kgg

Hi Anthony, I noticed that you: 1. Entered your thread through the first hole of the horizontal tension bar just before the first tension disk from the top of the first hole. I think it should enter from the bottom of the first hole. 2. Did you use your knee lift to get the first thread tensioner disks to open so the thread is sandwiched between the disks of the first tensioner? 3. Do you have thread tension just after the second tensioner at the thread hook? If not the thread was not sandwiched between the disks of the first tensioner. 4. Did you thread through the top vertical tension post on top of the machine, you didn't post a picture? My two cents worth. kgg

Hi geezer, My understanding of the singer 31-15 is that it was made as a industrial straight stitch not a walking foot sewing machine made more for tailors able to due light to medium weight fabrics. I would ask the owner to describe the movement of the foot and bottom feed dog as the needle goes up and down (straight stitch foot moves straight up and down with the feed dogs moving the material from front to back where as a walking foot lifts off the material at the rear of the feed dog cycle, moves forward and drops down on the material ). My 2 cents kgg

Hi Mark, I don,t have a clicker myself but am going to assume you are using a 1/2 inch material similar to puck board ( polyethylene). Which is used to line the ice side of hockey rink boards, kitchen cutting boards, whelping boxes etc. This material can be purchased in 4 x 8 sheets from 1/8" up at your local hardware store (Lowes, Rona, Homedepot) or plastic fabricator or they could ordered it for you. Then cut it to the size you need with a table saw or circular saw. In my area of Ontario a sheet in 1/2" would be about $200. If that isn't possible for you maybe you have a local woodworker with a table drum sander that could take off a skim to give a nice smooth surface to the clicker press board. Just my two cents worth. kgg

I agree with Bikermutt07 it doesn't look like a stamp however I think it could have been done with a tattoo gun. Back in the day when all registered dogs were tattooed with a series of Kennel Club assigned letters and numbers, I would practice on a piece of pig skin. You had to be fast, steady and you needed to get clean, clear lines in a small space on the puppy. Easier doing big breeds but the toy breeds were always a challenge.

Hi jos1980, I don't know how close you live to the border but what most people in this area do is to have a US address (mailbox) at UPS. We live about 45 minutes from the border and find that most orders of stuff over a certain dollar value has free shipping within the US. Then the wife and myself go across for 48 hours (weekend) and get $800 duty free. When we have to make a day trip to get a special item usually the item is cheaper even with the rate of exchange and you pay GST. Don't forget to gas up before coming home. kgg

Thank you all, What I have gathered is if the thread is going to be exposed to a lot of UV then use poly otherwise bonded nylon. Most of the items I make except for the leather dog collars / leads will be used indoors so I guess I will stick with the bonded nylon and just pickup a cone of poly. kgg

I am going to be sewing upholstery weight leather, dog leads, dog collars, leather rifle cases, thick fabric Sherpa type fabric and sunbrella type materials for dog related items. I am now going to be using a Juki 1541s flatbed sewing machine. I have had no problems using bonded nylon in the past with other machines that I have owned but need more thread so my question before I order more is what are the pros and cons to using bonded nylon thread verses polyester. Any information, comments or advice is appreciated. Thanks in Advance, kgg

Hi Gavin, I agree with Tomsmith that if you are using upholstery leather you may want to rethink the type of machine. You would hate to have you work destroyed. I would take some scrape leather of the largest thickness you think you are going to use and go visit a dealer. This way you can compare the ease at which they do or don't go through your material, listen to the sound of the machine (does it sound like a bucket of bolts rattling around) and does it have excessive vibration. Since this is now going to be your day job and your equipment is going to be crucial I would recommend that you purchase a new, close to new condition or a professionally rebuilt brand name machine. When I did my evaluation of my needs vs my wants for the foreseeable future another factor was what accessories are readily available for the tasks involving binding, cording, attaching zippers,etc. For my needs I decided to go with a new flat bed Juki 1541s with a servo motor. Keith

Thanks Dikman, I appreciate the info. We all seem to try something out of first necessity then enjoyment and then the addiction. A project that looking forward in making next will be to make a leather case for our new 45-70 Marlin 1895. Keith

Hi tearghost, It does look like a tension problem. I think the your machine is very similar to the Juki du-1181n, so I think if you go to the Youtube video titled " Industrial Walking Foot - Juki DU-1181N" by Phillip Miller it should help you figure out your tension problem. Keith

Hi Sheilajeanne, It is so satisfying to be able to make items that fit better and will last longer than a similar store bought item. We are more into the conformation showing, bit of obedience, some rally and limited breeding with the Tollers. Keith

Hi Dikman, I am mostly into it for my two other hobbies (addictions), the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers and shooting. So dog related items, gun cases and heavy thick Sherpa type fabric having a thread count of 800-1200. Also I noticed that you have a Chinese shoe patcher. How do you like it? The reason I ask is I have looked at them and wondered how they would perform as they are fairly inexpensive. Keith

Lovely job, nice clean lines. Keith

Hi Sheilajeanne, I hope you enjoyed the course and you should enjoy the Seiko. Once you get the bug, you will always be hooked and you will figure out a place for that next machine. I love finding and rebuilding the old ceased up Singers, bringing them back to sewing a nice even stitch and then setting them to do one function. My wife thought I was cracked, nuts, gone over the edge (I only had six) but it is just a relatively inexpensive rebuilding hobby (addition) like some people are into rebuilding cars, model trains, hockey or golf. So I can see how easy it could be to collect a few machines. On the production side of the coin if you were producing a particular item that involved a lot of steps or shapes or large variance in thickness it would probably be more cost effective to have multiple types of machines set-up that were better suited to do certain individual tasks. Come Wednesday and for the next little while I am going to be down to two sewing machines but.... Addicted Keith

Hi Floyd, That is an item I never thought to have but having a spare on a Saturday night could be handy so I am going to add it to my list to get from the dealer. So far my list of addition items are: Thread bonded nylon --- #69, # 92, #138 various colours Swing away binder, double fold --- 1" and 1 1/2" Bobbins --- 18 Bobbin Case #B1837-241-H00 --- 1 Keith

Hi Floyd, Good point. I forgot to add some extra bobbins for the new machine. I usually keep few extra bobbins on a couple of rods. They are not really rods but are pieces of coat-hanger wire about 6 inches long with one end twisted to accept a #8 screw and then screwed to the front right side of the table top for easy reach. Thanks Keith

I have been lurking this great site for about a year or so and have found the information provided by all to be honest and straight forward. I have made due with mostly used bottom feed Singer machines both vintage domestic (shuttle and bobbin) and industrial as well as a Barracuda walking foot that I table mounted. This site which I thoroughly enjoy caused me to do a re-evaluation of my equipment needs present and near future. Over this period of time there was a lot of reading, watching of youtube videos, some hands on various machines and a lot of considerations. This included researching various models both new and used; walking foot vs compound feed; flat bed vs cylinder machines; cylinder machines with a flat bed table attachment; clones from China / Taiwan; recognized name brands; manufacturer A vs B and of course the dollar cost. I finally decided that what would serve most of my needs (still would like to have a Singer 29k patcher) would be a new flat bed, compound feed machine to handle multiple layers and reverse with a servo motor for added control. When I looked at the new clones vs a comparable one from Juki there was only between $100 - $300 Canadian saving depending on the manufacturer. I decided to get a new Juki 1541s complete with servo motor as well as a couple of binding attachments and will be picking it up this Wednesday. If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them. Thanks in Advance