Wizcrafts

There are a couple of machines that can handle up to 36 ounces. The primary ones I think of are the Cowboy cb3500 and cb4500, the Cobra Class 3 and Class 4 and the Techsew 5100. There is also the option of a manually operated stitcher like the Cowboy Outlaw.

The Cowboy Outlaw will do what you ask for and is within your budget. It has a deeper throat than the Boss. But, if business picks up, your arm may get tired after a while. ;-)

This is an Adler model 18 patcher. It is likely from the late 1800s or early 1900s. There is a previous discussion about this model, here.

As for sewing caps, hats and bags, I use a post bed machine for those jobs. Mine has a 7 inch post and walking feet. It handles thread sizes up to #138 and uses a G size bobbin.

This is the feed motion crank I am referring to: https://www.ebay.com/itm/162537988829

@02indian Have you read this topic yet?

Regarding things sewn with various sizes of thread, this belt was stitched on my Cowboy CB4500 using #207 bonded nylon thread, top and bottom, with a #24 needle. The total thickness was about 12 ounces. This thickness allowed me to completely bury the knots. Had it been 16 ounces thick, I would have used #277 thread with a #25 needle.

Here is a needle and thread size chart. The various "sizes" of thread are shown with their US and Metric diameters and the corresponding proper needle sizes to use with each.

The reverse lever on this machine gets pushed down, not up. It is totally separate from the stitch length adjuster. Here is an adjusters' manual. It's the best I can find. CONSEW+289RB+INSTRUCTION+MANUAL.pdf

That is NOT an industrial sewing machine! It is strictly for household cloth sewing. However, it will probably handle small pieces of thin chrome tan leather, up to about 4 ounces. You might need to change to a Teflon foot though. Parts may or may not exist anymore. In the future, ignore any sewing machine described as Industrial Strength. It is an advertising come-on and is false. A sewing machine is either industrial or domestic. Finally, all replies in the Help Wanted section need a moderator's approval before they are unhidden. You will get better assistance in the Sewing Leather forums.

Decades ago I was the sewer for a one man industrialist. We needed to edge bind honeycomb material road worker vests, having inside curves at the armholes, and, after trying commercially available units, I ended up having a custom right angle binder made. My deduction is that 1, you need a right angle binder to sew inside curves and 2, it may need to be built for the job at hand.

Brian; I see you have a lot of bobbin tension in that video. I typically run with much less bobbin tension, allowing me to reduce the top tension and still balance the knots. This results in less fighting of the feed, especially on softer types of leather, like oiled or Carnauba'd belts and straps, or chaps. Lighter tension makes sense when using your narrow feed set to sew items we normally couldn't do on a CB4500 or equivalent.

It could be that the top thread is twisty and is causing the twisty balls to form randomly. I have lots of twisty thread spools and counteract the twist by feeding the thread through a top post that has two holes, thusly: feed through the top hole inline. Pull the thread around the front on the left. Feed the thread through the bottom hole from right to left. This creates a counterclockwise (CCW) bias that counteracts the clockwise twist that exists in most bonded thread spools. Try this if your top post allows it. BTW: you said you use 135x15 needles. Did you mean 135x17? Those are the standard needle for sewing vinyl and cloth on walking foot machines like yours.

Needle and awl machines are not for beginners unless the seller will instruct you before you take the machine. I speak from experience. The American SN isn't a good choice for general leather work. You'd be better off with a Campbell-Randall, or Landis 3 or 16. These machines typically sell for about 2.5 to 3k as is, or 5k rebuilt. Again, I would not buy one unless the seller gave me the basic how to-s and included necessary tools and accessories. Machines like these have been out of production since the middle of the 20th Century.

The Cobra brand of sewing machines is owned and sold by Leather Machine Company, in California. Have you thought about contacting them for a parts manual?

You need to hold the top thread back at the start or it will get pulled and wrapped around the shuttle and/or bobbin case race and jam the hook. If possible, hold both threads back equally. But, at least keep the top thread under hand tension until you sew 2 or 3 stitches. If it is inconvenient to hold the thread back, at least capture it under the outside presser foot and make sure the take-up lever is either at the top, or just moving down before you start to sew. This gives you a fighting chance. Ask that sewing machine store if they deal with industrial sewing machines. There is a world of difference between industrial and domestic (household) sewing machines. People versed in domestics may or may not Grok the intricacies of operating or even threading an industrial machine.

If you go to buy the Kenmore in that ad, thinking it is a left handed machine, you'll be wasting gas. It is like all Kenmores, a standard right hand machine, with the needle on the left and handwheel on the right. The photo's contents are reversed. The person who took the picture did it wrong. That's probably why it hasn't sold in 25 weeks!

The holster plate serves one purpose. It raises the leather above the end of the machine and the shuttle cover so that lower shapes can pass by close to the stitch line. Some holsters are sewn pre-shaped, or have belt loops on the back, or other hardware that would get hung up on the standard low throat plate. The holster plate is also useful for sewing dog collars and horse tack so that hardware can slide by close to the left side of the feet. I usually use a right toe foot in these instances.

There are different configurations of presser feet to handle particular jobs better than the standard double or split single foot. If you need to sew very close to the right edge, use a left toe foot. If you need to sew close to a raised surface on the left, use a right toe foot. Zippers are usually sewn with a left toe foot that misses the teeth on the right. Edge guide feet eliminate the need to fit a moving edge guide. They come in several spacings from 1/8 through 3/8 inches from the spring. Most have the spring on the right but some are on the left. Piping feet are sold in sets of matching curvature on the inside and outside foot (walking foot machines). They let you sew extremely close to the piping inside the raised material on the left. There are also double sided piping feet that sew two pipes at the same time. This is just a sample of what is available. Necessity is the mother of invention (Help, I'm A Rock!). As new needs are encountered by the sewists, manufacturers fill those needs.

Translation: Excellent work and an impressive restored relic well done this machine would appreciate it

The post may have been to a members only group, or from a person who only shares with their friends. "This content isn't available right now" "When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted."

That drawing is correct. That is the curved slot that determines the lift by the position of the crankshaft you arrowed. You should zero the position of the feet first, as I described. Then adjust the amount of lift if any change is needed.

Loosen the big bolt on the rear-left of the head, where the crankshaft goes into the head. Handwheel (verb) until the tip of the needle just reaches the top plane of the throat plate. Now pull on the inside foot until it meets the throat plate and lock the big bolt in in that position. This is the ideal setting for the alternation of the feet. The actual lift is controlled by the vertical position of the crank in a curved slot, coming out of the body on the other side of the housing that the big bolt crank connects to. The farther the movable arm is from the axle, the higher the lift.

She's a keeper! Congrats!

Make sure you are threading the top thread through the top guide post, then around the top tension disks, around the check spring, up to the takeup lever, then down through the guides to the needle. Make sure the thread stays in the top tension disks and that they don't separate as you sew. The disks should only open when you raise the feet manually with the hand/foot/knee lifter. Make sure you are using the correct needle System. You machine prefers System 135x16 (leather point) and 135x17 (round point). Make sure the needle is all the way up in the hole in the needle bar. Make dead sure the rib side faces due left and the cutout scarf over the eye faces due right! Hole back the starting threads! If the material covers the bobbin thread, hold the top thread under the presser foot for a couple stitches, so it catches and doesn't jam in the shuttle. Insert the bobbin so it unloads opposite the direction of rotation of the shuttle.