Wizcrafts

Open the front cover plate. It is time to oil the small crank shafts anyway. There are screws holding the presser foot bar (aka: presser bar) in place. The bar might be slightly askew causing it to hang when lifted. Oil all the tiny holes on everything that moves inside the head. You should eventually find out where the presser bar is hanging up and free it. I routinely swap coil springs if the work is softer or harder and my presser bar doesn't hang up under light spring pressure. The presser bar also has a rolling wheel on the left side of the head, looking from the left side. It moves against a steel bracket that is adjustable. It could just need a little tweaking of the steel plate to let the roller move up and down freely.

Personally, I prefer to use a #19 titanium needle with #92 thread, top and bottom. If the work is dense, or has double sided leather tape holding the seams together, I move up to a #20 needle. A #21 needle would work better with #105 thread. Titanium coated needles resist gumming up much better than all steel needles. If you don't sew thru goo, buy the cheaper steel needles, but always use leather points when sewing leather.

I'm happy my advice helped get you machine back into proper timing.

You can get by with a Family Sew FS-550s motor attached to a 3:1 speed reducer. That's what is driving my big Cowboy CB4500. It easily punches through 3/4 inch of veg-tan leather and then some.

Try heating up the parts that should move. Also, apply some WD-40 to them after heating if the parts are sill stuck. A rubber mallet won't damage parts. The next option might be a rawhide mallet. Anything is preferable to bending the hook (which is not made to be bent).

The pin it there to hold the tension disks in place so they don't rotate with the moving thread. The pin on these types of sewing machines is not meant to have thread wrap around it. First, this puts kinks in the thread, causing unpredictable tension changes. Second, it eventually wears a groove in the pin that will rat the thread.

As @kgg mentioned, 135x17 is a needle "system," not a needle size. Each needle system will have a range of available sizes that are shown in either the US Singer numbers or the Metric system. The proper needle size for Tex 135 thread, top and bottom, is Singer #23/Metric 160. As already mentioned, system 135x16 are leather points. So, you need to buy System 135x16 needles in "size" 23/160 to properly sew with T135 thread. By the way, T135 is almost the same as B or V 138. Here is a convenient needle and thread reference chart that shows the diameter of different sizes of thread and the proper needles to sew those sizes. Where two needle sizes are shown, the larger is used in denser veg-tan leather. The smaller would be used in softer upholstery and chrome tan leather.

You might get straighter stitches with a D point needle. It has a triangular shape. I find that they also lay the thread more on the surface and don't submerge the ends like the S point needles.

Try moving up 1 or 2 needle sizes. A bigger hole takes pressure of the thread knots and makes them easier to pull up.

The reason there are classes of various machines is because Singer often produced several different varieties of particular models. For instance, the 111 series, or class, started with the 111w101 and concluded with the 111w156. Some had a different letter depending on where they were built, but were still part of the class 111. Some were compound feed walking foot machines, while another had needle feed and a flat foot. Some sewed higher than others and one had reverse Then there is the 29 class that began in the late 1800s and continued until the late 1970s or early 1980s. The bodies were similar but each incarnation had an improvement or additional function missing in previous sub-classes. I have had an early 1900s 29-4 all the way up the the last model they made: 29k172 and several in between. Now I have a 29k71 and love it. They were all Class 29 machines, for better or worse. To add to the confusion, Singer also produced specially modified sub-classes that ended with the letters: SV, for Special Version. They fell under the main class of machine they were built upon. Also, a lot of both domestic and industrial tailoring machines use the same bobbin as the early through mid 20th Century Singer 15-88,89,90 and 91. Those bobbins are sold as Class 15 bobbins.

We refer to all of the machines cloned from the Juki TSC-441 as "441 class machines."

I have a clone of that machine: a Techsew 2700. If your bobbin thread keeps popping out of the tension spring, reverse the direction of the tbobbin. I usually insert bobbins so they feed against the direction of the slot and spring. This ensures good, controllable tension and keeps the thread from jumping out of its channel. Make sure that both little screws are holding the spring in place. The one closest to the exit position controls the tension. The other one keeps it in place on the case. If you are unable to get adjustable tension in the bobbin case, replace it! Assuming you can gain control of the bobbin tension, check the entire top thread path for kinks or sharp turns, or excessive twisting from overly coily thread. If your thread is too twisty, replace the spool and try balancing the tensions again. Or, counteract the twist using the holes in the top guide post. I do that anyway, feeding through the top hole, bringing the thread around the front, then through the bottom hole. This gives a counter twist to offset any twist in the thread cone. Make sure you are threading correctly according to the manual. Adjust the check spring tension so it only has enough force to bring the spring down against the back stop bracket, wherever it is set to stop the spring. Then adjust the position of the slot to give the best lay of the thread without making a popping sound as it goes around the bobbin case and shuttle. Finally, if you still have trouble with the tension, remove the top tension spring and disks and inspect them for burrs. Ditto for all the guides and even the take-up lever. Do not wrap thread around the pin on the right side of the top disks. It is not there for that purpose.

That might be the missing piece to the hook position puzzle.

Don't worry about the vertical gap at the tab in the cutout in the throat plate. Do adjust the finger backwards so it pulls the bobbin case backwards, to almost as far as it can pull, but leave a little clearance. Its job is to pull the tag on the bobbin case to one side so the top thread doesn't get hung up on the tab.

Oi Vey! The "Class" we refer to starts with the model number of the machine. So, any Singer model starting with a 7 is a Class 7. Any Singer 111 machine is a Class 111. Any Singer 31-anything is a Class 31. Any model 15-anything is a Class 15, etc, etc.

When I look at photo #1, I see the deflector bracket in hard contact with the needle, while the hook is far away from it. I can't tell if it is actually pushing the needle away from the hook. I recommend bending the deflector inward and see if this allows the needle to get closer to the hook.

You will want one with either a roller foot or walking feet. I have a 1950s Singer walking foot post machine with a 7 inch post. It takes standard G size bobbins, like the Singer 111 machines. I usually thread it with #69 bonded thread, but it can take #92. My machine can sew about 5/16 inch and clears over 3/8 inch. It uses standard System 135x16 and x17 walking foot needles. More modern post bed machines can be had that use larger M style bobbins and sew a little thicker (3/8"). If you are looking for a new post bed machine, check this one out. Have a look in out Marketplace for used sewing machines. Maybe somebody has a post machine for sale. You can also place a wanted ad for a post machine.

Here is a motorized machine for $200 more, that has reverse.

There are a couple of options you can consider for a sewing machine for holsters and knife sheathes. None are anywhere close to your $400 budget. I am listing them with the cheapest first and most expensive last. There will be tradeoffs with the first one. Read the descriptions so you know the capabilities of each type of machine. These machines can sew at least 7/16 inch, using at least a maximum of #346 thread. You can sew holsters with #277 thread, but that is the minimum I would recommend. All these machines can tension #277 top and bottom. It has 44 pounds breaking strength. Here is a needle and thread chart showing the diameters and strengths of various sizes of bonded sewing thread used in modern industrial sewing machines. As a hand sewer, you probably use at least 4 cord linen thread, which is the same diameter as #277 bonded nylon thread. You cannot use waxed lined or any hand sewing thread in a modern lockstitch machine. Cowboy CB2500 (with or without reverse). Sews up to 7/16 inch. Bottom feed only. Up to #346 thread. 10.5 inch arm. Cowboy CB3200. Sews up to 1/2 inch with triple feed. Up to #346 thread 10.5 inch arm. Cowboy CB3500 or the Cobra Class 3. Sews up to 7/8 inch. Has triple feed. Up to #415 thread. 9 inch arm. Cowboy CB4500 or the Cobra Class 4.Sews up to 7/8 inch, has triple feed, up to #415 thread, 16.5 inch arm. I hope this helps without confusing you too much.

The alternating lift should be more like 1/8 to 3/16 inch. The inside foot can be adjusted so it comes down about the same time as the needle reaches the feed dog. This will push the outside/presser foot up higher.

I have some Serafil thread I use on occasions where I need matching red in sizes from T90 through T270. It is expensive in the USA. The Serafil thread is softer than the Cowboy bonded thread I normally use. From the spec page, Onyx looks to be a much stiffer thread. If true, you will need less bobbin and more top tension to balance the knots and it could be harder to center them in thin layers. However, the photos on the product page show perfectly set stitches. I would suggest that you tweak your machine for this thread and once it is dialed in, stick with it.

@DrmCa I think you posted this reply in the wrong topic, or sub-forum. Would you like me to move it to the correct location? Let me know where that is.

That is its serial number, not the model. The model is 15-91.

That is a Singer 15-91, a domestic sewing machine. I have a page describing the Singer 15-91 capabilities, here. In a nutshell, it will sew wallets, seat covers and flat items that can be held together with 11 pound test #69 bonded nylon thread. It maxes out at 1/4 inch of soft material, like cloth. It will sew about 1/8 to 3/16 inch of veg tan belt leather if the pressure screw is almost all the way down. The motor is attached to the body and is very expensive to replace if you blow it up. Consider it a light duty straight stitch machine that hasn't been in production in many decades.

That's what I'm talking about! That's how you do it!