Wizcrafts

If you want to get serious about sewing leather you'll need a motorized walking foot or jumping foot industrial sewing machine. Ask Bob Tovar about the Cowboy stitchers, which are available in flatbed and cylinder arm versions, with needle feed, some with walking feet, others with jumping feet, some capable of sewing up to 3/4" and able to use very heavy thread. You really need to define your goals, communicate them to Bob and see what you can afford and buy the best you can for the money. This usually means buying new or rebuilt, rather than plain second hand. A Boss is a manually operated stitcher, with a pull lever. If you expect to use a manual machine to crank out chaps you better have a tough arm! Do yourself a favor and invest in a decent motorized machine that is setup to handle real leather, all day long.

That is different from the machine I had, in 1985. It resembled a walking foot machine, was sold as one, but was not. The outer foot moved backwards in concert with the material being pulled by the feed dogs. When it reached a certain point, with the needle now up, it began to raise off the material. At that moment a heavy leaf spring behind the outer foot shot it forward, to its starting position, ready to come down and repeat the process as the needle came down. The needle moved up and down, as did the inside pressor foot. Because the outside foot was pulled by the top layer of material, layers in between could shift and go out of alignment. When I stitched belt edges, for appearance, the polished surface of my hand stamped and waxed belts acted like wax paper under the outer foot. The poor machine couldn't maintain a constant stitch length as the moving foot slipped and snapped all over the work. A roller foot is nice, but will leave a heck of a track in vertan leather. If you back off the top spring pressure to alleviate the marking, the leather might lift when the needle comes up. Or, it might not. It should be perfect for chap leather.

If it is a driven walking foot you are good to go, up to the thickness you can fit under the feet. But, if it is a spring loaded outside foot you will find that it slips on smooth leather. I had one of those spring/jumping foot machines when I started in the leather sewing business, and the stitch length varied all over the place on anything remotely slippery.

Art; I have one of those SewPro 500GR 300 Watt motors driving my National Walking Foot machine (a Consew 206RB clone). I thought it was under-powered too, until I realized that the belt was slipping on the hand wheel pulley when starting to sew thick leather. After tightening the belt more than I first thought it needed, the slippage disappeared and there is no problem penetrating thick leather with heavy thread. The gear reduction servo motor has 3000 RPM max, with the speed pot on full clockwise. It is fitted with a 2" output pulley, so it slows down the top speed even more. This is a bit less than the clutch motors it replaces. It definitely has more torque than the 1/3 horsepower clutch motor, with a 2.25" pulley, that it replaced. And, it can sew so slowly I could almost fall asleep waiting for the machine to complete a cycle. Q: Are these 31-15 machines spring foot machines, or walking foot machines?

Thanks for the good answers. I do believe I'll tell Charlie to add a gallon of Lax Wax to the order I placed today! I'll ask again: do any of you guys or gals have any spare/extra/unwanted parts for a Union Lockstitch machine?

Aw, shucks, no luck. All Campbell has is Lax Wax and Charlie says it isn't water based. Darcy, can you get the brand name from your gallon can and let me know what it is?

I am curious if anybody uses a water based stitching wax for securing linen thread in a needle and awl machine? I used to have a solution known as Super Cyroxilin, but that was years ago. When it thickened too much in the wax pot I just added some warm water to get it liquefied again. Cleanup was a snap also, with hot water left in until the wax became runny and could be poured out of the pot. Does anyone know where I can get this type of stitching wax and what it might cost? I suppose I could try rubber cement - LOL Thanks

Andrew; I use a variety of pressor feet on that National walking foot machine you saw at my house. But, the set I use the most has a smooth left toe and inner foot. If you want to add feet, I'd recommend a 1/4" welting foot set and maybe a double split toe foot for added hold-down force. As for the stitch-in-the-ditch foot, you may have to make your own with a small grinder or sander to modify a regular inner foot. Or, just use a hand groover before you sew and an edge guide while sewing. The Adler you got from me has a nice edge guide. One type of foot I used to have for my previous ULS machine was a stepper foot (set). This was a right toe only foot that had a half round protrusion with narrow points on the bottom, on the back of the toe. The points were spaced to push the thread down, behind the needle, at the preset spi setting (5, 6, 7 ,8, etc). It acted just like a hand rolling overstitch wheel. It was hell on the leather if you turned a corner or sewed an English point on a strap, because the overstitch points would move out of the thread track and mark the leather.

I am restoring a 1916 Singer 66-1 and need some decals to finish the job. The large name decals (SINGER) are worn off and some of the red eyes and scrolls are damaged. If anyone knows where I can get some very old design new Singer decals please let me know.

The usual solution for sewing thick leather on a walking foot machine is to change the motor to a speed reduced SewPro 500GR servo motor, with a 2" pulley on the end. This will bring the top speed down to around 400 or 500 stitches per minute, maximum. The gear reduction is built in and gives a lot of low speed torque, needed to penetrate hard leather. The motor has variable speed and can be foot controlled to sew one stitch per second or less. The motor is a drop in replacement for the standard clutch motor that normally ships with industrial machines on k-legs tables. If you don't already have a source for these motors, Bob Kovar sells them at Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines. Steve may also have them, but he will have to chime in about that.

If that machine is a portable walking foot machine, the maximum thickness it will sew, without modifications, is 5/16". Also, if you attempt to sew over 1/4" vegtan belt leather on such a machine you will need to install the Monster Wheel, from Sailrite. The portable Chinese walking foot machines can be modded to handle up to 3/8" under the feet, but require the Monster Wheel for the necessary punching power.

I have an old (1930's) Union Lockstitch machine in need of pressor feet and throat plates. Nobody here appears to have any spare parts, so I am hoping to get some made for a price I can afford. Are there any members of this forum, who have a Union Lockstitch sewing machine, who are able to fabricate pressor feet for a ULS machine? If so, can you mill them from stainless steel, to avoid discoloring wet leather? I am looking for various pressor foot types, including left toe, right toe and double split toe. I even need a standard, closed ULS pressor foot, like this one that is on my machine now (but better made): . For throat plates I am looking for plates with raised ends (for holsters and cases), with narrow needle slots (for a number 3 (200) needle and 4 (220) awl and 4 spi maximum), with and without long edge guide slots on the right side. I could also use a throat plate with a 3" long left end - to support heavy work - and long right side slots for my edge guide. Here are samples of long and short throat plates for a ULS machine: If you, or a friend, can recreate hard steel pressor feet or throat plates for a Union Lockstitch machine, please contact me through the forum links, or by phone, at: 810-422-5301.

Get ahold of Henry Veenhoven, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His phone number is 416-231-1870. He may still have needles for the Frobana-Gritzner sole stitchers, for which he was a dealer. He currently sells Junker & Ruh hand operated sole stitchers.

That foot controller is for a home sewing machine motor, not an industrial motor. That's what threw us for a loop. When we think of a foot pedal we are thinking about a large mechanical pedal that pivots on a steel floor bar - on a steel k-legs frame, that has linkage going up to an arm hanging down from a servo or clutch motor, mounted under a 48" x 20" x 1.75" sewing table.

If the needle and thread in it stitches perfectly on cloth, but not on your chrome tanned leather, it could be related to the pressor foot tension, being too light. Leather is tougher than most fabrics and tends to pull up as the needle rises from the hole. If this happens you will have skipped stitches. Increase the pressor foot tension and try again.

What I do for a living is a combination of arts and crafts. My primary income, believe it or not, comes from playing Country-Western, Southern Rock and Classic Rock Music, in two bands, in Flint, Michigan (+ some studio gigs). My instrument is the pedal steel guitar, which I play aggressively and precisely. I have been a professional musician since late 1974. I have toured the US and Canada, have been on live and recorded TV shows and on numerous recording sessions. See www.wiztunes.com for details. My secondary income is from computer troubleshooting, webmaster services and online security and threat consulting for websites and individuals. My current specialty lies in protecting websites and forums hosted on Apache Web Servers from hackers, spammers and scammers. To do this I write, publish and update several IP blocklists to deny access to unwanted traffic. See my Wizcrafts Computer Services webmaster page for details I made a fair amount of cash last summer and fall, doing contract sewing of guitar straps and rifle slings, for a nearby leather shop; M&M Leathercraft, with whom I have been associated since the late-1980's. I am hoping to make money again in custom leather work and contract sewing, which used to be one of my major businesses, about 15 years ago. I plan to get back into making custom gun leather and heavy belts, straps and harnesses, now that I have a Union Lockstitch machine - for the second time in my life.

I am having difficulty finding #1 1/2 needles and #4.5 or #5 awls for my Union Lockstitch machine. I still need replacement pressor feet, any type (including a standard foot), and raised throat plates for shaped holsters and cases.

I would like to get a second hand 1 1/2" diameter, half-round, hand held belt end punch. Contact me if you have one to let go of, in good cutting condition.

I have been able to find some new parts, but no old stock, or used parts. Someone must have extra parts for a Union Lockstitch machine that they can spare. I would like to buy the following items: #1, #1.5 and #3.5 needles #4 and #4.5 or #5 awls Any pressor feet for the ULS, including standard and the adjustable stepper feet and brackets Raised throat plates for holsters and stirrups, with and without slot for edge guide Short-ended throat plate to sew cases close to the post, upside down. Fixed face edge guide and hardware Bobbins T-wrenches, any size Thread guides Loopers Main take-up spring Main pressure spring and post for top of machine Take-up mechanism parts Pressor foot lift parts Various 4-sided drive screws Bobbin winder assembly Bobbin cover plate Bobbin compartment cover Misc gears 5 and 6 cord, left twist, glazed linen thread Super Cyroxiline (spelling?) clear stitching wax #346 and larger bonded polyester thread, in black, white, brown and natural.