Wizcrafts

Wrong end! The crank I am referring to comes out the back near the very left side of the head. It connects to the presser foot cranks inside the left end. When you remove the faceplate you can see these parts. I'm not able to go to my shop so no photos from me at this time.

Different machines, different hooks, different feet, different springs, tensioners, guides, take-up levers, etc. Each machine has its own quirks.

Did you make an adjustment to the height of the inside foot before this occurred? If not, loosen the big bolt on the crank coming out the back left side and lower the needle to the level of the feed dog, then drop the inside foot to meet it and lock down the bolt. Maybe your bolt loosened itself. The feed dog should have risen to the top of the throat plate slot when the needle meets it, but should not start moving back at that point. Set this with the stitch lever in the zero motion position to be most accurate.

I have a Techsew 2700 (I got used) that can handle from #46 through #138 thread (using appropriate needles). I'm sure that one of the Cobra walking foot machines will have similar specs. Have you contacted Team Cobra about your concerns? I would arrange to drive there when they are open and bring your materials and thread with. If you, or they don't have #46 thread, buy a spool online and take it with you. BTW: Some invisible monofilament thread is about the diameter of #46 bonded thread. I use a #14 needle when I sew with #46 thread.

A #21 needle doesn't poke a wide enough hole to easily clear the knots from Tkt 20/#138 bonded thread. Move up to a #22/140, or #23/160 needle. The larger hole will allow the bottom thread to be pulled up with less resistance (resistance is futile!). With less resistance, you can back off the top tension and even increase the bobbin tension a bit, to get rid of the loose bottom stitches.

Did this happen on its own, without any new user action, or as a consequence of another adjustment? If an adjustment, what was it?

Have fun loading those bobbins! Honestly, it is not a leather sewing machine. It can sew some types of leather, but not with heavy thread and not thick stuff. It is still a bottom feeder with big teeth. I had two of them.

The Singer 127 is a domestic, not industrial sewing machine. It is ancient even by domestic machine standards. Just winding a bobbin is an act of magic, if you can do it at all. As for the question about if it can sew through leather, as long as you can get enough force in the treadle drive, it will easily sew through 1/8 inch of leather.

Consew has a user's manual for this machine that includes timing details. Download the Consew 199RB-1A manual here. If this is not your exact model, all current Consew zig zag models are listed on this page There is a manual for the 199R here. The photos are sideways and some are facing left and others facing right..

Have you tried a new needle? Is the needle inserted all the way up in its mount? It it aligned with the rib on the left and scarf on the right? Do you have sufficient foot pressure to completely hold down the leather as the needle ascends? Lifting leather causes skipped stitches. Timing problem The hook timing may have moved from thread drag, or the needle bar may have raised up due to impacts and loosened screws. Power off before proceeding Remove the top thread beyond the wax pot or top post. Unscrew and remove the faceplate and set it aside. Remove the bobbin and shuttle cover plate. Set the stitch lever to the zero forward/backward motion position (rotate the hand wheel until it becomes zero feed). Use the hand wheel to move the needle all the way down to BDC. Continue wheeling slowly until the needle raises between 1/8 and 3/16 of an inch. Shine a light inside and see if the tip of the hook intersects the center of the needle above the top of the eye, inside the scarf area. If the hook and needle aren't intersecting above the eye at this point, determine if the needle is too high for the hook when the hook meets the needle position. If the hook is under the eye of the needle, loosen the 2 screws securing the needle bar, lower the needle bar until the eye is about 3/16" below the tip of the hook and lock down the screws. If the hook is arriving too late, it needs to be rotated clockwise to intersect the needle above the eye. If it is too soon, it needs to be rotated counterclockwise (looking at it) That is a matter for another reply and is fraught with room for serious error. It could affect the warranty. Did you get a manual with the machine? Have you called or contacted Cobra about this problem? This would be a good time to do so.

Any foot should go all the way down. Make sure there is enough slack in the foot lift chain. If that isn't hanging the foot up. the presser bar may need to be lowered (inside the head). This requires removing the faceplate on the left end. Check for a tight chain first!

I would use the blanket foot for this kind of work, along with the blanket feed dog. Both have teeth on them to grab cloth.

No, it's a lockstitch machine with a shuttle.

The problem with sewing any leather on a bottom feed only machine is that the presser foot exerts a lot of drag on top. This separates the layers and causes shorter than desired stitches that can vary with the drag. Also, the foot pressure spring may not hold down leather on the upstroke. Further, the tensioners and guides may not allow for the use of bonded nylon or bonded polyester thread. That said, If you find a straight stitch machine for sale locally, bring samples of your materials and the thread you intend to use. A dealer would be in a better position to pick a suitable machine, or modify an existing model. There are kits available to upgrade the feed dog and throat plate on many s.s. machines to transport difficult materials and to use larger needles. It all depends on the build of the machine and the hook type and adjust-ability. If you do find a suitable straight stitch machine, it may be limited to #69 bonded thread with a #18 needle, or possibly #92 thread with a #19 or #20 needle. Use leather point needles on leather or creature skins and round points on vinyl, webbing and cloth.

The Pfaff 335 machines are frequently sold as synchronized edge binder machines that lack 4 motion feed dogs (no drop feed). This type of machine will shorten your stitch length considerably as the feed dogs move forward and backward above the throat plate. OTOH, if you are looking to use the machine to sew edge binding onto things, it will be a good choice.

The 96- and 96k class machines are strictly for sewing cloth garments with light weight cotton or polyester thread and very small needles. I used to own a Singer 96k40 and fought with it to try to sew a leather vest together. Even converting it into a roller foot machine only had limited improvement. I finally gave up and started buying walking foot machines (that kept getting bigger and heavier duty!). Unless you intend to sew mostly cloth and only occasionally thin leather, avoid this machine. If you want to use it to sew cloth garments or protective face masks, it is worth a hundred and a half, or so. Maybe $200 if they throw in a lot of thread, needles, bobbins and attachments. It will probably have a big, heavy, power hungry clutch motor that runs very fast.

There was a discussion, in 2010, about the same Seiko and a slightly different model Adler cylinder arm machine. The same suggestions would probably apply.

Tom; You need to use cotton or polyester over cotton thread and the tiniest needle that will pass it without shredding it. That would normally translate to standard sewing thread with a #11 or 12 needle. The thread is about half the diameter of #69 and is not bonded. The thread has to give as the mask flexes. The needle holes must be filled with thread to prevent germs, moisture from patients and other pathogens from entering through the needle holes. The needles should be standard round point, not leather. This kind of work is best performed on a drop feed or needle feed straight stitch machine. Walking foot machines tend to push cloth into the feed dog hole. Don't forget to disinfect the sewing machine body, table, throat plate, feed dog, presser foot/feet, needle and top and bottom thread and the shuttle before you start sewing. The masks need to be sterilized before delivery and don't forget to include bendable metal nose strips of some kind.

CowboyBob from Toledo Industrial Sewing Machine, or Gregg from Keystone Sewing can probably help you with those screws.

Post machines are great for sewing objects that are curved, like hats and for bag bottoms. I use my post machine whenever a cylinder arm or patcher can't feed in the right direction, or when sewing bag bottoms. The only problem with using a post machine exclusively is that there is no flat work surface. Also, unless you have a presser foot with an edge guide on it, or install (drill and tap) a drop down edge guide onto the back of the left side of the head, there is no way to maintain a straight line other than your own hands. Most post machine buyers use them to sew shoe uppers. Others make hats and caps Still others make bags on them. I use mine to sew patchers onto caps. There are three common feed systems on post machines: drop feed with a fixed foot, roller feed (some top and bottom driven) and compound feed walking foot. Shoe and boot makers prefer a roller foot because it give great visibility of where the needle is hitting the work. However, unless the roller is fairly wide it doesn't always hold down veg-tan leather as the needle ascends. Top and bottom driven rollers are able to keep multiple layers aligned and force feed slick-bottom materials. I prefer a walking foot post bed machine, which I have in my Singer 168w101. It uses all the ubiquitous presser feet available for the model 111w155. These include spring loaded edge guide outside feet, available in distances from 1/8 to 5/16 inch from the needle. The wide feet hold down up to about 5/16 inch of medium temper leather, vinyl, or webbing. I can sew 3/8 inch of compressible material with it. A fixed flat foot is less desirable for leather and vinyl because it tends to fight the bottom feed and drag the material on top. This feed is best limited to cloth or webbing sewing. I know nothing about the Siruba brand.

I and many others here are currently using the Family Sew FS-550s servo motor, with a 2" pulley, shown here. It has a front mounted dial to limit the top speed. The slowest speeds are a little lacking on torque, so the slow speed punching power will depend on the diameter of the pulley on the hand-wheel on the machine. If the machine pulley is 4" diameter, you will get double the torque and be able to sew about 1 to 2 stitches per second before it stalls out. Adding a speed reducer will double or triple the speed reduction/torque multiplication. It also makes it harder to hand wheel the machine without powering up the motor. Speed reducers are listed further down the above linked page. Any change in the motor or its pulley will require a different length v-belt.

I think you should contact Consew dealers and see if any of them know of a binder that fits that machine.

That model doesn't show any results. Are you sure that isn't your serial number and not the model? If in doubt, post a picture of the front of the machine.

I was able to find one instruction manual that shows how to thread your machine. It is on this website. I hope this helps. If you need any more assistance, please become a member of Leatherworker.net and post your questions in our Leather Sewing Machines forum. Note, your machine is NOT a leather sewing machine and may receive few replies, if any. All posts in the Help Wanted section require approval from a moderator before they can be seen. This could take quite a while.

We do have a section called the Marketplace where members can post items for sale for leather work. But, these are preferably items owned by the member or a friends of a member. And, if you post about items on Craigslist, those posts are removed when the items sell, or the seller decides to abandon the ad. If you do post about such 3rd party machines for sale and the original ad is removed, it is your responsibility to request deletion, or to update your post to let people know that the items are no longer available.