Wizcrafts

You can buy smaller diameter needles and sew with #92 thread into 4-6 ounces. I've used #19 or #20 round point needles (7x3) when those jobs came up. Then I bought a medium duty cylinder arm machine that better handles lighter work and thinner thread.

The foot on my 29k71 doesn't lift as high as yours in the video. My patcher's foot hand lifts to about 3/8 inch (~10 mm) and maxes out at sewing 5/16 inch thickness under the foot. My Adler 30-7 does clear almost 1/2 inch and sews 3/8 inch. Did you modify the 29k to lift and sew higher? If so, what did you do? Does the foot go all the way down to sew thin leather?

Regarding location #5 in the OP's machine photo, because the check spring was threaded incorrectly, it can't move up and down to manage the slackness of the thread feeding up to the take-up lever. There has to be some slack in the thread so it can go around the bobbin case without too much friction (and making a snapping sound). The spring's job is to keep the top thread taut until the needle pierces the material. Then it stops moving and gives the top thread enough slack to create a decent loop for the hook to pick off. Without a check spring there might not be a decent loop at all. Tight top thread makes it hard to balance the knots and puckers soft material upwards.

Theoretically, you can balance the position of the knots in any material by a proper combination of thread size, needle size, bobbin tension and top tension. But, soft materials tend to give/pucker more that stronger materials. It's remotely possible that the otherwise great top/bottom tensions in soft leather won't match the outcome when sewing stiff leather. If you back off the bobbin tension a bit, then rest the top to let the knots drop, it should look better. Stop backing off before the bottom thread gets too loose underneath. If the bottom tension is still too strong, reverse the direction of the bobbin so it feeds inline with the slot in the bobbin case. Rely upon your anti-backlash spring to keep the bobbin from spinning on its own.

I'd say from your list that the cb3200 is the best machine for the times you listed. The Techsew 3650 is a great machine if you don't mind tooth marks on the bottom layer. The Toro 3000 is similar to the Cowboy CB3500, 4500 and 5500. They are full blown holster and harness stitchers. I have the CB4500 and love it.

System 190 needles are oftentimes referred to as Pfaff needles. So, there must be a Pfaff model that uses them and has a longer stroke. I just don't know what model or models that encompasses.

If there are any Pfaff than are rated at 1/2 inch, they would have to use system 190 needles, which are about 3/16" longer than regular system 135x16 walking foot needles.

CB is the Cowboy designation for their current machine line. CowboySew also produces a line branded Hightex. You might want to look into that.

I like that decal. Does he market them?

AFAIK, only the Singer 132k6 and 45k25 can sew 1/2 inch. I've owned both a long time ago. The 132 has a spring loaded alternating pressers system while the 45k25 has a roller foot. Both have aggressive feed dogs. Both take up to #346 thread, using a #26 needle. The roller foot doesn't hold leather down as well as the alternating pressers, or a flat foot with a split toe. So, I limited the 45k25 to #277 thread and a #25 needle. FYI: The Singer 132k6 was marketed as a buffing wheel sewing machine and had a special attachment available the was used to sew them in a converging circle. The modern equivalent of the 45k is the Cowboy CB2500. Although the foot lifts to 1/2 inch, it is spec'd at 7/16 inch, with #346 thread.

Trial and error. Keep in mind that if you ever-flex the driver it may break. So, source a replacement just in case.

No. I was referring to the driver. Polish the end where the top thread exits. If your hook has burrs, polish it to a shine.

Harnessman hasn't posted on this forum since January, 2016. This topic is from September 2010; nine + years ago.

I have the same box reducer under my post machine table. The rest of the machines have standard 2 or 3 pulley reducers.

I have a few spools of Serafil bonded thread. It isn't as strongly bonded as Cowboy thread. The stitches look looser to me. The Strongbond looks comparable to what most of us in the US are using for sewing leather.

Check to see if you threaded the needle backwards. Your drawing shows it threaded from right to left, from the scarf side to the rib side. That is backwards! You should be using bonded nylon thread to sew leather. The Venus thread you have is for cloth garments. Your needle is very small as well. To sew 2 layers of soft to medium temper leather you should use #69 (T70) bonded nylon thread with a #18 leather point needle. Sewing 4 layers calls for moving up to #92 bonded thread with a #19 or #20 needle. This assumes that the leather pieces are each about 2 ounces thickness.

Yes, that's the shuttle driver. I think I see a crew on your shuttle driver. If so, unscrew it/them and remove the driver. Insert it in a vise and carefully bend one of the arms out slightly. Reinstall it and see if there is more clearance for the top thread. Also, polish the trailing end where the thread exits.

My Singer 31-15 has a pinned shuttle driver that can't be rotated to adjust timing. When I bought it, the clearance between the ends of the driver and the shuttle was just enough to clear standard cotton or polycore garment sewing thread. This made for excellent results with thin thread, but not with bonded 69. My solution, which was passed along by a friendly industrial sewing machine dealer, was to carefully pry the ends of the shuttle driver out a little. This increases the free space between the driver and the shuttle. I fine tuned the clearance for #69 bonded thread and called it a day. Because the 31-15s had fixed position shuttle drivers, the only way to time the machine is by moving the needle bar up or down and changing the clearance to the shuttle. Many of these almost 100 year old machines have partially or fully stripped set screws on the needle bar. If you can get the screw to turn it is best to replace it with a new one. Then you can fine tune the needle's eye to hook point very slightly, or even to change needle systems. I set mine to use system DBx1 , also known as; 16x231, 16x257, 1738, or 1515. These are the same needles my serger uses, so I get double duty out of these needles. Here is a discussion about the Singer 31-15 that I was involved with. Note, that if you set too much clearance on the shuttle driver, the shuttle action will become sloppy and you'll get unpredictable results.

I have never actually seen or used Vinymo brand thread, but if it is not left twist, bad things will happen when it is used in a normal lockstitch sewing machine. Untwisted and right twist unravel in most machines, except for shoe sole stitchers

Just a penny!

This reply is totally off topic and not even about an industrial leather sewing machine. It is a hijack of the existing topic. All such replies will be hidden.

I use and recommend the Family Sew FS-550s servo motor with a 50mm pulley preinstalled. It is easy to control down to a stitch and a half per second, or less, if your toe is steady. System 135x17 is round point, for cloth, webbing and vinyl. System 135x16 is a leather point of some shape. It could be an oval chisel or a triangle, or a diamond shape. A Juki LU-563 is not going to treat #207 thread nicely. There may be shreds and skips and knots on the bottom.It totally can't handle #277 thread at all! Fergetit ! You have an upholstery class machine, with reverse, such as it is. It can sew with #138 thread all day. The LU bobbins can hold twice as much thread as the standard Singer G bobbin used in the Juki LU-562.

I can't see the machine in the photo you didn't post. Without a couple of frontal views of the table, nobody can know what is missing. There are various levers, pedals and shafts involved in driving the flywheel. It may have been set up with a continuous run motor, or a clutch motor, or even a modern servo motor. Or, it may have been foot treadled. Here is a topic on our website that has several good photos showing the machine and table with the motor and control rods. Here is a video of a Campbell Randall Lockstitch sewing, including a view of the motor and linkage. Another page showing the motor and linkage.

It is a general purpose upholstery class machine. It maxes out at 3/8 inch with #138 bonded thread, like every other similar upholstery machine. Their needle stroke is too short to clear 1/2 inch under the alternating feet. The needle is not long enough either. Further, the top of the alternating feet will make hard contact with the bottom of the needle bar if you try climbing too high. This may break the thread guide off and may even throw the needle bar out of time. The Juki 1508NH will do what you asked. It was built specifically to use longer needles and lift higher before any parts make contact. Why look at less qualified machines that use standard walking foot needles? Note, that only the 1508 subclass NH can sew 1/2 inch and use #210 thread. The other 1508s only sew 3/8 inch with #138. There is another class of machines that can sew up to about 1/2 inch. They are cloned from the ancient Singer 45k and have bottom feed only. Cowboy has this model, called the CB2500.

This 205 variant has been discussed on Leatherworker.net and elsewhere in the past. Here are some links to those conversations and a manual. https://leatherworker.net/forum/topic/19014-adler-205-8-qustions/ User manual from Adler Considering that it has bottom feed only and uses system 214 needles (same as a Singer 45k), I doubt it can sew anywhere near an inch. It's more like 1/2 to 5/8 inch.