Wizcrafts

I have a Techsew 2700. It is a light duty walking foot machine with a cylinder arm. It is very efficient with small to medium thread sizes, from 46 through 138. Because I have other heavy duty machines, I only use #46, 69 and 92 in my 2700. This prolongs its life and the bobbins go much farther than with heavier thread. The Cowboy 227R and Techsew 2700 are similar machines, clones of the Singer 153. If you are choosing between those machines, find out how much the shipping will cost to your door. The rates are lower if shipped to a loading dock than to a building requiring a truck with a lift gate. I was going to link to the Techsew 2700 page, but it no longer exists. You may have to move up to a newer and more expensive model, like the Techsew 2750. The website has a bold top banner mentioning a 2 to 3 week delay in shipping due to Covid-19 issues. I don't know if this is still the case.

Yes, if you plan to lubricate your top thread. Some sticky materials may benefit from having the thread run through liquid silicon. This is especially true if you use double sided leather tape, or heavy duty Seam Stick to hold seams together for sewing. Liquid silicon is sold through industrial sewing machine dealers, usually in quart bottles. Get a small funnel to aim it into your waxpot. Originally, wax pots were used with liquid beeswax, or dry wax cakes that were heated into liquid as you sew. This system only works on barbed needle and awl machines because the wax gums up the eye of the needle on a modern system.

I have an Adler 30-7 in my shop. On Saturday I used it to sew a patch onto the front of a customer's ball cap. I also use it to sew patches over pockets. It is busy working on sewing 43 patches onto a biker's vest. It is really just a repairs machine, for fixing things that are in hard to reach locations. A full bobbin of #138 thread might sew 5 belts or rifle slings. I don't use heavy thread in mine, just #69 or #92 bonded thread. Most of my needles are #18 through #22. I normally have a #19 or #20 needle in it. I do have a few #24 needles in case I need to use it for a short run of #207 thread, but haven't done that yet. I have a Cowboy CB4500 for that thread.

Not wanting to add doom and gloom to this topic, but I thought I should mention that if the little paddle shaped thread control spring inside the head is bent out of alignment it will drag as you revolve the head. If you listen carefully while revolving the butterfly handles, you might hear the sound of metal scraping against metal in certain points of rotation. The spring lives just above the needle mounting block. Replacing this spring is a work of art in itself. I don't have time to go into it now.

You'll need at least 1/8 inch of leather to hide the knots with #138 thread. It has 22 pounds breaking strength, so you may need to sew double rows on sheathes or pancakes. It is fine for journals and combining the back to the interior of a wallet. It is too thick for the interiors though. For those you'll want to stock up on #69 and/or #92 bonded thread. Get you some #18, #20 and #23 leather point needles for these threads sewn into leather and the same sizes in round points for cloth, canvas and Naugahyde, if you intend to sew those materials.

Does it have to be fire resistant to meet FAA regs?

I'll defer to somebody who has that machine. However, it is a manually cranked machine that requires your right hand on the wheel. That leaves one hand to guide the work.

I sew wallets, vests, phone cases and jackets on a compound feed walking foot machine. It takes thread up to #138 and maxes out at about 3/8 inch of soft to medium temper leather, webbing, canvas, denim, or vinyl. It can sew wallet interiors down to about about 2 or 3 ounces with #46 or 69 bonded thread. All of our holsters, knife sheathes, work gear, gun belts and tow straps are sewn on a Cowboy CB4500, using anywhere from #138 through #415 bonded thread. The thickest I've sewn with it is 7/8 inch. The thinnest would be about 6 ounces, after dumbing it down for thinner thread and a smaller, more easily deflected needle.

This work calls for a compound (triple) feed walking foot machine, with heavy duty take-up and tensioning parts, that can handle mid-weight bonded thread and larger than usual needles. You should look into a Juki DNU-1541, or an LU-1508NH. These are flatbed compound feed walking foot machines that can climb over seams up to 3/8 inch thick. They should be available from industrial sewing machine dealers in SoCal. They use bonded nylon or bonded polyester thread, or even monofilament thread, in sizes 46 through 138. The 1508NH can even handle #207 bonded thread. Chances are fair to middling you will find a dealership that has one set up that you can sit down at and try out. If so, bring a sample of your leather that is typical of the thinnest and thickest you will need to sew. If your thickest seams are 3/8 inch, compressed, the 1508NH might be a better choice. Most leather jackets are sewn with #92 and/or #138 bonded thread, depending on the thickness and strain placed on a given seam. Number 92 thread has 15 pounds breaking strength while #138 is rated 22 pounds test. Number 207 thread is best used for the thickest seams under the most strain, from 1/4 to 3/8 inch. It has 33 pounds breaking strength. Cobra makes a Class 20 that can handle this work. They are located in Ontario, California. Cowboy has a similar machine (I think it is called the CB1508) and is based in Toledo, Ohio. Both are advertisers with us (see the banners at the top of the page) and stand behind what they sell.

In my World, time is money. I'd buy the damn cap and get to sewing in a week or two. You will spend a lot more than $75 dinking around on a milling machine or lathe in time, metal and electricity.

Campbell-Randall has a bobbin cap for sale for the Singer 168. It should also fit your Consew 229. I searched for more but nothing much came up, aside from a Koban brand bobbin cap from Japan. It was sold by a dealer in the UK and would cost as much with shipping and taxes.

It would help if you gave more information about "Eli" The OP is in AU. Location/email/phone?

I just found some System 1000 needles in size 27 on Amazon. The seller listed the dimensions as a shank of 2.5mm and the length at 73mm.

You might want to contact Aaron Marin Harness in Ontario, Canada. They have some sizes of Pearson 6 and Landis 1 needles that may fit your machine. They could measure a needle and let you know if it's compatible by email.

WOW! That sounds like a System 1000 H, from the days of yore.

Please post a frontal photo showing the thread path, especially the top tension disks and the check spring disks. The screw position in the curved slot may need to be tweaked to give a little more slack top thread.

I used to own an LU-563 and sewed on a boss's 563 for two years. All I have to say about them is that I couldn't get the forward and reverse stitches to match. I was sewing vinyl, so mismatched reverse stitches wasn't a big deal. If you are contemplating buying a 563 I advise you to test it first. Misaligned reverse stitches can totally filigree leather. Personally, unless the 563 was in perfect condition and adjusted so the reverse stitches match the forward stitches, I would go for the newer DNU-1541. But, I strongly advise you to test it first with your own leather (use a leather point needle!). Make sure the reverse lines up with forward stitches and that the appearance on top and bottom is acceptable. Bear in mind that the pressure on the inside foot can increase or decrease the puckering on the bottom layer.

Yes. The only machines that don't cause puckering are jump foot harness stitchers that are few, far between, and cost through the nose. You might keep an eye open for an old Adler 105 jump foot machine. Singer did make a few jump foot machine decades ago. Considering the money you already have invested, ask the seller if they have smooth or checkered feet for it. A totally smooth outside foot doesn't help feed on top, so you'll be down to a bottom feed machine. Ask the dealer if they will give you credit towards a Juki DNU-1541, which is a compound feed machine for which there are all kinds of smooth feet.

They sold you a top/bottom dual feed machine when you needed a compound feed walking foot machine, with totally smooth feet. You can try to minimize the tooth marks and puckering by reducing the spring pressure screw or screws on top of the head. There will at least be one large screw over the outer foot that pushes against a heavy coil spring inside the head. There may also be an adjustable spring over the inside foot. That one should be backed off as much as possible to minimize the puckering. Pucker marks are a fact of life with walking foot machines. That is because the inside foot presses directly around the edge of the needle. The only way around this is either a bottom feed only or a jump foot machine (rare).

The entire line of 29k machines are shoe and boot patchers. They are also used to sew embroidered patches onto vests, especially over pockets. They are entirely top driven by the teeth on the single moving foot. That foot rotates 360 degrees to pull the work in any direction. For this model patcher, the thread is best limited to #69 (T70) bonded nylon. It uses System 29x3, 29x4, or 135x16, or 135x17 needles. The best needle size for #69 thread is #18/110. The small bobbin limits the amount of thread that can be held. You can use #92 bonded thread with a #19 or 20 needle, but it will go less distance than #69 thread. If you load a bobbin with #138 thread it will only sew one or two belts. Thickness-wise, a 29k33 will sew about 1/4 inch of soft to medium temper leather. It can clear a seam that's up to 5/16 inch, but probably not sew that thickness. The stitch length varies with the thickness. The maximum length on a pristine mechanism is 5 stitches per inch into about 6 ounces of shoe upper leather. This decreases to about 7 or 8 to the inch at 1/4 inch. If the feed motion mechanism is worn you may only get half that stitch length. I hope this helps.

I can't speak for Tandy, but I have sewn on a Cobra Class 4 and it is a fine machine. The Class 3 has a 9 inch arm and the Class 4 has a 16.5" arm. You would have to decide if you will ever need a longer arm before buying a 441 type machine. If you are in charge of all your designs, you may get away with a short arm. But, do you anticipate making drop loop gun belts with bullet loops? If so, go for the longer arm. I say this from much experience sewing bullet loops onto Western gun belts on my Cowboy CB4500. In fact, sometimes I wish I had bought a 25 inch arm model! FYI: The 441 clones pick up where the standard walking foot machines leave off. That is #138 through #415 thread with needle sizes 23 through 27. The crank shafts are at least twice the size of those used in medium duty walking foot machines. The springs are massive in comparison. They can both exert huge amounts of top thread tension and still hold down tough leather as the take-up lver pulls up the thread knots. This is more difficult on lesser machines and is where they are likely to fail.

Here are some YouTube videos about setting up a Fortuna ES-50 skiver. It applies to all similar models and brands. Here is a video about setting up a Fortuna skiver. (could not be embedded here) Part 2 of above video Part 3 showing the Fortuna skiver in use.

One of our advertisers sells the Consew 206RB-5, complete, for $1395 plus shipping. How does this compare to what you saw?

To be sure that the feet will fit I recommend contacting Techsew. They can tell you if a specific foot is required and probably have them at a competitive price. Also, they, like you are based in Canada.

There is another way I use to lock in the stitches when I can't sew over or do Poor Man's Reverse. Sew two or three stitches, raise the needle after the thread goes around the hook on the take-up cycle, lift the feet and pull the work back two/three stitches distance, then drop the feet and sew through those stitches again. You can even go back and forth over one stitch a couple times using this technique, but I recommend at least two stitches. Use the same technique at the end of the stitch line. Raise, pull back a few, then sew over to the end.