Wizcrafts

Go with the first pic where the bobbin thread makes are sharp turn to force it under the tension spring. After pulling it under the spring, feed it through the hole above the spring, then through the hole in the bobbin mounting shaft. Skipped stitches can happen if the foot pressure it too light, or if the hook timing is too early or late, or if the needle isn't installed all the way up in the clamp, with the rib facing to the left and the scarf facing due right, or if the needle clamp is adjusted too far to the left side of the hole in the throat plate, or if the paddle shaped spring in the needlebar is worn out, gouged, bent, or broken. Skipped stitches can also occur when the needle is too small for the thread combination and leather density. Cement or leather basting tape may cause skipped stitches if the eye of the needle gets fouled and gummed up.

I sometimes have to restitch a belt for a customer. I try to match the stitch length and mostly use a diamond or tri-point needle when overstitching or backtacking. The shape on those needles is less likely to puncture the previous thread. The needle system is 794. I get them in sizes 23, 24 and 25, which are my main three needle sizes. I find that Schmetz S point needles are the worst for slicing previous stitches. Round points (7x3) are the friendliest to stitches, but tend to get stuck in the leather.

I looked at the photos you linked to. This looks like a higher speed bottom feed garment sewing machine. It specifies a needle system that's typical for garment sewing machines, but not leather sewing machines. It is not a walking foot machine of any configuration. You should keep looking until you find a walking foot machine that uses system 135x16 (leather point) and 135x17 (round point) needles. They are about a quarter inch longer than the garment machine needles used in that Rex. Some old and new makes and models to watch for include: Singer 111w155 or a 211G156 (both obsolete now, but parts can be found) Juki LU-563 (1980s), DNU-1541, or LU-1508 Consew 206RB-5 FYI: the term "walking foot" in this context indicates either a dual feed system, where the top presser foot and bottom feed dog move together, or triple/compound feed, where the presser foot, inside foot, needle and feed dog all over in sync. These two systems are used to sew upholstery materials. Note, that the feet on the dual feed system have sharp teeth on their bottoms. They will seriously mark veg-tan (carving) leather. Chrome-tan upholstery leather doesn't usually hold foot marks.

I have had a Cowboy cb4500 since 2012. I bought it from Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines. One of my best friends bought a Cobra Class 4 in 2011. They have the same capabilities and capacities. We both use these machines multiple times every week; sometimes on a daily basis. As long as you keep them oiled, including opening the left faceplate cover to get to the internal crank shafts, they should keep sewing for decades. Note, that there are many accessories available for both of these heavy stitchers. Most are available from the primary dealers. Others are made by custom shops, like extra narrow feed dogs and throat plates, which allow you to sew narrow straps or thinner work than the original equipment was built for. My buddy and I both have narrow feeders and throat plates and leave them in most of the time. I only restore the originals if I am going to sew something with #346 thread and a #26 needle.

You haven't told us what type and size thread you are going to use to sew the ballistic nylon. Personally, I would be using #92 or #138 bonded thread, coupled with a #20 to #23 round point needle. It will take about a 500 to 750 watt motor to punch through the material and pull up that thread and needle combination. I'd at least sew at 5 to the inch stitch length, if not longer. I totally suspect that your Mom's machine will be destroyed if you attempt this on a domestic sewing machine.

First of all, the Viking 263 is NOT an industrial sewing machine! It is a purely domestic sewing machine. I found a source for the manual, here. They are also in the UK, where you bought the machine.

The first two are portable dual feed walking foot machines that are made for sail and upholstery work. Both can do light leather sewing. The Artisan is a shoe and boot patcher. Here is its manual. https://artisansew.com/pdf/manuals/exisiting/29_273_BB_29_172SBmanual.pdf

You can buy the servo motor from Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines (one of our supporting advertisers). You will also need needle, thread, thread snips, bobbins, and oiler tubes, to start.

You will definitely want a walking foot machine of some type. Your options include flat bed, post bed and cylinder arm models. The feed system that leaves the least marks on top is either bottom feed or compound feed. The worst option is single or dual feed with feet that have teeth on them. Based on your stated thicknesses, you'll need a machine capable of properly handling bonded thread sizes 69, 92 and 138. The corresponding needle sizes are 18/110, 19/120, and either 22/140 or 23/160. The first number is the US standard size. The second is the metric equivalent. Some good current machines that can handle this work include the Consew 206RB-5, and the Juki DNU 1541. Either can be ordered with a servo motor that is easy to control for beginners and experts alike. Juki machines are more expensive though. You can sometimes find old used Singer walking foot machines for a few hundred dollars that can do the work, but with limitations that often include no reverse lever, or small bobbins. Some ancient Singer walking foot machines had a spring loaded presser foot that merely followed the work on top as the feed dogs on the bottom grabbed the flesh side and pushed it to the back (the single feed I mentioned). Been there and done that. I'd go with a modern machine.

There was a discussions about a Singer 132k6 on our site a handful of years ago, which includes close up photos of the machine. They are humongous! I owned one for a couple of years in the mid-1980s. One of their intended uses was sewing buffing wheels and the dangling car wash cloths. Another was parachute harnesses. I think the head weighed about 150 pounds. The only reason I got rid of it was that the jump/kick foot occasionally slipped on slicked leather and the stitches varied in length. The only feed is on the bottom. The outside presser foot just follows along with the feed dog. I did make some pancake holsters with it. The stitch length on the 132k6 was up to 1/2 inch. The maximum thickness sewable is 1/2 inch of medium temper leather, or cloth, or webbing. It did fine with #346 thread and a #25 needle. Mine had a 1/2 horsepower clutch motor which I slowed with a 2 inch pulley that fed the larger pulley on the machine. It was a speed demon getting about 3 stitches per second, flat out! ;-)

Nope! It's a light duty home sewing machine for fabrics. It takes thin cotton thread and small domestic needles.

I use edge guides and they compensate for turns for me. Mind you, the exact length of the corner stitches can vary ever so slightly depending on how far in the stitches are from the edge.

I use these needle sizes with these thread sizes: #18 needle with #69 thread #19 needle with #92 thread #22 or 23 needle with #138 thread.

I want to add another tip for hot leafing in leather. I always press down a couple of times, fairly hard, to de-boss the leather before I apply the gold leaf. This ensures that the foil color will go into a channel instead of just laying on top of the leather where it could rub off. It's best to use a backing cardboard if the leather is thin, to avoid harming the type. If your embossing a belt the backing isn't needed. Just hold down the lever for a couple of seconds before applying the foil. I usually set my temperature to about 230 degrees on my Kingsley heat presses. One half to 3/4 of a second of foiling seems to work best. You can always hit it again to add more foil as long as the work is clamped down and hasn't moved.

I don't recommend that. The sole means of feed is those sharp teeth. Rather than dull them, try sliding some flexible carburetor tubing over the legs. Or, simply reduce the foot pressure via the pressure screw.

Aside from learning to feather the clutch, you're best alternative is to swap the motor out for a servo motor. like this one.

Aside from, or in addition to trying a smaller #22 needle, you can tighten both the top and bottom tensions and re-balance the knots. Tighter thread tension can sometimes offset knot placement problems caused by the machine or the leather.

Tony Luberto retired several years ago; I think pre-covid. His Luberto stitcher was a clone of the long-discontinued Number 9 Machine. The only way you'll get a manual is if somebody who has one will scan it into a pdf, or photocopy it. I saw one of these beasts at Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines about a dozen years ago.

We ran into a sizing problem a few months ago where my partner measured the customer around his belt line for a 3 inch gunbelt. When he came to get it, it was way too short. His belly size was much bigger than where his belt loops were. From now on, we will measure from the belt line up 3 inches to allow a full range of adjustment that accounts for body contour.

@Ken1967 All of the Puritan sewing machines are chainstitch machines and only use one thread, which is on top. A looper forms a chain under the leather or wood as you sew. Because a chainstitch is vulnerable to being pulled apart, the Puritan machines have a (heated) wax pot that holds either dry or liquid stitching wax, which hardens or congeals after being sewn. You can also use waxed stitching thread in these machines, but may need to adjust the looper slightly to pull the sticky thread off the barbed needle. If you use regular bonded thread, glue down the starting and ending stitches on the underside. A chainstitch is beautiful on the top, but ugly on the bottom. Only use it where the bottom won't be part of the visual experience. Some uses of Puritan machines are work boots, shotgun cases that are lined, briefcases and luggage. In fact, many Redwing boots are sewn on Puritan machines with multiple needles. Some shoe soles are also sewn with a different style of chainstitch machine, known as a McKay stitcher. The chain is protected by an insole.

Yes. I tend to load all of my bobbins so that they feed into the bobbin spring slot at a right angle. This keeps the thread firmly seated under the spring and slightly increases the bobbin thread tension. It isn't gospel, but helpful with some thread that might be twisty.

25! Or, a drop-down select box for the user to choose. I'll try to throw together the HTML for one...

If the shuttle has passed the needle after the up-down jog, retard the hook timing. This is done by poking a long flatblade screwdriver through a hole in the right side base of the machine and turning the eccentric screw that couples the down shaft to the shaft inside the arm. There is a nut on the back of that coupling that may need to be loosened first. After you successfull time the shuttle, tighten the lock nut again.

@hampasragnar There is another possible cause for the shuttle not picking up the top thread. I'm assuming that you already have threaded the top correctly and have the thread going through the take-up lever. That cause would be a worn out, bent, or gouged paddle spring inside the needle bar, which is visible just above the needle clamping bracket. Lower the needle bar all the way, then look above the clamping bracket. You should see a paddle shaped spring. It has to press against the thread and hold it in place as the needle makes its down-up-down jog at pick-off time. If that spring doesn't hold the thread in place during that cycle, you'll get missed stitches because the thread can't form a good loop on the right side of the needle. Sadly, replacing that spring is like rocket science. ;-(

What size thread are you running on the top and bottom? What size needle? Is the needle a round point or a leather point? Are you trying to sew through cemented or taped layers? The glue or \sticky tape can clog the eye of the needle. If the layers are dry but the needle is too small for the thread, it can lift the leather on the way up when the lockstitch knots try to come up through the hole on the bottom, but it's too tight. A bigger needle helps overcome that problem. As mentioned before, increase the foot pressure to help hold down the leather as the needle ascends. Another thing that can cause the needle to stick in leather is sewing too fast. This causes extreme heat to develop as the needle penetrates the leather and comes back up. Slow down to a couple stitches per second and this should stop being the problem. Also, extremely dry thread might cause some problems.