Wizcrafts

The 15 class machines are bottom fed only. The presser foot's job is to hold down the material as the needle ascends. The feed dogs come up from the bottom and push the material backwards; away from you. If the material is heavy, as is leather, the feed dog teeth might slip due to the pressure exerted on top by the presser foot. This causes the stitch length to vary, or be unpredictable. You might thing that you'll just back off the pressure screw on top to make it easier to feed the leather. That might help to a certain point, which is reached when the leather starts lifting with the ascending needle. This causes skipped stitches, and, possibly, even a broken or bent needle. In order to overcome the feeding problems of bottom fed machines, some people equip their sewing machines with roller feet. and a matching inline feed dog and throat plate. All of this will be moot if the tiny motor is unable to power the machine as it tries to penetrate and feed the leather. It was this problem that led to the development of the class 15 industrial swing machines. These machines came out in the early 20th Century. The Singer 31-15 was popular with tailor shops, alterationists, costume makers, and garment factories.. If you bought this domestic machine with the intention of sewing leather, I recommend that you read my pinned topic about the type of sewing machine you need to sew leather.

@jezzell First of all, #277 is too thick for 8 ounces of leather. Move down to #207, on top and in the bobbin. Your #24 needles is the right size for #207 thread, not 277. That calls for a #25/200 needle. I you insist on having 277 on top, at least wind a bobbin with #207. Then the #24 needles may work better. The next issue is the shape of the needle. You seem to be using an S point needle that causes the edges to be pulled into the leather, shortening the appearance. Get you some diamond or tri-point needles. They let the stitches stay on the surface on both ends.

Can you upload a picture of the current roller edge guide?

@Dwight That's a whole nuther aspect of sewing patches than I described. You'll be sewing cloth patches onto cloth garments. The garments will be much more flexible than leather vests. You'll probably be using a lot of Olive Drab 50 weight garment sewing thread. That calls for a #14 needle and a gentle machine. A singer patcher will handle the job, as will a post bed machine. The Chinese shoe patches are pretty rough in the castings and will need to be gone over with Emory cloth to smooth out any rough spots that could cut the cloth. FWIIW, my Daddy was a tailor. For the longest time we had the tailor shop on the ground floor where the 5th Army was housed. He sewed patches onto uniforms and dress shirts. I removed the old ones for him. He sewed every patch on a Singer 31-15 straight stitch machine. I think he hand sewed the ones on sleeves. He didn't know about patchers. That's something I accidentally fell into. In case you weren't aware, patchers are top fed by the teeth on the presser foot. There is a small hole in the needle plate, which is polished steel. All true patchers have butterfly handles to rotate the foot over 360 degrees. Whatever machine you end up getting, learn to reduce the foot pressure and thread tensions to avoid damaging the patches or cloth garments. Typically, patchers are built and setup to sew shoe leather, not cotton shirts.

@Cumberland Highpower I wished that my roller guides were adjustable. What I did back then was to add a washer to the pivot screw and tighten it down once I found the sweet spot for the work at hand. My first ULS was made by Randall in NY in 1968. I bought it from Tandy Leather in 1988 and it only had a needle, awl and bobbin in it. there were no accessories or tools! They used it to sew totes and the operator retired. The first batch of parts and accessories came from a machine made in the early 20th Century. I also bought dozens of parts from Randall Corporation, in NY. I sold the machine in 1999 or 2000 when my wife to be complained about that big ugly black thing in the dining room wasting space and hardly ever being used any more. I never should have sold that machine, but got rid of the wife instead (she left a few years later)! It ran like a top.

@Dwight I am a professional patch sewer. I sew for MCs. As such, I'd like to respectfully pass on this advice to you. If you intend to get into the patching business to make money, especially from bikers in MCs, don't dink around with f'n Chinese sh*t. Invest in either a good condition used Singer 29k71 or 29k72, or an Adler 30-1, -7, 0r -70. Also, try to find one that is already on a powered steel base. The Singer patchers were usually mounted on cast iron treadle bases that require a lot of foot power, plus hand spinning the balance wheel to get the treadle going in the right direction. The Adlers on steel power bases have 1/2 HP clutch motors that start spinning the right direction on their own. The clutch motors are easy to adjust for slack before they engage. Or, you can replace the motor with a servo motor to save weight, noise and heat. Here's the difference in bobbin sizes between the aforementioned models. The Singer 29k71 was made in Scotland and has a 12" arm, with a 5" vertical harp, and takes a small (read, tiny) bobbin that is 5/8 wide by just under 1/4 inch deep, outside. It only holds 3/16 X ~8/16 inches of thread inside. The nose is 1 inch wide by 7/8" deep and gets into tight front pockets. The balance wheel is mounted on the right read. It is best limited to Number 69 bonded nylon thread. Use a #18 round point needle. The Singer 29k72 has a 17 inch arm and takes a larger bobbin. The nose is 1.25 inches wide. It may struggle sewing patches onto front pockets if the patch is close to the sides or bottom of the pocket. It holds about twice as much thread. This model can sew with up to #138 thread. Use #69 for patches on thinner pockets, or #92 on thicker leathers. If you have to open the bottom or a side, use #138 thread with a #22 leather point needle to close them after your patches are sewn on. The needles to stock are #18, 19 and 22. The Singer patchers originally used system 29 needles, which are obsolete. They didn't have a cutout scarf. We now use System 135x 16 (leather) and 135x17 (cloth) needles, which are the same geometry, but have a scarf that the hook can pass through to pick off the thread loop. These machines are pretty much limited to a maximum sewn thickness of 5/16". But, I find they struggle past 1/4 inch. The Adler 30-1 has a small bobbin and an 18 inch long arm. The balance wheel in mounted on the front right side. Use #69 thread and a #18 round point needle for patches. The Adler 30-7 and 30-70 have 18: arms and take a Singer large bobbin and shuttle. They can easily sew with thread sizes from #69 through 138, and even #207 (on short seams). These Adlers use a much longer needle than the Singers: System 332LLG (round point) or 332 LLLG (leather point). Thus, they are able to walk and sew higher, sewing into 3/8 of an inch seams. I use the 29k71 to sew patches over front pockets, or inside pockets that the patch gets close to the inside of the pocket lining. I use the long arm machine to sew farther into big pockets that might have a thicker seam that the Singer can clear or sew through. I use the Adler about 90% of the time. Another difficulty you are going to experience is that a lot of the vests being sold now have a zip-open back lining for a cooling pad or bullet proof insert. The owners may not want that lining closed when you sew on club patches. For these jobs, a long arm Adler (or Claes) patcher is a must have machine. The Adler can get 18 inches in from the zipper before you need to start folding the bottom to get near the top for upper rockers. As for thread, buy good quality #69 (T70) bonded nylon or bonded polyester thread. Stock it in black, white, straw, light brown, medium brown, dark brown, red, bright yellow, gold, orange and some shades of blue and maybe green and gray. Buy Schmetz needles if possible. As mentioned, use #18 with #69 thread, top and bottom. Regarding invisible thread; it can sew over any color border. But, the stubs where you cut it are strong and can irritate the skin if they touch the rider's body. Monofilament doesn't lies as flat as twisted strands in bonded thread.

I have a CB4500 and it came with a t-bar bracket and roller guide. But, my roller guide has a cast or milled flange hanging down on the front edge. The flange stops the backward movement at about the center of the t-bar. It is not adjustable at all. I've had two ULS machines and neither of their roller edge guides were adjustable. They looked exactly like the one that came with my Cowboy, which was in 2012.

The main advantage of a lockstitch sewing machine is the stitches resemble each other on the top and bottom. As leather sewers, we are accustomed to a different result on the bottom and sometimes fight to hide the lockstitch knots from both sides. This stitch is very strong and can hold together somewhat if some of the stitches get cut, or simply break under stress. Off course. a lockstitch machines stops forming stitches the moment it runs out of bobbin thread. The answer to this is the chainstitch machine. It only has a top thread. There is a looper mechanism on the bottom, under the needle plate, which forms a loop around the thread on the bottom. The top will almost always look perfect, unless the tension is way too tight. The stitches are as strong as the thread rating. But, if one stitch breaks, the entire chain could unravel. In the days of yore, hard shell rifle cases, some boots and luggage were sewn on chainstitch machines. The loops were hidden behind material glued to the inside of the cases, or the insole on the boot. In many instances, the machine had a top mounted wax pot containing heated beeswax that the thread ran through. The hot wax hardened after a minute or so and those stitches could last a century. From the late 1800s through the mid-1900s, Puritan was the premier brand of needle and awl chainstitch machines. Some are still in use in the RedWing factory, making work boots using two or three needle chainstitch machines. But, now they usually run dry, bonded polyester thread.

The Landis 12 sole stitchers have a curved awl and curved barbed needle, called a "hook" in the shoe repair trade. They are only meant to sew the outside edge of a shoe or boot sole. Originally, they used linen thread run through a heated wax pot. In modern times, you can run bonded polyester thread in them, on top and in the bobbin. One notable oddity in these stitchers, vs modern industrial sewing machines, is that the huge flywheel is spun clockwise, away from you when you are in front of the machine. If you were to clamp a stack of veg-tan leather under the foot and rotate the wheel towards you, you will probably break the needle at the barbed tip. This is because the awl hasn't stabbed a hole for the needle to pass through. The correct operation calls for using an awl that is one size (number) larger than the needle. These machines typically run linen thread ranging from 6 to 10 cords. The shoe is sewn upside down, with the bottom facing up. As was mentioned earlier, Lisa Sorrell Bespoke Bootmaker, has a YouTube channel in which she has posted three video tutorials about her Landis curved needle sole stitcher. It's a Boot Life: threading the curved needle 12: Curved Needle Straight and Curved Needle Machines

I've always gotten great service from both Leather Machine Company and Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines, on the phone, or via emails. Techsew has also been helpful when I had issues with a used model 2700 I bought locally.

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.