Franklin Sewing machine

[Broncsnapper]

I have an older Franklin sewing machine sold by Sears and roebuck. Does anybody know what size needle and thread I would need for this machine to sew up to 10 ounce leather

[CowboyBob]

Size #69 nylon with a #16 needle should work.

[Constabulary]

Have you checked the manual for that? Looks like there is one included.

Bob was a bit faster...

[Wizcrafts]

I would use a #18 leather point needle with #69 bonded thread on the top and in the bobbin. Mind the alignment of the needle according to the manual. One side has a cutout scarf that must face the shuttle, which appears to be on the right. The other side has a rib for the thread to sit in as it goes through the eye. If the machine doesn't take standard domestic needles and sew, open the left endplate and look at the needle bar and locate the bolt that secures it to the crank that moves it up and down. If you can loosen that screw you can reposition it to accommodate modern needles, like System 135x16 and 135x17, which are about 1.75 inches long. You'd set the height so that the point of the shuttle intersects the needle about 1/8 to 3/32 inch above the eye on its upstroke. That's when the best loop is formed on the scarf side of the needle..

I used to fix old iron body sewing machines and resell them in an antiques shop where I was set up. The bullet shuttle machines or the late 1800s were able to sew 10-12 ounce bridle leather with up to #92 thread once properly set up and tensions tweaked. I used a #19 or 20 leather point needle to do that. They were Singer model 27 and 127 bullet shuttle domestic machines that were built like tanks.

[Broncsnapper]

I appreciate everybody’s help. I’m going to give it a try lol. The reason I was having problems. Here is the page in the manual that shows the needle sizes and I can’t make hide nor hair out of it.

 

[Constabulary]

ISMACS has a comparative table for old / new sizes of sewing machine needles:

https://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_machine_company/singer-needle-sizes-1950.html

Hope it helps

[Wizcrafts]

The first take-way is that your needle bar takes domestic needles that have a flat side on the top of the mounting shank. This leaves out using industrial sewing needles which are completely round at the top. The needle sizes in the manual were typical in the later 1800s and early 1900s. There is no reference to compare those numbers to the modern numbering systems. One would be to measure the diameter of the needle to create a cross reference. For instance, a #18 needle measures about .018" or 0.110mm diameter. That could be similar to one of the larger needles in that ancient manual. You'd need to actually get a pack of each size from somebody selling ancient stock.

On a happier note, almost all domestic sewing machines still use a flatted shank needle. They are sold using the modern numbering system. You can buy packs in sizes from 9 up to 20. Most are round points for cloth. But, I've bought leather point needles in the domestic needle system HAx1, aka: 15x1. They sell them on Ebay.