Wizcrafts

In order for you to mount a servo motor on that machine you will need cut out the space between the existing belt holes (unless you assemble the belt with a c-clip), and drill some mounting holes in the iron base and maybe even add a wooden platform for the motor to bolt onto. I found a cheaper and easier solution for my long arm patcher, with parts I bought from Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines (866-362-7397). See the photo below. The kit came with a 21 inch ribbed vinyl belt which was too short for this particular machine. That's why I used a thin leather belt. It works okay after I sprayed it with belt no slip spray. Total investment was about $100 and an hour of my time figuring out where to drill and tap the hole. The 5/16" x 18 screw was included. I have my own 1/4" drill and 5/16x18 tap. If your machine is flat across the back, you can mount the motor with the bracket facing down and use the 21 inch vinyl belt, which gives much better grip.

It zigs and zags and does the Sugarfoot Rag!

Contact Bob Kovar, owner of Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines (866-362-7397) for replacement parts for your 29-4 patcher. The loose stitch length puck will need brazing on to take up the slack, inside the rig it rotates in. The lack of lift may be caused by incorrect placement of the movable lift puck, that slides along a cutout in the leaf spring on the back. You should take some good close up pictures of the machines, all the way around it and from the top. This will reveal missing, or misaligned parts to those who want to help you.

The Singer 29-4 has a dime sized bobbin that holds a little bit of thread. That's why cobblers tend to thread them with #69 bonded nylon. It is thin thread that has 11 pounds test. You won't be sewing any holsters on a 29-4. You will find uses for it down the road. It can sew up the snout. In fact, the sewing head rotates 360 degrees and the feed is performed entirely by the pressor foot. You are correct about using #277 thread for sewing holsters. I use that size regularly. It has about 44 pounds test strength. By comparison, #138 thread has 22 pounds test. Physically, #138 is half the diameter of 277. The machines that sew with #277 and larger thread do not do so well with thin leather or thinner threads, like #69. That's why most professional leather workers have more than one machine. I have three industrial machines right now. In the past I had up to a dozen. I use a long arm patcher for odd jobs, or jobs that need to be sewn up the snout. I have a heavy duty modified walking foot machine for medium duty sewing, up to 7/16 inch, with #138 to 207 thread, or less. Finally, I have a monster machine, built entirely in the USA, that makes 441 clones look like toys, which sews through pennies and wood, if necessary. It uses incomprehensibly large thread (8 to 10 cord linen, or, #554 bonded) if necessary. But, I have it loaded with #277, which it sews like melted butter. The bobbins are 2 1/2 inches in diameter and 3/4 inch wide. It is a true harness stitching machine.

I forgot to mention the needles used in the old 29-4 patchers. As I found on my last one, it didn't like the 29x system needles, preferring the 1138 straight stitch system. The most commonly used sizes will be #16 and #18 (100 and 110 metric). I sometimes use a #14 needle with standard garment weight cotton, or a #12 (metric 80) with monocord invisible thread. If I sew with #92 thread, I might use a #20 needle. For #138 thread, I use a #22 needle. I always prefer leather point needles in a patcher. There is no point in stocking round points, as these machines are not normally used to sew cloth projects too often. The availability of the system 29x4 leather point needles is diminishing, therefore, dealers sell series 135x16 as a replacement. They work in most type 29K patchers, but NOT usually in the pre K series (29-4, or earlier). Although my 29K172 has a large bobbin and is capable of sewing with #138 thread, it is normally threaded with #69. I stock #69 thread in a wide variety of colors, on small "patcher" 1 ounce spools. These spools are not available in larger thread numbers. I also buy 4 ounce spools of #69, wherever the price is best. Number 69 thread lasts a long time in the large bobbins. Therefore, my most used needles are #16 and #18.

A Singer 29-4 is made to patch shoe and boot uppers and sew patches onto vests. It can also be used to replace zippers on jackets and pants. Oter good uses include sewing Velcro onto bags and repairing tears in purses. The sewing capacity of the Singer 29-4 is 1/4 inch under the foot. The practical thread handling capacity is #92, but #69 goes further. The stitch length varies with the thickness being sewn and condition of the stitch length regulator system (inside the bottom of the head). At 6 ounces, you can expect to achieve no better than 5 to the inch. At 1/4" that drops to 6 or 7 to the inch. If the part that controls the stitch length is badly worn, which is typically the case for 100 year old patchers, the maximum stitch length drops to 8 or less, for light leather and 10 or worse at 1/4 inch. Some old patchers are so worn out that you may have to pull the leather through to get any stitch length at all. Here is how to test the feed, to determine if the machine is shot: Lift the pressor foot lift lever, behind the head, or, rotate the wheel until the needle is down and the foot has lifted up. Take a hold of the pressor foot and see how far you can push or pull it, straight back or forward. Everything beyond 1/64" of free motion is that much less than the design maximum length. A brand new, or fully rebuilt stitch length regulator cam may not even have 1/64" free play (mine barely moves). I once bronze welded onto the worn regulator on one of my old patchers, then filed and polished the "puck" part, to the point of only the minimum clearance needed to rotate and activate the drive mechanism. This yielded a full 5 stitches to the inch, into 3/16" of veg-tan leather. The "later" models of Singer patchers, with the larger bobbin, can easily sew with #138 thread, or 3 to 4 cord Irish linen. Bottom line is; if the feed mechanism has very little free motion (fwd or bkwd) and the wheel turns freely and everything moves without any binding, and no springs or tensioners are missing, and the stitch length adjuster is in place above the foot, and the teeth aren't worn or ground off the foot, it is definitely worth $200, for the head alone. If you can get the machine, mounted on the cast iron base for $200, buy it anyway, then fix it up for a couple hundred more, or bronze weld the worn out parts.

Make sure the needle is inserted with the scarf side to the right and the long ridge on the left. The eye faces due left-right and must be threaded from left to right. The bobbin should go in with the thread feeding clockwise, through the slot in the case, firmly under the little spring (which should be adjusted for modicum of pressure on the thread), up through the hole in the bobbin case, through the thread hole in the bobbin case post (long arm models only), then out the hole in the throat plate. Next item is the take-up lever and adjuster. You need to adjust the spring on the take-up lever just strong enough to pull the lever all the way up on the upstroke of the needle. Heavy thread makes it harder for the spring to lift the take-up lever. Therefore, the newer machines have a helped adjusted behind the take-up stud. You turn the spring loaded thumb nut clockwise to add lift, and vice verse. The additional take-up can also help when sewing thick or very dense leather. Finally, there is a thin long spring with a paddle shape at the bottom, which fits inside the lower section of the needlebar, just above the needle mounting block. If this spring is missing, broken, or bent out of shape, the top thread flops around in the needlebar and this can cause skipped stitches.

I don't know about Highlead machines, but Art does. You should ask him if he knows how to adjust the backstitch position. Or, ask the dealer from whom you bought the machine. Alternately, check the manual for details about adjustments. I backstitch on a Cobra Class 4 at work, using a Schmetz #23 leather S point needle (#138 or #207 thread), and there is no ratting of the previous stitches. It sews perfectly into the holes in reverse.

The timing of the shuttle is done under the arm, by the relationship of the rack and pinion gears. If somebody has removed the bottom cover (under the gears), they may have moved the little rounded gears in relation to the racks. One round gear is an idler. The last one to the left drives the shuttle. You should turn the throat plate aside and rotate the wheel while watching the action of the needle. When the needle comes all the way down it rocks up slightly then waits a few degrees, then ascends. It is during the rise and wait portion of the cycle that the loop is formed. The shuttle moves counterclockwise to pick up the thread during this phase, as the motion continues and the needle ascends. If you see the needle go down and enter the wait phase and find that the shuttle pickup point is not rotating into the scarf above the eye of the needle, either the timing is off, or the point on the bobbin case is worn or chipped short. A worn out or chipped pickup point retards the timing. If the point is good, but passes by the eye of the needle before the loop forming portion, it needs to be retarded by one tooth. If it passes by after the needle has begun its ascent, try advancing it one tooth. First, make sure that the little screw that secures the drive gear is present and in all the way. It fastens into a threaded hole in the stud under the shuttle and drives it. A loose set screw could allow the shuttle to have too much slack. A missing set screw would allow the shuttle to rotate completely out of time. Another thing that affects the timing is the length of the needle. If it is incorrect for that machine, the timing will be off. I had a 29-4 two years ago and could not effectively use series 29x 3 or 4 needles in it. They were slightly too long and skipped stitches a lot. I ended up using a shorter industrial needle system that I had laying around from a straight stitch Singer. This fixed the skipped stitches. I believe the needles were system 1138, 16x257, 16x231, or a similar number.

A bunch of our members own either the CB2500, or the GA5-1, which is the same machine in a different skin. These are a good machine for heavy duty sewing, with thick thread. I am not sure that leather handbags would require such a heavy duty machine, nor the big needles and heavy thread these machines are made to use. They use thread sizes 138 and up and needles from #22 or 23, up. They sew to 7/16" and are best used with hard leather (belts, straps, bridles, reins, collars, leashes, holsters). Typically, the CB2500 is setup with a #25 or 26 needle and threaded with #277 or #346 bonded nylon thread. Tell me more details about the leather handbags. Things like the type of leather (chrome tan, veg-tan, latigo, bridle), thickness being sewn (from - to), thread size and type you want to use, speed you want to sew at, and arm/body depth you need to rotate the bags freely as you fancy stitch them. These details will help us suggest the best machine for these bags.

Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines has dozens of flatbed walking foot machines, from most well known brands, including the Chandler you mentioned (I saw a bunch of Chandlers there last year). Call them at 866-362-7397 and see what they can do for you. The website, as it is currently, is featuring the Cowboy cylinder arm leather stitcher line and the Consew 206RB flatbed upholstery machine. That doesn't mean that they have no other machines. On the contrary, there are hundreds of industrial machines in the building. They actually prefer doing sales over the phone.

Sorry, I missed the part about the machines being in a local shop that was closing down. Take some leather over there and try them out. The company must have thread on hand and needles. If they sew what you want a machine to sew, buy it or them. If not, keep looking. I worked my way up through over a dozen industrial sewing machines before I found the right one for what I was making at that time.

Most of our dealers only list their new machines on their websites. Used machines come and go. Some are on shelves, waiting to be cleaned, adjusted, setup and shipped only when sold. That's why there are no used machines listed on the Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines website. There are hundreds of used machines in the building, and hundreds more in his storage location. His phone number is listed prominently on the top and bottom of every page. I have to believe that the same holds true for just about every other dealer on this forum. They are all sewing machine dealers who happen to specialize in leather capable sewing machines and true heavy leather stitchers. You have been asking for our opinions about machines mostly offered by eBay dealers, or other auction sites. I can't help you in that area, but, maybe someone can and will. Unless one of our dealers is also selling on eBay, my sewing machine loyalties tend to stay on this forum, with only a few minor exceptions (mostly accessories). I have yet to see an eBay seller recommend someone look on our forums for a real leather sewing machine. One should also consider what type of support they can expect from the seller, no matter where they have their store. EBayers may offer you email or eBay Messages support, and some may give you a daytime West Coast phone number to call in the event of an emergency. But, very few will pick up the phone after hours and talk you through a self repair to re-time or un-jam your machine, or email you a how its threaded picture. Our people are noted for their customer support after the sale. Some of our people will only answer the phone when they are in their business. Others may give their customers a private cellphone number, for help anytime. About shipping costs. I have a personal friend who just recently shipped a complete Adler patcher and cast iron base, from Flint Michigan to upper California, on a pallet, for $220 (they manually loaded it onto the trailer from a pickup truck, saving $40 for a lift gate fee). A fully assembled walking foot machine (w/motor and table, etc) wouldn't cost much, if any more, shipped on a pallet to South Texas. Rates vary between trucking companies and competition is strong for freight, right now. For those who already have a spare table, frame and motor, having a 70 pound head only shipped usually costs somewhere about $40 to $50, via UPS or FedEx. But, some folks think they will save money by buying a head from one dealer and a table/frame/motor/ bobbin winder/thread stand/ flex lamp from another. They are usually mistaken and end up paying considerably more that way.

If you have a Facebook profile you can upload your music there and make it playable in the Facebook Player. Other FB members could listen to your stuff. Or, if you have a website, you can upload your music in .mp3 or .wav format and provide a link to the file in your profile. There are other services that allow users to upload their recordings, like Reverbnation.com. Sending music by email can be time consuming for the sender and recipient, depending on the filesize. If the complete tune is in mp3 format and weighs in at 1 or 2 MB, it won't take too long to up/download via email. That assumes you are using broadband ISP, as I am, and that they allow large attachments. Personally, I recommend you to create a personal website, promoting your talents, if you haven't done so already. To answer the question about the Landis: it is not easy to learn to sew on such a machine unless you have had a lot of prior experience with various types of industrial sewing machines, or shoe repair equipment. If you do buy that machine (why would you?), you should find a close by shoe repair shop that has a similar model, to teach you how to use the machine. The sole stitchers are not like typical leather sewing machines. They are horses of a different color (usually green). We have some members in Lusianne. Look them up and see if any are near you. Maybe one will have an extra machine they can let go of cheap, or in exchange for some horn or reed lessons. To the tune of Tear Stained Letter, by Jo-El Sonnier

Cowcamp; Do you realize that you are now willing to spend the kind of money that will probably get you a really good used machine from one of our dealers; one already setup to sew leather and guaranteed to work? Have you called any of our dealers yet? I know Bob Kovar personally and have been to his building, in Toledo, Ohio. It is over-run with sewing machines, of all types of feed and configuration. His toll free business number is 866-362-7397.

Tackgirl; You may or may not be getting a good deal on the used machines. As I have often written, just because a sewing machine is an industrial machine, it may not necessarily be good at sewing leather, such as we use on this forum. Our leather projects are not usually seat covers, although we may make some now and then. Most of the leather crafters haunting Leatherworker.net are making a wide variety of items, including many that are constructed from dense and often thick leather. We like to use heavy bonded nylon thread that is capable of holding these items together against strong external forces. When we go a-lookin' for a leather sewin machine, we have a whole nuther kind a machine in mind. Let me explain. The machines you posted the pictures of are upholstery grade machines. They are great for sewing drapes, seat covers, couch covers, boat covers, sails, awnings, even jeans. Yes, they will sew leather. But, how fast are they setup to sew? What type of tension springs are they equipped with? How high do the feet lift and alternate? What needle system do they use? How big are the bobbins? How tight is the mechanism? how thick is the take-up lever and its crank shaft? How heavy is the flywheel? Is the wheel and machine balanced? Any good, modern walking foot machine, with strong, good steel take-up and moving parts, can be modified to become an efficient leather sewing machine. You want one that is already in good condition and is able to clear at least 7/16 to 8/16 inch under the fully raised presser feet. If equipped with a system 135x16 or 135x17 needle, they can effectively sew through 3/8 inch of material. If everything is tight and the take-up lever is not worn with a thread groove, and the springs are replaced with heavier tension springs, it can be made to sew 3/8 inch of leather. If equipped with system 190 needles, they can sew to almost 1/2 inch! Here's what else you need to do to accomplish this goal: First, the speed is important. Leather cannot be sewn at high speeds like garment machines run at. It will smoke from friction and melt the thread, and burn the leather. Upholsters like their machines to run at 2000 rpm. As one upholsterer put it to me, when I asked why his machines ran so fast: "time is money." A machine spinning at 2000 rpm is great is you're sewing fabric, canvas, or sometimes vinyl, but not leather. Even 1000 rpm is way too fast for leather. I see smoke from the needle at 600 rpm! If you want your machine to sew mostly leather, the top speed should be under 600 rpm. Most crafters have theirs set to 320, 160, or less. I had an Alder 204 that had a clutch motor and a speed reducer. It's full speed, pedal down, was 2 stitches per second! That's only 120 rpm. If the motor is a clutch motor running at 3450 RPM, lose the motor. Sell it off. If it is a 1st generation high speed, low torque servo motor, sell it off. If it is a 1725 rpm clutch motor with less than 1/2 horsepower, get rid of it. If it is 1/2 HP and has a pulley larger than 2.25 inches, replace the pulley with the smallest one you can buy. 2 inches is perfect, in my opinion. Your goal is to equip it with a motor that has a lot of punching power at all speeds, but can easily be made to sew slowly, by foot. For clutch motors, that means learning to feather the clutch. For servos, they have a knob or up/down speed limiter buttons, to set the top speed. Some have more actual range of foot control that others. If you have to replace the motor, I recommend the one I bought to replace my clutch motor. This is the .SewPro500GR, sold by Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines (866-362-7397). It has a built in 3:1 gear reducer and a 2 inch pulley. While it bolts into the same holes as the original clutch motor, it sits closer to the table. So, when buying a new belt, you need to choose one that is not only an equal amount shorter than the original pulley to new pulley diameter, but you must subtract one inch more for the closer body profile. With a walking foot machine slowed down to a controllable speed, your next concern is the size of the bobbin. If you only want to sew thin leather, using #69 bonded nylon thread, a standard industrial class 15 bobbin will do fine. But, load that bobbin up with #138 thread, and you cut your sewing distance in half, per bobbin load. So, most leather sewing machines are equipped with a large bobbin. Most of them use the M size, which holds 50% more than the standard bobbin. Juki LU machine large bobbins hold double the standard size! All of these facts relate to industrial flat bed machines, like those you asked for opinions on. If you want to buy a used, or new upholstery grade machine, be prepared to pay to modify it to sew leather. You can probably save a lot of expense and aggravation by contacting our dealers and asking what they can sell you at a price you are willing to pay. Let them know what you intend to sew and you will get a machine that fits your needs. Additionally, you get dealer support. You probably won't get that if you buy a used machine from a warehouse, or Chinese import off the boat.

Charlie Cat, my trumpeting friend from N'orleans, that Landis 12K is only good for sewing new soles onto shoes and boots. It is of no other use. The thread it uses is 6 or 7 cord right twist Barbour's Irish Linen Thread, run through a wax pot. This "thread" is thicker than the string used to bundle most meat packages or fly a kite. There is very little depth inside the curved needle area. It is designed to sew along the outside perimeter of shoes. It can also sew knife sheathes and holsters, certainly up to 1/2 inch thick. But, no reverse, and no turning the work around to backtack. Another thing you should know: a Landis 12K weighs in at around 500 or 600 pounds, in 3 square feet and usually ships with a 3 phase 220 volt motor. Are you sure you want a machine like that for your first sewing machine? This not so good news is played to the tune of Basin Street Blues

See if you can get close up photos of the remaining machines. The area of particular interest are the head, showing the presser foot/feet and throat cover plate and the right side, showing the model number. In lieu of photos, see if you can get and post the exact model numbers. You need to be made aware of the fact that just because a sewing machine is industrial, it is not necessarily any good for sewing leather, such as is made by crafters. There are industrial sewing machines that are made to do only one particular task. Some are made to only apply an edge binding cloth. Some are high speed. low lift, small thread machines, used to produce garments. Some only sew a preset pattern, as in bar tackers and X tackers. Here are some features that set leather sewing machines apart from garment or specialty machines: Leather sewing machines usually have walking feet; typically triple feed, where the feed dog, inner foot and needle all pull the material in sync. Beefed up tensioners, to properly position the lockstitch knots, when sewing with #138 or larger bonded thread. beefed up take-up lever, to withstand the highly increased strain caused by heavy thread being pulled into hard materials. large or very large bobbins. Larger threads need bigger bobbins to do a reasonable amount of sewing, per load. extra heavy top pressure springs (it takes a lot of pressure to hold down 2 or 3 layers of veg-tan belt leather as it is being stitched) interchangeable presser feet and throat cover plates. Different feet are made to do various special tasks. Leather sewing machines frequently use a set with a single left toe outer foot. threaded holes inline with the needle, to attach an edge guide (to keep your stitches along the edge in perfect alignment). larger pulleys and hand wheels on the rear. With a large pulley and heavy hand wheel, the machine will run slower and smoother at slow speeds. slow speed (1725 RPM) 1/2 HP clutch motor, with a 2" to 2.25" pulley, or a servo motor capable of sewing under 1 stitch per second, with lots of torque. There are servo motors, then there are servo motors. Not all are as good for slow speed, high torque sewing. You need one built to power a leather sewing machine. some have an additional speed reducer between the motor and machine. a v-belt of the proper length so the motor positioner is in the middle of its up/down range, with about 1/2 to 3/4 inch displacement, with light finger pressure, in the middle of the belt. plenty of oil holes leading to critical moving parts. Only use sewing machine oil, not 3 in 1. All industrial machines should have: a solid wood table top mounted onto steel k-legs frame, with a floor speed pedal an oil drip pan mounted in the machine cutout of the table (does not apply to cylinder arm machine tables) a knee or foot lifter assembly for the presser feet. a solid thread stand, for at least two 1 pound spools of industrial thread. a bobbin winder on the table, unless one is built into the machine. a long flex light, so you can see what you are sewing. a sliding drawer to hold spare accessories, needles and bobbins

The bottom line is that if you have to choose between two machines, which you will be trading for, the 31-15 is more customizable-alterable than any 29 type. Neither machine is built for heavy duty usage. Neither was made with heavy thread in mind. But, the patcher machines are not nearly as strong as they look. These machines are easily damaged and wear out quickly, if used to sew hard leather, with heavy thread. Finally, the bobbins on the patchers are either tiny, or minute. What is sold as a large bobbin for the big bobbin models is about 2/3 the capacity of a "standard" industrial bobbin. That bobbin is the same as the one used in the ancient Singer 15- class home machines. So, you can sew farther with any size thread with a 31 type machine, than a 29 type. The only reason for having a 29 patcher machine is to do patching of torn shoes and garments, to install zippers in bags, to fix cylindrical pouches, or to sew patches onto vest and jackets. They are perfect for sewing inside of round goods, up the arm and back.

Okay Charlie Cat. Did you know that everyday is Caturday? Especially in N'orleans Since you are going to have to trade for a machine and you only have two to chose from, let's whittle it down, shall we? Your projects don't seem like they will require a lot of thickness, but could exceed 1/4 inch. That leaves out the patcher. So, by the process of deduction, you just bought a Singer 31-15. Finding it too fast to control, you'll buy a smaller motor pulley and shorter v-belt. You can purchase some different presser feet, in time. You may even convert it into a roller foot machine, someday. Being an experimenter and new note finder, you shall manage to make the machine sew consistently good stitches with #138 thread, top and bottom. Being inquisitive, you will find an alternate needle type that is a little longer, but still fits into the needlebar. You will learn to retime your machine for the longer needle. Then, you will realize that you can raise the presser foot a bit higher, until it just clears the descended needlebar. That will allow you to sew about 3/8 of an inch; maybe more. Someday you will remember where you dreamed all this up and thank me. to the tune of Limehouse Blues

We have dealers who are members of this forum (Their ads appear on top of every page, and rotate with every page refresh). Why don't you contact each of them, reveal your budget, state your sewing requirements, and see if anybody can fit a used machine to your wallet?

The Juki DU-1181 is a very quiet "walking foot" - dual feed machine. It is fed by the bottom feed dog and outside presser foot. The needle and inside foot are fixed position parts. The specs say it can sew with thread sizes 33 through 92, nylon thread, using system 135x17 needles. The maximum lift of the presser feet is stated as 15 mm, which is over a half inch. However, the actual stitching capacity will be no more than 3/8" to 7/16" maximum. It is common these days to find new machines with huge amounts of foot lift, but using standard industrial needles the limit the thickness than can actually be sewn. The extra lift is to get over piping, corners, spots and studs, buckles, etc. The feet on this machine will most definitely mark veg-tan leather. It is not designated as a leather sewing machine, by Juki. They intended it for use in the vinyl sewing trades. I just realized that the motor and pulley system that ships with these Juki's makes the machine sew at 2000 RPM! The clutch motor rotates at 3450 RPM, double that of the clutch motors fitted to leather sewing machines. If you buy the machine with that motor, you are going to need to replace it with a servo motor, or a standard, 1725 RPM clutch motor; either fitted with a 2 or 2.25 inch pulley. You are not going to sew leather at 2000 RPM! 600 RPM is about the most I use, after considering the pulley ratios Even then, the needle smokes..

The Singer 29 machines will only sew 1/4 inch maximum. The 31-15 can probably sew 5/16". Note: there is a difference between how much material can be stuffed under the raised presser foot and how thick it can actually feed and stitch. The 29 types have a foot that both pulls the work back and lifts off it to move forward for the next stitch. So, you can technically shove 5/16" of leather under the foot, but it won't feed it properly. The 31-15 is a bottom feed machine. It feeds all the material under the foot. However, it uses garment series needles, which are a little on the short side of the industrial systems. The machines using those needles are made to sew garments that don't normally exceed 1/4 inch thickness. The needlebars have a shorter stroke than walking foot machines. I have read about people who raise the pressor foot on a 31-15, to get them to sew 3/8 inch. I don't know if they also changed the needle system and/or needlebar. The 31-15, although made as a tailoring machine, is also used by many shoe repair shops for sewing flat upper leather. One guy I knew had a Fortuna Skiver, which he bought from me, a Singer 31-15 and a Singer 29k something, for making custom shoes and boots and repairs to same. This was in addition to the sole stitcher and other shoe repair machines. Of course, he only used #69 thread in the Singer machines.

Yes, the Rex 26-188 is well suited to sewing vinyl and textured chrome tan leather seat covers. The presser feet have teeth on the bottom, as does the feed dog. The feed is accomplished by the outside foot and feed dog, and the aggressive teeth don't allow the material to slide out of alignment. You can really hold back the layers, taut, and the feet keep it in place. The pull of the feed mechanism is really intense. I work part time at a leather shop that sold the same machine for the same price. They are solid machines from what I can remember, what few times I sewed with it. While it's great for cloth or vinyl, you wouldn't want to use the Rex to sew any kind of leather that would retain the tooth marks.

First, you're welcome! Second; I wouldn't go there (Tacsew brand) if I were you. Do not confuse the Tacsew junk machines with Techsew, which is a good brand, distributed, setup, adjusted and modified if necessary, by Raphael Sewing in Montreal. This is just my opinion. Opinions are like a__holes: everybody's got one!