SteveBrambley

Hi, I had a presser foot made up specially for stitching buckles and D rings onto straps by a local engineer who specializes in making parts for industrial sewing machines. It wasn't cheap, but not as much as a genuine Adler presser would have been, had they ever produced one. Here's a photo, sorry I can't get closer, my camera's not very good! Steve

The Adler 105-64 has compound feed, but no walking foot. The Adler 205-370 has compound feed with walking (Alternating) presser feet. Steve

I would have thought it ideal for sewing holsters. If it's indeed a copy or rebadged Adler 105-64, parts shouldn't be a problem. Steve

I've never heared of that machine at all. However, it may be a rebadged Adler 205-64, but that's only a guess. I would be very interested to learn more of this myself! Steve

Thank you, I await those with great interest. That is correct, the Singer site lists very few of the 45K sub classes that were produced over the years. The SV (Special Version) sub classes are particularly difficult for which to find info. I've been trying to locate data for ours, for some time, with no luck so far. Singer produced the SV machines in very small numbers, compared with their regular machines, however, if a Special Version proved popular and many more were sold, they would change the number and drop the SV designation. Steve

That looks like a very nice, clean machine, should serve you well! You may be able to download a manual from the 'Durkopp-Adler' website, as they list most of their older machines. Do not touch the 45K48!! This machine was for darning heavy sacks, it has no feed mechanism and, therefore, it is unsuitable for leather work. Steve

Almost, but not quite. The 'K' actually stands for 'Kilbowie' the factory Singer once had at Clydebank in Scotland. The letter codes on Singer machines always denoted in which factory they were built. 'W' was the old 'Wheeler & Wilson' factory that was taken over by Singer, 'G' was for the factory at 'Karlsruhe' in Germany (they had already used 'K'), 'U' was for 'Utsunomiga' in Japan. There were several other factories, all over the world, each with it's own letter code. The only Singer machines without a letter, just having a hyphon, (such as the 17-16, or 31-15), were made at the original Singer works at Elizabethport, Elizabeth, New Jersey. I have a couple of 45Ksv100 'Box' stitchers and a 16Ksv21 light weight 'box' stitcher, but I've never seen a 45Ksv49 and would be very interested to see one. Any chance of a photo? Steve

Hi, Slight correction here. What you have is actually a 132B6, rather than the 132K6. They are exactly the same machine, except the 'B' was (I think) made in Japan. You should have no trouble getting spares for this machine. Steve

Really excellent, very well done! Steve

Yes of course, that makes perfect sense! I should have guessed! Singer made quite a few types of shoe making machine with built-in trimmers, here's one from an old shoe making book: Steve

The awkward thing here, is that the zipper would have been stitched into the bag before it was closed, so it's always tricky to replace one without taking the whole bag apart! However, this can be done fairly easily with a cylinder bed machine, like your Class 3. We once replaced zips in bags quite often, years ago, and always used a 29K patcher, which made things a lot easier with its 360 degree, rotating presser foot, but you should be able to manage with your Cobra. Without seeing the bag it's difficult to say, for certain, but I suspect that it may be a relatively light leather, so you'll need something like a 130 or 140 size needle, although you could, probably, get away with a 150 or 160. I would guess that 92 or 138 thread size would be OK. The most difficult part will be taking out the old zip without damaging the bag, or your fingers! Once you have successfully removed the old zip, you will have to fix the new one into place, before stitching it in. Double sided tape is a good idea for holding zips into place, as it's difficult to avoid getting glue where you don't want it! Normally, when the bag is in it's unclosed state, you can stitch the zip in 'zipped up', but when it's a closed bag, you'll have to open the zip up and sew one side at a time. Make sure that you leave enough of a gap between the zipper teeth and the leather of the bag for the slider to move easily. Steve

Interesting looking machine, I've not seen anything quite like that before. What's the function of the mechanism to the right of the post? All of the post machines that I have seen do not have anything like that, just a plain post. I'd have thought that you'd find this machine quite useful, particularly for stitching inside light weight leather bags and such. Steve

Hi, I seem to recall that parts for these machines are very difficult to come by, these days. But I am sure some one will correct me on this if I'm wrong! However, they are still very popular machines, as many people still use them. Steve

I, for one, would certainly be interested in seeing a pic of your machine. It sounds a bit like the Highlead GC24618, although that has needle feed as well as top and bottom driven, roller feeds. Steve

I, occasionally, use a three row Puritan for certain jobs, you have to be careful when finishing off a seam, as there is no reverse feed and you must be very careful when removing the work from the machine, as you can easily unravel the whole seam! The only real advantage, other than the multiple row system, is that the machines will sew through very thick materials, including Plywood and thin Aluminium (Aluminum), not that I have ever tried that! Steve

Hi China, As with most post machines, I suspect that it was intended for closing shoe uppers. Steve

Sounds like my guess wasn't that far out! Steve

Yes, very handy! I can't actually find any prices on these, however, I would guess that you won't get much change from £4000 UK for a new one, and probabley around £2000-£3000 UK for a used one! Steve

Hi Tony, No, it's a lot heavier than a patcher. Seiko describe it as a "High speed, Extra long 360 degree Rotating swinging Arm, Single needle, Vertical axis hook, Needle feed and Alternating foot, Lock stitch machine." They give the applications as: "Suitable for the sewing of medium to heavy materials of bags, traveling bags, cases, briefcases, boots and shoes in general." Steve

Hi Art, That looks remarkably like the Seiko LLHPW-3B (see photo), only a bit smaller. Steve

Yes, I must concur with Butch, really excellent work! Steve

That is very good, I do like the turned (folded) edges. Did you use a machine or by hand to skive the leather? Steve

Hi, That looks remarkably similar to the Seiko STW-8B (see photo), they must be related! Steve

Hi Kevin, Of course, you are quite right, just goes to show how many coats and trousers I have anything to do with! There is another type of machine that would do the job, as far as arms and legs any way, that is the Pfaff 646-656 (see photo). But this is a bit of a specialist machine and I doubt if it would be much good for leather. Any of the Adler 069 class might be a better bet, or maybe the Pfaff 335. All the other Highlead cylinder machines look a bit too heavy as well, but I could be wrong. Steve

Hi Kevin, I haven't used this machine myself, however, I would have thought it was a bit too heavy for the type of light weight fabrics used in waterproofs and tents. For a lighter weight cylinder bed machine, something like the old Singer 153K class would work better for light to medium textiles, as well as light leathers. However, for waterproofs and tents, a flat bed machine would be more suitable, such as the Highlead GC0318-1. It is quite possible to move from Nylon to leather with the same machine, by simply changing from a 'cloth' point to a 'leather' point needle; although most sewing machines are happy to do this, some may be less so. Personally, whenever possible, I prefer to keep leather machines for leather and textile machine for textiles. Steve