Wizcrafts

I think you misunderstood what I meant by reversing the handwheel. I meant literally rotating the wheel backwards to reposition the needle to make a turn after it raised out of the material. There is a really narrow range of motion before the top thread gets double hooked when the wheel is reversed that way.

Ask the dealer if he will support the machine with parts and operating assistance should anything go wrong. Ferdinand Sewing Machine Company has been out of business for a while now and their machines were mostly customized from Japanese casings, not just rebadged. This brand has been discussed before on Leatherworker.net You can use Google to search out site for all references to Ferdco using this search term: site: leatherworker.net ferdco

Singer invented the safety clutch to counteract operator errors while they were sewing under pressure and at speed. The simple act of reversing the handwheel at the wrong point in the cycle, or slightly too far, can cause the top thread to get tangled in the shuttle (ask how I know).

Did you know about holding back the starting threads when you tested the Juki? Failure to do so virtually guarantees a birds nest.

Nick-O-Sew is a Juki dealer and is in Tennessee

Links to old files in 10 year old posts don't work anymore due to changes in the forum software during the last few years. Therefore, I am closing this topic to new posts.

Use smaller needles! Your particular machine may be limited to a #22 or smaller needle and similarly smaller thread. Otherwise, use abrasive Emory string to enlarge the hole.

Actually, if the foot pressure is backed off to the minimum needed, the tooth marks won't be much worse that those from a shoe patcher.

You'd also probably have to smooth the teeth on the feet to avoid marking leather. This machine claws cloth and vinyl through. Weakening the tooth pattern will impede the feeding.

Similar machines, depending on the sub-model. Both classes are high speed apparel sewing machines, meant for thin thread, small needles and cloth garments. Speed is between 4000 and 5500 stitches per minute. Needs to spin fast to pump oil to the extremities.

The Juki DDL-5550 is a oil pump equipped, very high speed, cloth garment sewing machine. It is not suitable for leather or heavy thread. The normal speed this machine sews at is about 80 stitches per second.

This happens when the top thread suddenly gets jammed, or double wrapped around itself, the bottom of the spool, or some guide or post. The extra tension drags the material back, shortening the stitches. The same thing can happen if the bobbin thread binds on the way out of the bobbin case.

You can play with the position of the numbered finger adjustable nut on top, inside the take-up bar. Screwing it in forces the take-up lever to raise higher and stay up. This feeds more thread per stitch, letting the thread lay less tightly. This would be best on cloth that tends to pucker if the thread is too tight. The little leaf spring on the very top has an effect on thread tension. If it is screwed all the way down it causes a tight lay on the top of the material. It can also cause the loop to dissolve prematurely as the hook approaches the needle. There is a happy range of spring pressure that gives a good thread lay, in combination with the aforementioned barrel adjuster. Before changing these settings, mark or photograph what you have now.

This machine already has a long topic from a month ago. The seller told you it was a Ferdinand machine. They are long gone out of business. I doubt you will get any deeper information by starting another topic about the exact same machine.

I'm glad to know that my video helped somebody. The original rear inline foot was too short. The new one is almost spot on. You can fine tune the alternating lift by loosening the big bolt on the crank on the back left end of the head. It controls the inside foot height. If you lower it the outside foot lifts higher and vice versa. Normal positioning places the inside foot on the top of the leather just as the needle breaks the surface. You can alter the inside foot height for the best lift for the project. It also affects the stitch length to a degree.

I wrote a blog article about using the inline feet

Not entirely. The brake function does affect the tension on the thread wrapped around the roller. If the roller is totally free to rotate, the only friction is the windings of the thread. If the roller is tensioned by the beehive spring it adds friction to the thread in addition to the windings themselves. I have a couple machines with this bottom roller and I use it to fine tune the top thread tension (even though I use dry bonded synthetic thread). The roller braking spring would have an even greater effect with waxed thread that is stickier.

16x231 is the needle "system," which refers to its geometry. Size 19 indicates the diameter of the needle body below the mounting shank. It is equivalent to metric 120. This size is best suited to #92 bonded nylon/polyester/synthetic thread (aka: T90). You can get a better idea of which needle and thread combinations work best by reading this needle and thread chart. Certain sewing machines are purposely limited to the largest needle size they can safely use. It could be the case with the Consew you asked about. Internal clearances are set to allow for a certain range of needle sizes. The hole in the throat plate (or feed dog) limits the maximum needle diameter too. So, if your machine is limited to a a maximum #19 needle, the largest thread you should use would be #92 (T90) bonded. It would also be okay to use Tex 80 jeans thread or some button hole thread. EDIT I read about your machine on a marine sails sewing forum and others are using it with a size 22, System 16x95 needle, sewing with #138 bonded thread.

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.