Advice on a singer 30-15 sewing machine and its needle/thread

[Landry]

Hello,

I recently acquired a Singer 30-15 sewing machine from a friend's wife. It was used for sewing belts, harnesses, and wallets. The model number seems to start with a "K," and I was told it's from the early 1900s, but it looks more like it's from the 1940s or 1950s.

I'm having trouble finding a picture that matches my machine. It's missing an eyelet on the side near the tension spring, which only has a hole, and the tension spring looks different. The machine sews well with the White thread it came with, which is very thin not sure the size, but when I hand sew, I use a #5, 0.6mm VinyMo MBT Polyester thread (black shown in picture). I'd like to match this thread in the machine, but currently it doesn't like that thread, it looks nice on the top stitch but has loops and issues on the bottom stitch.

The needle it has is a Schmetz 160, but I read that for my thread, I should use a 100/16 or 110/18 needle? I found some 100/16 needles that came with it, but they are shorter and didn't work at all. It's been a long time since I used a sewing machine (in high school I was pretty good at it), and I'm not well-versed in its setup.

If its the wrong needle then I need to adjust tension for the 100/16 to work or do i need to adjust something for the 160 to work? Mostly want to use it for the thicker stuff on my wallets or belts and bags.

Thank you!

[Constabulary]

its a 31-15 not 30-15 and is a tailoring machine not a harness machine (except for Barbie & Ken horse harness - maybe **kidding**)

16 hours ago, Landry said:

The model number seems to start with a "K," and I was told it's from the early 1900s, but it looks more like it's from the 1940s or 1950s.

and what is the number?

looks like the check spring in the tension unit is not original and the tension unit seems to be set up incorrectly. I´d get a new spring or complete tension unit. And you better download a manual.

Neither 134LR nor 135-34 is the needle for the 31-15 except someone set it up for one of the two. But you have to figure that, hard to tell from the distance.

The original needle was / is the needle DBx1 / 16x257

Maybe this helps: 

https://leatherworker.net/forum/topic/74484-what-needle-size-do-i-need-for-my-singer-31-15/

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=needle+singer+31-15+site:leatherworker.net&client=firefox-b-d&sca_esv=1cdd3e2116a3bced&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi1ndrztsiLAxUF-gIHHUjaKFIQrQIoBHoECBUQBQ&biw=1600&bih=719&dpr=1

 

[kgg]

18 hours ago, Landry said:

I'm having trouble finding a picture that matches my machine. It's missing an eyelet on the side near the tension spring, which only has a hole, and the tension spring looks different. The machine sews well with the White thread it came with, which is very thin not sure the size, but when I hand sew, I use a #5, 0.6mm VinyMo MBT Polyester thread

Someone definitely Frankensteined that machine. The machines is a drop feed tailor machine made for fabric. This machine is not meant to sew leather. The .6mm thread that you normally use is equal to approximately V277 which will need a #25 ( 200 ) size needle which this machine will not take if you can find the correct 16x 257 needle system. If you want try and use the 134 or a 135 x 16 needle system the needle bar height will probably have to be adjusted and the needle to hook timing adjusted. 

You really need to install a new thread tension assembly and the other missing guide to get the thread tension and path correct so the machine to will sew properly.

Here is a link to to a good needle size to thread size chart ( https://www.tolindsewmach.com/thread-chart.html ).

Here is a copy of the parts manual and a correct tension assembly.

kgg

Singer 31K15, K17, K20, K22, K32, K45, K48.pdf

Edited Sunday at 04:40 PM by kgg

[Landry]

Sorry,

It's been an emotional weekend seeing an empty workshop. The model should read 31-15. It looks like it had a repaint on the base at some point, so I can't tell if it's an "X" or a "K," but "X" doesn't show up in the database, so it has to be "K." The serial number is K 353915. I was told that even though it's a tailor machine, if it's a newer model, it can sew thinner leathers. However, there were two scraps of veg-tan leather almost 7/8 inch thick under the presser foot—hard to pull out but impressive! I'm not planning to sew anything that thick, though.

It may be a bit of a Frankenstein monster, and I almost want to leave it as is. If it's not broken, don't fix it, right? I'll just find the colors I need in that thread size. It sews my leather really well as it is, but I'll check the links above again I has some other needles with it and see what I can figure out.

Thanks again for the information!

Edited Sunday at 05:20 PM by Landry

[shoepatcher]

No  I always to to restore machines to as close to as original.  The reason is the engineers who designed it know more than I do.  Plus they sew better.

glenn