mproberts

I will report that my wife has been very happy with the DNU-1541S we bought. She's sewn up numerous leather garments (including a nice heavy weight leather bomber jacket for me!) and hasn't had a single issue.

Is there a source that succinctly describes the fundamental needle designations and point options? At least as it pertains to leather work?

I've been poking around, and have not found a general description for the various needle points for the 135x17/16 system. I put the info below together based on various bits here and from manufacturers. Please review and let me know what needs correction, clarification or additional detail. This is for my wife... A common needle system for the commercial walking foot machines is the 135x17 system, and its "twin" 135x16. The system 135 x 16 is the same size needle but the point is for specific leather uses. The 135x17 is a size often used for fabric/canvas etc., and usually the needlepoints are designed for fabric. 135x16 is available in various leather points. 135x16 interchanges with 135x17 but sometimes timing can be different, usually not enough to make a difference so they are generally interchangeable. Sewing Machine Needles D1 are specialty needles designed for working with leather. These leather needles are optimized for heavy, dry and hard leather. The blade cuts fibers so that the needle does not have to separate them. These are industrial needles that have shanks that are completely round. Sewing Machine Needles SD1 are specialty needles optimized for fine leather or leather clothing. Sewing Machine Needles TR1 Point cuts leather with a prominent triangular shape and is used for a straight stitch appearance. The sewn thread is slightly elevated. Stitch holes are relatively large. Medium to short stitches are possible. Suitable for straight sewing. Effective on hard and thick leather as well as cartons. Example: Belts, suitcases, heavy shoes and plastics. Sewing Machine Needles FB1 (ballpoint) are specialty needles specifically designed for sewing knit fabrics and stretchy materials. The blunt point on these needles preserves the elasticity of the fabric by allowing the thread to pass between the fibers of the fabric, rather than through them. Quick Table: D1 = Diamond Point (heavy, hard, dry leather) SD1 – Diamond Point (fine leather) TR1 = Triangular Point (hard leather) FB1 = Ball Point (knit fabrics)

Eric - thanks, this is very helpful. So it looks like the recommended Juki oil is equivalent to ISO VG32, which is a 10 (single) weight oil. And other recommended oils on the market are 5 weight (thinner). So for my purpose, either of these single weight oils will work fine - both in the reservior tank and for manual oiling on top.

Our new Juki DNU1451S came assembled and included a small bottle of oil (unmarked). The hook 'tank' reservoir underneath is nearly empty and wanted to check two things: Is the oil used for 'topside' oiling the same as what's used in the reservoir underneath? The manual specifies only one oil spec - Juki New Delfrix Oil No. 2 (equivalent to ISO VG32) I see the Juki oil No 2 on the market - but also Juki No 1 oil, Lilywhite, Viscosity 5W oil for sewing machines, etc. We expect to purchase the Juki oil No 2, but are curious about the differences and their purpose? Thanks! Mark

Indeed. I restore vintage radios, TV's and hi-fi as a hobby and know all too well the addiction - and also have a penchant for old test equipment to support the hobby. But as sad and troubling as it is, watching the (American) TV show "Hoarders" on occasion helps keep me in check.

Now you tell me! Wait, I never asked (or researched) this here did I? : ) Anyway, we really appreciate all the help this forum has provided!

Thanks for the input and feedback all! We did consider the arm type, but thought it might be limiting for all the other hobby work she wants to tackle - and thought this was a good compromise.

Pics attached. And please don't think I'm trying to cause a big stir - or call out any dealer. I will say this is not from any dealer I have seen mentioned on this site though. Also - we are not unhappy, just curious what this actually is. We do not believe this is a unit from Reliable - at least based on the info we were given, and pics from the Reliable site.

So an interesting turn of events here. I won't share vendor names, but we went ahead and ordered the Reliable at a price of $1050 plus $150 to ship. What arrived is what appears to be a Juki DNU-1541S clone. And I mean maybe counterfeit? It does not look quite like the Reliable above, but exactly like a Juki DNU-1541S. The giveaway is the plate riveted to the front. It says: DNU-1541S Juki Corporation Made in Japan MFG. No. (Blank) So there is no serial number on the plate, and the tag looks different than the 1541 plates I see on the web. There are also no printed names on the casing like shown in both Reliable and Juki photos. The whole thing came assembled, set up and tested. And the wife tested it out and it works very well. So we have a call in to the vendor to see what this is all about... The vendor does have a very large presence and has been great to work with. They said the price of $1050 was due to warehouse consolidation and we had picked a great time to buy. Anyone else run across (potentially) counterfeit machines?

My wife is setting up her first commercial-grade machine, that comes with a table. I know there are some personal fit/size variables here, but does anyone have any recommendations for a suitable chair? IE, height, with wheels/without, etc? Thanks

That makes perfect sense! Thank you.

Thanks for the feedback. I believe she will be fine with the #138 thread as a max for what she is doing and plans to do. How does the 3/8" max for material correlate to the vendor claim/spec foot lift of 9 mm (hand), 16 mm (knee)?

While not exactly on topic with my post above, I wanted to share a Thread/Needle chart I grabbed/modified that might be helpful to some of us beginners. Since we are new to this, I thought this might be appropriate here since buying a new machine and getting an understand of all the supporting bits is also important. Any corrections or clarifications to the chart below is appreciated!

Hello all - first post here, but have been lurking/reading for awhile. My wife is the creative side of sewing and now leather work. She is currently focused on leather hand-bags and some apparel. I'm the researcher side of things (engineer during the day) and really enjoy the electro-mechanical pieces and parts of her hobby. We realized her existing hobby machine was not adequate for sewing leather, especially anything of thickness or multiple layers. We did play around briefly with a vintage Necchi that had a little more presser foot lift than her her main machine, but it needed work to simply stitch reliably, was not a walking foot, and would need a motor upgrade. As we live in Rochester, NY we were somewhat limited in going out to a seller and testing, touching and seeing the options. Our options to visit a dealer and see a range of machines were Toronto, NYC or Pittsburgh - and although a good excuse for a fun weekend, we just couldn't fit it in. So we've done a lot of reading on our options for an upgrade, and this forum has been immensely helpful. So we were back and forth on several machines and talked to several sellers. We reviewed the Consew CP206-R, Consew 206RB5, Juki DNU-1541S, Juki DU-1181N, etc. We had a few long conversations with a dealer in Pennsylvania and discussed prices and shipping and warranty/service, parts availability, etc. Our high-level specs: Commercial, or near-commercial grade Walking-foot, single stitch High presser-foot height Servo Motor - ideally 3/4 horse (120v) Safety clutch Ideally a package from manufacturer (not pieced together) Interchangeable parts and options for feet and accessories After all of that, we decided on the Reliable MSK-1541S. This is a knock-off of the Juki DNU-1541S I believe. After all of the above, my general questions are around whether anyone here has any experience with Reliable or specifically their MSK-1541S? The price was very good comparatively and seems to come well equipped (SQ5000 servo motor, plywood-topped table, Light, etc). Reliable web site for specs on head: (http://www.reliablec...tch/MSK-1541S_3) Thanks for any thoughts, tips or advice here!