cdthayer

I'm beginning to wonder if the G has anything to do at all with Germany on the industrial machines. The trailing G on model numbers of domestic machines (216G, 431G, etc) indicates German-made machines, but the G and W in the middle of industrial machine model numbers may have more to do with model upgrades than where they were manufactured, don't they? The serial numbers indicate where they were made (W - Connecticut, PB - Karlsruhe), correct? CD in Oklahoma

I'm talking about the pin that goes through the machine head, from the lifter bracket on the back, to the front of the machine. It then activates the arm on the thread regulator to release tension. The pin in the thread regulator is fine, if I could get some action out of the other pin. I lowered the lifting bracket and reset the lifting bell crank, and have my one half inch lift now, but it didn't help with the tension release problem. I'm not sure that I have everything set as it should be (these adjustments are not in the User/Adjuster manual, so I'm just winging it), and I have a stiff spot in the revolution of the machine. I'm not sure if it's an adjustment, or if I still have a dry joint in the machine somewhere. I doubt that this machine has operated for several years. I oiled everything to dripping again and will let it set for a while again to see if it's a dry joint that loosens up. Thanks for your help on this. CD in Oklahoma

I read through Eric's thread Rebirth Of A Singer 211G155 and caught the tip about feeling for the take-up lever to be all of the way up. Then I rechecked my timing marks on the bottom shaft. I was one tooth off, so now I'm starting over. Thanks a bunch Eric! There's also a lot of other good information in that thread that will help me immensely. My machine has been tweaked a lot of times. Here's what I've found so far: The timing belt was missing completely. The safety clutch was mounted onto the lower shaft with neither set screw in the notch. Does it matter which set screw is in the groove? The needle bar is set too high. Only the bottom mark shows when down full stroke. The existing needle in the machine had the top cut off to match the length of a 135x17. The eye-to-top of the needle matched the 135x17, but the tip was longer. The tension release pin is not cut or worn, but will not reach the tension release lever. It is barely even with the housing when the lever is completely up. The hand presser bar lift has a 3/8" gap to travel before contacting the lift bracket. The pinch screw on the bracket is wallowed out badly and needs replaced if I can find one. The knee-lift linkage is missing beyond the push-up rod and rocker arm. Both inside and outside presser feet have been broken and braised back together. As you can see, I have my hands full with this one. CD in Oklahoma

I'm working on getting an old Singer 111G156 limbered back up to sew too. I put a new timing belt on it after I got the rusted safety clutch freed up enough to operate. I've been fiddling with it to get oil soaked into dry joints, and adjusting things as I go. I'm getting 6 SPI and a lift of 3/8" so far, but I'm hoping to improve that. I'm surprised that your machine has a "W" serial number. I thought that the "G" series were made in Karlsruhe, Germany, and that that factory had used "PA" through "PY" numbers. My serial number is PB157568, so since Singer took over the Haid-und-Neu factory in 1958, I'm guessing mine was built some time in 1959. From what I understand, they were already using "PC" numbers in 1960. I'd heard that the "W" numbers came out of the old Wheeler & Wilson Bridgeport factory. I wonder if you have a Connecticut machine with a German tag on it? CD in Oklahoma

Who can I talk to at Wichita Falls to get a Servo Motor for a Singer 111G156 that I picked up this week? I have two other compound feed machines (Consew 225 & Singer 111W153) that I'm doing fine with clutch motors on, but I think I want to get acquainted with my first Servo Motor. This 111G156 came to me with a Singer S-463161 clutch motor powering it, and I don't even know if it works yet. I've been cleaning and replacing parts on the head, and haven't gotten to the stand and motor yet. I did notice that the control box has a capacitor in it, and the switch has been damaged by something getting against the switch lever and driving the entire switch back into the back of the box. I doubt that I'll have it up and running until after the Wichita Falls event, so I think I'll go ahead and spring for a Servo while you guys are close. I don't know what size of motor that I need, so I'll explain what kind of work I will be doing with the machine. At our Mom & Pop fabric and sewing shop, we do repairs to light leather and faux leather items (garment leather, motorcycle saddlebags, purses), replace zippers (insulated coats & coveralls), sew embroidered patches on leather garments, and repair a variety of woven and man-made fabric items (dog beds, awnings, vinyl covers). We do a little production work (Sunbrella, Duck, or Marine Vinyl), but we don't plan to do any heavy leather. We usually do short runs and want to go slow with good control. We probably use more thread starting and stopping or changing thread colors than we do actually sewing. While I'm at it, I have another question. Will the same Servo Motor be appropriate for either of the other two machines that I have, if I ever wanted to swap them around to do the same type of work? CD in Oklahoma

I just picked up a Singer 111G156 that used to belong to an upholstery friend here in town. I'm still cleaning it and replacing parts, so I haven't gotten to sew on it yet. I got the new Arm Shaft Connection Belt installed on it yesterday, but haven't put a needle in it yet or checked the foot lift. The Singer 111G156 User/Adjuster manual says that "The alternating pressers have an adjustable lifting eccentric to enable the lift to be set to the minimum amount required for the work to be sewn.", and then shows the set screw and screw that allow the height to be set. Have you checked to see if yours is reaching full lift? Maybe it is set for 5/16th inch lift. The manual says that the machine has a 1/2" maximum bar lift. CD in Oklahoma

Look at your photo closely, and you'll see that the upper tension is on the front facing the operator. On a Model 15, it's around on the left end. That's probably the most obvious difference that you can pick out in a photo. The Model 201 and the Model 15 both can be a treadle, but also can be electric gear-driven (201-2 & 15-91), or electric belt-driven, or hand cranks. A 15-(dash) and a 15K with the same sub-numbers (example: 15K88 & 15-88) will be the same machine, it's just that the dash ones were made in America and the K ones were made in Brittan. You'll probably see more K machines in your area. The 201 has a drop-in horizontal Class 66 bobbin, and the bobbin case is usually only removed for servicing. The 15K has a vertical Class 15 bobbin, and the bobbin case is removed each time that the bobbin is removed. CD in Oklahoma Here are photos: Model 201 Bobbin Case, Model 15-88, Model 15-88 bobbin case.

Hey Wiz, I have a question for you, hopefully, without hijacking the thread. I have access to several oil sump machines, and even have a Singer 281-3 laying around here somewhere (came with an industrial K-leg stand that I used for something else). I don't know much about the auto-oilers, but there was a lingerie factory here for a long time, and they used industrial machines that sewed dainty fabrics. They auctioned them off, and they're scattered all over the county now. Some buyers thought that they were leather-sewing machines, (and didn't realize that they had 3-phase motors on them), so they turn up for sale every once in a while. My question is, if you run an oil sump machine slow and occasionally, do you really need to use the automatic oiling system, or can you just service it like a non-auto-oiler? Folks have bought gallon jugs of Lilly White sewing machine oil from me to fill their sumps, but they may only use the machine sporadically. Is oil in the sump under those conditions really all that necessary? Have you had much experience with this type of machine, even though they don't have much to do with sewing leather? CD in Oklahoma

I doubt that it will do the holster jobs for you, but if it's a Singer Model 99 in a treadle, you ought to latch onto it just to have the machine. Don't see many of those.... CD in Oklahoma

I just recently found your 10-row stitching videos on YouTube, and have watched them over and over again. The next time that someone tells me they're afraid they won't be able to control their work with one hand (and use a handcrank sewing machine), I'm going to send them there to watch you. I know that you're not using a handcrank, but you're using only one hand to guide your work, so the technique would apply. Very good videos. CD in Oklahoma

At my home shop, most of my sewing is canvas, Sunbrella, and vinyl, so my machines reflect that, although some could be used for thin leathers. I make fitted covers for home and farm equipment use out of used vinyl (discarded cotton module tarps, truck tarps, and billboard fabrics), and repair awnings, tents, tarps, boat covers, pool covers and the like. Most of my sewing is on used, often dirty, and sometimes hard to feed slippery materials. I do a large portion of my sewing outside. The machines that I use are a mixture of industrial and household machines. Singer 111W153 combination feed (clutch motor) Singer 29K70 universal feed (treadle) Singer 31-15 w/roller foot (treadle) Singer 216G zigzag (handcrank or treadle) Singer 306W24 zigzag (treadle) Singer 66-1 (handcrank) CD in Oklahoma

Are you sure about that model number? CD in Oklahoma

I want wheels under all of my heavy machines. They’re just no fun to carry around at my age. I have a Singer 20U33 on a power stand that doesn’t have wheels, and although it doesn’t get moved very often, I want to get wheels under it someday. My Consew 225 came to me with wheels already mounted on the power stand. They are mounted with metal brackets to keep the stand just slightly above the original height off the floor. All 4 swivel, and none of them lock. The machine will tend to move around while in use, if not blocked by a wall or table, but it’s used once in a while out on a sidewalk, so I’ve got to have wheels to get it out there. The casters are a nice heavy weight, but the brackets allow enough flex for the stand to wobble. It’s not the best setup, but can be put up with. I built a 1x4 wooden “trolley” under my first Singer 29K70 treadle. It’s a rectangle on casters. The 2 casters on the needle end are rigid, the 2 casters on the handwheel end swivel. It works well with this configuration. Concern for putting stress on an individual cast iron leg of the stand while moving it (something unexpectantly blocking one wheel) caused me to want to spread any stress like that onto the wooden trolley. I built a 1x4 wooden trolley under my second Singer 29K70 treadle. It’s similar to the rectangle trolley, except it’s in the shape of an “I” with only a single 1x4 running across from end to end of the stand. Rigid casters on the needle end, swivel casters on the handwheel end. Works as well as the rectangle, but with more foot room. I’m not sure if I have the same protection for the cast iron stand legs. I added 1x4 boards and casters under the ends only on my Singer 111W153 H-leg power stand. The stand feet are hollow with a narrow support surface around 3 sides, so the boards provide a flat surface for the casters and feet to mate up. All 4 casters swivel, but the 2 on the needle end can be locked. They’re a dual-wheeled type of caster that I got from a homemade furniture dolly that I picked up at a yardsale. They’re heavy duty enough, but I think eventually the wood will compress under each foot and will get loose, so it’s probably only good for a temporary installation. I roll this machine out of its storage area for every use, so I had to have wheels under it quickly, and that’s what I came up with. I’m now trying to decide how best to put wheels under my cast iron Singer 31-15 treadle stand. I bought some post casters that will bolt directly onto each foot, but I’m still leery about putting stress on the legs if one wheel gets blocked. CD in Oklahoma

Small retail store fronts will soon die out. Small service store fronts will continue to increase. For about any kind of product. Concentrate on services. Repairing poorly-made products is where the money will be for the foreseeable future. Any spare time can be used for making your own quality products and having them available for sale or as samples to sell good stuff to the people that came in for repairs on not-so-good stuff. Always consider the money spent on Trade Shows or any other remote sales venues as advertising only, not meant for profit. You'll feel better about getting skunked that way. If you do happen to bring home a few hundred, consider it return on investment of your advertising. Just don't expect it next time. A service store front is best located well away from the Big Box stores in the older part of town. It's cheaper to operate it, you'll keep more of the money that you take in, and people will still come to you for repairs when they wouldn't normally be in that area to shop. Back yard repair shops are about the same. People will open and close the gate, follow the sidewalk around the house to the workshop, ring the bell, and wait patiently while the dog is barking at them for someone to greet them. But they'd never go there to shop for new merchandise. Why? Because they think it's the best place to get cheap repairs on their expensive stuff. And they're usually right. Lower overhead usually means lower prices for the customer and more profit for the shop owner. But once there, they often will buy quality stuff. CD in Oklahoma

I came across a box of large-sized Heminway & Bartlett waxed nylon thread that is labeled as “Nylshu (Registered) Littleway Bobbins” that is “Size 7-m” & “Model-D”. I’m going to market it as a general-use craft thread for hobby customers that want a large thread for their projects, but I’m curious as to its original use. The Nylshu trademark makes me think of shoes, but I haven’t found much about the term on an internet search. Is anyone familiar with this thread? Also, the one photo shows a US dime on edge next to the strand. I’m guessing that the thread is at least as thick as the dime, so what size would it be called? Thanks. CD in Oklahoma

I recently sold one of these to a boot maker in Texas. It’s powering a 1939 Singer 31-15. I used the machine for a short time, test-sewing with it by making a fitted cover out of billboard vinyl. I was impressed with the slow stitching control that I could get out of it. The new owner had thought that he would want to replace it with a Servo motor, until he tried it out. Now he’s thinking he’ll just use it as-is. I’m going to keep my eye out for another one for me. CD in Oklahoma

Hi Dink, Are these the same Martin Saddles that were also made in Bayfield Colorado back in the 1950s? CD in Oklahoma

Did you have your dowel set up so the cone would turn to pay the thread off of the side instead of off of the top? Most of my boots only need half soles. The heels are still in good shape. I’ve got a boot last/jack that I use in the shop sometimes to install rivets, grommets, or snaps when I need to get inside of something for backup. CD in Oklahoma

I share my 4 ounce spools between my Consew and my patcher. I was using my patcher yesterday to sew reinforcement material for grommets onto a re-purposed tarp. I’m in the process of making three 2’x10’ fitted covers out of old 15’x’50’ billboard fabric for the seed boxes on a Sunflower drill. I happened to look down into the bottom of the boot top, and there was my Planter’s Peanut can! I’d wondered what I had done with it. I need to rig up a thread cone holder for my other 29K70 that I keep at home, so I may use the can until I can get another boot top made. It’s not on casters and I don’t use it much, so it hasn’t been a problem. I wanted to use the boot at the shop for a while to see how it worked before making a second one. It seems to be working just fine. Lashing the boot top to the pillar has kept me from having to chase a thread cone across the shop since I started using it. I’ve been saving my old Justin Roper boots for years, wondering if I would ever get the equipment and skill to re-sole them. So far, it still looks like it ain’t going to happen, but I’ve got a lot of boot tops. I made my belt-mounted cellphone case out of the mate to my thread cone boot, so I’ll have to break-up another pair for a second thread holder. BTW- Boot tops make good little fence staple bags, now that we don’t see canvas water bags much anymore. I made one back in the 70s and used it a lot when I was still maintaining fences. I still have it. CD in Oklahoma

I don’t use a thread stand at all for my patcher, and I use only a single cone surface-mount stand on my Consew. I have some 2, 3,& 4 spool stands stored here and there if I ever need them, but aren’t using them for the time being. These machines are stored against a wall in a retail area, so the multi stands would be in the way. That’s why I use a boot top to keep my thread corralled on my patcher. I like the small 4oz cones since most of my work is repair and I need as many different colors as I can find. I don’t use a lot of thread, but I use a lot of different colors of thread. I roll the patcher out to do a job and then roll it back in line against a wall when not in use. I built a wooden “trolley” under it, with rigid casters under the needle end, and swivel casters under the handwheel end. I had an arm light mounted on it for a while, but eventually took it off. It was in the way too, and I roll the machine to a work area that has other lights mounted on tables, so I just redirect one of them depending on where I set up. The Consew is on casters too. For small jobs, I just use it setting against the wall. For larger items, I roll it away from the wall as needed, and for the largest items, I roll it or the patcher outside onto the sidewalk in front of the shop and surround them with folding tables. The Singer 20U33 is not on casters and is used primarily for sewing new jean hems right where it sets. CD in Oklahoma

I’m in the same boat with changing thread colors. I don’t use mine every day, but nearly every job needs a different thread color. I tried cutting and tying, but decided it was a waste of thread even when I cut close to the thread take-up lever. I use V92 Tex90 UV thread in the 4 ounce cones mostly. I set the cone in a boot top with a plastic butter bowl in the bottom of it that’s tied to the front of the pillar with a leather shoe string through one thumb loop and around the pillar. I used to use an old Planters Peanut can setting on the stand in the same place, but I couldn’t attach it easily and knocked it off a time or two while reaching for the handwheel. I have the handwheel on the end. I thread up around the spool pin, through the pot under the bail, and beyond to the first thread guide pin. Seems to work just fine. CD in Oklahoma

Even though I haven’t ever used thread that needs lubed or waxed on my Singer 29K70 machine, I still thread each time through the pot under the bail. I even replaced the pad in the pot, but it’s never been used. There have been several times when threading that I’ve thought about going over the top of the pot bail, but I can’t bring myself to do it. I guess that I’m just glad that I HAVE a pot and am thankful. I’ve heard of those that don’t. Just out of curiosity, for those of you who do have a pot on your patcher, what do you do about threading under the pot bail when you have a dry pot, and do you think it makes any difference? CD in Oklahoma

I made a couple of passes through the Vendor Area of the show during late morning Saturday, and things looked like they were really buzzing to me. Nearly every Vendor had people at their booth. I hope the sales went well too. It was between demonstrations though, because all of the chairs in the back of the room were empty. This was my first time to the show, and just walking along through the smell and sight of so much new leather was a treat in itself. Thanks to all the Vendors that brought their wares. You don’t know how much you miss that smell until you’ve been away from it for a while. I brought a double shoulder home with me to tide me over until next year. I hope to go again. I was looking for a few hand tools, and picked up some used punches and an old worn-out rawhide mall. The Vendor of the old mall and I both wondered if the rawhide might chip or crumble from age when used again, but I’m happy to report that I’ve used it on three punching/setting projects already, and it still works just fine. It’s a nice addition to my shop’s tools. I bought my first leather tools 45 years ago, but this is my first heavy mall. Before I used it, I buffed the entire mall on a bench grinder brush, mainly to clean the rust off of the metal parts. But I also gave a light buffing to the rawhide and the wooden handle. It tended to give the rawhide a new surface, but I didn’t try to reshape it. Those flat spots and the one or two gouges won’t bother me a bit, and serve to remind me that someone else in the past spent a lot of time whanging on something, probably to make a living. One can only imagine what projects that old mall was in on. I believe that the Vendor said it came from Sheridan Wyoming, and it’s now back into service in Oklahoma. CD in Oklahoma

I wonder why they don’t have the Saddle Makers Round Up on their event calendar? http://www.wfmpec.com/events.php CD in Oklahoma

Just wondering if reuben cogburn came up with a labor rate for repair work yet.... And while on the labor rate subject, I thought I’d ask if any repair work shops on here charged a premium (extra fee) for “rush jobs”? CD in Oklahoma