Wizcrafts

My first servo motors were brush-less and started with a jerk at either 100 or 200 rpm. To this very day there are still a lot of brush-less servos that do the same as before. On the other hand, all of the brush servos I've had start spinning from zero and increase gradually to whatever maximum speed has been set on its knob (pot or switch).

I believe I bought an open inside foot from Leather Machine Company (Cobra). Check their website for presser feet and accessories. Otherwise, CowboyBob Kovar might be able to supply you with an inside foot that's sliced down the center.

Yes! Just back off the foot pressure screws to the minimum needed to hold down the leather as the needle and thread comes up. This will minimize the poke makes on the bottom that are caused by the inside foot pressing down hard around the needle and into the big slot in the feed dog on the bottom. If your machine has a separate spring adjuster over the inside foot, back it off as far as tolerable, leaving the outside foot to hold down the leather.

I have a friend who has an unwanted Singer 111w116 compound feed walking foot machine. It can only be used with System 135x16 or 135x17 needles up to a #20 and thread up to #92 bonded (but preferably #69). This machine would be perfect for sewing upholstery leather, wallets, canvas, denim and vinyl. Machines like this are fairly rare compared to the heavier duty 111w153 and 155.

My very first industrial sewing machine was a Singer 96k40 tailoring machine. I didn't know it was a tailoring machine. The dealer said it could sew leather. He lied. I bought it to sew a leather vest I was making from a Tandy Leather pattern pack. The machine simply stopped feeding anytime it met a new layer, like the fringes on the upper back. Even when I lifted the foot on top it skipped stitches, then broke the needle. The bottom feed only is unreliable and tends to just slip if the bottom layer is slick, like pasted flesh leather. Fast forward 35 years and there is a Singer 31-15 head on the floor in my shop. The table it came on is now housing a Singer walking foot machine. It easily climbs over seams and sews almost 5/16 inch of medium density leather with up to #138 bonded thread. Walking feet alternate up and down. Compound feed machines also have a moving inside presser foot that moves in sync with the needle and feed dog. This is triple feed and the layers stay aligned and feed reliably compared to bottom feed machines. Read my sticky article at the entry page of this forum about the type of machine you need to sew leather.

This is a servo motor that can run so slowly that you won't need a needle positioner. If the motor alone doesn't spin the machine slow enough, the speed reducer lower down the page will. I have 3 machines equipped with this motor and a speed reducer. They can run so slow it's like watching grass grow. If I increase the speed setting knob to the maximum I can get about 5 or 6 stitches per second. One of my walking foot machines is fed directly from the same motor, which has a 2" pulley. It can easily poke along at about 1.5 or 2 stitches per second with the speed knob turned down low. I can easily stop it on a dime! When I max out the knob it flies at about 15 stitches per second. I hope this helps.

I use double sided Venture tape that is sold by Wawak.com. I believe it is made by 3M and comes in 60 yard rolls, in these widths: 1/4", 1/2", 3/4" and 1". This tape is very aggressive and has good hold on leather. I even use it to secure patches to be sewn over pockets on Biker's vests as well as for securing zippers for sewing.

I have owned two Union Lockstitch machines that both sewed 3/4 inch as built. I learned to tweak them to sew 7/8 of an inch. These are the opposite to a Campbell-Randall lockstitch in that they are needle fed instead of awl fed. Seeing as how the needle is always smaller than the awl, it can flex in thick stacks of leather, dragging back the expected stitch length. However, since the maximum length is a tad over 1/4 inch and most stitches I sewed were 5 to the inch, the loss from needle flex was a non-issue. As for the appearance on top and bottom, it was better than what I get on my CB4500. Nothing beats a needle and awl jump foot machine, possibly with the exception of a needle feed jump foot machine that has no feed dog or center foot. Ferdinand Bull and Luberto Classic/Number 9 machines were in that category.

The one you are interested in is the Adler 30-10. It is a long arm boot patcher with a very small bobbin. I have a related machine: the Adler 30-7 that has a larger bobbin. These machines are for light duty patching and repairing jobs. Most users thread them with #69 or #92 bonded nylon thread. They max out at about 5/16 inch and are not a good machine for sheathes or holsters. Worst of all, they are top feed only and there are deep teeth on the foot. You should consider becoming a member here and reposting your questions in our Leather Sewing Machines forum. If you remain here as a guest, all replies have to await a moderator's approval to be unhidden. You won't have access to our private message system either as a non-member.

You can use Google to search Leatherworker.net for all discussions about a Landis 16. Or, use our own search box for Landis 16 (select "all words")

Do you have the correct needle system and is the rib on the left and scarf over the eye on the right? The shuttle has to pick off the loop on the inside of the needle to form a stitch. Is something causing the loop to dissolve before pickoff time? Look at your check spring motion and make sure it moves up as the take-up arm goes up, holds the thread taut until the needle reaches the feed dog, then lets go as the needle moves down below the surface. There are adjustments for the strength and range of motion of the check spring and they affect the quality of the loop.

Maybe the brakes are slick and need to be cleaned off???

Silence to questions about a particular brand or model is an indication that people on this forum have little or no experience with that machine. I would rather say nothing about something I know nothing about than let you know how little I know about the subject. I can tell you that having a dealer nearby who stands behind any machinery he or she sells is priceless and can offset the unknown. Get some kind of warranty and a promise of assistance when you run into problems.

Make sure the top thread is feeding solidly through the tension assembly and that the tensioner is not releasing until you raise the foot.

Check on the Weaver Leather Master Tools Cub web page. There are some positive reviews from actual buyers.

A few years ago, @Cobra Steve was mailing out variable density light filters that we could insert between the light source and the sensor in the brushless motors everybody was selling. The filters gave very smooth control of the startup speed if properly positioned (and if they stayed put). I don't know if he has any light filters left, but it might be worth inquiring. He owns Leather Machine Company (Cobra), an advertiser here with banners on top of our pages.

You must have a brushless, pushbutton controlled servo motor. Those are horrible for slow speed use. I discarded all of those and replaced them with brush servos that have a knob on the front to limit the speed. These motors start at zero and gradually speed up. The motors I now use come prefitted with a 2" pulley. This lets the typical machine to sew at about 1.5 stitches per second, depending on the diameter of its pulley. When I need even more slow speed control, I add a speed reducer (shown on same page as above linked to motor).

From my personal experience with sewing machines, just because a given needle bar and throat plate/feed dog will clear a #25 needle does not in itself mean that the shuttle or take-up/tensioning system can handle #277 bonded thread. I found that only the largest leather stitchers can actually handle this size thread efficiently and pull its knots well up inside the leather. I also learned that trying to force feed #277 or #346 thread to a machine that wasn't built with this in mind will damage it.

You should be able to open the faceplate and loosen the set screw or screws securing the presser bar to the lifting cranks and lower it until the presser foot makes contact with the throat plate. The best rotational time to do this is when the inside foot has just barely touched the feed dog. That's when the outside foot should still be in contact with the throat plate. Don't forget to re-tighten the set screw after lowering the foot!

I put a thin spacer inside the top of the stitch adjuster nacelle on my CB4500 and it helps equalize reverse stitches.

This is not the best machine for your tin projects. It is super heavy duty and would need to be "dumbed down" to properly sew thin seams with thin thread and thin, 2.75" long needles. You should be looking at light to medium duty walking foot machines, in flat bed or cylinder arm/with add-on table configuration. For flat beds, a Consew 206RB-5, or P1206RB, or Juki DNU-1541, or equivalent Cowboy CB1541 would be good choices. For cylinder arms, the Consew 227R, Cowboy CB227R, Juki LS-1341, Cowboy CB341. These all use thread sizes 46 through 138, top and bottom. Some can apply extra top tension to pull up #207 thread. They also need heavier duty presser foot springs to hold down the leather while pulling up heavy thread knots. Later on, if you need to sew thicker than about 20 ounces, or use heavier thread than #138, you can buy a CB4500. It uses thread sizes 138 up to 415.

@Silvershadow What Bob and Glenn are telling you about the height of the feeder is due to the fact that your machine was made for use with edge bias tape binder attachments. The feeders only move forward and backward on binder machines to help gather the bias tape and push it tightly against the edge of the material. Some binder machines have a smooth feed dog, but yours has teeth. Methinks those teeth will interfere with the normal feeding of leather, pushing and pulling instead of just pulling. That's why they need to be at, not above the top of the throat plate slot.

These are medium duty sewing machines. While they can sew up to 3/8 of an inch, that probably doesn't include worked and hardened veg-tan. But, 12 ounces should be fine with either machine; even 18 ounces. After you cross that general thickness it becomes harder to hold down the leather to form a stitch. Also, these machines can't handle #277 thread, which is required for three layer holsters. The most they can handle would be #207 thread on top and #138 in the bobbin. That means that the strength per stitch is limited by the smaller thread. In this case that would be 22 pounds test. Holsters and sheathes with fillers should be sewn on a harness stitcher, like a Cowboy or Cobra heavy stitcher. They can tension #346 thread and hold down 3/4 inch of leather.

It is a patcher, for sewing patches on vests, repairing loose thread on boots and shoes, fixing tabs on purse straps and other light leather work. It can sew up to about 1/4 to maybe 5/16 inch of light to medium temper leather with #69 or #92 bonded thread. The bobbins are very tiny and don't hold much thread in sizes over #92. When new, or rebuilt, the stitch length maxes out at 5/inch at about 1/8 inch, dropping to who knows how short at 1/4 inch. It really depends on how worn the feed motion mechanism is. Did you see a Sutton patcher for sale, or already own one?

Your photo is showing the back side of the machine. We need to see the front to identify the make and model. Take a close-up showing just the head, in sharp detail. Look for a tag with a model, or a manufacturer and photograph it. Aside from that, all I can say is you have a patch machine on a treadle stand.