Wizcrafts

The entire problem with that link was that it pointed to http instead of https. I corrected the link so it opens or saves the file without a security warning. I downloaded it and it is safe.

What point does your #25 needle have? The best shape for ease of penetration is the inline S point, followed by the D or tri point. The worst is the round point which tends to get stuck in the leather. You may have to add more foot pressure too if the leather keeps lifting. If you have a pack of #26 needles in S point, try using one instead of the #25. If you have a lube pot on top, fill it with liquid silicon and run the top thread through it. You will need to back off the tension to compensate for the additional drag of going through the pot.

If the OP moves up one needle size, the foot pressure won't need to be increased. This assumes a short step up, like from a 23 to a 24, or a 24 to a 25. I just went through this myself where I tried using a #23 needle with #207 thread on a bridle leather belt. It started lifting immediately. I moved up to a #24 needle and actually was able to back off the foot pressure.

Your needle is too small for the density of the leather and size of the lockstitch knots. Move up on size and the problem should resolve itself.

The Chandler looks like a Juki LU-563 I used to have. It was a clone of a Singer 111w156. The Singers had G size bobbins that are regarded as 1x capacity. The Juki had a double capacity U bobbin. There is an in-between M bobbin that holds about 1.7x of a Singer G. The Chandler in the photo will probably have either a G or M bobbin. I has compound feed walking feet and probably handles #138 thread. It would be a great fit for your planned sewing work.

Call Bob Kovar, Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines, at: 866-362-7397 to order needles and bobbins for your machine.

I do zipper replacements and repairs in my shop in Mid-Michigan. When the slider itself becomes defective, it's days are usually numbered. However, if you can apply some Super Glue Gel under the side tabs on the hold down bar, it might hang in there for a much longer time. Make sure it doesn't get into the body of the zipper or the pull tab. If unsuccessful, it would be best to find somebody in the Fashion District to replace it for you. Replacing zippers and pulls on purses is an unpleasant job. There are replacement sliders made that pop open and snap closed. The existing puller would have to be cut off and the open slider positioned in its place, then snapped shut. Check with any local tailor shops.

I recently got a replacement needle bar with a needle clamp with a thread guide on the bottom from Bob Kovar. He has parts for all manner of industrial sewing machines. Call him at 866-362-7397.

I want to pass along a fix I learned years ago when the forward and reverse stitches don't match on a Juki 441 or clone. This is low-tech, but it works for me. First, unthread the needle and verify that forward and reverse are not in sync at various locked in stitch length settings (using the finger screw adjustable stop block on the stitch lever). If they are out of sync, unscrew the top screw on the stitch length nacelle, slide a 1/32 inch thickness washer with a 3/16 inch hole under the top of the nacelle, inline with the top hole and reinstall the top screw. Some machines will be corrected with this thickness, while others may need a thinner or thicker washer. While this isn't the official way to match the stitch lengths, it is simple, quick, affordable and just works.

Back in November my partner in the shop made a holster and handed to me to sew. He failed to mark the STOP point and I hit a steel clip he embedded between the layers. The #25 disintegrated into dozens of pieces of shrapnel, most of which hit me in the chest and some in the face. My glasses protected my eyes.

That's why I didn't see anything in the moderation history.

I looked through the Moderation History for this topic and there is nothing about anybody's posts being deleted or hidden. Do you recall what the context was? Could it have been edited? I do see that you edited 2 of you own comments earlier in this thread. It is remotely possible that your "missing" comment was moved down by other comments that were in the que and is in fact still there.

I was about to recommend a post machine. You can get them already equipped a a roller foot and sometimes, with a roller feeder. I used to have such a machine that I used to make Bikers' caps. The driven roller on the bottom and follow roller on top allowed really precise sewing.

Those machines use System 328 needles. The leather points are 328LR. Another compatible system is 214x1. These needles were made to fit the Singer 45k series machines (45x1).

He means that due to the small pulley on the back, unless you have a speed reducer between the motor and machine, it will operate too fast for hard veg-tan leather. This could cause the needle to burn the leather and thread and will cause skipped stitches. However, if you only plan to sew soft chrome tan leather, like is used on seat covers and couches, it should be fine. This type of leather can be sewn faster than the vegetable tanned type which is usually tooled.

I have a Cowboy CB4500 and have used it to sew a one inch thick holster. I had to remove the standard throat plate and feed dog and replace them with the low riding, narrow slotted throat plate. Then, I reduced the alternating feet lift ratio to the absolute minimum setting. This gained just enough extra clearance to move the leather for each stitch. With the standard setup, the machine maxed out at 7/8 inch. However, due to the feed dog being gone, reverse didn't match forward stitches. So, I learned to set the stitch lever to the zero position and double tap into the same holes to lock the knots inside the holes without moving the leather. I finished this process after removing the holster by pulling up on the top thread to get the double knots well into the hole. I also recall I used a Diamond point needle instead of the standard S point. If this isn't enough clearance, there is a Campbell High Lift available from Campbell-Randall Company, in Texas. It sews up to 1.25 inches of leather. If you contact your primary dealer for these machines he may be able to set it up in advance to sew one inch out of the box. This might be at the cost of the feet not reaching all the way down on thin leather. In that case you would lose the ability to sew thinner jobs without repositioning the presser bar. At the very least you would have to increase the alternating lift ratio to clear new layers at normal thicknesses.

Further down, in the details, they reveal that the leather was sewn with #69 bonded nylon, probably with either a #16 or 18 needle. If you intend to limit your leather to 10 ounces, and the feed dog teeth get enough grip on the bottom to feed the leather, it should do until you can afford a proper industrial leather sewing machine. Hopefully, you won't burn out its tiny 1.2 amp motor before then. They smoke and smell bad when overloaded by sewing hard temper leather. I know this from my own experience with a very similar Sears Kenmore machine I bought a dozen years ago for peanuts. It blew up trying to sew a leather bikers' vest. The reality of the situation is that it is purely a domestic sewing machine for household sewing of garments and light weight home accessories. It was not built to stand up to the pounding it would get regularly sewing leather denser than 4 or 5 ounces. You need a real industrial sewing machine, preferably with a compound feed walking foot system to sew medium to hard leather on a regular basis. These machines have motors rated between 1/2 and 3/4 horsepower. The motor on the Kenmore is 1.2 amps at full speed and probably puts out 1/15th hp. If you need more information, read my sticky article about the type of machine you need to sew leather.

That machine would have to mechanically 100% to properly handle 20 ounces of leather. It was not built with this in mind. It was for leather and vinyl upholstery. I had a similar machine with the National nametag. It worked great sewing 12 to 16 ounces, but struggled with anything above that. I had to crank down both foot pressure screws almost all the way to keep the leather from lifting with the needle on the upstroke. It let me use #207 on top with #138 in the bobbin, but was happier with #138 top and bottom (above 8-9 ounce thickness), down to #69 for thin leather seams. I paid for it sewing rifle slings and guitar straps for a friend who had a business.

Try downloading it now. It is in pdf format. Most devices are able to open pdfs. SQ5000Instructions.pdf

I don't see any evidence of moderation on any posts in this thread. Are you sure you pushed the Submit button?

In a nutshell, that's what this forum is here for. It exists to discuss industrial leather sewing machines and help others experiencing problems who don't have access to dealer support. A lot of these machines are long out of production, but there is usually somebody with knowledge of the machine in question, or our database can be searched for previous discussions about your machine. We have many manuals that members have uploaded for other members to download for free. Even some sewing machine dealers and repairers take part in assisting members with technical problems. This is a wonderful asset.

The dealers I know are very small businesses, often with one or two people on the job. There isn't much time to do videos when your day involves taking orders, setting up, shipping, receiving, picking up, ordering, or repairing sewing machines, while also responding to email, phone and forum inquiries. Larger companies, with numerous employees, have more time to setup a video room and learn to do it correctly.

There are at least three parts that cause the stitches to get shorter than specs. The primary part that wears down is the Feed Motion Bell Crank Lever, #8559, followed by the Ring Slide Bar, with #1816 cam roller, and the #1801 cam roller on the back of top Needle Bar Driving Lever that fits into a cam on the back shaft behind the balance wheel. I attached the Singer 29-4 parts list in pdf format, below. 29-4 Parts list Original Singer Doc.pdf

You posted this just before I posted my reply. You made a good choice as long as you stay within the stated specs.

@Tequila Figure out if your best machine should be flat bed or cylinder arm. flat bed machines are best used on flat items. Cylinder arm machines are best for cylindrical or shaped items which have parts hanging down on the left of the arm. This includes bags, cuffs, some holsters and things that have hardware (rings, buckles, loops) on the bottom. Most cylinder arm machine tables can take a table attachment, or one can be made to fit them, or adapted from another model. Some cylinder arm machines can be ordered on a pedestal stand that is wide open under the arm and has holes for a bolt on table attachment. Next, define the minimum and maximum thicknesses you expect to sew together and the height of any other seams that the raised feet and needle will have to clear to get to the sewing area. Thinner work, up to about 1/8 inch, requires thin thread (to hide the lockstitch knots) and small needle sizes (diameters) for minimal holes. Thick work (over 1/4 inch) requires thicker thread and larger diameter needles to keep it all together under the stress of usage. A lot of people are interested in medium duty machines and may try to push them beyond their practical thread handling capacity. When that happens they think the machine is defective, when it is not. If a machine's specs say the maximum thread size is #138, that means top and bottom, as setup at the factory, or the dealership. If you try to use #207 or larger thread, unless the machine has been purposely setup for that size, it may jam in the hook, or cause the leather to lift with the needle, which causes skipped stitches. OTOH, a more heavy duty machine can be dumbed down to sew thinner work with thinner thread and thinner needles. But, it will cost more up front.