whistlingrits

Hey, did you have to do anything with hook timing and needle clearance? I just acquired a 51W55 machine and would like to modify it to fit other needles besides leather needles and when I asked my local sewing machine shop about it they mentioned that hook timing and needle clearance will come in to account. Did you just swap out the needle bar and it worked?

Hello, I just recently acquired a 51w55 post bed singer sewing machine. I should preface this with the fact that I know minimal, at best, about sewing machines, I just know how to sew and I would like to learn more about machines to advance my skills. sooo this machine only uses 128x4 sewing needles which upon my research, are obsolete and are only leather needles (please let me know if I am wholly misinformed). The thing is I don't primarily sew leather and would like the capacity to sew canvas, webbing, hats, etc. I am wondering if there is an equivalent needle that would work on this machine or if there is a way to modify it to accommodate different needles. Thank you kindly for helping me out!