Wizcrafts

Why don't you search for any nearby upholstery or shoe repair shops. These businesses use leather sewing machines that sometimes get taken out of service when a new one is purchased. You just might be able to buy a half decent walking foot machine for a fraction of the prices you are looking at now. Regarding the shoe repair shops, they also use universal feed "patchers" that sew in 360 degrees and have long, tapered cylinder arms. Some are mounted on foot treadle bases, others are motorized, and some are manually turned with the wheel in front, or on the back. If you can find one that has a so-called large bobbin, you can sew 16 to 20 ounces of soft to medium density leather, with thread sizes up to T135. Small bobbin models would be best limited to T70 or T90. Patchers are great for sewing gussets as the needle hole is about 3.2mm from the left edge of the arm.

You could contact CowboySew to see if they have a dealer in India. A lot of leathercrafters in North America and Australia use Cowboy brand machinery. You'll want a compound feed walking foot machine. As for the noise factor, as long as the machine you get is equipped with a servo motor it will run quietly, unless the machine is out of balance. I recommend asking the dealer you find to supply an analog servo motor, like the Consew CSM550-1. This motor has a simple rotary dial on the from to limit the top speed. It can be ordered with a very small 45 or 50 mm pulley to slow down the machine. As mentioned previously, a speed reducer between such a motor and the machine will bring it down to watching grass grow speeds. Many of us have cylinder arm machines that came with a flat table attachment. I personally find it a pain in the ass to install it for one job and then remove it for the next. But, I am crazy and am addicted to industrial sewing machines. So, have flat bed, post bed and narrow arm patch machines littering the sewing room. Since you're new to this, I agree that a cylinder arm machine with a table attachment is your best starting setup. They can be purchased with U-cutout tables, or pedestal stands. I sit on a bar stool when I sew on my cylinder arm machines and think a pedestal stand is best. Whomever you contact about machinery, tell them up front that you will be sewing real leather, up to 9 or 10 mm. You want a machine that has smooth feet to reduce marking the top layer. Larger Cowboy brand machines come with not only smooth feet, but also a smooth feed dog. Walking foot machines destroy lining material. Get a domestic bottom feed only sewing machine for your linings. They use standard household thread and needles.

Did you notice that this last reply was posted 8 years ago, in 2014? Things have changed price and supply wise since then. You might want to place an ad in our Marketplace section under Wanted You can also check with Shoe Systems Plus and Campbell-Randall company. Both deal with needle and awl machines. Measure your awl length and the width of the top shank. Chances are better then null that it will be close to an awl from a different machine.

This is an old machine. It is a clone of a Singer 95 that was in existence from 1912 though 1948. They were meant to be used in garment factories. Some had motors with clutches and others just had clutches that mated to driven shafts that fed a line of identical machines. This is a tailor's garment sewing machine for light to medium weight cloth. It has bottom feed and probably uses System 88x1 or DBx1 needles. It has a horizontal hook and probably handles up to #92 bonded thread. That works best with a #19 needle. It will most likely do better with #69 bonded thread and a #18 needle. If you sew light leather (up to maybe 4-6 ounces combined), use leather point needles. If you sew cloth garments, use common cotton or polycore thread and round point needles. If this Consew is a clone of a typical Singer 95, it would have a very low maximum thickness under the foot. Some models didn't even clear 1/8 inch. The most I saw listed on ISMACS were later models that could clear up to 3/16 inch.

Maybe this video will help you troubleshoot the problem.

For outdoor (Sun, UV rays, rain, snow, temperature swings) use i recommend bonded polyester thread. Your machine can handle #69 (T70), #92 (T90), or #138 (T135) thread. Pre-wound G size bobbins are available in #69 and #92, in black, brown and white, if not more colors. Or, you can stock up on empty G bobbins and wind your own. Do you know the top colors you will need? Bonded thread is usually sold in 8 and 16 ounce spools. But, some sellers also have them in 4 ounce spools.

We have a couple members who make boots and use curved needle outsole machines and McKay insole stitchers. They tend to be busy at work. Perhaps one or more will see this and offer some tips. In the meantime, I direct your attention to Lisa Sorrell's videos on YouTube. One of her videos shows her sewing an outsole on her Landis 12, while playing the music it likes to hear in the background. It plainly shows how she guides the shoe without forcing it into the feed. One has to understand that one should not force the work to move. That is the job of the needle or awl, depending on which one moves the work. If the awl punches the hole then the needle comes up through that hole, pushing or pulling may make the needle miss the hole and it will break. This can cause injury to the operator. Lisa has a wound in her neck as proof.

I suggest that you buy a backpack that comes close to your requirements, then take it to a leathercrafter or upholsterer who can disassemble it, cover the most important areas with upholstery or thin chap leather, then sew it back together. Additional compartments could be added before reassembly. The leather and labor will probably come close to the price of the backpack if done by a professional. When customers ask me to do this kind of work I've learned to say NO.

Goof Off is the same thing, but different! ;-)

If you can rotate the hook to get the tab on the basket facing you, you might try prying the basket up with a wooden spoon or flat stick. The thread must have really gotten wound around the hook multiple times. Did you know about holding back the starting threads, especially the top thread when you start sewing? Vertical hook machines all seem to suffer from thread around the bobbin case if the starting threads are left loose.

Try pulling on the thread while jiggling the wheel. You may be able to free it enough to pull the thread out. When that doesn't clear the thread you'll have to remove the bobbin basket. To do this, unscrew the three tiny screws and remove the curved bracket holding the bobbin basket in the hook housing. Use a small blade magnetic or magnetized screw driver with a fat handle to loosen them. Place the screws on a magnet so they don't get lost! Oil the hook and bobbin basket race after clearing the jam. Don't forget to reinstall the throat plate and align the bobbin basket tab in the indentation in the plate.

I too use Leather Tape to hold seams and patches in place. Know that if you sew through the tape itself, titanium coated needles work better than plain steel at resisting gumming up. I also keep a dauber handy and dip it into a 4 ounce jar of Goof Off to clean adhesive off the eye of the needle when it gums up.

You should back off the pressure screw on top of the left side of the head, over the presser bar. This screw pushes down on a coil spring that pushes on the outside foot. There may also be a second, smaller screw adjuster over the inside foot that can be backed off. Perhaps your brushless digital motor is dependent on the needle positioner due to the way it was set up at the factory. If you want to change motors, look for an analog brush motor with a speed limiter knob, like the one on this page.

The Cotton Yarn numbers of #30 ~ #8 roughly correspond to bonded Tex sizes 70 through 210. Due to the totally different materials used, the sizes don't translate as accurately as measurements for cotton, or polyester, or rayon thread. There is a thread size comparison chart that includes cotton yarn equivalents on A&E Thread. There is no cotton yarn number comparison within the bonded nylon and bonded polyester groups. My best guess it that your T135 thread would be about the same diameter as #12/3 cotton. But, cotton is much lighter than nylon.

Since I changed over to the Aussie narrow feed dog and throat plate I've left them in. We sew holsters with them just fine using #277 thread. This set should have been a factory option. The real advantage is that narrow straps don't get pushed into the slot like on the standard plate and soft material isn't pushed inside the feed dog as easily. I think that we could use another feed dog that fits in the narrow throat plate, but with a smaller hole that clears a #23 needle, maximum. The other day I needed to use my raised holster plate. The narrow feed dog cleared the bottom with ease. No need to lower it.

System 16X257LR, aka: DBXF2, aka: 1738LR Leather Point needles

Yessir

This topic has a link to download the manual: https://leatherworker.net/forum/topic/58482-rex-26-188/

I have a U shaped table for my Techsew 2700. It is raised up as high as it will go so I can sit on a barstool when I use it. Otherwise, it would work fine if lowered. My machine also has a foot pedal to lift the feet.I use my right foot to lift and my left foot to control the speed. I do this on all of my machines, even the ones with a knee lever (right knee->right).

I cannot speak for the other member. But, I did repair one turnout suit last year and I did it on a standard duty cylinder arm machine and on a long arm, big bobbin shoe patcher, using a couple different sizes and colors of Nomex thread. There is no need for a machine heavier than a normal walking foot machine unless you plan to "make" this gear. I never encountered a seam that wouldn't fit under the raised foot or feet. The material was never tougher than my machines could handle. The thickest part was the new cuffs on the bottom of the legs. These were easily sewn around the snout of a Techsew 2700 cylinder arm walking foot machine using T90 Nomex with a #19 leather point needle. When I sewed through cloth or Reflexite, I used a round point needle. This said, you could sew/repair firesuits on a Cowboy CB3200, until you get deep inside a leg or sleeve. That's when you'll need a long arm heavy patcher. I use an Adler 30-7. The next model up is a 30-70, or a Claes. These are very expensive machines that sew over 3/8 inch thickness and can manage #138 (T135) thread. The largest Nomex I found was T105, which is well within the limits. If you do offer your services to repair turnout gear on a repeat basis, obtain liability insurance in case a repair fails and you get sued. Also, be prepared to send invoices and wait for checks to be issued.

Good luck getting a reply. This topic is 3 years old. But, ya never know!

My pleasure!

Here is a search page showing results for sewing piping onto leather seat cushions. There are photos and YouTube videos showing how this is done. Piping can be made or purchased. It does usually require a special presser foot set that rides on top of the piped material and positions the needle on the right edge of the pipe or welt. These piping feet are sold online in various diameters, from 1/8" up to 5/8". The most common size in seat upholstery is either 3/16" or 1/4".

Eleven years ago I bought a used/rebuilt long arm Singer walking foot machine. It is used on a weekly basis to sew patches onto the backs of biker's vests and jackets. The extra clearance lets us keep the back flat and just fold up the fronts as we twist and turn. The same work on our standard length walking foot machines is tedious. There just isn't enough clearance for large or bulky items to be rolled up out of the way.