Wizcrafts

Either the shuttle timing is way off, or the bobbin tension is too tight, or the top tension is too loose, or the top tension release is opening the tension disks while you sew, or the machine is improperly threaded on top. Of these, I would investigate the bobbin first.

When I first began sewing leather, none of my machines had a reverse lever. Now, after decades of being in and out of it, then back in again, only two of my current crop of 10 machines have a reverse lever, with 2 patchers sewing in any direction the foot is pointing. Spinning the work, or lifting the foot and pulling the work back a stitch or two is second nature to me.

Bobbin winding time can coincide with oiling all the oil holes on the cranks inside the head as well as the shuttle race. Unthread the top and remove the bobbin and the face plate.

I have the same machine. It is not a 45-2, but is a 42-5.

Sure. Poor Men can't afford sewing machines with reverse levers. So, we spin the work around 180 degrees and sew backwards into the previous holes, locking in the original stitches.

My Singer 168 post machine is on a shorty table, as is my Fortuna skiver.

I would set the LU-562 up with #69 or #92 thread and use it for thin work up to 8 ounces with a #18 or #19 titanium needle. Use the Consew for work from about 9 ounces up to 20 ounces with #138 thread and a #23 titanium needle. As for reverse, use Poor Man's Reverse to lock in the starting and ending stitches.

It is my theory that the use of roller tensioners was directly related to the common use of linen thread in heavy leather stitchers, in the days before there was any dry bonded synthetic thread. Waxed or dry thread wrapped around the roller got all the tension it needled from friction of the thread wrapping around itself. The more wraps, the more tension was applied. Linen thread isn't as slippery as modern bonded nylon or polyester. Waxed linen is even stickier. You can see this in action if you have one of the "Speedy Stitchers" that Tandy used to sell (and maybe still sells?). These devices have a bobbin of pre-waxed linen thread in the top of the handle. The waxed linen thread gets its tension by wrapping the thread around a small post on the way to the needle.

Yes, but the 111w155 has more clearance under the feet, longer maximum stitch length and a higher speed top speed.

Yes. There are fewer rotating parts on a single needle machine. All those unused moving parts need oil and add to the friction when running the machine. There may be a problem finding compatible alternate presser feet for single needle use in a double needle machine (depending on the machine). You should not buy a double needle machine with the intention of only using one needle, unless it falls off the truck and into your lap.

Absolutely! You have to remove the left needle and its thread and bobbin. You can the sew with the right needle and bobbin and its top thread path and tensioners.

On behalf of the staff and membership of Leatherworker.net, I pray for the safety and security of our Australian members from the wild fires and heat in progress.

I read the description of this machine on two websites and there is no mention of a safety clutch. You can get the specs and manuals for the P-12206RB-1 from Consew, or read them online. If true, I suspect the lack of the clutch has something to do with the lower price than the 206RB-5.

Jeff, when you push all the way down on the foot lift pedal the top tension disks should be opened up by a lever underneath them that gets pushed up. Examine the tension disks while somebody pushes down on the pedal to see if this is happening. If the lever does move up into the disks but they don't open it could be that the tension spring has been tightened so far that it has no more give to let the disks separate. If so, back off the top tension spring and back off the bobbin tension to balance the knots. The hand lift lever, with the ball end, should also provide enough lift to separate the tension disks. Sometimes new 441 clones are setup with fairly high bobbin tension. I recommend backing it off until there is a smooth flow with a little spring tension, but not free flowing. This will give much more range of adjustment on the top disks and lower roller. If the top and bottom tensions are not too tight and the disks are opening with the lifters but the thread is very tight, check the thread path to see if it is twisted around a guide, or caught under the thread spool. If the thread is looped around the top post, try just feeding it straight through the upper hole, or even sideways through the second hole, but not through any other holes. This will relieve a lot of thread tension, depending on the stiffness of the thread.

Maybe I will have to create a new forum section to discuss domestic sewing machines. Let me study on that. That way folks wanting to delve into the mechanics and design parameters of household machines may get more useful interactions than in this leather sewing machine section. This forum is really targeted at industrial leather sewing machines, not household machines that might could sew leather, nor industrial machines meant for high speed sewing of broad cloth and man made materials. If I get the go-ahead and do create a non-leather sewing machine forum I will link to it as a sticky post.

The feed motion shaft could have another channel cut for securing the offset feed timing. I think that the current feed dog motion is best suited to stretchy cloth, not hard materials.

There are feet available for the Singer 29 series machines that will fit the Adler 30 foot bar and some have less aggressive teeth on the bottom. Finding actual Adler feet are like finding hen's teeth and would be through the roof expensive. You could fill them in with rubber compound, or blunt them a bit, but that reduces the ability to feed (pull) the leather. The teeth on the foot do all the heavy lifting on patchers. Keep an eye open for an Adler 30-7 or 30-70. They have larger bobbins and can sew at least 3/8 inch and can handle #207 thread. However, they need a fair amount of teeth on the foot to pull the work through. There's no getting around that fact.

There are some really well built leather sewing machines that are out of production that can be found used for $2,500 or less. One that comes to mind is the older Number 9 Machine and its younger brother, the Luberto Classic. These machines have square feed of the needle bar instead of the common pendulum feed that shortens with height. They have a single jumping foot, needle feed, no feed dog and narrow slotted throat plates. It's a shame that Tony Luberto couldn't sell more of these machines that were so well built and stay in the game. As for used leather sewing machines that typically sell for $2500 and less, I recommend the Union Lockstitch or slightly more expensive Campbell Randall Lockstitch needle and awl machines. They do have a learning curve but are worth the effort when you see how beautifully they stitch thick and thin stacks of leather. A skilled operator can set them up to sew from as thin as 6 ounces by using the smallest needle and awl combination and thin 3 cord thread. I was able to sew 8 ounce belts, guitar straps and rifle slings with #138 thread on the two ULS machines I've owned. They are built like Sherman tanks and many are still in service after one hundred years!

This is fascinating from a theoretical viewpoint, but begs the question: why are you trying to force domestic sewing machines meant to thin cloth to sew 6mm of leather? It makes no sense unless you simply cannot find an affordable industrial sewing machine that allows full calibration of the feed components. This topic reminds me about some past discussions of portable walking foot machines that were built to sew sail cloth and boat upholstery. Owners were trying all kinds of hacks to get them to sew over 1/4 inch (6mm) of leather with #138 or larger thread and had very mixed (mostly bad) results. Those machines were not built with that work in mind. The same goes for the Singer 66 and 201. Singer's engineers designed them for household repairs to cloth garments, some of which were stretchy, and they are good at doing that. They made better, stronger and more adjustable commercial machines for heavy duty sewing into thick materials and leather.

Let us know how it works out moneywise. Do read the article, linked to in the previous reply, by one of our members after he went through the tedious process of importing a 441 clone from China. You'll need to have all manner of documents ready and be prepared to do money wire transfers from your bank to a brokerage agent. Even if all goes smoothly, you become the dealer as regards repairs and warranties. It is doubtful you'll get technical support from China, unless you speak Chinese. Good luck with that. I like how folks who may have never imported machinery from China claim to know how much our US based dealers pay per landed and warehoused machine, or what the time to set them up is worth. Oh, and dealers have really big commercial buildings, trucks and huge overhead to cover from sales. Best of all, they offer after the sale support and can get parts one might need shipped out in days instead of weeks. Most will talk you through a repair on the phone, in English, not Chingrish. Just sayin...

The Adler 30-1 is similar to the Singer 29k73 in that it has a long arm and very small bobbin. It uses Singer 29k small shuttles, bobbins and needles (29x3, 29x4, 135x16, 135x17). The maximum thickness is about 5/16 inch, but the stitches will be very short at that thickness. It does best sewing into 6 to 8 ounces of leather, with #69 bonded nylon thread, or perhaps #92, using a #18 or #19 needle. At this thickness it might get 5 stitches per inch, unless the feed motion bell crank is worn down too far. If you use #138 thread (with a #23 needle), you'll only be able to about two average length belts. There is no using #207 thread in this model, unless it is a very short project, no more than about 1/4 inch thick. However, that heavy weight thread will probably get caught in the shuttle. Because the stitches get closer at this height (pendulum effect), you'll have to push or pull the work to get even 6 stitches to the inch. The foot has sharp teeth needed to pull the leather on top and they leave deep marks. The Adler 30 series are patching machine. I use my 30-7 to sew embroidered patches over pockets in vests and sleeves on jackets, to repair purses, to sew small cylindrical objects, or to sew up the arm on long narrow bags. It is great for installing zippers in the sides of boots, or repairing shoe uppers with torn thread. It is NOT for holsters!

N.B.; The recent retaliatory tariffs on Chinese goods and sewing machines do not apply in Canada unless Canadians import machines from the USA. They can still buy from Techsew in Montreal at the same prices they have been paying.

Yes there is a way to make the 441 machine sew thin material with thin thread. I wrote a blog article all about it. I call it dumbing down a Cowboy CB4500, Cobra Class 4, or similar harness stitcher. Give it a read and decide if it is something you want to go through when you change from thin to thick jobs. If you have 20 or 30 minutes to spare before sewing, it's worth the effort. It lets you sew with #69 and #92 thread into wallets, phone cases, book covers, jeans, chaps, vests, etc. In order to get the best results in thin material you should buy the optional flat slotted throat plate and a table attachment (unless they come with the used machine you mentioned). Eventually, when you get busier sewing, you'll want dedicated machines for the different thicknesses and thread sizes. One thing I've found is that the longer the needle, the easier it is to deflect it into the feed dog surface instead of the hole. This can occasionally happen to large size needles, but happens quite often with thin needles. Big 441 type machines use System 7x3 round point and 794 leather point needles. You need to know that there aren't any regular sources for System 794 leather point needles in sizes under #23 (metric 160) in the North American market (although they may possibly be available somewhere from some seller or importer). That leaves one using regular round points for #18 through #22 needles. Not a biggie but worth mentioning. BTW: My article about dumbing down a harness stitcher could be reversed to smartening it up if you normally keep it dumbed down for thin work with thin needles. ;-)

All remaining Ferdinand parts and machines were purchased by Hoffman Brothers in Des Plains, Il. Call them at: (800) 323-9120 .

Cowboy and Cobra brands are made in China and have been severely impacted by multiple import tariffs since September of 2018. The dealers have to pay these new fees every time they clear machines from Customs. These tariffs have been compounding since 2018. Once applied they are non-refundable. All this aside, the price for American made Campbell-Randall and Union Lockstitch needle and awl machines has remained fairly stable. Some of the Japanese built Juki machines have gone up in price because of new models with feature additions and operational improvements. A Juki TSC-441 can be had for as little as $5,750.00 at Nick-O-Sew. The new Adler leather sewing machines have actually come down since their introduction a couple years ago. The top-of-the-line Adler 969 ECO has dropped from 11k to 9k through Weaver Leather.