Wizcrafts

When this happens to me I chalk it up to the convergence of forces beyond my comprehension!

I dunno the standards for needle/thread combos in the sail sewing field, but in the leather end we usually use a #19 or possibly #20 needle maximum with #92 bonded thread. It seems to me that a #22 needle is poking too big of a hole and the tip can't slide past the thread knots as easily. I occasionally sew non-leather items in my shop. Of course that calls for round point needles. Lately, I have been buying Groz-Beckert Gebedur needles and they are fantastic. Gebedur needles are titanium coated, but last longer under stress than the Orange brand. You might try dinking with the check spring slider position. Normal operation has the screw in the middle of a curved slot. Turning the disks clockwise tightens the top thread by reducing the slack on the downstroke. Try doing that. Loosen the little screw in the curved slot, back off the round nut and turn the disks clockwise, then lock them back down. If it gets better, problem solved. If not, return the screw to the middle, or try turning it ccw for more slack. Note: tightening the check spring slack setting all the way may cause the top thread to snap as it goes around the shuttle. If this happens, back off a tad.

Suz, may I call you Suz? There is a trick to avoiding jamming your machine with top thread wrapping around the shuttle. Hold back the starting threads for a few stitches. If the bobbin thread is inaccessible, hold back the top thread. You will probably have to pull up or down to hide the first knot or two later on. Failure to do this usually results in the machine coming to a halt and you having to cut the thread under the material to remove it, then open the shuttle cover (and maybe the throat plate too) and as you found, the gib holding the bobbin case, then pull out all the double or triple wrapped thread. You may have to retime the hook if the machine lacks a safety clutch that disengages the hook when there's a thread jam. It is an unfortunate fact that a large number of perfectly good industrial sewing machines suffer from firsttitchitis; the grabbing of the top thread and double-wrapping it around the shuttle and bobbin case. Sometimes you may get lucky and be able to start sewing without jamming the hook, but only if the take-up lever is already on the downstroke and the top thread is firmly captured under the presser foot, and the foot has enough pressure to not let the thread slip out. Too many ifs in play.

G style bobbins are too small for Big Barb! Don't even think about it! They are like half the size. Just load your own U bobbins with the bobbin winder.

Spammers post links on forums hoping for search engines to pick them up and help promote those websites. It is the oldest trick in the books since the Internet moved from just bulletin boards (BBS) to websites with graphics and shopping carts. I was about to defang the link but you beat me to the punch and deleted it.

The spam link goes to a Russian industrial sewing machine dealer with their own name branded machines. I deleted the post as I do for all spam links I learn about.

Sometimes prewound bobbins are wider than metal bobbins, especially in larger sizes, like U. You might have to waste a few yards of thread to get them to drop in if that's the case. I haven't had that problem yet with the G size prewounds I buy from them and other places. But, somebody who uses them did and told be to be aware.

Red nail polish using the little brush in the bottle.

You must have bribed them with GlenLivet single malt scotch!

The Cowboy inline foot set would also work good on narrow gussets.

That looks like a 18th Century glockenoodleshitzer from the Outlander series. The British used them to torture the Highland Scots they captured during the battle at Glenlevit.

Do you need the flatbed to sew 1/2 inch with #207 or #277 thread? There are a limited number of qualified machines that will do that. I went down this rabbit hole during my first couple of years sewing leather goods. Rather than enumerate all the numerous machines that didn't work out, the one that did was an Adler 204-374. These are as rare as hen's teeth. However, there is a clone of this machine made by Cowboy. It is model CB-243. It is expensive and only sews flat work. Do you know that you can buy a heavy duty cylinder arm machine and get a table attachment with it? This gives the best of both Worlds. Here is the machine I have for sewing holsters and gun belts. It came with an accessory pack that included a large flat table that bolts onto the pedestal stand. It is expensive too, but will save you having to buy a second machine.

Are you using a curved throat plate (recommended for this), or a flat plate? Gussets do worse on a flat plate that squishes the leather. A rounded/curved throat plate more closely follows the corner curves. This assumes that you sew on the top/outside of the gussets so they can fold around the throat plate. If you sew from the inside, the curves fight the feed and will hit the head and interfere with the stitches. For tight curves on gussets, consider using the stirrup throat plate. It is perfectly rounded on top. But, you lose the feed dog and only have needle and inside foot feed. Reverse won't line up as before. That won't be a problem if you either double tap the ends or stitch over the beginning stitches for 4 or 5 stitches. I would add more foot pressure going around the gusset and use a double toe foot for maximum even pressure. Another thing you might could try is to reduce the top and bottom thread tensions. This will make it easier for the machine to pull the leather through, especially when operating in needle feed mode.

What you described is the method used on lockstitch sewing machines when one wants a bold top thread appearance, but there is insufficient thickness to hide the knots if the same size thread is used in the bobbin. A thinner bobbin thread bends tighter and won't cause noticeable bumps along the folded down and topstitched seams. I sometimes use this technique when a customer asks to have a belt edge stitched for appearance, but the leather is too thin to hide the knots formed by #138 or #207 thread. Using a thinner bobbin thread lets the knots stay low down, but not sticking out the bottom. Know that anytime you use a thinner bobbin thread, the strength of each stitch is that of the weaker thread.

Unless somebody has custom fitted a Juki hook and milled out the chamber it resides in, your bobbins are M style, not U.

My hope is that as a result of the things discussed in this topic about matching forward and reverse stitch lengths, that the attacks against some of our dealers will stop. No sewing machine is perfect all the time unless it has expensive electronic controls that make it sell for $10k (think Adler 969 ECO). I am happy to be able to buy a heavy leather stitcher for about $3k that does the same sewing, but needs a little adjustment with a shim, or a tweak of a moving part. One of our dealers is a two man shop, another may have three people and another is a division of a larger company that has more employees who don't necessarily specialize in heavy leather stitchers. Resellers of brand name machines, like Cobra, may not have the training or hands-on experience that the official company technician/set-up man has. With the effects of Covid restrictions during 2020 and 2021, some techs and adjusters have been laid off. Some may have moved on to other occupations. There are machines on ocean freighters waiting to be allowed to dock and be unloaded. And, on top of all this, we are now back in a revived Cold War, possibly the blink of an eye, or miscalculation away from World War III. And ya'll are bitchin about reverse not perfectly aligning with forward! Most of my sewing machines don't even have reverse levers.

My hope is that as a result of the things discussed in this topic about matching forward and reverse stitch lengths, that the assault against our dealers will stop. No machine is perfect all the time unless it has expensive electronic controls that make it sell for $10k (think Adler 969 ECO). I am happy to be able to buy a heavy leather stitcher for about $3k that does the same sewing, but needs a little adjustment with a round washer.

I used a small washer on my machine. It really does work to correct the reverse, as long as the timing of the inside foot and needle is matched. Until I put a washer under the top of my stitch nacelle, reverse never matched forward 100%. Now it does. It beats laying the machine down and dinking with the internal cams.

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.