Setting up your sewing machine guide for no hands sewing

[RockyAussie]

This is a short video showing how I set up my sewing machine guide before I start stitching. A guide that is not set up well can actually make your job want to veer away from the guide and the results can be a wobbly stitch line through to even running off the edge of your work. This video shows me doing belts but the same set up can help on many other projects as well. This video is also the first in a few videos I intend to do showing off the capability of the Cowboy cb246 sewing machine and how most of the products we make at Wild Harry can be made using it. I do believe it to be an ideal first machine for anyone wanting to make small leather goods such as wallets and purses and handbags. Please consider liking and subscribing to my channel if you find the content to be worthwhile. Oh yeah and SHARE

 

[kgg]

5 hours ago, RockyAussie said:

This is a short video showing how I set up my sewing machine guide before I start stitching.

Nice informative video of how the guide should be setup. My only comment is it maybe helpful if you also showed how you set the guide itself to that angle.

kgg

[alpha2]

Good video, thanks! I don't have that machine or guide, but I can find a way to set up my CB4500 with some minor changes to my guide. I've had to feed my leather at an angle, as indicated by your ruler, to get it to sew without wandering away from the guide. I certainly cant do it without hands!

[RockyAussie]

14 hours ago, kgg said:

Nice informative video of how the guide should be setup. My only comment is it maybe helpful if you also showed how you set the guide itself to that angle.

kgg

The guide used in that video has enough play in the screw holes to be angled that way. Many other guides may need to have a little more work to achieve the desired result. An example is the roller guide set up on my Pfaff 331 which I have replaced the roller with a 1/4" piece of flat. This is probably where I first found that I could get this effect because when I first tightened the screw to hold the flat it wanted to feed the work away all the time and by setting it in at the back I then found it fed the job into the guide.

This shows the roller as original

And this as modified which gives the flat to work with and an angle if I want it. note you can see the angle goes in closer at the rear.

Sometimes though a roller is still better at getting into things like this bag handle

A bit of 3D printing involved with the left guide in this case.

Just thinking now I should go and try my new tall post machine on this job. It might do it all in one go.

11 hours ago, alpha2 said:

Good video, thanks! I don't have that machine or guide, but I can find a way to set up my CB4500 with some minor changes to my guide. I've had to feed my leather at an angle, as indicated by your ruler, to get it to sew without wandering away from the guide. I certainly cant do it without hands!

@alpha2 you may be able to change your roller over as I have done in the pictures above. As long as you can get the bolt to hold nice and snug I cant see why not. Dammit ....now I gotta go an do one for myself.

[kgg]

1 hour ago, RockyAussie said:

The guide used in that video has enough play in the screw holes to be angled that way.

That is what I figured you had done with that style of edge guide but others may have not gotten it. I do like the outside guide mounted to the cover of the PFAFF nice simple simple solution.

kgg

[Tequila]

Thanks I learned something new, never thought of angling the guide.  BTW what thread/needle combination did you use in the video? 

[chrisash]

Getting on for nearly 200 years with probably millions of skilled engineers working on making the best machines, and Brian is the only one with lateral thinking to come up with the solution, well done Brian

[RockyAussie]

13 hours ago, Tequila said:

 BTW what thread/needle combination did you use in the video?

The thread is a metric 40 (TKT69) and the needle is an 110/18 schmetz.

 

10 hours ago, chrisash said:

Getting on for nearly 200 years with probably millions of skilled engineers working on making the best machines, and Brian is the only one with lateral thinking to come up with the solution, well done Brian

Shuks now ya gone an got me all embarrassed. Truth is mate I couldn't use half of these high tech machines even if I wanted to. 

[Matt S]

Brilliant bit of work Brian! I mostly use spring-guide feet rather than drop-down guides but think that the same idea could be applied.  Then all I need is a limit switch and servo to turn the piece when I reach the corner... 

BTW you mention overheating needles. I generally use quite waxy/oily leathers so can get away with running my machines 2000+SPM. I think the heat dissipates by evaporating/burning off some of the excess oil  but I expect that's not great for my lungs. Have you much experience with the needle cooler units? There's some neat little kits available that only switch on the air when the go pedal is down, to avoid wasting air. I'm tempted to try knocking one up with an aquarium air pump and bit of copper tube.

[RockyAussie]

15 hours ago, Matt S said:

BTW you mention overheating needles. I generally use quite waxy/oily leathers so can get away with running my machines 2000+SPM. I think the heat dissipates by evaporating/burning off some of the excess oil  but I expect that's not great for my lungs. Have you much experience with the needle cooler units? There's some neat little kits available that only switch on the air when the go pedal is down, to avoid wasting air. I'm tempted to try knocking one up with an aquarium air pump and bit of copper tube.

I might have to have a look into it. It sure would help at times. I think I just got into the habit of slowing down when I see the smoke forming. I make a habit of slowing down as I reach the last 6 inches or so because if you stop while it is smoking it will burn through for sure. I found by slowing down slowly I get away with it. Another thing that seems to help is running the thread through a felt kept wet with oil. That helps to reduce any glue coming up and sticking to the needle as well.

[Tequila]

On 6/11/2022 at 10:42 PM, RockyAussie said:

The thread is a metric 40 (TKT69) and the needle is an 110/18 schmetz

 

Thank-you good Sir!

[CowboyBob]

On 6/12/2022 at 6:57 AM, Matt S said:

Brilliant bit of work Brian! I mostly use spring-guide feet rather than drop-down guides but think that the same idea could be applied.  Then all I need is a limit switch and servo to turn the piece when I reach the corner... 

BTW you mention overheating needles. I generally use quite waxy/oily leathers so can get away with running my machines 2000+SPM. I think the heat dissipates by evaporating/burning off some of the excess oil  but I expect that's not great for my lungs. Have you much experience with the needle cooler units? There's some neat little kits available that only switch on the air when the go pedal is down, to avoid wasting air. I'm tempted to try knocking one up with an aquarium air pump and bit of copper tube.

Yrs ago we sold some Juki 563's to a place that sewed binding on them & they wanted to go fast,the thread was burning when they stopped so we rigged up an airline that aimed @ the lower part of the needle when it was all the way up & it worked.But the air was blowing all the time.

[Matt S]

11 hours ago, RockyAussie said:

I might have to have a look into it. It sure would help at times. I think I just got into the habit of slowing down when I see the smoke forming. I make a habit of slowing down as I reach the last 6 inches or so because if you stop while it is smoking it will burn through for sure. I found by slowing down slowly I get away with it. Another thing that seems to help is running the thread through a felt kept wet with oil. That helps to reduce any glue coming up and sticking to the needle as well.

Oiled thread felts certainly help with friction and sticky glue. What oil do you use? I like silicone, but it's a swine to clean up if/when I spill it on the floor.

52 minutes ago, CowboyBob said:

Yrs ago we sold some Juki 563's to a place that sewed binding on them & they wanted to go fast,the thread was burning when they stopped so we rigged up an airline that aimed @ the lower part of the needle when it was all the way up & it worked.But the air was blowing all the time.

This is the kit I was thinking of, and while I think that College Sewing is an excellent company I'm sure similar setups are available elsewhere. The nozzle looks pretty compact and I like that it comes not only with the valve but a regulator too.
https://www.college-sewing.co.uk/ka-cns-needle-cooler-single-needle.html

Alternatively I wonder if one of those ball-joint coolant nozzles would work? Should be long enough to screw it directly onto a solenoid valve or pressure regulator mounted directly to the back of the head.

[CowboyBob]

1 hour ago, Matt S said:

Oiled thread felts certainly help with friction and sticky glue. What oil do you use? I like silicone, but it's a swine to clean up if/when I spill it on the floor.

This is the kit I was thinking of, and while I think that College Sewing is an excellent company I'm sure similar setups are available elsewhere. The nozzle looks pretty compact and I like that it comes not only with the valve but a regulator too.
https://www.college-sewing.co.uk/ka-cns-needle-cooler-single-needle.html

Alternatively I wonder if one of those ball-joint coolant nozzles would work? Should be long enough to screw it directly onto a solenoid valve or pressure regulator mounted directly to the back of the head.

It looks like the kit only fits an Adler or Pfaff,the flexible nozzle should work,we made them out of 1/4" copper tubing & fastened them to the end plate.