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

Do you have a price, photo of the Clicker Press. kgg

Thank you. kgg

If I'm not mistaken the Singer 144W204 uses the 7x3 needles which is the same as the 794 needles but check your manual. For sewing leather you would use a 794 LR needle in the appropriate size for the thread. I personally like the Schmetz brand of needles. You can buy needles from various sewing machine dealers that advertise here. kgg

A couple of things: 1. If you measure your existing diameters of the motor pulley and the handwheel pulley you could go to the Pulley Calculator ( www.blocklayer.com/pulley-belteng ) and pug those values in with a rpm of 100 to determine your existing handwheel speed and then plug in the new handwheel pulley diameter. Example: Existing handwheel pulley size at 3.5 inches and a motor pulley size of 3 inches. The handwheel would be spinning at 85.7 rpm's with a motor speed of 100 rpm's. Changing the handwheel pulley size to 8 inches and keeping the existing 3 inch motor pulley. The handwheel would be spinning at 37.5 rpm's with a motor speed of 100 rpm's. 2. Other considerations as discussed in the topic by @chrisash i) shaft diameter my be 0.545 and the only way to be sure measure yours with a caliper. ii) be careful you don't throw off the balance the existing handwheel provides the topic 3. You may want to use a reducer pulley setup rather then changing the existing handwheel. If you installed a reducer pulley that has a 6" and a 2" pulley combo the speed would be reduced to 29 rpm's with a motor speed of 100 rpm's. In my opinion a lot less work to accomplish your speed reduction and the machine remains orginial. kgg

Thank you @toxo great information. kgg

What brand etc. is your bender looks a lot better then the one I referenced? Are those Aluminum forming forms, plastic or PLA or ???. Also what brand of punch etc? Looks at lot more convenient then trying to drill once the steel rule has been bent into shape. Thank you and the end result seems very good. Also as you need a new clicker die you can make it at your own leisure. For your press what are you using? I am thinking about using a hydraulic jack press probably like this one for $304 CA ( www.princessauto.com/en/12-ton-hydraulic-bottle-jack-shop-press/product/PA0009081597) as clicker presses are just too expensive. kgg

Since this is going to be your first machine I would suggest going to a dealer and see which class of machine would best suit your needs. If you are going to be doing 90 percent of items best suited for the Class 1341 machine then buy a Class 1341 and later on get a Class 441. As @TomE has outlined for thinner projects you have to make changes or install the presser feet and needle plates like what @RockyAussie and @Patrick1 have developed to accommodate sewing with thinner thread, closer to the edge and with thinner leather. kgg

I would definitely like to see some pics / video's. I agree the video in the advertisement is really thin probably soft metal as the original purpose is for the jewelry craft. I came across a video by Harry Rogers using this style of inexpensive bender ( www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3HjGaSs2dY) but see he has since upgraded to a more robust bender ( www.youtube.com/watch?v=CquWzzaQSZg&t=16s). kgg

For my needs the 1 meter lengths would be ideal. I plan on making my own dies probably using something similar to a Ring Bender ( www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0BV5NSW8G/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A2LM4S0G8N062T&psc=1 ) or a DIY bender. Thanks, if I can't find a supplier in Canada I just might have to import some. kgg

I am looking for a supplier of steel rule either Centre Face, Single Bevel or Centre Face, Double Bevel preferably in Ontario, Canada. I am looking for small lengths rather then the large coils. kgg

I have some of these which may give you an idea of the spring. kgg

In my opion the Cobra class 26 ($2390 US) is a Class 1341 machine using 135 x 16 needles capable of using V207 thread while the Cowboy 3200 is short arm (10.5") Class 441 using the much larger 794 needles capable of using V346 thread. The cost of a Cowboy CB3200 decked out like the Cobra class 26 would be ($2195 + $150 extra for a pedestal table stand = $2345 US). I would place the Cobra in the upholstery plus class of machines and the Cowboy in the saddlery class of machines. kgg