should let you sew much slower, probably down to about 5 or 10 stitches per second, depending on its design and the size of the motor pulley. You would still have to run it flat out before you start sewing to distribute the oil to the extremities. Failure to do this may result in a seized machine. You may be able to slow it down more by getting a 2 inch, or smaller motor pulley, and a new v-belt to match the longer path between the top and bottom pulleys. Normally, these high speed machines ship with a 4 inch or larger motor pulley to spin the machine at its rated top speed. You can avoid all this hassle if you buy a walking foot machine that is equipped with an analog servo motor that has a 2 inch or smaller pulley. I have this type of motor on all my walking foot machines and they can easily chug along at 1 or 2 stitches per second.

I was able to equalize the forward and reverse stitch length on my 211g156. I adjusted a cam on the lower shaft, but don't recall which one. But, the maximum length became 5 stitches per inch in both directions. If you have fiddled with the cam that is supposed to balance the forward and reverse and can't get close to 5 to the inch, something else has to be worn out or loose. Check the feed dogs and the fork they mount on. Check the slop on the bottom shaft itself.

The Cowboy Cb2500 is a clone of your 45k25. The only difference is in the presser foot. They do have a roller foot option for it. Aside from that it should be capable of handling the same sizes of thread and thickness under the foot. It also has a reversing stitch length lever, which the Singer 45 never had (to my knowledge - mine did not).

YES!

Here's a parts manual for the Singer 211 series. It shows the parts assembled on the shaft that control the stitch length. 211G165_166_265_266.pdf

Technically, it is a needle deflector. I usually bend them so they only touch the needle if it gets deflected to the right by something I'm sewing. The problem is that I use a variety of needle sizes. So, I can't have the deflector actually touch a #18 needle knowing that I may be installing a #23 needle for the next job. I have to split hairs and set the deflector to just brush a #23 needle, but miss a #18, unless that needle gets deflected hard right by thick seams. The goal is to prevent the hook tip from hitting the needle square on. Obviously, if one rarely changes needle sizes, one can set the deflector to brush that needle aside ever so slightly. There's a lot to be said for keeping separate machines optimized for different sizes of needles and thread.

That's a Singer class 51W tall post bed machine with a roller foot. I haven't seen one with such a tall post before from Singer. How tall is it? I have a 168G that has a 7 inch post and compound feed walking foot drive.

Bring lots of beer and Kielbasa when you go to pick up your machine from your friend!

@Dave84 You are one step above a typical walking foot machine's specs. I would point you towards a Juki LU-1508NH. This is a modified production machine that uses a longer system 190 needle and has the geometry to let the feet raise higher both when lifted and in operation. It is rated to sew 1/2 inch with up to T-210 (#207) thread. This machine sells for well over $3,000. You can also consider a Cowboy CB3200. It is a walking foot machine that sews 1/2 inch with thread sizes 138 through 346. Equipped with a drop down edge guide it will conquer your thick jacket seams without blinking a needle's eye. Plus, it is less expensive than that souped up Juki. This machine is a form of "441" clone that can easily tension heavy thread in the bobbin and on top. One other walking foot machine that I think can accomplish this is the Cobra Class 26. It would need to be setup to use System 190 needles and is rated to use #210 (207) thread, at least on top (calls for a #24 needle). If you don't want to change machines, you'll have to crank down the foot pressure screw the squish the thick seams down to 3/8 inch and attach a drop down edge guide, or buy an edge guide outside foot to keep the stitches in a straight line. Make sure you are using a #23 leather pint needle. I would recommend a tri-point or diamond point in this case.

Bonded nylon is almost always stiffer than bonded polyester thread. Black bonded thread is most always stiffer than other lighter colors. I asked a thread company about this and was told that they first dyed the raw thread dark blue, then black. This is why it was stiffer. That was in the late 1980s. I used to use bonded nylon thread from Weaver. Some of the black spools had the thread coming off like a coil spring! I had to thread it counterclockwise through the top guide posts on machine I ran it through to counteract the twist. While still twisty, their white, chestnut and straw thread wasn't as hard to keep straight. So, to answer your question, yes, you may have to change either the top or bottom thread tensions when switching from nylon to polyester thread, or possibly, from light colors to black thread. I would not change the needle size unless hole size doesn't matter. You might only have to turn the top tension nut 1 turn to get the knots centered. Experiment on scraps first.

Here are some manuals covering the Singer 111w155. Perhaps you will find answers to the issues plaguing your machine. Singer-111w155-Parts-List.pdf SINGER-111W152-111W153-111W154-111W155.pdf USNavySinger111WConsew225REPAIR.pdf

I have a Singer 168G101 that has a 7 inch post. There are lots of times I wish it had a taller post.

Do those metal clips mark the leather straps badly? I kind of like the idea.

@RVacc, can you please clarify the total thickness to be sewn? I can't decipher what you typed for layers and thickness per layer. The total thickness will help narrow down the right machine. For instance, if you need to sew 7/16 inch, with number T-135/V-138 or larger thread, using a roller foot cylinder arm machine, this one will meet your needs. You would just need to request that a roller foot be installed in place of the standard flat foot.

There are better brands available to the trade. Look into Superior 6,6 bonded thread from superiorthreads.com, or Amann Strongbond from Wawak.com. I have good success with Cowboy thread from Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines. I also have some Amann Serabond bonded polyester I got from Toledo Industrial. It is softer than most bonded thread. When choosing a bonded thread, if the item is going to be exposed to direct Sunlight and UV radiation, choose bonded polyester. Otherwise, bonded nylon is the norm. It is stronger and is less expensive per pound.

Oh boy; just when I thought there weren't any more machines I would want to own, this comes along!