ljk

My choice 241. huge selection of chinese and japanese parts. How about a 1/2" welt foot for windlass on a vintage car. Or a 1/8" piping foot for seat welting. Most machines are non sewing factory having less hours. Horizontal axis hook less tendency to thread jam. ADLER Has drive belt $50 plus labor $50 to $100 per hour to install. Takes about a hour unless upper bushing is stuck $$$$. Some machines so worn sprockets need to be replaced $$$

I'm near 80 and having trouble de-hairing with knife any suggestions? Also do you have a good source for tanning bark, especially that tans in light tan color.

On 206 rb5 I have tried valve grinding compound. I have tried moving hook closer to needle and moving needle up and down helps some. I bought a new 206 rb5 20 years ago no problem. Next try Dremel buffing wheels worked great on clearing and buffing CLSP (chinese shoe patcher) hook, shuttle carrier. and shuttle. These parts are heat treated but not buffed. Adjusting the needle positioner might be also needed

My 206rb is well worn and will sew 207. I've had two dealers in the past have asked me to repair new 206rb5 because of thread jams. Tight clearances. I have never replaced a hook on 206rb's for almost 50 years. Used may be good. My as new 280l will sew 138 never tried 207 on that machine.

I wold buy a used consew 206 or Sieko or variant used in good working condition. I would also buy a chinese shoe patcher from Bantam Saddle and Tack. This machine has a higher lift and longer stitch than Singer or Adler. Used because the clearances are bigger allowing larger thread. The CLSP has a larger bobbin than most Singers. Do not buy a European machine parts are high and feet are propriety. You should be in business for less than $1000. I would not buy a machine with a belt drive, it can be expensive to replace. Belt drive can be a little stiff to turn. You may score a machine with a clutch motor cheaper and in rare occasions have very good control. Singer variants 144 w We called ours T Rex our go to machine for heavy thickness. Your final step would be a freearm 45K clones Many choices not many used.

I use bellies for shoe sole construction. I case a belly for insoles. While tacking the insole on the last I hammer the areas that conform to the foot. The midsole uses a tougher stronger leather that will not stretch because the edge will be used as a welt. The insole and midsole using a inseam stitch. A ancient method. I sometimes use belly for outsoles, wear is not important as I put on sole savers. Near 80 my eyes and hand work good, but my feet not so good.

Try $300 Machine has speed reduction pulley. The machine has large bobbin. Both servo;s and clutch have start issues. My wife has a clutch motor on her 206 with great control. I have a 280l with Enduro with needle position I love it. My shop machine a 206rb-It has a servo just ok. The speed reducer is valuable may help pay for that servo. Unless you are a nit picker a pc. of heavy fabric will worker just fine under that machine. I regret I didn't learn to backtack to lock stitches If you learn that"s what operators did for 100 years. My wife as a teenager worked in a garment factory and you would not get hired if you could not backtack. Be aware that non-reverse machines for sale are factory machines and have been sold off either because they are fully depreciated are because of auction of a closed plant so sad.

Here is my slow go setup. A 280l with Enduro servo with needle positioner. It is set to stop with needle down. This way I can go around sharp curves a stitch at a time. With pedal down I can sew a whatever speed I want. I would never travel as a stitcher with a servo not reliable. Or you should carry a spare. Reason for spare unreliable power from promoter or sketchy electronics. Broken servo's make great belt sanders.

coin purse.gen

I'm a embroidery digitizer as well as a leather worker. I pull a image into my embroidery software sized it which can be done multiple ways. I then print to size and then use as a pattern. If the product sells well I will then use the pattern to make a clicker die and cut product. The image shows a center oval which can be difficult to cut cleanly, the clicker makes it easy to do precision work. coin purse.gen

The circled in red is the adjustment screw. Back out tension assembly by loosening screw. Some times I have had to loosen the screw at top of assembly and insert a washer. Other choices would be to shorten the pin that inter acts with release mechanism.

Many machines release tension while lifting. Most can be adjusted so thread releases at the top of lift. Usually the tension can be adjusted by the screw holding the the mechanism. Many such as Singer 45k and 144w don't even have this feature.

One more thing you may have what I call vertical axis thread break phenomenon. That is when thread particles get built up under the hook. Last resort. Do use posted advice first.

With a 2" motor pulley you could expect 4-900rpm tops with great control. I have seen some with a multiple pulleys on the motor so you could change speeds. On your machine the table and clutch is probably worth more than the machine. I could see a 111w or 211 for a real cool vintage look.

This is usually called a line shaft clutch. Still used in places like Amish communities. I saw one in a machine shop in Wisconsin. I used one on my machine as a vendor on the bike circuit. Glad I did had a motor blow at Sturgis and went to the farm store picked up a 110v 1/4 horse and was back in business. The clutch uses a 3/8" leather round belt. If it gets sticky simple slip a pc. of sand paper while running. Great control. For production work making chaps and vest I used clutch or servo.

I bought all my stuff in the 90's when the big move west and south. Things are different now there is a proliferation of off shore equip. now available. Here''s what you need. Helmond or clone bender with dies. Die stock 2 point and 3 point preferable .937 in height. A saw preferentially a band saw anything to cut shapes. A MIG welder. A hole punch that will cut die stock to screw to wood stock. I use 3/4" wood flooring. This works well because 1/4" rejection foam works well with this combination. You can buy online a box of small shapes that is .937. Now""class" read all you can, "steel rule die" on you tube. Harry Rogers has a good video on a cheap bender. Many videos on technique. AmeriKen is good source for materials. With many mechanical clicker hand operated machines available get one that rotates. You can position the die on the leather better. Now clickers. Schwabe is a beast not much on adjustment. Fipii 20 or various versions. Good choice because it reads height and pressure can be adjusted. If you buy factory machine you will have to deal with a phase converter. If you buy a euro. machine you will have to deal with euro wiring. Finally the bad. You need real computer and marketing skills.

I only use steel rule 2 and 3 point. My model C will not bend these dies, not enough tonnage. I dress the outside edge with a belt sander and finish with a carbide.

"ken's life singer 29k13" google or needlebar. Good article with images. If it sews but has short spi or foot not lifting high this will help. Shimming ladder gears can improve hook rotation. Make sure the bushing on the cam rotates smooth. I would think the experts will post. You can buy 1mm shimstock at NAPA

Try Ohio Travel Bag, Buckle Guy, and Goldstar Tool

I think a 45k 76 has some interesting features. The height of the foot is adjustable, which means it can be used for various thickness by a simple adjustment at the top of the machine. With the foot released you are free to move material, than make the stitch. I have a high gear reduction settup which can make a stitch at a time. A better choice would be a sevo with needle postion. With that you can position needle just right. Since it has no feed dog and the foot is flat it does not mark the leather. Much faster than hand stitching. You can also lock beginning and end stitches much like embroidery machines which lock stitches before and after jumps. I use it for shoe soles and knife sheaths. There also cheap. Picture shows $50 machine before rehab.

AmeriKen has stores all over USA. They have large selection of clearance items with pricing, location, and description. maybe you could get a good price to help pay for importing.

I will cover 3 machines I have and my opinions. Any shoe patcher should be test sewn with a pc. of fabric under the leather because of surface tension. I glue a pc. of teflon 1m onto the toe . I've done this for 25 years. 30-1 Great build quality, stupid parts prices small bobbin. Singer 29-4 Primitive, cheap. Relatively easy to refurbish including stitch length and lifting height. CLSP Chinese shoe patcher. Cheap including parts, stitch length up to 1/4", high lift only one a of the 3 with adjustable needle bar. Adjustable arm for centering needle and easy hook timing. Larger bobbin than the above. Any of three will work in your application. Attached photo is a insole stitcher that I intend to buy for insole and side stitching.

Other than paint it looks like my Mitsubish 280l. I heard this design went to Juki

You can view these machines on Amazon. Colored Peas CLSP or facebook chinese leather shoe patcher. The $100 model gets a lot of bad press I would call it a great design but poorly executed. However there is heavy duty $300 with high lift and larger bobbin. Though manual it would be no more difficult than a 29 singer patcher to motorize. There is another model that has a 45 degree foot with a high lift that would work for inseaming. My preferred sole construction is sew the insole and midsole . Than sew the midsole to the outsole. This technique is also called Blake Rapid.

I am in a similar situation. I make my own shoes because it's difficult and I have issues. Being elderly I'd rather sit at the bench than ply my trade. Auto trim, upholstery, and leather. My choice would be a cb3200 or a Singer 45k variant. The cowboy would probably fill all your needs. A alternative would be a one of the 45k. For example a 45k69 was designed for shoes and has a unique walking foot. I have a 45k76 which has a lifting foot with no feed, sewing a stitch at a time still faster than handstitching, these can be cheap. I paid $50. This machine is easy to mount to a shoe patch table and could than operate with a treadle. They come with a heavy flywheel. Finally explore a Cowboy Outlaw or Tippman. Or a heavy duty version of the CLSP .