Wizcrafts

FYI, back around 1990 I was hired to sew reflective safety vests for a one man company in Toronto. I was tasked with obtaining all of the equipment and supplies. This included getting a custom right angle binder attachment made for his brand new Juki LU-563. That attachment cost him $428 in 1990. Everything was purchased through General Industrial Sewing Machines.

No, I don't know that company. My last sewing experience in Toronto was about 25 years ago.

Contact Techsew in Montreal and ask about getting a custom attachment made. Otherwise, get in touch with General Industrial Sewing Machines in Toronto. They can either make one or put you in touch with a guru.

I'm not sure, but around 1995 I think I bought 1.25 inch wide edge bias tape from Cansew for use on road workers' safety vests. It was top quality tape. The double fold binder had to be custom made for the work at hand. It was a right angle swing away binder. The binder worked flawlessly in conjunction with a left toe presser foot and a shortened wider inside foot. The feet worked fine on the standard sewn areas and the binder could be swung in and out as required. The parts and tape weren't cheap, but produced professional results. I also purchased a revolving bias tape tray that clamped onto the edge of the table. Taking the load off the tape improves the feeding through the attachment.

The Singer 31 class is the industrial version of the Singer 15 class drop feed machines. They are tailoring machines for cloth. In order to sew leather, or sticky vinyl, you will need to install a roller foot. A Teflon foot will work too. But, it only takes one forgetful moment where you drop the lifted foot onto the unprotected feed dog to end the usefulness of the Teflon. Ask me how I know...

Can you take and post a good sharp picture showing how the top thread is threaded along the top, all the way to the take-up arm? It could be as simple as a missed position along the thread path (like the eye in the take-up lever over the needle bar). With an end mounted balance wheel, you spin it counterclockwise to sew. Some patchers, like my long arm Adler, have a front mounted wheel and those need to turn clockwise. Are you turning yours ccw? The needle could be set too far to the left. The clamp that holds the needle also has a screw above the needle screw. Loosen the top screw and you can push the needle clamp to the right to get closer to the hook. Tighten down the screw when you have it moved to the right. If it still doesn't pick up the bobbin thread, make sure the thread is not just feeding through the tiny hole in the shuttle, by the tiny tension spring, but also through the hole in the center post that the bobbin revolves around. If that doesn't get it sewing, make sure the needle is set so that the long rib faces due left and the cutout over the eye faces right. Also, make sure the needle is all the way up and is either a "System" 29x3, 29x4, 135x16, or 135x17. The "size" (diameter/number) of the needle should be big enough to easily thread the top thread through the eye without a threading wire. For #69 bonded thread, I use a #18 needle. For #92 thread use a #19 needle and for #138 thread use a #22 or 23 needle. If the needle is in right and the system and size are correct and the end mounted wheel is turning counterclockwise and it still won't sew, the hook timing might need to be adjusted. Or, the little paddle shaped check spring inside the needle bar, above the needle mounting block might be bent or broken off. Things are about the get complicated.

Awesome! I'm glad it was a simple fix. Things would have gotten much worse if you hadn't found the loose feeder screws. She sews like a brand new old one! Use the serial number to look up the date of manufacture on Ismacs.

Bob Kovar advised me to back off the shuttle screws so that the coil springs let the shuttle assembly move in and out with thick thread. Tightening the screws all the way fully compresses my springs and the shuttle pinches thick thread as it goes around the shuttle. This throws off the tension settings. Backing off at least 1/2 to 1 turn lets the assembly float with the thread, as necessary. I don't back off 1.5 turns, just 1.

Thanks for posting this information. There are so many different things that can cause skipped stitches. I've had trouble with coily top thread, but never suspected the bobbin thread before reading your analysis. It makes sense though that is one winds their bobbins from the same spool, or thread batch that is coily on the top, it will also be coily in the bobbin. I have found that Weaver's lubricated black bonded thread tends to be really coily/springy. I have to route the thread counterclockwise through the top post to counteract that coiliness.

I merged your posts into this one. Please don't hit Submit twice. It can sometimes take a little while for the server to receive your submission and respond to you. The bottleneck could be anywhere along the wires. Patience is a virtue, especially if one plans to sew things for a living.

Yes. Contact whomever serviced and tuned it and have them do it again and ask them to show you what went wrong. It could be the needle is inserted incorrectly, or the timing wasn't tightened down and it slipped from a thread jam, or the needle bar slipped from impact.

Yes, you are overthinking this if you think you can use #207 thread to sew embroidered patches onto caps. The huge knots that normally require at least 3/16 inch to hide them will either protrude on the inside, where the person will feel them on their head, or outside, where they will look bad. I use a Singer 168 walking foot post machine with #92 thread and a #19 needle to do this. Some patches with loose border thread call for even thinner #69 thread and a #16 or #18 needle to reduce the separating of the thread. All sewing of patches over vest pockets is done on my Adler 30-7 patcher, with #69 thread and a #18 needle.

Have you properly timed the position of the eye of the needle on the upstroke to the arrival of the tip of the hook about 1/8" above the eye? Is there a good loop forming on the upstroke? Or, does it dissolve before pick-off time? Is the hook close to the needle as it passes above the eye? If any of the answers to these questions are negative, make the necessary corrections. If the timing of the hook is good but the loop dissolves too quickly, tweak the check spring to give more slack thread. This could be by stopping the downward throw with moving bracket under the spring. Also, #69 thread calls for a #18 (110) needle. Is that the size you are using and having skipped stitches with? The scarf in the needle on any sewing machine must face the direction of the hook (or looper), no matter what orientation that requires.

I don't deny being biased towards our advertisers. They, along with a handful of paying contributor members keep this forum and its dedicated server online. I also prefer known good brands and models of used leather sewing machines. I have owned dozens of them since 1985. I currently have two "patch" machines. One is a Singer 29k71 and the other is an Adler 30-7, both bought in private sales. I drove 220 miles round trip and paid $400 cash for the Singer 29k71 (head only) and another $150 for a treadle base from an old friend. The Adler cost me $1300 as is. I use these machines to earn a living. Until August of 2012 I sewed for a friend on his Adler 30-70 patcher that he wouldn't sell for $2000 if his life depended on it. These are real workhorse leather sewing machines that sew perfectly for decades, as long as they are used within their design limits and oiled. I don't care if somebody else only wants to spend $120 for a cheaply built Chinese patcher. But, having sewn on multiple Singer and Adler patchers since the mid 1980s, I am biased towards actual quality machines that can still sew after 60 to 100+ years from their date of manufacture with only minor repairs. Even though some old industrial sewing machines may need new parts to bring them back to spec, they are usually still available and will keep the machines sewing for decades to come. Will a $120 Chinese street cobbler's patcher still sew in 20, 30, or 50 years? I guess time will tell. I try to steer newbies coming here for advice towards better quality machines to save them the frustration of fighting to make a POS work, even if that means buying a new or used machine from a dealer (who will give actual operational support when needed). Reading about the lack of any support from the Amazon patcher sellers disappoints me after years of buying from established industrial sewing machine dealers since 1985. I guess these cobbled together patch machines are the Wild West of sewing machines where anything goes and quality and dealer assistance are non-existent. I guess that's all I've got to say about tha-at (Forrest Gump). If this offends anybody, suck it up buttercup!

Please pass along my sympathies to Stella. Al will be missed.

I wish you luck. Maybe you will be one of the lucky buyers who receives a complete working machine. If so, come back and post pictures here of things you make and repair with it. Be sure to sew some shoe uppers as this is what they are actually made for. A worn out tennis/walking shoe will do.

Then your 31-15 is obviously a newer model that doesn't have the shuttle pinned to its shaft. My only timing option is bending the shuttle driver arms. Fortunately, I only bought the machine for tailoring cloth or sewing very thin wallet interiors.

In the early 1970s I lived with a German family for a year. This was the lady's favorite saying.

I've read a bunch of reviews from people who bought these Chinese street cobbler patchers. Some were happy out of the box. Others were happy after fixing or modifying their machines from defects out of the box. Still others complained of missing parts, or not being able to get the machine to sew. I suspect the missing parts buyers got machines that were returned from unhappy customers and were just repackaged and shipped out as is. Some of the sellers offer to take back unwanted machines, within a short timeframe. Others have no return policy at all. It appears none I saw offered any assistance after the sale. Finally, the machines that actually included instructions had them in poorly translated "Chinglish." Some buyers reported they didn't get any instructions. All of the machines I looked at, despite color differences, were built exactly the same. The prices vary 2:1 for the same machine from different resellers. It appears that after buying a Chinese patcher that doesn't work right, buyers are coming here for assistance. This is their only source of possible assistance since the sellers and builders don't offer support. After dealing with real leather sewing machine problems for so many years, we now are helping poor souls fix a new spate of crap machines from the Orient. At least the Chinese brands supporting this forum build high quality machines and have representatives in the USA, Canada and down under. And, unlike the street cobbler machine makers, they have English speaking Chinese representatives who can actually be contacted from here. To the (potential) Amazon/eBay Chinese cobbler patch machine buyers coming here for help or opinions; set your sights higher. Contact our advertising dealers to see what new or used working condition patch machines they have for sale. I have spoken to all of our advertisers and they are helpful people doing business properly. I have bought new and used machines from several dealers on here and have never ever been left in the lurch.

I wonder if Cowboy cb4500 feet will fit it and reach far enough forward? I can send you my spare foot if you want to try it.

Increasing the diameter of the bobbin case will require a matching longer take-up lever and all that it entails. The hook saddle or its housing may need to be milled out for more clearance. Similar discussions are currently under way about other machines. I have a modified Singer walking foot machine that now uses double capacity Juki U bobbins and a lot of parts and work went into the conversion (done by the dealer).

I think that is what you did when you converted my long arm Singer 139w109 into an LU big bobbin machine.

Neither, if you are really serious about sewing leather. Otherwise, if this is just a personal hobby, with no immediate plans for professional use, aluminum expands faster with small temperature changes than iron or steel. Iron will be more stable, although much heavier. Any alterations/improvements you make to get it to sew will probably hold longer in a more solid frame.

Can't you lower the presser bar and live with the shorter outside foot?

Thanks Gregg. I was wondering what a "racing puller" could be until I watched the short video. They confused "racing" with "raising!" The puller raises up to allow back-tacking. Then, it's off to the "races!"