Wizcrafts

Always try to use at least a #3 needle, or #4, if possible, when sewing heavy stacks or harness leather. The thicker needles experience less flexing. Use a correspondingly one size larger awl..

If I recall correctly, the needle is attached to a mounting bracket (aka: Needle Bar) that has rods on the front and back. The rods fit into a moving housing that has small 4 sided screws to secure them. It is possible to install the rods out of forward/backward equal alignment and still operate the feed. This would account for the left pull of the needle bar. Also, as unlikely as it may be, the needle bar housing could in theory be bent from a bad jam, like if the needle misses the hole on the way up and pushes up the leather, or worse, hits the throat plate. While a thinner (e.g., #1,2,3) needle would give before the needle bar, that might not be the case is someone used a very large needle, like a #5 or #6, to sew something very thick and dense with #554 thread. I mention the needle deflection because it happened to me more times that Carter has Little Liver Pills!

The Singer 111w155 and 156 had the highest working foot height of that series. Previous models were more limited to typical upholstery height. My 211g156 has higher lift than my 111w103

Here is a link to Google Translate. You can input any language and translate it into English, or any other supported language. I use it to read and reply to non-English posts asking for assistance. It is fast and easy to use if you know how to copy and paste. Please don't shoot the messenger. I'm just offering a solution.

The first take-way is that your needle bar takes domestic needles that have a flat side on the top of the mounting shank. This leaves out using industrial sewing needles which are completely round at the top. The needle sizes in the manual were typical in the later 1800s and early 1900s. There is no reference to compare those numbers to the modern numbering systems. One would be to measure the diameter of the needle to create a cross reference. For instance, a #18 needle measures about .018" or 0.110mm diameter. That could be similar to one of the larger needles in that ancient manual. You'd need to actually get a pack of each size from somebody selling ancient stock. On a happier note, almost all domestic sewing machines still use a flatted shank needle. They are sold using the modern numbering system. You can buy packs in sizes from 9 up to 20. Most are round points for cloth. But, I've bought leather point needles in the domestic needle system HAx1, aka: 15x1. They sell them on Ebay.

I would use a #18 leather point needle with #69 bonded thread on the top and in the bobbin. Mind the alignment of the needle according to the manual. One side has a cutout scarf that must face the shuttle, which appears to be on the right. The other side has a rib for the thread to sit in as it goes through the eye. If the machine doesn't take standard domestic needles and sew, open the left endplate and look at the needle bar and locate the bolt that secures it to the crank that moves it up and down. If you can loosen that screw you can reposition it to accommodate modern needles, like System 135x16 and 135x17, which are about 1.75 inches long. You'd set the height so that the point of the shuttle intersects the needle about 1/8 to 3/32 inch above the eye on its upstroke. That's when the best loop is formed on the scarf side of the needle.. I used to fix old iron body sewing machines and resell them in an antiques shop where I was set up. The bullet shuttle machines or the late 1800s were able to sew 10-12 ounce bridle leather with up to #92 thread once properly set up and tensions tweaked. I used a #19 or 20 leather point needle to do that. They were Singer model 27 and 127 bullet shuttle domestic machines that were built like tanks.

@ethereal, if that's a piece of canvas, or denim, lose the tri-point needle and use a simple round point. The tri-points are for leather. They, like most other leather point configurations, will never look anywhere near the same on the top and bottom. Leather points tend to slice and rip the fibers in synthetics and regular cloth. Anything woven, or embroidered can be damaged by leather point needles. Once you get the round point needles, play with the top and bottom tensions until the knots are evenly hidden in the material. At that point the stitches will look as close as they ever will, for that machine. Also, play with the position of the check spring disk set screw in the curved slot. Some manuals refer to this adjuster as the thread control adjuster. It adds or subtracts some slack in the top thread to tighten or loosen the lay of the stitches. A looser stitch may look more uniform on the top and bottom. In fact, running with less overall tension usually makes for a prettier stitch appearance in cloth or light weight leather. Thin and soft leather can easily pucker if the top or bottom tensions are too strong. This distorts the lay of the thread.

Oil inside the head. Cover all of the crank shafts and rods that move. This might loosen it up. Lower the feet and see if it moves freely with the feet down all the way. It could be that something slipped and when you tried sewing your usual thickness, the cranks bound up. There should be an adjustment on the rear of the machine where a shaft sticks out and connects to the cranks that move the feet. This shaft would be adjustable up and down by loosening a large screw on the joining knuckle on the back. You can set the alternating height to only what you need, and which avoids a lock up.

Something is jamming the feed motion. It may be that the top or bottom thread is binding. It could be on top, or in the bobbin and shuttle. Remove the cover plate over the shuttle and inspect the entire area to see if there are threads wrapped around it. Pull on the bobbin thread and see if it is binding. Look to see if any thread is trapped around the spring latch that holds the bobbin in place. I've had this happen when I did some jerky starts and stops. I also have found the top thread jammed on the back side of the tension disks, instead of being inside them. Then I've had top thread twist around a thread guide and bring the proceedings to a halt. If none of the above applies, verify that the stitch length hasn't changed to almost nil. If it has shortened unexpectedly, a part inside the head may have slipped. See if the stitch length spindle affects the length as you turn it. Turning it in shortens the stitches, and vice versa.

Yes, it still has a bobbin. But, when this machine came out, its bobbin was actually on one of the tiny spools they used to sell to home sewers. I have some of those wooden spools. People could stock up on the colors they needed on the bottom and sew for a long time before they had to swap spools. I can sew a long time on my cb4500 (441 clone), but rarely with thin thread like the home machines use. I'm not advocating for a new 2 spool machine, just comparing it to our current technology.

I looked up the typical breaking strength of #46 bonded thread and it is just 7.5 pounds for nylon thread. Number 69 bonded nylon has 11 pounds breaking strength. You should take these numbers into consideration before buying the machine. IOW, it might sew the seams and hide the knots. But, will the seams hold up against any stresses trying to separate the stitches and pull them apart?

WOW! That bottom spool resembles the bobbins in the 441 and 205 style machines. That ancient National 2 Spool was way ahead of its time. It's like having a Cowboy cb3200, 3500, or 4500 bobbin in a domestic machine using common cotton thread. Amazing!

Leatherpoint of some shape. Match the needle size to the thread size. Most upholstery is sewn with either b69 or b92 thread using a #18 or #19 needle.

A type 3L v-belt is 3/8 inches across the outside edge. If you must use a leather belt, use either a 5/16 or 3/8 inch diameter belt. But, expect slippage unless the belt is very tight at all times. The leather belts expand with use and the motor mount will need to be tightened now and then. If at all possible, buy a suitable v-belt.

@Bugg, the only reason that this machine would not be great for leather flat presser foot. A flat foot machine like this one only has bottom feed. That's the same feed as virtually every domestic sewing machine. While a flat foot works fine with cloth, it drags leather and vinyl, or any bulky material. To overcome this limitation, Singer invented a so-called compound feed walking foot system. Their walking foot has triple feed, with the needle, inside foot and feed dog moving in sync as the presser foot lifts and lowers, pivoting off of the inside (alternating/vibrating) foot. Some versions of the Singer 153 have compound feed, like the 153w103 and 153k104. Unfortunately, yours isn't one of them. So, what can you do to make this a leather sewing machine? About the only thing that may be doable is to search for a roller foot and presser bar set that will fit into your machine. I don't know the specifics of that conversion. The bar would have to be the same exact diameter as the original. But, it would have to be shorter to accomodate the longer roller foot. This was just mentioned in a toopic in the leather sewing machines forum. If you are even able to obtain a roller foot and preser bar, you'll probably need to also find a single row feed dog and matching throat plate. This can get real tricky since Singer's industrial sewing machines has been out of business for many decades.

Needle "system" 135x16 (leather point) or 135x17 (round/sharp point for cloth or synthetics) I use #69 (T70) bonded nylon thread to sew patches onto vests. If the leather is very thick, like a leather jacket, I'll move up to #92 (T90) thread. I almost never run #138 thread in a Singer patcher. It will wear out the feed mechanism, causing ever shorter stitches, and the little spring inside the needle bar, and possibly also the hole in the take up lever. Furthermore, the tiny bobbins can't hold much #138 thread.

@tedbow, I see Facebook "groups" that specialize in sewing machine repairs, modifications, and usage. If you're a Facebooker, you might want to search some of them out and join them on a trial basis. As for guilds, the only one I personally know about is the Crispin Colloquy. I suggest you start there. It has been a source of inside information about sewing for decades.

@lukeoliver1776 I spent a few minutes looking for leather point needles in size 120/19 and found some on Thread Exchange and on Amazon. I haven't looked on eBay yet and have to go to work soon. You're going to have to use a leather point needle for your project. A round point wont get it done without great difficulty. One thing I didn't mention if foot pressure. Did you know that broken needles and kipped stitches can be caused by insufficient presser foot pressure? This is because the leather or other material can lift up with the ascending needle. This is always bad and could be part of your problem. Crank down the foot pressure screw a couple of turns and try again. But, either get #19 needle or use #69 thread with the #18 you have on hand.

Tex 90 thread requires a #19 or #20 needle. Your #18 needles hold the thread too tight and poke a hole that is too small to pull the knots up inside the layers. Thread Exchange sells Schmetz needles for your machine in #19, here. Try them and see if they work for you. Put some grease on the gears inside the head where the motor output gear drives the guts. Don't put oil in the motor. If it has cups with lids, they are probably for special grease that is available in syringes. Otherwise, use sewing machine oil in every oil hole and connecting rod inside the front cover. Hopefully, this will loosen up the drive. If your foot controller is old, it may have lost resistance at the startup position. You can replace it with a modern solid state controller. I am telling you all of this because I used to service and resell old Singer iron body machines. The 15-91 was a solid seller and I was able to sew 8-9 ounce bridle leather belting with #92 thread, using a #19 or 20 leather point needle. But, if the controller was worn, the motor lacked punching power. I have a page on one of my websites that is about the Singer 15-91. Maybe you'll find something there that helps you. It has manuals too.

No. You can use a thinner needle than the spacer width. It's job is to protect the hook when using a large needle.that could actually damage the tip. However, if you regularly sew with smaller needles, like #18 to 22, you might get better results by using a shim for a #22 needle. This puts the hook closer to the thin needle and the thread loop. Thinner needles actually get deflected slightly to the left as you sew on most lockstitch machines. The thread tension pulls the needle away from the hook unless I back off both tensions and have a looser stitch line. The longer and thinner the needle, the greater the deflection from thread tension alone. My Cowboy cb4500 and all of its related class 441 machines do not use hook spacer shims. I set my hook to work with the largest needle I regularly use and leave it there. I compensate for needle deflection by tweaking my check spring settings to give more top thread slack, creating a larger loop for the hook on the upstroke, and by backing off the tensions when using thin needles and thread. I rarely get skipped stitches. But, when I do, I tweak the spring again, or loosen the tensions more, or slow way down (a hot needle burns and holds leather fibers and creates more friction). Sometimes, if the inside foot rises up a little early, the leather lifts with the ascending needle and that causes skipped stitches. It happens mostly when I use a left or right toe foot instead of the standard double toe foot. I did install a narrow feed dog and throat plate set purchased from one of our members, and am limited to a #25 needle as the largest size. If I need to use a #26 or 27 needle, I have to change back to the standard feed dog and throat plate. I also have an even smaller profile set from @Patrick1that maxes out with a #22 needle. I use it to hem jeans or sew on soft cloth or very thin leather. It only takes a couple minutes to swap the feeder sets.

From your photo, the hook timing is really close to spot on. But, it may be a tish too early for your material. Try backing off the hook a couple of degrees so it is just 1/8" above the eye as the needle ascends. As for regularly skipped stitches, they can be caused if the leather lifts as the needle comes up. On a standard foot machine, there are toes on either side of the needle to hold down the material. On a roller foot machine there is only the edge of the roller holding down the work. If the edge of the roller is too far away from the needle the material can lift. This causes the loop to dissolve before the hook picks it off the eye of the needle. So, see if there is an adjustment screw on the top of the roller foot to move it closer to the needle. If moving the roller doesn't solve the skipped stitches, try changing the settings and positions of the check spring assembly. Perhaps you need to have a little more slack in the top thread so the loop is bigger and last longer at pick-off time. Most check springs have a stopper on the shaft that sets when the spring stops moving down. It only needs to hold the top thread taut until the tip of the needle touches the top of the material being sewn. If there is a curved slot with a set screw on the check spring's disks, try moving it to the right or left. If the check spring action is too strong, it can pull the loop out as the take-up lever starts up. There's an adjustment on the shaft where it mounts to the body. If you loosen a screw that connects the assembly to the body, you can use a screwdriver in the split threaded stud to turn the unit to loosen or tighten the spring action. Tighten the screw after you are happy with the new setting. The spring must have enough force to rise and lower all the way down to its bottom stop bracket (which is also movable).

The are only three ways to get a replacement top shaft and balance wheel for Singer walking foot machines with stitch length adjusters on the end of the balance wheel: Buy a donor machine and salvage the good parts. Have a new top shaft and balance wheel milled at a machine shop. Find a long-time industrial sewing machine dealer, like Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines, or Hoffman Brothers, or Ralph's Industrial Sewing Machine Co, and pray that they have a salvage machine, or parts in a dusty bin from the early to mid 20th Century.

Yes. A dealer can do it for you. Here are the operating instructions at D.A. Or, somebody who owns one and has done the mods may chime in and tell you what must be done to sew fabrics. The main problem is that the 669 is a triple/compound feed walking foot machine. Due to the way the feet alternate and the inside foot actually presses directly on the moving feed dog, light fabrics may be forced into the feed dog hole, ruining the job. I speculate that unless the hole in the feed dog is very small, only clearing a #22 needle, this is likely to happen. However, if you are going to sew cloth that has some body, like denim, it could resist being pushed into the hole, or the large rectangular slot it rides in. To add some experience to this point, I was sewing garment leather belts and straps at a friend's shop, about a decade ago. The machine was a Cobra Class 4, which is an extremely heavy duty leather stitcher. I was using #138 bonded nylon thread and a #23 leather point needle. It was very difficult to keep the sides from getting pushed into the rectangular slot during edge stitching, especially when it came to the tips. They were constantly getting pushed into the gap, or the wide oblong hole in the feed dog, ruining the stitch line and wasting a lot of time. To solve this problem my friend had a machinist cut down a spare feed dog to 1/4" wide, then he made a new throat plate with a narrower slot. Nowadays, owners of the big Cowboy, Cobra and Techsew 441 clones can buy ready made narrow feed dog and.throat plate sets that allow them to sew thin and floppy work. Some of these aftermarket feed dogs have much smaller needle holes that the material wouldn't get shoved into as easily. I have to ask, do you really want a compound feed walking foot machine if your primary use is sewing fabrics? Wouldn't a flat foot bottom feed machine be better suited? Most garments are made and repaired on bottom feeders. Every tailor shop uses bottom feed straight stitch machines for alterations. My Dad had a Singer 31-15 in his tailor shop. I learned to sew on it.

@Safiremedic, you can go to the Techsew website and contact their support department for a manual. Here is the page for your motor: https://www.techsew.com/us/techsew-smartservo-motor.html

This is an important, often overlooked issue for most sewing machines, but especially the 441 clones. I have a long-time buddy who bought a Cobra Class 4. After a few years the presser and alternating foot bars started getting stuck in the up position. He added more foot pressure to get them to drop, marking the leather even worse. He had me come over to troubleshoot it and I unthreaded the machine and removed the front cover plate. IIt was dry inside and there were scoring marks visible. I removed the presser bar and pulled it through Emory cloth to get the marks off. After putting it back together, I oiled every moving part. The machine worked perfectly afterward. So, remove the front cover and oil every crank and rod that moves against or through something.