kgg

Keep in mind generally the sewing thickness of the more popular flatbeds in the upholstery class of machines like the Juki 1541 is 3/8" total max sewing thickness. The cylinder beds machines have upwards to 3/4" depending on model. kgg

My take. If you want Japanese quality the Juki 1541S is still made in Japan the last time I checked as some Juki models are being made in China. I have a Juki 1181n made in China and it is not the quality of my Juki 1541S. With the clones it depends generally on what the clone importer / reseller specified as quality of internal parts and the level of after sales support the reseller can provide. A member a few years back was having a bobbin case problem with his 1541 clone and it turned out that it was manufactured with a different non compatible Juki one. With a Juki you will get detailed manuals (installation, operating and engineering) where as some of the clones provide some instructions on setting the machine up and refer you to the relevant Juki manuals. When it comes to reselling a machine it is much easier to sell a Juki as well it will command a higher used price then a similar clone. Before I purchased my Juki 1541S I went and test drove a few clones which I would advise you to do. Some were decent while others sounded like a bucket of bolts banging around. If you only have space / funds for one machine I would suggest you get a cylinder bed machine with a flat top table attachment and forego getting a flat bed. I think a cylinder bed machine with a flat top attachment will provide more sewing versatility. You can do flat items on a cylinder bed (with a flat top table attachment) but you generally can't do round items on a flat bed. With all that said it comes down to what you can afford and what you want to sew (round or flat items, thickness of leather including seams, thread size). What do you want to sew?? Buy once, Cry Once kgg

Clone machine manuals vary greatly with the Sailrite manuals being some of the best I have seen while others well lets say they are less then. Some I have seen were very poorly translated, almost unreadable to almost English. Generally clone owners have to track down what their machine is cloned after to get the proper manuals or find decent youtube video's. kgg

Looking at the video what I see is the bobbin thread appears to be under tension with no slack as the thread is being slipped pass the tip of the hook about the 5 o'clock position. A couple of things I would check is the needle to the hook timing, worn / sticky parts in the bobbin release mechanism, damage to the notch in the needle plate and hook assembly. A couple of good video's to review: i) The stitch cycle of a Juki LS-341 by @Uwe gives a really good demonstration of how the the bobbin release should work (1:37 of video) ii) Cobra Class 26 needle hook timing inspection and reset procedures by Al Bane kgg

How long have you had the machine? Have you contacted the Leather Machine Co? There was recently another member with a similar problem. kgg

Looks like a short arm Alder to me. kgg

I'd just move your stuff out to the dog house before she gets home. kgg

The Alder is a good brand name but if I'm not mistaken parts are very scarce to source and will be expensive if they can be had for 30-7. The Alder I'm going to assume has a clutch motor and is going to be difficult gaining / mastering speed control so you will be needing to replace it with a servo motor and possibly a speed reducer so add another $200 to $400 dollars to the price. The Alder is a patcher made to do mainly repairs like the Singer 29K and clone machines. From a parts perspective the Techsew should be easier to source parts should you need them and would probably be the better choice for constructing shoe uppers of the two machines. Neither machine would be my first choice for the construction of wallets as flat items would be better done on a flatbed or a cylinder arm machine with a flatbed attachment. As far as bags depending on the style of bags you plan on doing a cylinder bed would probably be a better choice. If possible take a sample of what you want to sew and try sewing it on both machines before purchasing. Really it depends on what you want to mainly sew and no one machine will do everything. I would suggest looking at cylinder bed machines with a flatbed attachment as an all rounder and adding specific purposed machines as project needs / wants come along. kgg

To be accurate on the speed reduction this is a little more complicated then just throwing a pulley on either the motor or the hand-wheel. Factors like: i) Motor type (clutch motor or servo motor, brush or brushless) ii) Motor pulley size (typical size are 2" or 3") iii) Motor startup speed as some don't start spinning below certain speed setting on the speed controller when under load iv) Type and style of the pulley (3L,4L,etc) Reducing the speed can be accomplished by just installing a larger hand-wheel but there are physical limits to the diameter and balance of the new hand-wheel that may come into play. Typically just changing the motor from a clutch type to a servo motor will give much greater low speed control. If that isn't quite enough speed control then generally a speed reducer pulley setup is installed under the table between the drive motor and the hand-wheel pulley. Typically installing a 3:1 speed reducer that commonly consists of a 6 inch large V-belt pulley and a smaller 2 inch V-belt pulley either as individual pulleys placed on a common shaft or are manufactured as a 2 step V-belt pulley is installed. If you want to build your own reducer setup a good place to start is using a pulley calculator to determine the sizes and combination like www.blocklayer.com/pulley-belt What type of motor are you using on what sewing machine? kgg

Looking good. kgg

The belt for: i) the large pulley is gets it's tension by the adjustment bolt on the servo motor frame ii) The small pulley gets it's tension by adjusting the vertical distance in relation to the hand wheel pulley. The advantage of the cantilever reducer pulley over the a system where you support a shaft between to bearings is the ease at which belts can be readily change. I am doing a hybrid of both where I am using a shaft supported by two pillar block bearings that cantilevers the reducer bearing off the cross bracing on the tables K-leg. Here is a couple of sketches that may give you some ideas. The first is just a front view showing a poor representation of the cylinder arm on top of the table. The second shows the placement on the cross brace where it will have two bolts through the cross brace. The third is of the pillow block bearings mounted to a flat plate with a slot cut out to allow the reducer pulley to move which would give tension on the belt from the small pulley to sewing machines hand-wheel. kgg

I agree. The fabric needle 135x 17 will punch a hole but has a tendency to leave the hole rough around the edges of the needle plate side of the hole. If the presser foot tension wasn't just right it probably knocked the machine off it's timing particularly with the max size of thread for that machine. It can be a balancing act when to use a 135x17 needle on leather. My rule would be to use a 135x16 needle with leather but if there is fabric involved on the needle plate side of the seam I might give a 135 x17 needle a try if I didn't want the fibers of the fabric to be cut. A 135x17 needle is designed to push apart the fibers rather then cut through them. From what you are saying I would check and make sure that all the bolts are tight as one may have come loose causing something to slip. Then recheck and reset the machines timing. kgg

Some questions. What needle system are you using 135 x 16 for leather or 135x 17 for fabric? What size of needle did you try to use with V207? Is the thread on top the same size as what is in the bobbin? Are you holding the threads for the first few stitches? How thick is the material / leather you are trying to sew? This to me sounds like the thread isn't seated down as far as it should be between the tension disc and or the tension on those discs is to light. My first simple guess is the needle isn't installed correctly so the long grooves are on the left and the scarf on the right. Threading is through the needle eye from left to right. My second guess which probably occurred when you tried V207 is the timing is off; you have needle strikes to the hook or needle plate so the thread is catches and breaks My third guess is the forward and reverse stitch are grossly mis-matched. Check by putting a plain piece of heavy paper under the foot and hand-wheel the machines for a couple of inches with no thread in the needle and then put the machine in reverse. The needle should go through the forward holes exactly. A few photo's of your thread path from the spool of thread to the needle may help solve your problem. kgg

Nicely done. As a note if you want the base color to be a better match, try your auto supply store for a tin of spray paint. I used one for a Toyota to match the base color of a PFAFF flatbed. A good pulley size calculator to checkout before you hit the lathe is: https://www.blocklayer.com/pulley-belt Example A: Small pulley at servo motor with a 5.5" hand-wheel pulley with a motor speed of 300 rpm will give you a hand-wheel rpm of: i) 2" pulley at servo motor: 109 rpm ii) 3" pulley at servo motor: 163 rpm to get those speeds down to say 40 rpm at the hand-wheel the new hand-wheel pulley would have to be: i) 2" pulley at servo motor: 15 inches in diameter ii) 3" pulley at servo motor: 22.5 inches in diameter Personally I would suggest putting a speed reducer in, double bearing shaft or canter lever style, and leaving the existing 5.5 inch hand-wheel pulley for a couple of reasons. Leaves the machine in original condition, helps reduce startup jerk and provides a more uniformed torque range. Example B: Small pulley at servo motor with a 5.5" hand-wheel pulley with a motor speed of 300 rpm and installing a reducer pulley (6 inch /2 inch) will give you a hand-wheel rpm of: i) 2" pulley at servo motor 36 rpm ii) 3" pulley at servo motor: 55 rpm kgg

To determine if you have a bad / seized bearing in the reducer pulley remove the belts and see if the reducer pulley spins freely. A few photo's showing your thread path from the spool to the needle would also help. In thick / tough / sticky material you may have to go up a needle size so here is enough space created by the needle to allow a proper loop to be formed so the hook can catch it. Have you had the front cover of recently? If the front cover isn't aligned properly the tension discs may not be releasing. kgg

What problems are you having? kgg

The part number is 91-087951-75/995, costs about $20 US and is a part of the Arm Parts. This type of bracket is also used on other PFAFF machines like the PFAFF 337 to mount such things as needle positioner, speed synchronizer. The video at 0.24 shows such an installation ( www.youtube.com/watch?v=SateU14ZlKI ). kgg

The question really comes down to how much you want to spend and how tight are the corners you want to sew around with the binding tape. The 90 degree or right angle binders will allow you to do tighter corners then the inline binders. 1) Expensive way: The 90 degree binders are readily available but the proper way to get the most out of them will probably involve changing the presser feet, needle plate and feed dog. That will probably cost $150 US and each binder tape size will cost about $60 US. 2) Cheap way: Use the readily available inline binders, single and double fold, off places like Aliexpress / Amazon etc for less then $20 each that are normally used for flatbeds. If I'm not mistaken the the Cobra Class 26 is the same as the Cowboy CB341, Kobe LS-1341 and the Techsew 2750 and are all clones of the older Juki LS-341. I only use the standard bed mounted inline binder attachments on my machines whether they are on my portable walking foot, flatbed or cylinder bed. The main reasons for me using this style of binder attachments are: i) they more cost effective cheaper ($20 vs $200). ii) gives me more flexibility of tightening / closing the exiting gap of the binder for the thickness of the binding tape iii) the ability of using the same binder attachments on all my machines. iv) no changes to the feed dog, presser feet and needle plate. To accept the inline binder attachments for my Kobe LS-1341 I made up a simple adapter plate. If you have a table top attachment it should only require drilling two holes in it to accept the inline binder attachments. kgg

That is what I would have done. A few cutting disc later and the basic job is done. Are you planning on modifying the existing Singer treadle table to accept a servo motor or building a new table? With the servo motor I would install it first before putting a speed reducer on as you may find it not necessary, depending on what you want to sew. kgg

@barclay I would: i) call around to the repair shops and try sourcing one as they may have a donor machine. ii) get a new one from a PFAFF dealer if they are still available. The parts you need can be found on page 4 of "Housing Sections" of the listed in the following topic as a downloadable manual "parts5ao8mf6d.pdf". The base part number is: 91-014 200-75/995 iii) have a welding shop fabricate a support frame probably using 3" angle iron iv) as you suggested cut down the one you have. kgg

Are you thinking a lap seam folder or do you mean a edge binder? kgg

I prices for machines during the lockdown went crazy but I am seeing lately prices for used machines dropping in Ontario, Canada. The brand names like Juki, Pfaff, Alder, Singer are still relatively higher then the used clone machines. I would still recommend a cylinder arm with a flat top attachment as you can use it to do both flat or round items. So it gives you a bit of flexibility. Whether you go with a flatbed or cylinder bed patching over those holes in your gloves, depending where the holes are located, would probably be more suited to a patcher. Think of the Singer 29K-71 or 72 or a clone patcher machine. kgg

There are a lot of good used machines that come to market. The first thing to do is set a realistic dollar value that you want / able to spend. Then decide on: i) what items you would probably want to sew. ii) what size of thread you want / need to sew those items. iii) what style of machine is best suited to your projects, flatbed or cylinder bed. For someone starting out I would recommend a cylinder bed with a flat top attachment. iv) buy a brand name if your budget allows. If and when you come across a machine and are unsure whether will suite your purpose just ask. I'm sure someone here already owns one. kgg

A thought maybe using a punch press / drill press where you can install various chisels to punch the holes with less effort. kgg

The Sailrite Leatherwork from a thread size will be limited to V92 thread and without modifications the max sewing thickness will be limited to something less then 1/4". Their spec from their site "You can use thread up to V-92 (Tex 90) and needles up to #22 with this machine, although we recommend V-92 Polyester and #20 DI Leather Needles for most applications. " Note that V92 bonded polyester thread is a thinner and softer then V92 bonded nylon. A couple of points about this machine: i) This is a walking foot machine not a compound feed machine. It is classed as a heavy duty not a industrial sewing machine. My opinion is that it is a notch up from a domestic sewing machine. ii) the Leatherwork is just a portable walking foot Sailrite LS model painted green and placed in nice short table with a good servo motor. iii) be aware with the portable walking foot machines as the thickness of the material increases like across multi layers the stitch length decreases. On my Sailrite LSZ clone, which is setup for binding, I did manage to get the height clearance under the outer and inner presser feet up to 10mm (touch over 3/8") with a few fancy words of encouragement while making adjustments. Before it was under 1/4 " (6.35mm). The original stitches were 8.5 on a a touch over 1/4" (7mm) thickness of material. With the adjustments I made to the machine it gets 5 on 7mm thick material and on a normal couple layers of cotton fabric I can get it down to 3.5 stitches per inch. ii) the original intent of the portable walking foot machines was to sew sail fabric. iii) Sailrite customer service has a good reputation. If you plan on getting into sewing leather or heavier fabric there are better options both in the new and used machines. Kevlar thread is going to be hard on the guides and tensioning parts as it is quite abrasive. You may even have to go down to size V69 thread to get it to sew properly in the Leatherworker. Personally I would use size V138 or V207 for durability and strength particularly for pockets that you are going to be tugging on a lot. Size V69 thread has a breaking strength of 11 lbs, V92 is 14.5 lbs, V138 is 22 lbs and V207 is 32 lbs. How much are they asking for the Sailrite Leatherwork??? Any photo's??? kgg