MtlBiker

Thanks very much. I think the speed reducer on the new 2750 is a pedestal type. I can see how that works, but I'm not clear on the box type. I like that it's "easiest to fit", so I guess I'll try to find something like that. I'll see what the Consew dealer might have for this. My problem is simply the very limited time I have to work on the sewing machine... my day job keeps me busy until evenings and I only have Sundays and Mondays to play with this. So if I get something, install it on a Sunday/Monday, and figure out how long the belts should be, it would probably be another week before I could get the belts and install them. And I'd have to be right about the lengths, or it would take another week. I'm hoping the dealer might have a "canned" solution with all the right components so that I could get it and install all in one day. SIGH

I'm so inexperienced that I don't even realize that things could be better... I got a used/demo Consew 206RB-5 a couple of months ago as my first industrial machine and I've been using it, accepting the way it worked as being just the way it is. A few days ago I got a new Techsew 2750 PRO and now that I see how a machine could work, I'm wanting to improve my 206RB. Main issue is sewing speed. The 2750 PRO has a speed reducer and I love it! I can sew slowly in full control. The Consew on the other hand, even with servo motor set to the lowest speed, still starts sewing much more quickly and it's just about impossible to sew one stitch at a time. With the 2750 I can tap the foot pedal and the machine just makes one stitch... it's great! And at slow speed, I estimate I can even sew slower than one stitch per second. On the Consew, the speed dial has settings from 350 to 3450, but at the 350 setting it doesn't sew at all. 650 is the slowest. Now perhaps the knob is just mis-aligned and the indicated 650 is really 350, but I have no way of verifying that. Is anyone here familiar with the servo motor on my machine? It says "Premier by Consew", model CSM550-1. The lowest I can turn the knob is to 350 which I'm suspecting is actually the 0 position. The highest setting can go one click past 3450 to the 0. Do you think the knob is mis-aligned? (I'm guessing it is and if so, I'll reset it.) What should I look for in a speed reducer? And is there any way to make the Consew stitch only one stitch with a tap of the foot pedal, like on the 2750? Thanks very much.

Well, I didn't really want to cast doubt on the quality of a particular machine so I was asking in a more general way... Should I change my thinking to the numbers on a stitch length adjustment being relative instead of absolute? Should I think a setting of 8 is just bigger (but not necessarily double) that of a 4? Or should I be able to rely on an 8 giving a stitch length of 8mm and 6 6mm, etc.?

With a decent industrial sewing machine, how accurate is the stitch length adjustment usually? I'm asking because one of my machines seems spot on... setting 4 gives me a 4mm stitch... 10 gives 10mm, etc. But the other is fairly accurate at a setting of 4, but then it's completely off on the other number settings. Maybe I'm being too much of a perfectionist, but this really bothers me. And it means that if I want a certain stitch length (maybe to match something else) I have to fiddle with the setting back and forth until I get what I want. My other machine is so close in the settings that I don't worry about it. Should I be thinking of the stitch length adjustment as a relative number or absolute? Am I expecting too much?

That's really very kind of you... thank you! If I can't find anything else I like, I might take you up for a small scrap of it just to see what it feels like. I'm interested in what this ends up costing you in the end. I expect that you'll be hit with HST tax and probably some duty as well because the product isn't made in the US. And a brokerage charge from the shipper. Many US companies find it a pain to deal with and ship to us Canadians, which is a shame. But I just found a company that is an exception... Cleaner's Supply out of NY State. I was looking for some more v92 bonded polyester UV-resistant thread and I'd been buying it from JT's Outdoor Fabrics in Ontario (good group to deal with). But I found Cleaner's Supply quoted the price in Canadian dollars and with minimum $100 orders, they give free shipping to Canada. I ordered yesterday and the shipping information says I'll have it here on Friday. Hard to believe! And the price for 1lb spools of the exact same thread I'd been buying were half the price that I'd been paying. So there are exceptions! Cheers! Kind of you. Thanks!

I did ask about linings in general, and specifically asked about linings if the outside material was Cordura. Yes I'm prematurely asking about leather, but hope to get working with it soon (as soon as I can find a Canadian source for small bits of leather). I'm sorry that my beginner questions are not exclusively about leather.

I contacted Luigi Carnevalli, and unfortunately RMLeathersupply is the only North American source. I was going to place an order for a yard of it to test out and the fabric was going to be US$30 but the shipping was MORE than that! Plus, in my experience, the UPS shipping options they had don't include brokerage which UPS does charge us. So the cost was more than doubling... close to three times. Did you order enough to make it more economical to buy? I guess you have searched to see if there's a comparable product available in Canada?

Thank you. Do you know what that Springfield Leather Faille fabric is made of? A web search tells me it could be silk, rayon or cotton. I tried to put together a small order of that fabric plus some leathers to experiment with and was disappointed that it wouldn't let me enter Canada as a shipping destination. So I'm going to have to try to find some Faille here in Canada. And a source of small bits of leather. I just need something to get my feet wet with.

Thanks for your comments.- I haven't yet started working with leather... I'm learning how to make things using Cordura nylon and waxed canvas, but hope to start with leather soon. I guess it makes sense to use leather as a liner for a leather bag, but I don't know what people are using as lining for utility pouches, flashlight pouches, etc. Before working with leather, I want to get my sewing skills improved, using less expensive materials. Besides, I haven't found a local source for leather, particularly small pieces to experiment with. But I've now got a bunch of leather needles!!! I'm getting ready!

Thank you! Please do let me know how your ordering experience works out. I'm also in Canada and I'm reluctant to order products from the States due to often much higher than expected shipping rates, plus potentially duties. (I ordered a couple of spools of v69 polyester thread from Sailrite about two months ago and the UPS shipping, plus brokerage - which Sailrite had said was included but UPS said wasn't, plus DUTY (yes!) made the purchase less than worthwhile. But I'm finding it tough to find v69 UVR polyester thread here in Canada... I get my v92 from JTSOUTDOORFABRICS.COM and it's been pretty good. I also just placed a trial order of v92 from a US place called Cleaner's Supply which had a really good price in Canadian dollars and offered free shipping to Canada. I'm anxious to see if it comes in without too much delay or problems.) Do you know how "micro-suede" compares with regular suede? I'll go check the website you linked in your reply. Thanks!

I'm quite new to sewing and unfortunately I know of nobody close to me who I could ask for advice... So I'm asking here. What are good choices for lining material for things like belt pouches, small bags, etc.? I look at some items and don't have enough experience to tell what the interior fabric is. Sometimes it looks like nylon perhaps or even a tight mesh fabric. If you make a leather wallet or belt pouch or utility (flashlight, etc.) pouch, what do you line it with? What if your outside fabric is Cordura? The major Canadian fabric chain has a store right next door to my office and they've been no help with this kind of advice. And I suspect they don't really carry the appropriate fabric for this. I'd have to order online it seems, and that's hard when I don't know what I should be using. If there's some kind of tutorial on lining fabrics, I haven't found it yet. The only lined item I've made so far is a sleeve for MacBook Air... the inside lining I used was suede so as not to scratch the computer. But suede isn't suitable for other little pouches and bags. Thanks for any pointers!

Sounds like you really can't go far wrong with that! Except for the driving... you said 3 hours each way? You sewed that jacket by hand? Wow! It looks amazing! Best of luck!

That looks like quite an old model... Omega has a sort-of cheap clone of Sailrite machines, and when I looked at them, I wasn't too impressed. Particularly after looking at Sailrite's videos that show the differences between their machines and the clones. Is the price good? Probably has a clutch motor rather than servo. I believe the Canadian source for Omega machines is right here in Quebec... https://walking-foot.com/ You can get a new one for about $600 with warranty. And the dealer often has ads on Kijiji for demo models for about a hundred bucks less. I decided not to get one because I really lusted after a genuine Sailrite, but they are just too expensive for me at the moment. I ended up finding a good deal on a dealer demo Consew RB206-5, which I'm very happy with. What are you planning to sew?

I'm just a novice, but I'm a bit confused by what you are asking. I have a Consew RB206 myself, and the tension discs have (at least the top one does) an adjusting knob. That's for setting the thread tension. Clockwise increases the tension and counter clockwise decreases it. As far as I know, you should never be rotating it "...pretty far counterclockwise just for convenience in getting the thread past..." If you do that, do you then tighten it back up to set the thread tension? If so, doesn't the thread then get caught between the discs giving you far too great a tension? I have no trouble threading my machine without totally reducing the pressure of the discs. As a matter of fact, I made a mistake early on (novice, remember?) by threading the machine while I was activating the knee lifter. That had the effect of opening up the space between the discs, so when I released the knee lifter the thread was pinched way too strongly between the discs. And it took me a long time to figure out why I couldn't then get the thread tension set correctly. I hope this is of some help to you.

Geez, for someone just starting out, you're doing incredibly well! Are you sewing those items by hand? Well done! The axe sheath looks particular nice. And I like Swiss Army knife sheaths! The red thread was a nice touch. I'm a complete newbie and have not yet sewn anything with leather. I just started sewing during the Covid isolation period with a home machine and then I added a flatbed industrial and have just ordered a cylinder bed industrial machine. I'm only sewing heavy nylon and webbing so far, but hope to get into leather within a month or two. Cheers!

You're not kidding about possibly long delivery times! I just found some Organ titanium needles on the Canadian Amazon site, but they ship from the US and expected delivery (free) is stated as being about December 24th! And the cost per needle is almost $4! I'll stick with what I can get from my local suppliers.

I do trust Amazon... just about as far as I can throw them! I'm in Canada and that link was for the US site and shipping to Canada makes it rather expensive. I just found those also on the Canadian site, with free shipping, but... they ship from the US with expected delivery by DECEMBER 24th!!! And it's almost four bucks per needle! I guess I've been over thinking this whole needle thing. I'm just going to stick with what I can get from my local suppliers, and instead of buying packs of 100, I'll just get them in 10's. From what I've learned, as long as I stick with the major brands like Schmetz, Groz Beckert or Organ, I should be alright. And needles really aren't a significant cost overall. Thank you.

I've got SO much to learn!! I've never even seen 207 thread before, nor for that matter 138. Thank you for clarifying.

Flying Man? That wasn't really a brand I was going to consider. Do you know of other brands with titanium needles other than Groz-Beckert?

Oh I'm all for supporting local business, but in these Covid times it's not always easy. And Techsew isn't really open to the public now anyway. My machine won't be ready for awhile (they have a backlog to work through) and I actually need some needles now or very soon (sooner than that machine will be ready). I just installed my next to last needle in my RB206-5 and I've got a couple of projects I need to do. So, you consider those brands to be of equal quality? Would you fear that Groz-Beckert needles bought from a Chinese supplier through Amazon might not be genuine? And are all Groz-Beckert needles titanium, or just some?

Are brands of needles pretty much equal in terms of quality? Is one brand better than another? I want to purchase more extra needles and have been looking online (Amazon.ca) and the prices are all over the map. Anyway, I'm looking at Groz-Beckert, Organ and Schmetz. Is there any risk in buying Groz-Beckert needles over Amazon from a Chinese seller? I mean, is there any risk of it being a counterfeit product? And it's interesting that the cheapest Amazon price for GB needles is from a Chinese supplier and the description says "titanium" while other suppliers with higher prices don't mention that. What should I watch out for? I'd really like to buy 100 needles at a time in the sizes I use for the most economical cost and I'm overwhelmed at the choices and differences in price. Is one brand considered better than another? The dealer I got my Consew from sold me Organ needles, and if I'm not mistaken it will also be Organ needles that are included with my new Techsew 2750 PRO. Should I just stick with that brand and not over think all this? (It's 135x17 needles I'm looking for, in different sizes.) Thanks!

Just so I'm clear, you are talking about the 2750 right (and not the RB206-5)? I've been told that the practical upper limit for the RB206-5 is v92 so I haven't tried anything thicker. And I hadn't heard about using a different bobbin thread weight than the top thread (remember, I'm a beginner). What would be the reason to do that? Just the looks of the top thread stitches? Not that I'm going to buy any, but do you think 207 could be used on the top and the bobbin on the Techsew 2750? I'm going to order v138 to try on the new machine. I'm sure it'll be more than adequate for where I am in my sewing career. Heck, even the v92 is probably more than I really need for what I'm doing.

Well, I did it! I pulled the plug and ordered a new Techsew 2750 PRO with speed reducer. Now I just have to wait until one can be prepared for me (they're back-logged). Luckily I'll be able to pick it up in my SUV and won't have to wait any extra time for a shipping company. Thank you all for the helpful comments and advice. Think I'll order some v138 poly thread to try on that machine. My RB206-5 is supposedly at the limit with v92 and I'm looking forward to seeing how nice the stitches will look with v138.

Good idea! I'll check with Ron to see if there is any return policy. Having one would make me feel a bit hesitant. But I wouldn't go ahead and order a machine even with a return policy unless I was pretty darn certain that was the machine for me. After a lot of trial and error with my RB206-5 I think I'm comfortable with adjusting thread tension. So far I'm using v69 and v92 poly threads only, and I've even got two bobbin cases/holders with each adjusted appropriately. It's funny but I've also been finding that when I change from white to black on the same brand/type of v92 thread, I need to readjust the bobbin thread tension. I didn't expect that and don't quite understand it. But using the hanging by a thread technique, the tension is definitely different between the two colors.

Ron said there was no way he would allow anyone into his showroom or offices, even just one person by appointment. He did offer though that he set up a machine outside (under a canopy) for me to try. But temperatures here are now often below freezing and I can't see testing a machine with cold fingers, plus we've got snow in the forecast. And it wouldn't be possible to compare two machines (2750 and the PRO)... that's asking too much. So either I wait until (and if) Covid ends or I go ahead and order without testing or even seeing a machine in the flesh first. These sure are difficult and trying times.