Consew 230R-1 setting it up for leather

[lilbax]

Hi everyone,

I just purchased a Consew 230R-1. I’m attempting to set it up for doing some leather projects. I’ve been hand sewing everything and wanted to try a machine. (Last time I used a sew machine was home economics in 1999.) I know it’s not the perfect machine for what I’m doing and I should have bought a much more expensive set up but I’ve found lots of positive feedback on this machine and it was in my price range. I have a few questions though.

 

What size needle should I use? I will be trying to go through 2-4mm of leather if that’s possible. 
 

What thread size can is best for this and will fit through the machine and the tensioners? 
 

Do I use the same size and color in the bobbin? 
 

Last question is there a specific type of foot I should use to help with this that won’t mark up the leather? Like a roller foot or something?

Some things I like about this machine is that it had reverse, I can change my stitch size and it has the walking foot. Some of the pictures are what I’ve sewn by hand and other projects I want to use the machine for.

Thanks for your kindness. 

[nylonRigging]

It sounding like you have zero, or very little knowledge of sew machines in your Post. So It a 1st time, low budget machine, if just starting out learning .
learn some machine stitching basics, needles, thread, and machine working mechanics with using it...--->  Save your money and work on getting a Consew 206, or Juki 1541 for future expansion of your skills .

That is a pretty common Mitsubishi cast head, used on many brands, and is a Drop-Feed ( bottom feed ) . it a light-Med. duty sew machine.
OK.. It will 'can' sew leather . at a minimum expectation it can do some decent stitching on thinner softer leathers. 'if' you change a few things with it.  But you need to put some time 'sitting behind' getting to know the machine. Also the machine ( it is , What it is ) you got to recognize it's limitations.

It takes easy to find selection of Feet, Dogs, needle plates, Needles, and also will take easy to find presser roller-wheel. The Roller Foot, is an easy swap/change-out, and it also can do some decent stitching . You can tune it for 135x5 and 135x 16/17 size needle. It will use #69/text 70 thread . it has small bobbins . It does have Reverse, but you will 'try and try' to adjust, to get it to sew same SPI in reverse, but it Won't ever never be satisfied with stitch quality in reverse .

It is set-up in your picture for Fabric Stitching . For sewing Leather. You need to get needle control, slow it down, get a quality servo. or a cheep servo drive with using a reduction pulley . You going to have to change out the Dog and needle-plate, to a Med. or Heavy tooth, and get rid of the fine fabric toothed Dog . put in a little heavier tension coil spring on top thread. experiment with the presser-foot tension. use a smooth/slick chrome plated press foot .
.

[Northmount]

15 hours ago, lilbax said:

Some things I like about this machine is that it had reverse, I can change my stitch size and it has the walking foot. Some of the pictures are what I’ve sewn by hand and other projects I want to use the machine for.

Thanks for your kindness. 

That's not a walking foot.  There would be 2 presser feet, an inside, and an outside foot, each with there own presser foot bar.

[lilbax]

On 1/16/2024 at 7:45 PM, nylonRigging said:

It sounding like you have zero, or very little knowledge of sew machines in your Post. So It a 1st time, low budget machine, if just starting out learning .
learn some machine stitching basics, needles, thread, and machine working mechanics with using it...--->  Save your money and work on getting a Consew 206, or Juki 1541 for future expansion of your skills .

That is a pretty common Mitsubishi cast head, used on many brands, and is a Drop-Feed ( bottom feed ) . it a light-Med. duty sew machine.
OK.. It will 'can' sew leather . at a minimum expectation it can do some decent stitching on thinner softer leathers. 'if' you change a few things with it.  But you need to put some time 'sitting behind' getting to know the machine. Also the machine ( it is , What it is ) you got to recognize it's limitations.

It takes easy to find selection of Feet, Dogs, needle plates, Needles, and also will take easy to find presser roller-wheel. The Roller Foot, is an easy swap/change-out, and it also can do some decent stitching . You can tune it for 135x5 and 135x 16/17 size needle. It will use #69/text 70 thread . it has small bobbins . It does have Reverse, but you will 'try and try' to adjust, to get it to sew same SPI in reverse, but it Won't ever never be satisfied with stitch quality in reverse .

It is set-up in your picture for Fabric Stitching . For sewing Leather. You need to get needle control, slow it down, get a quality servo. or a cheep servo drive with using a reduction pulley . You going to have to change out the Dog and needle-plate, to a Med. or Heavy tooth, and get rid of the fine fabric toothed Dog . put in a little heavier tension coil spring on top thread. experiment with the presser-foot tension. use a smooth/slick chrome plated press foot .
.

Thanks for sharing. So the when you say I can tune it to those size needles is that just buying them and they will swap out or are there other adjustments that need to made for that different needle to have correct timing etc?

 

On my immediate grab list will be:

Thread 69 text/thread

Needles 135x5 or 135x 16/17 size  

Heavy Tooth dog and needle plate  

Roller presser foot

Play with the tension

————

I’ll see how that goes and get a servo controller after if I don’t have enough control. Does this sound like a good start and I can do some leather projects on it?  

 

Edited January 19, 2024 by lilbax

[lilbax]

On 1/17/2024 at 8:30 AM, Northmount said:

That's not a walking foot.  There would be 2 presser feet, an inside, and an outside foot, each with there own presser foot bar.

Yeah…. Being super new I looked around forever and this older tailor told me this was a walking foot 2x and would be great for leather projects. I saw it and it didnt have those extra feet or the bar in the back but he swore it was one. I believed him and drove it from San Diego to Utah. So here is where I’m at. See what I can do with it or sell it immediately and save up another $500-$1000. Something good will happen. I’m sure that man didn’t mean to lie. There was a bit of a language barrier and my knowledge was minuscule. 

[Northmount]

5 hours ago, lilbax said:

this older tailor told me this was a walking foot

Tailor should have been a give away that is was for tailor work, not for leather work.  Even an industrial tailoring machine is not adequate for any leather work beyond a couple layers of garment leather.  Don't ask me how I know!

[Wizcrafts]

My very first industrial sewing machine was a Singer 96k40 tailoring machine that was sold to me by a dealer who swore it could sew leather. I was making a vest from a Tandy pattern, with a semi-dense heavy garment leather from Tandy. It could only sew flat seams, broke needles when I came to doubled seams. I ended up buying another head, a Singer 31-?? with a spring loaded walking foot, that dropped into the same table. That machine did sew the vest and climbed over the thick seams.

I have since learned that the best mechanism for sewing leather is a compound feed walking foot. With this system, the feed dog on the bottom moves in sync with the needle and the inside alternating "vibrating" foot. The outer foot is a presser foot that moves up and down to hold or release the leather. These machines have not one, or two, but three bars coming down: a needle bar, a vibrating presser bar, and a presser foot bar.

[lilbax]

On 1/19/2024 at 6:01 AM, Northmount said:

Tailor should have been a give away that is was for tailor work, not for leather work.  Even an industrial tailoring machine is not adequate for any leather work beyond a couple layers of garment leather.  Don't ask me how I know!

You may have felt the pain I did huh? I feel so dumb but hopefully I will learn from this mistake. 

[lilbax]

On 1/19/2024 at 10:10 AM, Wizcrafts said:

My very first industrial sewing machine was a Singer 96k40 tailoring machine that was sold to me by a dealer who swore it could sew leather. I was making a vest from a Tandy pattern, with a semi-dense heavy garment leather from Tandy. It could only sew flat seams, broke needles when I came to doubled seams. I ended up buying another head, a Singer 31-?? with a spring loaded walking foot, that dropped into the same table. That machine did sew the vest and climbed over the thick seams.

I have since learned that the best mechanism for sewing leather is a compound feed walking foot. With this system, the feed dog on the bottom moves in sync with the needle and the inside alternating "vibrating" foot. The outer foot is a presser foot that moves up and down to hold or release the leather. These machines have not one, or two, but three bars coming down: a needle bar, a vibrating presser bar, and a presser foot bar.

That’s my next move. I may so some other things on this for now to refresh my high school memory and then move to a walking foot. Are there walking foot machines that won’t handle leather well or are they generally made for thick dense material?

[MarlinDave]

Something that may help you out is many industrial sewing machines have a compatible table and motor. You probably can get just another sewing machine (some call it a head)  and replace yours on the table and motor you already have. All you do is lift it up, remove the belt, and it pulls off. That could save on both price and shipping for your replacement machine. You may need a speed reducer if it does not have a servo motor for speed control, or replace the motor with a servo motor.