Wizcrafts

Thanks to everyone who replied, especially the ones regarding printing services. The machine is just going to have to sit in its case until somebody needs one and is willing to pay a fair price for it. I placed it on Craigslist twice and got zero replies. I cannot afford to invest in custom printing for a machine I already have over a hundred dollars in, don't use and can't sell for what I already have in it. It is a lesson too late learned, when I was just getting back into sewing, after 12 years out of the business. I now have two very heavy duty machines that take care of all of my leather, vinyl and denim work. Should any of you come up with replacement decals at a reasonable price, I may consider buying a set. Otherwise, there is no need for any further replies.

This article is now being Tweeted on Twitter. Thanks all! BTW: I am @Wizcrafts on Twitter. My tweets are mostly about computer and website security, malware threats and spam analysis, but I do make the occasional Tweet about my leather and sewing work. Today is my birthday, so I probably won't be posting anything new today. I'll get back to this article later, or tomorrow. I know I have a contract sewing job to do sometime tomorrow. Maybe I'll shoot a couple of pix of my walking foot machine earning me some money. It may help someone who wants to sew similar leather projects. I have shot a few movies of my machines, with my digital camera, but haven't figured out how to convert them from Apple .MOV files into WM .AVI files. I may see if YouTube has a converter and upload them there, for the world to see (in Flash format).

In addition to using either rubber cement, contact cement, or a spray adhesive, I also use double sided sticky tape to secure two layers for sewing. This tape is available in industrial strength, if you look around at various suppliers. It is very useful along edges and on zippers.

This would be a good time to compare home vs industrial motors and needles. You depend on the turning power of the motor to get the first stitch into your material, and the horsepower determines how easy or hard that will be. Once it gets the machine sewing, almost any home style sewing motor will run a sewing machine at a decent rate of stitches per minute, up to its gearing limit. But, that speed is usually only attainable if you remain within the practical limits of material density, needle and thread size. The bigger the motor, and higher its horsepower rating, the more dense the material it can try to penetrate. Most industrial sewing machines come with either a clutch or servo motor, which is mounted under the work table, which the machine rests on top of. A v-belt connects the pulley on the motor to the pulley cast into the flywheel (handwheel) on the back of the machine. Industrial sewing machines are usually fitted with a motor pulley that best suits the intended work. Upholsters and garment makers want high speed, so they order a large motor pulley, somewhere in the vicinity of 3 to 4 inches diameter, inside the groove. The pulley on the flywheel of garment machines is typically around 4 inches diameter, so these machines are often running at close to 1:1. Industrial clutch motors run at 1725 rpm, at 120 volts, or 3450 rpm at 220 volts (3-phase), so a machine running a 1:1 ration to the motor will sew at that speed. If you were to purchase a used garment sewing machine, even with a 120 volt motor, a 1:1 pulley ration may be uncontrollable for the untrained sewer. A smaller motor pulley is the answer to that problem. Most leather sewing machines are equipped with a 2 inch motor pulley. This not only slows the machine down to a more controllable speed, but doubles the torque. This comes in as very important when you try to sew thick or dense leather, or bio-plastic projects, or plywood covered cases. Furthermore, if you sew anything other than garment/chap leather at the high speeds used in garment machines, the friction will heat the needle to almost red hot, melting the thread, scoring the leather and usually, causing the needle to grab inside the leather, on its way back up. This causes the leather to lift with the needle. When that happens at the moment the bobbin shuttle's pickup point is passing by the eye of the needle, you will get skipped stitches. The bigger the machine, the thicker the intended payload, the larger the needle and thread it uses, the slower it must turn. Therefore, distributors of harness stitching machines often include a speed reducer between the motor and the machine. This reduction is at least 3:1, or more. I have an Adler flatbed harness stitcher that was so geared down and its maximum speed was about 3 stitches per second, or 180 per minute. It sure could punch through 3/4" of belt leather at that speed and gear ratio! Now, on to the pictures. The first photo shows a home sewing machine motor next to a clutch motor. The home motor is rated at 75 watts and has a 1/2" pulley. The industrial motor is a 1/3 hp 300 watt motor, with a 2.25" pulley. The home motor is suitable for driving a home machine through cloth and denim. The industrial clutch motor can sew 3/8" of leather easily with that size pulley. A 2" pulley would give it even more torque. Clutch motors always run at full speed, but they develop their maximum torque when you engage the motor to the machine. You control them by means of a floor pedal, about a foot square, with a rod connecting it to a movable arm protruding down from the bottom of the motor. When you move your toe downwards on the pedal, the clutch begins to engage, turning the machine. Skilled sewers learn to control the motor from barely turning the machine, to full speed. This takes a bit of practice and the amount of toe required to feather the clutch often depends on the density of the material, and inertial resistance of the machine's mechanism. Also, since a clutch motor always runs at full speed, it always consumes electricity. When it runs under load, sewing, it consumes its rated power draw. Most industrial sewing motors come in these ratings, with the smallest meant for garment machines only: 1/4 hp 1/3 hp 1/2 hp 3/4hp These motors have a 3/4" shaft and take pulleys made for them and the narrower, 7/16" v-belts they use. In order to make sewing on industrial machines more controllable, and to reduce the cost of operating the machines on 110 volt circuits, servo control motors were developed. The early generation were prone to premature failure and made a lot of noise as they started up. This has been improved and in some cases, totally overcome, by new controller technologies. Industrial sewing servo motors are available in a range of power capacities from about 1/2, up to 3/4 horsepower. Their wattage ratings vary, from about 300, up to 600 w. The nice thing about all servo motors is that until you press down on the floor pedal, they do not draw more than 1 watt. You can leave a servo motor turned on all the time and not notice it in your electric bill, unless you are actively sewing a lot. One of the shortcomings of many servo motors is a lack of startup torque. While they do produce their rated drive power at full speed, the opposite is true at slow speeds. That is another reason why many leather stitchers ship with a speed reducer pulley under the table. It doubles or triples the slow speed torque, while also reducing the maximum speed to one that won't burn up you leather and thread. There is a new type of servo motor that has been produced, to overcome the problem of low slow speed torque. It is a gear reduction motor, currently marketed under the brand name "SewPro." I have their model 500GR. It features a 2" pulley and a speed limiter knob on the back. It runs at a maximum speed of 1500 rpm. This machine only consumes 300 watts flat out, but has a 3:1 reduction system, giving it the same power as most 3/4 hp servo motors. I have one and love it. I can sew from under 1 stitch per second, to about 10 to 12 stitches per second (depends on the diameter of the flywheel pulley). It is a bit low for upholstery, but not unacceptable. It is perfect for leather, which is what I mostly sew these days. It sews marine vinyl like it is butter. Here is a picture of my SewPro 500GR servo motor, mounted under the table of my 75 pound National 300N walking foot machine: Next, let's compare a couple of needles. The one on the left is a #12 home sewing machine needle, used to sew thin cotton thread into shirts and pants. The needle on the right is a number 25 needle (series 135x16), used to sew up to #277 nylon thread into leather holsters and straps. Home style sewing needles are not usually available in sizes bigger than #18, although I found some #20 on eBay. Series 135x16 (leather point) and 135x17 (ball point) are available in sizes up to #25. As a reference, #69 nylon thread, commonly used in upholstery and marine vinyl sewing, uses a #18 to 20 needle. Stronger results are achieved with #135/138 nylon or polyester thread, which requires a #21 or #22 needle. This leaves out all home machines, including the ones sold on eBay as "industrial strength." Here then, are the home and industrial needles, side by each: Now that you have seen comparisons of the motors and needles used by home and industrial sewing machines, you'll have a better understanding of what is required to sew leather.

What is the difference between an all metal, "industrial strength" sewing machine and an actual "industrial" machine? The first term is a favorite of eBay sellers to help move out old, refurbished clunkers and antiques. Tell somebody new to sewing that a heavy, all metal machine sews leather, show them a stack of dimes under the presser foot and provide some photos and samples of the leather it can sew, and they will have all the sales they want. Unfortunately for the buyers, most will not be able to sew the type of leather they bought that machine for. I frequently see newbies asking if the old Singer in this or that eBay ad will sew chaps, belts and holsters. It usually starts out with they only want to sew garment leather, but by the second reply the heavy stuff pops into their description. The thinking is understandable: that machine was advertised as being able to sew real leather. Yes, it can sew leather, but only thin garment or light chap leather and not without problems of dragging the top grain on the presser foot. I think that a picture is worth a thousand words, so here is one I took of my Industrial Strength Singer 15-91, fully rebuilt and setup to sew to its best capacity, next to my National 300N walking foot machine (equivalent to a Consew 206RB). Not in its wildest Robot Dreams will that 1953 Singer 15 class machine sew anything much thicker than 1/4", with thread no larger than #69 (maybe #92), without babying the material through the feed mechanism. I know; I tried. I had to install a walking foot attachment to get it to sew marine vinyl, two layers thick, because the material was dragging under the foot. This reduced the maximum clearance to under 1/4." Holding the material tight to keep it aligned caused it to change stitch length or break needles. Sewing leather was not a joy either, just a big hassle and more broken needles. The most aggravating part of sewing with a home machine is the tiny motor that drives the mechanism was bogging down at startup and I had to hand-wheel to help to go. Most so-called "industrial strength" machines have a motor rated at about 1/10th to 1/15th horsepower, 75 to 150 watts. When I finally got a-hold of the National 300N walking foot machine, it came with a 1/3 hp, 1725 rpm, 300 watt clutch motor. It was set-up for sewing upholstery and had a 3" pulley on the motor. It was difficult to control and I know how to operate clutch motors. A phone call to Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines cured that problem. He sold me a SewPro 500GR servo motor, with 3:1 built-in gear reduction and a 2" pulley; the equivalent of a 900 watt motor. I haven't had any control or penetration problems since. This machine will sew over 3/8" of actual leather belting or harness strapping. It uses needles up to number 25 and thread up to #207. I can control the servo motor at any speed, even less than 1 stitch per second. Having the actual industrial walking foot machine allows one to hold back the work and it will still feed without changing stitch length, or popping needles from back tension. You can turn on more top pressure to keep thick and dense leather from lifting under the foot, causing skipped stitches. If you intend to sew everything from leather garments to belts, a real walking foot machine is the best way to go. The feed mechanism is too rough to use on light cloth garments, but works great on denim and vinyl. It walks over seams effortlessly. That's all I have time for now. More to come later on.

This ditty is about the different types of pressor feet used on home and industrial sewing machines. Using the right foot makes your work feed and stitch better than is otherwise going to be the case. These photos will give you a frame of reference. First, here is a picture of the standard static (flat) pressor foot used on a Kenmore home, or straight-stitch industrial sewing machine: This is what you get with most straight stitch garment machines. Most other home machines come with a straight stitch attachment foot. All older machines, up to the late 1950's tended to be straight stitch only and one needed to attach an add-on mechanism to sew a zig-zag or button hole stitch. Now, they are standard on most home machines and you can buy industrial zig-zag machines as well. Here is a zig-zag pressor foot: This is a cording or welting foot (straight stitch): A roller foot makes it easier to feed sticky material, like vinyl and garment leather. Here is one inexpensive type of roller foot: Here is what eBay sellers tell you is a walking foot, or even feed foot: (kinda looks like an alien bug invader!) This IS a walking foot:

For those of you who are just getting into sewing leather, or are about to move up from a home sewing machine, here is a comparison of the bobbins used in various types of sewing machines. From left to right, front row, we have: Small bobbin shoe patcher (Singer 29-4 and most K series) Large bobbin shoe patcher (Singer 29k172, etc) Class 66 home sewing machine bobbin Class 15 and standard industrial or Kenmore bobbin Large M bobbin Finally, in the back, is a bobbin for a Union Lockstitch Machine. Here is a comparison of a spool of #207 vs #69 nylon thread (1 pound vs 1/4 pound). The #69 thread works in most home and straight stitch, static pressor foot, drop feed industrial sewing machines, with a #16 or #18 needle. To use #207 requires a very heavy duty machine, with a BIG motor, and a #25 needle. When you are choosing a sewing machine, don't just select it because of its price, or local availability, check out its needle, thread and bobbin size capacities.

I have finally managed to take a series of photos and reduce them enough to be able to post several in one reply. The following photos are from my National 300N heavy duty walking foot machine. Similar to a Consew 206RB, it is capable of sewing a little over 3/8", depending on the density of the leather and needle and thread sizes. It handles a range of thread from #69, up to #207 - bonded nylon or polyester. It takes series 135x needles from #14 (smaller available, but not recommended), up to #25, max. These photos show it with a #22 leather point needle and #138 Weaver nylon thread (messy), which was used to sew suede lined guitar straps and rifle slings. This is a serious leather and vinyl sewing machine! I have replaced the clutch motor with a servo motor I bought from Bob Kovar, at Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines. It is geared down internally and has a 2" pulley. It produces the equivalent power of a 1/2 to 3/4 hp clutch motor and has a top speed of 1500 rpm. The motor draws no power until you apply the floor pedal to it. One more thing, the bobbins on this type of walking foot machine are known as M style bobbins and are 1 inch in diameter. They have a higher thread carrying capacity than standard industrial machine bobbins. Walking Foot sewing machine, with compound, triple feed. More pressor feet (inner and outer sets) for a compound feed walking foot machine. These are known as 111 series feet, named after the famous Singer 111 walking foot machines, of antiquity (but still in service!). If there is a job to be done that needs a special foot, you can find one for any industrial machine that uses series 111 pressor feet. Last, but not least, here is a close-up, left side view, of my Union Lockstitch needle and awl stitcher sewing about 50 ounces of hard belt leather. The top of the needle is barbed. The thread is fed into the barb through a thread guide and looper arm, that revolves around the lifted needle. The needle then goes down, where a revolving pickup point grabs the loop off the barb, under the throat plate, and carries it around the bobbin shuttle. This machine is capable of some very serious sewing! The photo shows it threaded with #277 bonded nylon, top and bottom, which is in the low range of the weights it can manage. I have sewn with #550 thread on a Union Lockstitch machine!

You have a post bed machine, probably with a roller foot and single row feed dog. It was designed to sew the uppers on shoes and moccasins and to make hats (That is what I used mine for, years ago). These machines will handle #69 nylon thread and maybe #92, but probably nothing larger. Size 18 needles with leather points are best for this machine, with #69 thread. Number 16 needles will also feed #69 nylon thread. The bartacker is designed to use #46 thread with a #12 - 14 needle, or #69 nylon thread also, with a #16 - 18 needle. It is used to tack velcro and webbing strips onto vinyl or cloth, or shoe straps. Neither of those machines can sew with #207 thread! The needle size required for that size thread is #24 or #25, neither of which will fit into those machines. If the post machine is in good working condition and you keep it oiled, it will sew soft leather hats, pouches and shoe uppers, up to maybe 3/16" thickness, but only with #92 thread, maximum. I believe that the post machine uses series DBx1/1728 needles, which are the same ones used in most straight stitch industrial garment sewing machines. The are available in both ball and leatherpoint, in packs of 10 or boxes of 100, at reasonable prices, in sizes up to about #20.

I don't have an Artisan. I do sew bullet loops with my walking foot machine, or my Union Lockstitch machine. On the walking foot machine, I install my right toe pressor foot set (no left toe and narrow inner and outer feet). The foot works normally when sewing the diagonal stitches under each loop. Then, it allows me to sew right up to the edge of the newly formed loop, which I hold down by hand, with a suitable Craftool inside it. The Union Lockstitch is actually better at doing this, because it has no inside foot at all. It may also be possible to use a welting foot set to sew bullet loops. My set is 1/4" and is too narrow to cover the loop of even a 22 calibre round, covered in 4 oz leather. I'm guessing that a 5/16" or 3/8" (or metric equivalent) welting foot would do the job and allow you to sew right against the right formed edge of each loop.

Most leather garments and chaps are best sewn on a flat bed, roller or walking foot machine. Harness, bridles, leashes, saddlebags and holsters are best sewn on a cylinder arm machine, with a walking or jumping foot and needle feed.

Natalie; There is another brand you should look into: The Cowboy line of stitchers sold by Bob Kovar, at Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines. He is a member of this forum. His phone number is: 866-362-7397. The Cowboy stitchers are every bit as good as the others who were thinking about, but they have an additional advantage: the Cowboy machines all have stainless steel throat plates and pressor feet, to prevent darkening moist veg-tan leather. Some folks like to sew with the leather still wet from stamping or shaping it and the plain steel feet on most machines may tarnish light colored moist leather. His prices are neck and neck with the others of this category of machine. Bob also sells other brands of new and used industrial sewing machines. All of these machines will do decorative stitching, because they all come equipped with easily controllable servo motors and speed reducers. You can get a table attachment for the cylinder arm stitchers, to keep the material flat for decorative stitching and flat work. Each company sells their own table attachment. If you have a lot of flat work and decorative stitching, ask about the Cowboy or Cobra line of flatbed machines. They sell for about one third of what an Adler goes for. There are other brands you can investigate, including Techsew, sold by Raphael Sewing Machines. Greg, from Keystone Sewing, also has some nice stitchers, from Consew, Juki, Highlead and other makers, plus some really neat motors.

Thanks Ron! May I link to some of your videos in this article?

I can explain it to you. To produce a good stitch you must balance the top thread and bobbin thread tensions so that the knot is formed in inside the leather, not on top or on the bottom. You don't want the top thread to be so tight that it filigrees the material, nor do you want it so loose that it forms slight loops on top of the leather. Start by adjusting the bobbin spring tension to provide a slight resistance as the thread is pulled out. If it is too loose it may be pulled to the top of the top layer, or the thread may get jammed inside the bobbin case. If it is too tight, you'll need to really tighten down the upper thread, to the point of breaking it, or filigreeing the leather. With the bobbin thread pulling smoothly, with slight resistance, insert it into the bobbin shuttle, making sure it snaps in. Leave several inches of thread out of the bobbin case. Bring the bobbin thread up by cycling the needle once with 6" of top thread in it, while holding down the loose end in your left hand. When the needle and take-up lever raises up the top thread should have captured the bobbin thread and it can be pulled up through the little hole in the bobbin case cover plate. Set the top tension adjuster to the half way in point, to start. There should be some good resistance, but the thread should be pull-able with the foot down. If you can't pull the thread through the top tension discs by hand, how is the take-up lever going to do so? If the top thread is not seated well inside the tension discs, it will probably be pulled under the bottom layer and you'll have to pull it out and start over. Similarly, if the top thread is seated, but the spring tension is too loose, the bobbin thread may pull it down under the bottom layer. Place some leather under the pressor foot, hold back the top and bottom thread ends, and run a few stitches. Look at both sides to see if the thread lays snugly on the leather and the knots are pulled well into the bottom layer. If there are knots on the top of the leather, loosen the top tension one turn at a time, until they are no longer visible on top. If the knots are showing under the bottom layer, tighten the top thread tensioner. If the knots are inside the leather, but the thread is laying loose on the top or bottom, increase the bobbin spring tension by a half turn. You will eventually learn to figure out the best top and bottom tension to form a properly set stitch. Once the bobbin tension is good you don't need to change it. Buy more bobbin cases to use with other sizes of thread and adjust each one for the best result. Experiment before sewing a new job. If you change thread or needle sizes, retest the thread settings and adjust the top as needed. Your Juki 5550 is a garment sewing machine and if you set the top or bottom tension way too tight, you could damage the machine or break the needles. Set it so you have just enough balanced tension to form tight stitches that lay flat, with the knots pulled well inside the bottom layer. If the top tension is very tight, but the bottom thread is not pulled well into the leather, try changing to a larger needle size. A bigger needle makes a bigger hole and the knots are pulled up with less effort. You may find that if you are ok sewing leather garments with #69 thread and a #18 needle, then try to sew belt leather, a #20 needle will work better.

When I left off my last post in this thread, I said that I would define the various types of "walking foot" sewing machines. So, here I go! The home and industrial strength sewing machines I wrote about yesterday all come equipped with flat, static "pressor" feet (the foot shaped steel plate that presses down on the material and applies pressure). I detailed about how a steel pressor foot drags sticky material, causing shortened stitches and showed some optional replacement feet that assist the machines in moving leather and vinyl material properly. This ended with my statement that I recommended a true walking foot machine for sewing leather, rather than a converted flat foot, straight stitch machine. A straight stitch machine does not have zig-zag capabilities and is usually equipped with a flat pressor foot and the work is driven entirely by the bottom feed dogs. The difference between flat foot, bottom feed (feed dogs), straight stitch machines and walking foot machines is profound. A walking foot machine may have any of the following drive configurations and still fit the walking foot classification. Compound/triple feed: the feed dog, needle and inside pressor foot all move together, in synchronization. BEST OVERALL SYSTEM Double feed: The feed dog and outer pressor foot move together in synchronization. GOOD FOR VINYL & NON-MARKABLE LEATHER Jump feed: The needle moves the work as the slotted pressor foot lifts (with or without a dull tooth or smooth feed dog). BEST FOR HARNESSES, HALTERS AND HOLSTERS Pressor foot feed: Used by all shoe patchers, the pressor foot has teeth on the bottom that move the work. WILL MARK VEG-TAN AND BRIDLE LEATHER Snap feed: The feed dog pulls from the bottom while the outer foot pivots on a spring loaded hinge. When the feed dog drops, the outer foot lifts and snaps forward. GOOD FOR BUFFING WHEELS, CAR WASH CLOTHS Of these types of machine I find #1 to be the best overall machine for a variety of leather and vinyl sewing. The triple feed mechanism ensures that there is no slippage of the layers of material (the needle moves the work with the feed dog), the alternating feet will walk over seams and back down, you can apply as much top pressure as needed to keep the material from lifting and it still feeds properly and you can hold the material fairly tight and it will still feed and give the desired stitch length (unless there is too much slack in the drive system). The double feed system, #2, is typically used in portable walking foot machines that are designed for and sold to the marine vinyl repair industry. The teeth on the bottom of the outer foot move in time with the feed dogs and provide great traction on otherwise slippery and large vinyl boat and seat covers. However, these teeth will mark veg-tan and bridle leather pretty badly. Type 3, the jump foot, is the harness makers choice. These machines may or may not have a smooth feed dog underneath, but always have a moving needle and slotted single pressor foot. When the needle penetrates the leather the pressor foot lifts up, then the needle moves the work back according to the preset stitch length. As the needle begins to lift, the foot comes down to secure the work against unwanted movement, or lifting, from a hot needle and thick thread. A sub-category of these machines includes needle and awl machines (more on that later on). The pressor foot drive in the shoe patchers is meant for patching shoes, boots, zippers, holes in garments and handles on bags. The teeth under the foot are fairly aggressive and will create deep marks in veg-tan and bridle leather. Despite this, a lot of leathercrafters use shoe patchers for a lot of their projects. The real problem with patchers is the typically tiny bobbin they have, although certain models have a larger, double capacity bobbin. Finally, the snap feed system is not much use when sewing any slick or waxy leather surface. This feed system was stock on the Singer 132K6 machines. I had one early in my sewing history and thought it was the cat's meow. That is, until I tried to sew the edges of a hand stamped and carnauba creamed veg-tan belt. The snapping top foot let the belt slide forward between stitches as it slipped forward prematurely, causing the stitches to vary in length all over the place. It did a good job feeding soft or roughed up leather and buffing wheels, but had a hard time feeding smooth grain leather. I don't recommend these machines for sewing most leather projects. Interestingly, the snap feed system in the Singer 132k6 is the same principle used in the even feed attachments for the so-called "industrial strength" home sewing machines. Aside from the snap foot system, which has trouble feeding slick top grain leather, all of the other walking foot systems provide a solid feeding system, with adequate top pressure to allow the operator to control the work as it enters the needle area. If you are stitching a large leather seat cover, a walking foot, compound feed machine will provide the best control and drive to pull the material through the work area, even if it is long and folded over the front of the table, or hangs around nose of a cylinder arm machine. All you need to do is make sure the material feeds the correct distance in from the edge and doesn't fall off the left side of the arm, or needle area. An edge guide really helps to stitch a defined distance in from the edge. You just need to hold or clamp the layers together and press them against the right side edge guide. The walking feet and moving needle do the rest! If you intend to sew harness, halters, bridles, sheathes and holsters, a narrow slotted jump foot machine is the best for these jobs. Some machines offer optional feet that only have one left or right "toe" - rather than the slotted double toe. With a right toe jump foot you can sew right up to the raised edge of a molded case, or holster, from the top side. Also, since these machines either have no feed dog, or a totally smooth bottom feeder, they do no create tooth marks on the back side of the leather. This is especially important if you want to produce show harness and commercial holsters and Police gear. In my next installment I will provide some pictures of these different types of walking foot machines. Note, that I have not addressed the amount of clearance under the pressor feet yet. This is because that figure varies with various brands and the way they have been equipped by the seller. Most walking foot flat table machines will sew up to 3/8" of leather. Some machines are capable of sewing 1/2" and others, 3/4" and more. Time to go to work. Lee Ya Sater folks!

Get yourself a roller foot if you can. It will feed even better than the teflon foot. It looks like you are now getting close to 5 stitches per inch. Is that correct? That is your likely maximum, without resorting to hacking the machine.

My harness stitcher is a Union Lockstitch Machine and I stand to operate it. The floor pedals are near the left edge of the pedalbar and it is too awkward to sit on a high stool with my legs at an angle to the right, while facing the needle-awl area of the machine.

Content to be added and updated on an ongoing basis. Welcome to the Leatherworker.net Leather Sewing Machines Forum! If you are new to this forum and you are seeking information about the right type of sewing machine you'll need to sew leather, you're in the right place. Everything stated below is either my honest opinion, or the honest opinions of other members of this forum. We all have personal hands-on experience sewing a broad range of leather projects on a broad range of sewing machines. Most of us have worked our way up, trying different machines, fixing up old ones, modifying them, tricking them out, all in usually fruitless efforts to sew something they are simply not capable of sewing. This is especially true when it comes to sewing leather. Leather varies in texture, weight, stickiness, thickness, density, dryness and chemical composition. No doubt, some of you have seen pictures and videos online, showing this or that machine sewing leather. Those pictures are uploaded by the seller of the machine, to broaden their purchasing audience. What many first time sewers don't realize, is that just because a particular machine is said to be able to "sew leather," that does not mean it will do it well for the types of leather the buyer wants to sew. Leather varies, as stated above. The machines that can sew garment weight leather may not be able to sew chaps, belts, tack, holsters, or saddle bags. Just because a machine is large, or metal bodied, or or even industrial, does not make it a true leather sewing machine! First, I will address the machines seen on eBay, sold as Industrial Strength sewing machines. Most are all metal and proudly state that fact. The sellers talk about the "powerful" 1.2 or 1.5 amp motors that are attached. Some even have ribbed drive belts and gear reduction, to eliminate slippage when sewing thick material. No doubt these are strong machines. I have a few myself. I have 2 old iron body Singers and a metal body Kenmore, even an ancient White Rotary machine. Will they sew leather? Yes, two layers of 2 to 4 oz garment leather. Will they sew leather with nylon thread? Yes, but no bigger than #69 nylon. Will they smoothly feed garment leather as it is sewn? Yes, as long as it is fairly small in size and weight and not stitcky on the top grain. If the top is sticky, no way, Jose. Sticky vinyl and leather usually gets dragged back by the top pressor foot and the stitches are either too short, or filigree the material, or skip frequently. Sticky material, like smooth top grain chrome tanned garment leather and Naugahyde (vinyl), does not feed evenly unless the pressure on the "pressor foot" is reduced significantly. All of the feeding is done from the bottom, by the teeth in what are know as "feed dogs." The pressor foot has to apply enough pressure to the top of the material to keep it from moving between stitches and also to prevent it from lifting with the needle, as the needle begins its ascent. This is when the thread in the needle's eye forms a loop for the rotating or oscillating "shuttle" pickup point to grab. The grabbed top thread is then pulled around the bobbin case and bobbin thread, which is pulled up by the lifting take-up lever, to create the lockstitch inside the material. If the top pressure is insufficient for the thickness and density of material being sewn, the material will lift with the ascending needle and top thread. When this happens the loop may not be formed and there will be skipped stitches. Even if the material is held down by the foot to form the stitches, the spring pressure may not be enough to hold down dense veg-tan leather when the take-up lever lifts up. If the leather lifts during the take-up phase the stitch length will vary wildly, the layers may slide out of alignment and the needle may deflect and break. This can also cause skipped stitches. In an effort to overcome the problem of feeding sticky vinyl and leather, sewing machine companies and aftermarket manufacturers produce add on pressor feet to make it easier to feed these materials. Some dealers sell replacement feet with little rollers inside them (roller feet), or teflon plastic feet that claim to allow sticky material to feed better that steel feet. Others sell actual rolling wheel pressor foot attachments and sets, where the foot, feed dog and throat cover plate are replaced as a group. Finally, you can usually find a replacement foot called an "even feed" foot, or "walking foot" attachment. It contains an inner and outer pressor foot, which alternate up and down as the needle moves up and down. This is done by a lever that is hooked on top of the needle screw on the needle bar. The inner foot presses down and moves as the needle lifts out of the material and the feed dogs pull the material back. When the feed dogs reach the preset stitch length they drop down (drop feed) and the inside foot lifts up with the raised needle bar and snaps forward. The outer foot then drops to hold the material in place until the needle has penetrated the work again and is ready to form the next stitch. This is not a true walking foot, as is used in true walking foot machines. It is an effort to improve the feeding ability of the wrong machine for the job. An add-on walking foot will not actually help you feed heavy garments or chaps through the machine, but it will allow the leather or vinyl to move and stitch without stitcking to the bottom of the pressor foot, allowing you to increase the pressure to prevent lifting, shortened stitches, or skipped stitches. If the material being sewn is long and wide, or heavy, your machine will have trouble pulling it back to form the stitches, despite having the even feed attachment installed. There are no teeth on the bottom of the pressor feet and the material can slide easily with a little tug, or from the weight of the work folding over the front of the work table. I have learned that these even feed attachments usually reduce the clearance under the feet. This means you cannot sew as much thickness as with the standard foot. If you raise the pressor foot bar for more clearance, the needle bar, or top thread guide on the bottom of the needle bar will hit the inner pressor foot. They are a compromise feed system. Even if you are able to feed the material through an industrial strength sewing machine, you are going to be limited in the thickness that it can sew, as well as the size of thread it can handle and the sizes of needle it can use. Number 69 bonded nylon thread is fine for leather vests or small vinyl projects, but is not so good for upholstery or chaps, or anything thicker, like belts and bags. For these projects, you'll want to use at least twice the size of thread: #138. At this point, most home machines drop out of the picture. Even a lot of actual industrial machines will not sew with #138 or larger nylon thread. They might be able to sew soft polyester or cotton thread in larger sizes, often sold a button or topstitch thread. To properly sew leather you need an actual Walking Foot sewing machine. In my next installment I will define the various types of walking foot machines and what makes a dedicated leather stitcher different from a leather-capable sewing machine. I have to go earn my keep now, but maybe some other members will add to this topic. Later! Barra; Joanne; can this become a Sticky topic?

Most are first time buyers of industrial sewing machines and come here from the Sewing Leather Forum. Someone may have told them that they need an "industrial" sewing machine, but not the exact type or feed system. Without any background knowledge of what is actually required to sew various types and thicknesses of leather, they go for what looks like a big, heavy duty machine, only to find out here that it can't do what they thought it could. I, as well as many of the other sewing professionals here, had to work our way up through a variety of sewing machines, until we got the right machine for the jobs we need to sew. We spent a lot of time, money and frustration trying to kit-bash old machines, or wrong machines, into leather stitchers. After a lot of wasted resources we bought the best machine we could afford, that was actually capable of feeding and sewing thick leather. My first industrial machine (1984) was an old Singer 96k40, which I eventually converted into a roller foot feed. Still, all it could sew was leather garments and chaps, with #69 thread, tops. From its appearance, I thought it would sew 10-12 oz of belt leather without hesitation, but I was wrong. Ya live and learn. I will try to write-compile an article detailing this matter and perhaps it will be sticky'd. The title will be targeted at newbies to leather sewing. I and others have already posted most of the information that newbies need to read, but it has floated out of the current posts. Note: No disrespect is meant by the term "newbie." It defines a point in time where a person has yet to gather any meaningful experience in a particular subject they wish to pursue. Our forum exists, among other goals, to help bring newbies up to speed. For those, like "Stocksuspension," who have already bought an inadequate industrial machine, they can try to sell it through our own Machinery for Sale section, or their local Craigslist, for free.

I have a Union Lockstitch harness stitcher that can sew much bigger thread than #277, into 3/4" of anything under the foot. It is a needle and awl machine. PM me if interested in more details. It is located in mid-Michigan, for pickup only.

Short, tight stitches can be caused by too much top or bottom tension, or both. Also, since your machine has a flat, static foot, too much pressure on it will drag leather and vinyl and reduce the maximum stitch length.

Have you tried moving the stitch regulator knob to the longest stitch setting? If so, and it is too short, remove the stitch regulator knob and manually set its control cam to the longest possible position. The feed dog will only move so far, so you will have to max the setting with the adjuster knob off.

No. You can fit 1/4" under the pressor foot, but it is doubtful you will be able to stitch that much leather, unless it is soft leather. Also, you are limited to using #69 nylon thread and a #18 needle. This is fine for leather garments, or latigo, but not belts, holsters, or harness. Most leather goods 1/4" thick are sewn with #138 bonded nylon thread, top and bottom. A 99K is not equipped to handle #138 thread, or the #22 needle it requires. Furthermore, the 99K is a flat foot, drop feed machine. If you try to sew 1/4" of medium temper leather you will have to increase the pressure spring on the pressor foot, possibly all the way down. This increases the drag on the top grain and will cause the stitch length to vary all over the place and the layers will move out of alignment, from top drag. If you don't increase the foot pressure, the needle may lift the leather as it begins its ascent. This causes the top thread to not form a loop under the cover plate. Without a loop, no top thread is picked up and pulled around the bobbin, leading to skipped stitches. If you must use such a machine, at least fit it with a roller pressor foot.

Since you intend to use this machine to sew upholstery projects you will probably need to purchase a special roller foot equipped with steel rollers. Or buy a flip down roller foot conversion set. Most dealers have these items, or you can find them on eBay. The standard foot may not feed properly, depending on the softness or stickiness of the top grain of the material (leather and vinyl) and length of the project being sewn. Normally, vinyl and garment/upholstery leather are sewn on a compound feed walking foot machine, also known as triple feed. Your machine is single, bottom feed and is designed to sew cloth and denim. Here is your to do checklist: get proper system DBx1 (a.k.a. 1738) industrial needles, in sizes 16, 18, 20 and 22 (regular and leather point), in packs of ten if you now have a clutch motor, get a speed reducer, or a 2" motor pulley (will need a longer belt), or a replacement 1/2 hp servo motor with a speed limiter knob (Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines and other dealers) get a roller foot pressor foot, or roller foot conversion kit (see ) get #69 and #138 bonded nylon thread, in the colors you want to use, two spools each (1 for top 1 for bobbin). I recommend getting 1 pound spools for most used colors. get more bobbins and bobbin cases (with anti-backlash springs) get a quart or gallon of industrial sewing machine oil watch all of the industrial sewing videos you can find on YouTube get the proper long and short screw drivers for the pressor foot, needle clamping screw, cover plate and feed dog screws.

Here is showing how to thread an industrial machine similar to yours. Note, that if you intend to sew upholstery material, whether leather, leatherette, cloth, or vinyl, you will probably need at least #69 bonded nylon thread, in a # 18 needle. For a better appearance, try #138 nylon thread with a #22 needle.Get a speed reducer, or a servo motor with a smaller pulley, so you don't burn up the thread when sewing leather and vinyl. And, keep the machine oiled!