catskin

In effect I now have an 8 inch hand wheel, the factory hand wheel is still there to put it back to factory state all it would take it loosening the set screw and pulling of the fly wheel. The only damage would be scuffed paint on the hub. The added weight of the compresser flywheel helps keep the machine turning steady at the slower speeds which doesn't hurt. I am inclined to believe mine was set up for upholstery since it sewed straight ahead with no changing of anything. My wife ,who has years of sewing in a garment factory says we should look into some other feet. The way it is the first job we did was sew a zipper into split leather chaps and it did it perfectly . My machine came with the left toe foot and of course the center foot that moves with the needle. There could very well be lots of other attachments that we still haven't learned exist.

Here is what I did to slow down my Singer 78-3 I had a fly wheel from a little old air compresser I lathed it out to fit on the hub of the original pulley while doing that trimmed the fins to fit on top of the hand wheel made it a gentle tap on fit put in the set screw and a longer belt and it runs just fine I didn't have to move the motor or enlarge the belt groove in the table. It even tips up for servicing like it always did. With the bigger pulley it make for less chance for the belt to slip since the original pulley is 4 inches and this one is 8. And my cost was 1 hour of time.

Ole South, I am not real familiar with all the things available for the 78, it has a slotted smooth plate on the bottom and smooth feet but since the needle moves the leather, it does move it never slips. I think you might be best to talk to Bob in Toledo he seems to know about all these machines. I haven't used it much but what I did with it, it did it very well. Where I feel it real shines is it does NOT mark the leather.

Eric, I do realize that the old machines were made better. What you say just proves what I already thought was true. I have never seen a worn out Singer machine, I have my mothers that the last patent on it was 1890 something and cleaned up a bit it still would sew just fine. Now the reason I bought a new cowboy 4500 is it does NOT get much use and I run it SLOW but it does sew the thick stuff, in the 3 years I have had it I probably haven't put a pound of thread through it so for what I am doing it will likely last as long as I live and still be in good shape. For the amount of work it does it likely didn't make business sense to even buy it, but I have it for what I want to do. My way of justifying buying it is I don't smoke, drink , gamble or do a lot of other things that cost, so I had the money, and at the end of the day I will still have a sewing machine to show for my money whereas the people doing those things will not have anything to resell.

I am not familiar with that exact machine but it sounds to me like something is not letting the foot go all the way down to grab the material in order to move it. Or is it possible you have accidently got the forward/ reverse in the middle so it doesn't move the material?

In this case I wonder if by some chance a wrong screw was put in by accident since it was almost twice as long as it would have needed to be. Has anyone got a theory as to why most sewing machines use non standard screws? Is it like noted above, so people do not (can not )put in a screw of a different strength?

Here is another suggestion Singer 78-3 if you can find one, mine will zip through 5/16 " of leather like butter, they have walking foot lots of stitch length adjustment but no reverse ( I very rarely use the reverse on my machines that have it )Mine cost me $25.00 for the head in perfect working condition. Then I paid $20.00 for a clutch motor and $20,00 for an industrial table. So all in all very affordable. While I am not doubting what you can do with yours I think this one can all your 66 can plus some more. So worth a look for any one that can find one.

Const. You are sort of right, I should have put on between broken and cowboy. But less miss leading then the topic that says HOME MADE sewing machine when all he did was cobble together a motor and belt drive. And call it direct drive. Thanks to others for your suggestions finally got an answer at Toledo and screws should be coming.

Just to explain as I should have in my first post this is the screw that holds the OUTER foot not the one that the needle goes through that one uses 2 allen head screws. I have to admit I was hoping I could put in a grade 8 or grade 12 screw bought locally. As for getting the broken part out since there was no longer any pressure on it I was able to catch the end sticking through with fingers and turn it out.

Doesn't do much for my faith in genuine new Adler machines it is almost 2 years since this post started you would think in that time they would be able to make a machine that works.

The screw that holds the foot on broke. can anyone tell me if it is a regular screw , metric or standard and what I size I would have to ask for. Or is it some oddball size and thread like singer and some other machines have. Attn. Bob most of your website does not work when I click on parts or other things on the left side the screen just goes black.

Not yet the widow doesn't seem in any hurry to make up her mind and the son hasn't gotten back to me. It isn't advertised just that I knew the guy and they know I am interested. So I am waiting to see if they make up their mind.

I am sorry that I offended some of you by referring to you as experts. By doing that I meant to let you know that I feel many of you have experience in more areas then I do. While at the same time in 40 years I have learned a few things that work for me and some that DO NOT. From my experience using thinner thread on the bottom the stitches will come undone much easier since the hole is 2 sizes to big for the thinner thread. When I use the same tread top and bottom back stitching is much less important at beginning and ending because the bottom thread is as tight in the hole as the top one. I have things sewn 25 years ago that had no back stitching at beginning or ending and not one stitch has worked out after 25 years of use. While I have had lots of things brought to me to fix where thinner thread was used on bottom and the stitches have worked out in a few months use. This what I base my opinions on. These are opinions I have formed from MY experience Others may differ.

From what I have read, a lot of places have changed the way they cut hides at the tanneries. It used to be that they cut the hide from end to end in 3 with the spine position in the middle to call it a back and the other lower pieces were the bellies. Now they tend to cut them down the spine and trim a smaller strip of that they consider belly. This way they get 2 (backs ) from a hide and less belly . that way they sell more at back price and less at belly price.

Okay you guys are right, it depends on the job. But I do stand by the fact it seems to me that I have a LOT less trouble getting good stitches and rarely have to touch thread tensions when changing thickness of leather or thread sizes compared to the people on here that keep asking how to make good stitches when they are using different thread sizes. I was just letting it be known that there are some of us that can and DO get good results with same sizes top and bottom. I can go from 138 to 346 on my cowboy 4500 without touching thread tensions and get good tight stitches. I guess some people understand their machines better then others, just as I could not carve a piece if my life depended on it and some could do it with their eyes closed.

I have only 40 years of sewing harness so can't compare with you experts. But what I do know is I seem to have a lot less trouble getting good stitches and even thread tensions then the people on here who are using different sizes top and bottom.

Why 9 month wait for a machine? I thought these guys keep machines in stock.

It is an American straight needle. I bought one last summer. For less then that. They are available totally rebuilt from Landis international in Montreal for $ 3500.00 At a glance it looks like this one is either partly taken apart or has a few pieces missing. It does not have the flat table on it. and it looks like the sole stitching plate is not on it either. They can be set up either as a sole stitcher or for flat sew. I have mine set up to sew flat and it is limited to get about 4 inches in from the edge.

As for the always use smaller thread on the bottom, That makes no sense your stitches are only as strong as the weakest thread so you are wasting good thread on top by putting weak thread on the bottom. To get good stitches use the same thread top and bottom. Just adjust your machine to work that way and you will have next to no trouble with thread tension or stitching even when you change thread sizes because they are proportionatly the same.

They are limited to sewing no more then 4 inches from the edge but do well on straight lines such as traces. Or as I said before they seem to be in demand from boot makers . I am assuming that Big SS above does not have the flat or harness plate and harness feet for his that would explain why he feels it is so limited. I made both for mine and it makes them into a different machine. I used 3/16 by 8 inch plate to make the plate for mine all it takes is drilling 2 holes and making one 1/8 inch slot about 1 inch long. They are sure worth more then $35.00 because Landis international in Montreal pays a lot more then that and ships them in to restore and seem to barely keep up with the demand. So it comes down to what you need it to do, no machine does it all. Edit, The machine in the vid above HAS the flat plate I am talking about the ones set up for sole stitching have just a narrow piece instead.

I bought one this past summer It wasn't working but only took making one small part to get it going. where I bought it they knew NOTHING about and neither did I but I have sewn leather on other machines for 30 years. Since you are buying from someone who knows the machine you will be miles ahead of where I started. As for wear it has been said they NEVER wear out, mine shows on loose places anywhere. Mine was set up as most are as a sole stitcher but flat plates were available this one might have one on it. If not I made one for mine in about an hour. As for price they can be bought rebuilt from Landis in Montreal for $3500.00 they also stock some parts. Landis also buys these machines and ships them to Montreal to rebuild, so they must still be in demand. Lisa Sorel uses one as do most boot makers as I understand they are much sought after for side seaming boots. There is a vid of Lisa using hers if you google American straight needle. I will be very interested in fallowing your getting and using this machine if you do buy it. And any information you find about it that I missed.

Buying new cheap parts is not always the best choice to fix stitch length. On my 29k51 I used a spot of brass on the one piece and filed it to fit the groove in the other one and now get longer stitches then they claim on here to be possible. It seems that the parts made now just are not made to the close fit you can get by hand fitting. And with the right needle plate and needle you should be able to use up to 207 thread. I have been for 25 years. In mine I never use thinner then 138, you can, but I have never needed thread that thin.

I like your little blue assistants you better keep them around they look small enough to go in and inspect without much taking apart. HA HA

In addition to my above post. The mistake many beginners including myself at the time they tend to forget that the thickness usually doubles where you turn the end back at buckles rings etc. so 3/8 becomes 3/4 . and if your machine has 5/8 maximum it might seem at first thought that it is plenty but then when you get to the buckle you can't get it done right because you can't go up that slope.

I make horse tack and have for years. While a new machine of this size is over your stated budget anything less then 7/8 thick sewing ability I would not consider adequate if you make the stuff to light it might look nice but could kill you or somebody else when it breaks. especially if you make the foolish mistake of sewing across at the buckles ,rings and any other stress points. I just got home from a horse sale that had a lot of new tack sold and it was almost all done like that. ( mostly imported stuff that U.S companies put their brand on ) That is why I started making harness and tack, so few know that sewing across near these points is akin to the perforations between sheets on a toilet paper roll that are put there to make it tear it that point. Every needle hole is a cut ,add them together and you have cut most of the strength out of your leather. Sew only length wise along the piece. I my opinion safety beats fancy EVERY TIME. The above applies to LEATHER with leather point needles webbing and the other woven type stuff that is made to look like leather is a different matter using round point needles they slip between the strands not cut them so that is why sewing across on them is okay.