Hi Guys,
First time posting here, and have greatly appreciated the knowledge I have found on this site. I have a 16-188 that I restored for doing canvas work on. When I bought it as a project it came with about 7lbs of brand new 16x63 needles of different sizes, and I knew that style was still made, so I never saw a need to investigate anything else. Well now I have a bit of work involving leather (6 oz oil tan), and just found out the obvious that the 16-64 leather needles are like hens teeth to find. I see mention of modifying some other models to use 135 needles, assuming it is just a change in needlebar position. Is the change in geometry of the needle eye to tip distance going to be an issue for the 16 class machines? Is there a better alternative needle design? Thoughts? Thanks!!
-Aaron