leatherisfun

If you are making a 90 degree turn, leave the needle buried, life the foot, turn piece. You might have to turn wheel by hand to get it into the position you need without overshooting. Otherwise the above applies.

Go as slow as you can and try to maintain the same speed while going around the turn. Guide the piece, don't fight it or force it. Practice is the key to getting better at such tasks. Make good work of that scrap pile.

Simply put, 138 is too big for what you are trying to sew. Try 69, which will also take some work to get the tension figured out. On material that thin, 46 has worked better for me, which I did on my flatbed.

Read the posts in this thread: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=25239

The general rule is to replace after every 8 hrs of use. Using the needle until it breaks just isn't worth it to me. Things like fraying/breaking thread, skipped stitches, etc can happen when the needle is dull.

Might I suggest an Einhorn knife. Comes razor sharp and retain edge easily when stropped. Both skivers and 1/4 round knives are offered. Pushing and pulling works with the round knife. Prices are reasonable. I'm just a satisfied customer. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=66780

Smooth feet here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Juki-LU562-LU563-1508-1541-Walking-Foot-S585-Edge-Guide-Feet-1-8-/280856953341?hash=item41646101fd:g:ztUAAMXQXMRR7Gyd http://www.ebay.com/itm/JUKI-LU-562-LU-563-LU-1508-WALKING-FOOT-MACHINE-STANDARD-PRESSER-FOOT-SET-/161189528042?hash=item2587a501ea:g:bkwAAOxyRhBSx0KY

Forgot to post the link to the nickOsew drop down guide: http://www.nickosew.com/details.php?id=350 The roller on this is much smaller, might work better for you.

Never seen an edge guide foot for a 441. Only options I know about are the drop down roller guide that Nick O, one of the site sponsors sells ( or the guide attached to the arm offered by Toledo Industrial (http://www.tolindsewmach.com/images/large/img_0173.jpg) and other vendors. I have the latter style guide of guide but don't use it anymore. Taught myself to get close to the edge with the double toe harness foot and stay straight freehand. My technique is to use the right prong of the foot as my guide and go slow.

A few choices. I use a 1/8, first in the list most of the time. The guide is spring loaded, do doesn't limit one to only using it as an edge guide. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Juki-LU562-LU563-1508-1541-Walking-Foot-S585-Edge-Guide-Feet-1-8-/280856953341?hash=item41646101fd:g:ztUAAMXQXMRR7Gyd http://www.ebay.com/itm/JUKI-LU-562-LU-563-LU-1508-WALKING-FOOT-MACHINE-STANDARD-PRESSER-FOOT-SET-/161189528042?hash=item2587a501ea:g:bkwAAOxyRhBSx0KY

That isn't 138, most likely 92 as the original poster suspected. 138 is thicker than that.

33 thread and #14 needle should do. This machine will go through multiple layers of curtain material easily.

Belts came in today, installed and all is well. I used 39" and 34" belts which fit perfectly on the 3" and 9" pulley respectively. Only tried a few inches of practice stitches which looked beautiful. Even nicer was being able to go as slow as my 441 clone.

Installed the pulley which took quite a bit of work, more than expected. Had to extend the slot in the table accomodate the new position of the belt from the head. Then drilled new holes in the table to move the motor to line up with the 9" diameter pulley. To get the correct belt measurement, I cut the current belt and used that to get new sizes required. New belts have been ordered. There is room on the pulley to increase the tension to tighten both belts.

I'll install the pulley later today and use northmount's method to measure. I'll report back.

Haven't installed it as yet. Want to handle it once, pulley and belts at the same time.

I bought a speed reducer with 3", 6" and 9" pulley. I want to install it on my Juki 1541s. However I don't know what size belt I will need to make this work. Can someone advise me about what size belts I will need please? Thanks in advance.

6 month old Vergez Blanchard round knife, only used for about 4 months. It arrived without much of an edge, and I have sharpened it with a Japanese wet stone, then stropped. Price at $85, including shipping.

The thing is that those charts were created from the experience of those who came before us and is a good guide to go by. I'm a believer because I had issues with needle/thread combination until I followed it. That isn't to say that there aren't times when you can get away with breaking the rules. However going by the chart is a great way of eliminating one avenue, making it easier to solve the problem at hand. I have done this, turn the needle the wrong way, not install the foot all the way up the shaft and then I was wondering why . Little things that might not be associated with your issue but something to consider nonetheless.

Minimum size for 207 thread it #24 needle

Made in Japan by Juki? If I leave the thread long enough, it isn't a problem. But I have gotten used to holding it, so not a bit deal anymore.

Always get more than you think you will need because at some point you will. I would highly recommend saving a bit more and getting the 3500. It will sew just about anything you will throw at it and there is the accessory table that you can purchase when you need it. I know it's not easy to wait a bit longer, but it will be worth it because you will not be in "whudda, shudda, . . . " land.

The top thread is the one that needs to be held, not the bobbin thread.

I had this same problem happen to me the second day after using the same model a little over a month ago. Took it back to the dealer and the repair guy was kind enough to fix it immediately. I watched him work on it and asked a lot of questions. Everyone is correct in saying that the safety clutch did engage to prevent damage. My problem was that there was thread caught in the hook. To fix it, remove the needle plate and feed dog. Press in the button on the bed and turn the flywheel backwards. If it click and releases, then you are good to go. However you might need to get a tweezers out to remove the offending thread that is stuck in the hook. Should have said this before, remove the bobbin. It's ok to remove the curved arm, but don't remove the hook. Getting it setup correctly for timing is a pain. Turn the wheel, don't use too much force. Be patient even though you are frustrated, there is thread stuck in there. Mine had about 1/4" of thread stuck in the hook. He removed it and I haven't had a problem since. As a last resort, you might have to remove the hook from the shaft. The key to preventing this from happening is to hold the top thread before starting for the first 2 stitches then release. If you don't hold it, this will happen again.

Read this thread to the end: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=25239 It will answer your question. Click on the links of the sponsers at the top of the page compare machines.