Wizcrafts

Now that we have gotten that machine out of the way, might I suggest that a Consew 206RB, or similar, will fit your requirements? If you can even consider a new machine, Cobra Steve, located in California, sells a model 18 flatbed walking foot machine that will sew an honest 3/8" of real leather. It is a triple feed machine, and built tough. They come with servo motors that are easy to control at slow or high speeds.

As far as I have seen the Consew 220 is a single flat foot, straight stitch garment machine. It is an old model, lacking reverse. It may sew 1/4" of soft leather, like chap or vest leather, if you install a roller foot, or teflon foot. It is most likely limited to using #69 thread maximum. You would probably have to change the motor pulley to a 2" diameter to be able to sew on leather. A Consew 220 sells for about $200 to $250 nowadays.

I should have explained in my reply that a needle and awl machine is the best type to use for any leather project that thick. These machines have a top mounted awl that stabs a hole through the leather, advances the stitch the preset length, as the pressor foot lifts, then raises out of the leather after the pressor foot lowers. As the awl raises up the needle also comes up from the bottom side, through the hole made by the awl. A looper feeds the top thread around a barb in the top of the raised needle, which then goes back down, where the thread is pulled off the barb of the needle and around the bobbin case, forming the lockstitch. This type of machine is the most reliable for heavy leather stitching and is the choice of many commercial holster makers. There are probably some needle only machines that can fit an inch under the pressor foot, but I don't think the needle will survive more than a couple of stitches in one inch of veg-tan leather, unless you wet it first to soften it up and run the thread through a silicon lube pot, or use the pre-lubed and messy Weaver bonded nylon thread. The friction generated by an inch of leather can deflect the needle causing it to break, or heat up and cause the thread to melt, or it can seize in the leather and get pulled right out of the needle bar. The larger the needle and thread, the more likely one of those things will occur. Somebody who has a machine that can effectively sew an inch of veg-tan may reply with their details and advice. The brand new Cobra Class 25-4 has a 1" maximum pressor foot lift and can sew up to 7/8" of leather, very slowly.

A Campbell-Randall needle and awl machine with the high lift option will sew up to 1 1/8" of leather, perfectly. Here is the details page for the Campbell stitchers

Scott; Thompson minis are decent little portable walking foot machines, but are designed to sew vinyl and plastic boat windows, not leather. The pressor feet have teeth on the bottom, as well as a drop feed feed dog. These machines will sew about 5/16" of material. The bobbins look like standard industrial bobbins and I think they use the 135x needle system. There are two drawbacks to using this type of stitcher, unmodified. 1: the teeth on the pressor feet will leave a trail in top grain leather and 2: the flywheel is small and not very heavy. You will need to hand wheel to start stitching on belts, or to maintain a slow stitch rate. Some members of this forum use mini-walking foot machines made by Sailrite, Thompson, Morse, and various Chinese brands. They modify them by grinding the teeth off the bottom of the pressor feet, giving more sewing thickness capacity, and by adding a "Monster Wheel" and belt sold by the Sailrite company. Another upgrade would be to install a new Sailrite 1.5 amp 8000 rpm motor and heavy duty control pedal. If you buy the Thompson machine and find that it lacks punching power, the Monster wheel and bigger belt will cost you around $125 plus shipping. Other pressor feet are available and go for around $25 a set, or less. I think the new motors go for about fifty bucks, or less. Visit www.sailrite.com for more info about parts for mini walkers. Even with the Monster Wheel and 1.5 amp motor, a mini walking foot machine is no match for a real industrial walking foot machine, or even a needle feed machine. These are usually equipped with large clutch or servo motors rated at 1/2 hp and larger. Let us know if you get the machine and how it works for your leather projects.

I frequently see posts on the Leather Sewing Machines forum from people wanting to sew leather, but not understanding what type of machine to buy. While a lot of you are looking to sew some serious heavy leather projects many are just looking to sew chaps and vests and some wallets. You folks are wasting a lot of money working your way up to an industrial walking foot machine! Some try to get by with old Singer machines, like the ones seen on eBay that are shown sewing leather. You buy one only to find out that it can only sew about 3/16" of soft leather, using #69 nylon thread and the stitch length is all over the place due to drag from the pressor foot. What you need is called a walking foot machine. These are full size, 70+ pound industrial sewing machines, mounted on 20" x 48" x 1.75" tables on steel legs, with a large 1/2 hp clutch or servo motor mounted to the underside of the table. A V belt connects the small pulley on the motor to a large pulley on a flywheel, on the back of the machine head. The speed is controlled by a large foot plate that pivots on a steel bar running along the front of the k-legs assembly. There is also a knee lever under the table, or second foot pedal on the floor bar, to raise the pressor foot without using your hands to do so. There are two pressor feet on a walking foot machine; a forward/backward moving narrow inner foot with a hole for the needle to go through, and a larger up/down motion outer foot that secures the material or releases it. There is usually a lower feed dog with one row of teeth, that raise and lower as it moves through slots in a throat cover plate. As the bottom feed dog moves backward the needle and inner pressor foot are timed to move with it by the same amount. While the inner foot, needle and feed dog are moving the material, the outside pressor foot is lifted off the material. Because the feed dog, needle and inner foot all move the material simultaneously, from top to bottom, the stitch length does not vary, because the layers don't drag against the top foot. Also, because of this compound feed system, multiple layers stay aligned on a walking foot machine. In comparison, on a standard straight stitch machine all of the feeding is done by the feed dog teeth dragging the material from the bottom, while the single flat pressor foot maintains top pressure to prevent the material from lifting as the needle and thread come out of the material. If one loosens the pressor foot tension too much, to allow sticky material to feed without dragging, the material may lift as the needle begins to lift up, causing skipped stitches. The material must stay all the way down as the needle exits it, in order to form the loop that gets pulled around the bobbin case by the pickup point. Often, when sewing leather, you must apply so much top pressure, to avoid skipped stitches, that the drag of the pressor foot cause the stitches to vary in length, or causing the top layer to go out of alignment with the bottom layer of material. Another question that is frequently asked here is: "can such and such a machine sew over 1/4" (whatever) of leather?" If the machine in question is a straight stitch - bottom feed machine and it is not specifically designed to sew thick leather, the answer is usually "No." But, if it is a modern walking foot machine, the answer becomes "Yes, up to about 3/8". We have a For Sale section of our leatherworker.net forums, where individual members and dealers alike can offer new or used sewing machines for sale. Take a look in that section to see if anybody has a decent walking foot machine for sale anywhere near you. Also, contact the dealers who frequent this forum and ask what they have in stock that will do the best job for the projects you are wanting to sew. If you buy a machine from one of our member dealers you will get treated right. They will go over the machine to make sure it is in proper working condition and will set you up with a manual, needles, bobbins and thread. They will even assist you with problems that may arise as you are learning your way around the machine. One of the best options for a beginner to an industrial sewing machine is to get one equipped with a servo drive motor, rather than a clutch motor. Servo motors are infinitely easier to control at slow speed than clutch motors. Considering that you are probably going to end up with a walking foot machine, why not start with one and save all the hassles awaiting you as you fight with straight stitch machines meant to sew clothing, drapes, or upholstery? If you want to sew really heavy leather projects, like saddles, harnesses, holsters and such, look for a super heavy duty - long cylinder arm harness stitcher instead. These also show up in the for sale section from time to time as the owners upgrade to the latest and greatest machine of the year. There are usually banner ads at the top of the forums from dealers selling new harness stitchers, with most capable of sewing up to 3/4" of real leather, with #346 bonded nylon or polyester thread, using a #27 needle that is almost 2.5 inches long. Below, are a couple of pictures of my National walking foot machine. It is capable of sewing just over 3/8" of belt leather, with up to #207 nylon thread, using a # 24 needle. It is equipped with a left toe only pressor foot set, in these photos. I have about 10 different pressor foot sets for this machine, to do various types of jobs. Parts costs are very reasonable on these types of machines.

Jimbob; Contact Bob Kovar, at Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines. He can advise you about rebuilding and timing the machines and has all the parts you will need.

Jeff; The Singer 29-4 models are going on a hundred years old now and the parts that drive the stitch length wear out over time. Here is a list of things you can check out to see what is causing the short stitches. Lift the pressor foot lever to the raised position and lower the stitch regulator all the way down, then tighten it in back Lift the pressor foot lever and see if you can wiggle the foot forward and backward more than 1/16 inch either way Feel the bottom of the pressor foot to see if the teeth are still viable Tighten the pressure spring along the back of the machine to exert more downward pressure Loosen the pressure spring in case it was too tight Check the throat plate cover for burs or gouges that might grab the leather as you try to advance it Make sure the bobbin case tension allows the thread to flow freely, but with some tension. If too tight the stitches may be pulled short from the bobbin thread. Check the top tension to make sure it isn't so tight that it drags the work forward against the foot action. Any of those things can affect the stitch length, especially if the top tension spring is too loose, or the teeth are worn off the bottom of the foot. Too much thread tension can shorten the stitches by fighting against the foot action. But, the most common problem with hundred year old patchers is a worn out stitch regulator puck inside the rotating pressor foot assembly, where it is attached to the bottom of the head. When the needle moves up the mechanism lowers the butterfly housing, causing a puck to pivot inside the housing. It is the amount of downward pivoting that determines the maximum stitch length. If you have lowered the regulator and set it firmly on the back of the two rails that are part of the foot assembly and the tensions are all decent, but the stitches are very short, the puck is probably worn out inside the butterfly housing. You may be able to get replacement parts from Bob Kovar, at Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines. Otherwise, disassemble the head of the patcher and unscrew the foot mechanism. Send the moving ring and the housing it revolves in to a machinist to have some bronze weld added to it and shaped to minimize slack without binding. I did this on two old patchers I owned and restored the full stitch length to them.

I'm guessing that decent prices would be $300 to $400 for the 211G155 walking foot machine and about $150 each for the #188 drapery machines. Be prepared to purchase new servo motors for all of these machines. They are probably equipped with high speed low hp clutch motors and large motor pulleys. Servo motors will cost you about $165 each, plus shipping and are bolt-in replacements for the clutch motors, wires and switch boxes. Most servo motors sold here have small 2" pulleys to reduce top speed and increase torque. If the seller doesn't have needles, bobbins and thread, they can all be purchased from Bob Kovar, at Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines. He also sells the servo motors with built-in gear reduction.

Chris; The Singer 153W102 is a cylinder arm, straight stitch (no reverse) standard flat foot machine, good for sewing leather and vinyl up to a bit over 1/4" thick, with up to a #22, series 135x16/17 needle and up to #138 nylon thread. They use a standard industrial bobbin, which doesn't hold much #138 thread. These machines do better sewing #69 thread, with a #18 needle. I would classify the 153 as a heavy garment sewing machine (jeans, vests, jackets, chaps), with leather capabilities. It is excellent for sewing garment and chap leather or saddlebags made from Latigo. It is definitely NOT a saddle or horse gear machine. I think that the cylinder arm is about 3" in diameter by around 9" long, and is cut off right after the bobbin case and cover, just to the left of the outside pressor foot. You can sew real close to the edge of the machine. They shipped with clutch motors, typically between 1/3 and 1/2 horsepower, at 1725 rpm. You must learn to feather the clutch to sew at slow speed. If you can try it out take some material and run it through the machine, using whatever needle and thread they have on hand. It is a handy little cylinder arm machine for small projects that need to be sewn close to the edge, or upside down (e.g: cases, pouches, bags). If you are looking for a machine to sew saddles and horse gear, keep looking elsewhere. The machines that do saddles are about twice the size of a 153W, have 15+ inch arm length, use a long system 794 needle, available up to size 27, and can sew up 3/4" veg-tan or bridle/harness leather with #346 bonded nylon or polyester thread. These machines are usually equipped with a lube pot on top, to keep the thread from melting. They are usually geared down with speed reducers and have very high torque slow speed servo motors.

I have a National 306N and it ias the best walking foot machine I have ever owned. I get my needles and bobbins from Bob Kovar, owner of Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines and member of this forum. He has parts should you need them. He used to be a dealer of National machines, which were made in Japan. They have a lot of parts in common with Consew machines, especially the 206RB series. The 306N uses a large M series bobbin that holds about 50% more thread than a standard bobbin. The largest thread I have sewn on the National is 207, top and bottom. Most people would recommend using 138 in the bobbin and 207 on top. The 306N uses series 135x16 and 135x17 needles, available from Bob Kovar, in sizes up to #25.

Question #1 was answered by Cobra Steve. Q2: Since leather is dense material, a top speed of no more than 5 or 6 stitches per second is about right for 1/4" of belt or bridle leather. Chap or garment leather can be sewn faster. Belts and straps, or holsters, over 5/16" should be sewn even slower; around 4 stitches per second, to avoid burning the thread on a hot needle (and your fingers if you touch the hot needle). Q3: Almost any industrial sewing machine with a compound feed or walking foot system will sew 1/4"+. You should get one with a half horsepower clutch motor, with a speed reducer pulley set, or a servo motor, with built-in gear reduction, or a 2" motor pulley and a speed limiter control knob. Q4: I believe you meant to ask about the difference between drop feed and needle feed machines. A sewing machine with feed dogs (with the jagged teeth) under a cover plate, below the needle area, which can be raised or lowered in height where they protrude above the top of their slots, are called drop feed. Some sewing machines actually have a mechanical control know to drop these feed dogs below the surface completely. These dropped feed machines can then be used for freehand or hoop embroidery. A needle feed machine is a horse of another color! These are commercial machines that may or may not have feed dogs under the cover plate. The needle is mechanically driven away from the operator (in normal sewing) as it penetrates the layers and sews. Because the needle moves the material after penetrating the layers, it reduces slippage. But, if there is too much pressure on the pressor foot, the material may drag on it and the stitch length may be reduced. There is a type of needle feed machine, made for harness makers, which has a pressor foot that lifts up as the needle feeds the work, then lowers to secure it as the needle is withdrawn. This is sometimes called a jump foot harness stitcher. IHTH!

Yes. As a matter of fact, you can buy a three piece set that includes the roller presser foot, single row feed dog and a single slot throat plate. You just need to find the combination that fits a Singer 111W102.

Jimbob; Ur welcome! I also have a 15-91 that I bought from the local Sally Ann store, equipped it with an even feed attachment, and was using to sew Naugahyde, until I bought a real walking foot machine. All I had to do to it was rebuild the motor and lube it. They are tough little machines! Since 1984 I have worked my way up through a series of sewing machines. I started with a slant needle Singer, that was best at breaking needles in leather, to a Singer tailoring machine (nvg), to a Singer with alternating spring loaded feet (n/g), to a Singer 111W155 (good), to a Juki LU563 (vg), to a National walking foot machine (Great), to a Union Lockstitch machine (Great). I can tell you that if you are sewing garment or chap leather, or Naugahyde, or jeans, you should get a compound feed walking foot machine. There are many excellent flatbed walking foot machines to choose from, including those made by Adler, Artisan, Brother, Cobra, Consew, Cowboy, Juki, Neel's Saddlery, Seiko and Toro. If you intend to sew holsters, knife sheaths, saddle bags, or shaped cases, get a heavy duty cylinder arm harness stitcher, with the throat plate cut off close to the bobbin case cover, and with fairly narrow presser feet. Do not dink around with older machines made to sew textiles; they won't do the kind of job you may have to do, won't properly deal with heavy thread and may go out of time or break if over stressed. Dress belts and guitar straps fall in between and I usually sew then on a flatbed walking foot machine, where they can be turned around and laid flat. Weight belts and rifle slings with foam padding between the layers are best sewn on a cylinder arm or post machine. I happen to have a Union Lockstitch, needle and awl machine, which is used on all heavy leather projects. It sews 3/4" without blinking, with #346 or larger bonded thread, all the way up to 12 cord linen thread. It can even sew soles onto shoes (I've done it)! A walking foot is really only needed when you are sewing multiple layers of slippery material, or items with thick seams and second levels. The outer foot lifts up and grabs the upper level, or walks down to a lower leveel, while the inner foot presses down on the work, and usually pulls the work with the needle and feed dogs. You can actually hold the work tightly on a walking foot machine and it won't slip, unless you have really backed off the presser foot tension springs (there are 2). If you are only sewing flat layers of belt or harness leather together (no big seams to go over), a heavy duty flat foot, drop feed machine will do the job. These are usually knock-offs of the venerable Singer 45K series. These are available in flatbed and cylinder arm types. Names like Cowboy and Techsew come to mind. These machines will usually sew a bit over 3/8", with #346 thread, run through a silicon lube container. Whatever machine you end up purchasing, if you intend to sew any thick leather, you'll want to get either a speed reducer, or a servo motor. Most industrial machines come with a clutch motor, which can be difficult to control for slow speeds. You must learn to feather the clutch to slow down. Servo motors are electronically controlled by the position of the foot pedal and are easier to use at slow speeds.

James; No, to my knowledge that machine is not convertible without a major parts addition operation. The casing itself would need to be altered to hold the walking foot lifter shaft, on the back. It is a good straight stitch machine though.

Sometimes, I will double loop the top thread through the tension disks, and/or, triple wrap it around the guide post. This adds more top tension, which you can counterbalance on the bobbin spring.

Bobby; Thanks for the advice, but, how do I find Bob Douglas? Does he have a website? How about a handle on the forum?

I am looking for a new or used French Edger tool, one half inch (1/2) wide at the blade. I intend to use it to skive a channel for sight tracks in fold over holsters. No chipped or rusted blades please. Call "Wiz" at 810-422-5301, or reply through the forum if you are a member, if you have a 1/2" French Edge tool for sale.

Becky; I happen to have a Singer 15-91, which is pretty much the same machine you have. Mine has the Pod motor built into the case, whic I rebuilt. Before I bought my walking foot machine I used that 1950's Singer to sew everything from leather to vinyl, up to 5/16" thickness. I found that the machine does not want to sew with anything thicker than V92 /T90 bonded nylon on top and V69 /T70 in the bobbin, because of the same tension issues you found. But, I unwound the top tension disk assembly and rethreaded it so the spring and front numbered plate went all the way around and it did indeed squueze the thop thread sufficiently to get the knot in the middle of a 1/4" thick belt. Another trick is to use a #20 leather point needle, which I found on eBay. That needle makes a bigger hole and makes it easier for the thread to pull up the knot. I hope this helps you out. Don't expect anything more from these little old machines, as they were designed for light duty sewing. If you ask around I'm sure you can find a dealer on this forum who sells used leather sewing machines. Bob Kovar, of Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines is one who does. He has lots of old and rebuilt machines in his warehouse. A Singer 111W155 is a good starter walking foot machine that can be had dirt cheap. Have a servo motor added, in place of the clutch motor, and you can sew up to #207 bonded nylon on top, in these machines, with #138 in the bobbin. Bob also sells all weights of nylon thread and all needles and bobbins and has lots of spare parts. I get stuff from hime all the time.

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.