kgg

The following topic may help with threading. kgg

I'm at a loss I guess it is possible. Maybe one of the dealers could answer. kgg

@nylonRiggingThe newer Juki DNU-1541 S machines have the tension setup now like the Juki LU-1508 / LU-1509 series. I don't remember when they changed but @Crockett machine is the same as mine which is about 4 or 5 years old. I have seen that photo before but I never could track it down whether it was a real machine that went into production, a prototype or something else. If you look closely a few items jump out: i) The bed base is extended out further to the left of the needle like that of the Juki LU-1508 / LU-1509. ii) Two needle plates covers shown with the one on the right side of the needle with the catch spring being for a vertical drop in bobbin like the Juki LU-1508 / 1509 where as the Juki DNU 1541S has a fixed semi round needle plate on the right side of the needle. The Juki DNU 1541 has a horizontal bobbin case. iii) The shape of the bed is scooped out to allow for the bobbin case plate removal. iv) The number of holes for accepting various bolt down attachments is completely different then the Juki DNU-1541 series. v) The real kicker for me is the nameplate as it clearly states it is Juki DNU-1541 but there is a safety clutch on the bed which was on the DNU-1541S and the DNU-1541-7 not the Juki DNU-1541. kgg

You have an excellent top quality machine. The Juki is the one that the clones typically copy. The Juki DNU-1541S is rated to handle V138 thread on top and in the bobbin in thick material not just by what thread can be stuffed through the max size needle it can handle. As far as needles for leatherwork buy 135X16 and buy good quality brand name needles like Schmetz. The machine can accommodate up to a size #24 needle. A good reference chart for needle to thread combination can be found at ( www.tolindsewmach.com/thread-chart.html ). The Juki DNU-1541S is an upholstery class machine which can handle up to 3/8" thick material. The Juki DNU-1541S should be able to handle most things like wallets that are better done on a flatbed, depending on the style of armrests those are probably better done on a cylinder bed machine but it will not do for making gun holsters both on needed thread size and thickness requirements. To handle gun holsters you will need a class 441 machine like a Juki TSC-441 ($10k) or a similar clone ($3.5K). Thread is inexpensive so spend the extra dollars and buy good quality brand name thread like A&E in 1 lb spools and save the frustration of dealing with the cheap Chinese stuff. kgg

With info being hard to come by I would probably go with the 550 watt on the Singer and the 750 watt on the carpet edger. You are probably going to need more punching power doing jute/hard back carpets. kgg

If both are brushless servo motors there will be less torque, punching power, available on the 550 watt and spread over 5000 rpm while the 750 watt will have more available torque spread over less rpm's, 3500 rpm. However that can be like comparing apples to oranges if they weren't constructed with the same number of coils. More coils basically equals more torque and are more expense. A expensive 550 watt with 12 coils could be better then a cheap 6 coil 750 watt. You really have to look at the spec of the servo motor for things like brush vs brushless, number of coils, speed range, torque rating, etc. The cheap servo motors generally have 6 coils while the better high torque ones like the Reliable SewQuiet 6000SM have 12 coils. What machine are you planning on installing a servo motor on? I personally have 550 watt brushed servo motors on my machines which may not be available or common in your country. kgg

Yep, that's damn close. Nicely done. That arrangement should help tame the clutch motor. The next step maybe to replace the clutch motor with a servo motor. A couple of questions: i) What sewing machine are you installing this on? ii) speed reducer shaft diameter, large pulley size and the motor pulley size. I'm assuming the motor speed is 1750 rpm. kgg

Very nice hat band @chuck123wapati. Thankful though we don't have any of those around here, just your garter snakes and black ratsnakes. kgg

Nice top pulley. As @Trox has mentioned be very aware of the additional torque this the hand-wheel has created and by installing an speed reducer the even higher torque that will be available which could over stress internal parts. Your 335 does not have a safety clutch to prevent damaging those internal parts. Before you install a speed reducer I would try the machine on a project first. What are you planning on sewing? How thick? What size thread? kgg

I wish you a speedy recovery. kgg

I can't help with the cobber tools but I would suggest first getting the Chinese patcher also fondly known as the Tinkers Delight up and running properly first. Then getting use to it's quirks on some simpler items. kgg

I would suggest using one of the two following guides . My reasoning is that if you are off with your drilling /tapping or the screws are to long you could interfere with the bobbin / hook and the binder would be removed with the plate when you need to change your bobbin rather then just swinging the binding out of the way. i) Swing-Away Edge Sewing Guide #226292 if you are using your typical inline binding attachment, remove the edge guide part and drill a second hole in the guide arm. These can be had for about $20 ( www.cutexsewingsupplies.com/products/swing-away-edge-sewing-guide-226292-for-industrial-walking-foot-sewing-machine?variant=32221239541813 ) and would be installed like the one in the video at ( www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmkIu5dI0Xc ) ii) Swing-Away Binding Guide if you are using a 90 degree binder attachment like those used on the Juki 1508NH like what is shown in this video ( www.youtube.com/watch?v=AslKviewCvk ) 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