Manual machine

[Danotriglide]

Good morning everybody,

Hand powered sewing machine caught my eye the other day. YouTube videos were cool, looks like once you deburr everything and lube it up good they work fine, with a little learning curve. But…..if sewing leather wallets and maybe a holster now and then what needle and what thread is recommended? I’m dumber than a box of rox when it comes to thread size and needle types. Can you guys help me out here please? 
 

Thanks!

Dano
 

https://a.co/d/dXY8qik

[chuck123wapati]

there are a bunch of threads on the subject just search a bit.

[PastorBob]

Been there, done that...sold it at a loss and counted myself lucky.  Did the polishing and watched all the videos. No luck.  Good luck if you try it.

[kgg]

4 hours ago, Danotriglide said:

Hand powered sewing machine caught my eye the other day.

Those machines are for the true tinkers. I have one of those "Tinkers Delights " and it has given many hours of pleasurable tinkering or hours of pure frustration depending on how you look at it. Save your money and get one of the one armed bandits from Cowboy, Weaver or Tippmann if you want a hand operated machine that will do holsters without pre punching the thread holes.

kgg

[dikman]

Ahh, the ubiquitous Chinese patcher. They are a "patching machine", basically intended for repair work. It doesn't mean you can't sew new items but you may be disappointed in the results. As for holsters, forget it! There have been plenty of posts about them, and youtube videos. If you insist on getting one you should be able to use common 135x16 needles and #69 thread, be aware that the bobbin is small and won't hold much thread. Some are set up to use standard domestic needles (mine was).

[chuck123wapati]

i've had one for about a week, watched all the videos, polished , lubed, greased and adjusted it. Put it back together and it sews with the thin mono line crap it came with flawlessly. I bought heavier thread t135 and size 22 needles and it sews thin stuff 3/16th" or thinner very well, two pieces of 10 oz nope at least not with the 135, the top thread snaps. i have ordered lighter thread and will let you know on that. 

 What i have concluded in my short session is its a machine i will set up for one thing/ thickness and pretty much leave it alone lol. You need to realize It is made to patch shoes which are usually pretty thin leather so making it sew something it isn't designed for wont work any better than trying to do the same with a 1500 dollar machine, it has its limits

. I am still in the tinkering stage however and may come up with a workable way to sew a little heavier stuff. I'm trying for two layers of 10 oz, i think that's about the max you would ever get it to reliably sew

One thing i did notice that i haven't seen on any video is the thicker leather will actually hit the taper of the needle causing it to stick in the hole and then it lifts the foot. But i have also seen that you can adjust it use the longer industrial needles so that may not be a problem just more tinkering lol.

1.It has a place in the world of leather and It will work but not for every thickness of leather just the same as the spensive ones.

2. you will know  the basics of how a sewing machine works. 

    Good luck!!!!!! 

Ps it sure sews heavy canvas to leather really well so i see some oil cloth back packs and haversacks in my future lol. and it will prolly pay for itself plus a better machine with this strategy in short time. 

[kgg]

3 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

But i have also seen that you can adjust it use the longer industrial needles so that may not be a problem just more tinkering lol.

The 135 x 16 or 17 needles will fit in the needle bar. This a fairly simple tinkering task of raising the needle bar up by about 5mm. That is about the length difference between the domestic needles that come with the machine and the system 135 needles. This is done by slacking the existing clevis attachment at the top of the needle bar and sliding the needle bar up. Just make sure you can just barely feel the tip of the needle at it's lowest point in the downward cycle on the bottom side of the cylinder arm.

kgg

[Burkhardt]

7 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

i've had one for about a week, watched all the videos, polished , lubed, greased and adjusted it. Put it back together and it sews with the thin mono line crap it came with flawlessly. I bought heavier thread t135 and size 22 needles and it sews thin stuff 3/16th" or thinner very well, two pieces of 10 oz nope at least not with the 135, the top thread snaps. i have ordered lighter thread and will let you know on that. 

 What i have concluded in my short session is its a machine i will set up for one thing/ thickness and pretty much leave it alone lol. You need to realize It is made to patch shoes which are usually pretty thin leather so making it sew something it isn't designed for wont work any better than trying to do the same with a 1500 dollar machine, it has its limits

. I am still in the tinkering stage however and may come up with a workable way to sew a little heavier stuff. I'm trying for two layers of 10 oz, i think that's about the max you would ever get it to reliably sew

One thing i did notice that i haven't seen on any video is the thicker leather will actually hit the taper of the needle causing it to stick in the hole and then it lifts the foot. But i have also seen that you can adjust it use the longer industrial needles so that may not be a problem just more tinkering lol.

1.It has a place in the world of leather and It will work but not for every thickness of leather just the same as the spensive ones.

2. you will know  the basics of how a sewing machine works. 

    Good luck!!!!!! 

Ps it sure sews heavy canvas to leather really well so i see some oil cloth back packs and haversacks in my future lol. and it will prolly pay for itself plus a better machine with this strategy in short time. 

Yes you will know how sewing machines work. I ran mine with 207 on top and 138 on the bottom and made the second hole on the bobbin/hook (both of them) a touch bigger and smoothed and polished. The bobbin tension I left with little resistance and the top using only one of the tensions almost all the way in. You'll break the needle if you try to pull the thread out through it. That's how I set mine up for and would do 2 pieces of 8-9 no problem, as @kgg said that what I used is the 135x16s. The absolute biggest of the adjustments and things with getting the cams and the arm positioned right was polishing the hook bottom and top of the piece with the gear. Like you said you'll learn everything about sewing machines so if you got any Qs ask away.

[Danotriglide]

Thanks everybody for the replies, If I do go ahead and buy one I’ll get it from Amazon. I’ve sent so much stuff back there anyway. 
 

Thanks again,

Dano

[chuck123wapati]

13 hours ago, kgg said:

The 135 x 16 or 17 needles will fit in the needle bar. This a fairly simple tinkering task of raising the needle bar up by about 5mm. That is about the length difference between the domestic needles that come with the machine and the system 135 needles. This is done by slacking the existing clevis attachment at the top of the needle bar and sliding the needle bar up. Just make sure you can just barely feel the tip of the needle at it's lowest point in the downward cycle on the bottom side of the cylinder arm.

kgg

that will be next i imagine , i have another order in for thread and the longer needles.

9 hours ago, Burkhardt said:

Yes you will know how sewing machines work. I ran mine with 207 on top and 138 on the bottom and made the second hole on the bobbin/hook (both of them) a touch bigger and smoothed and polished. The bobbin tension I left with little resistance and the top using only one of the tensions almost all the way in. You'll break the needle if you try to pull the thread out through it. That's how I set mine up for and would do 2 pieces of 8-9 no problem, as @kgg said that what I used is the 135x16s. The absolute biggest of the adjustments and things with getting the cams and the arm positioned right was polishing the hook bottom and top of the piece with the gear. Like you said you'll learn everything about sewing machines so if you got any Qs ask away.

Thank you i am sure i will be asking. i am lucky as i had all the polishing equipment to do the job, everything important polished to 1000 grit. even the floor plate which helped a bit on the turkey tracks, i think i will be making a longer floor plate and a new foot a little wider with smaller teeth.