Members Sblof Posted Friday at 07:24 PM Members Report Posted Friday at 07:24 PM Hi everyone! I have been saving for my first leather sewing machine and have not found anything in my price range. I stumbled upon an estate sale and thought it was a steal to get this Nakajima 280L. The women said she used it for upholstery and has always maintained it and just replaced the motor new. I jumped on it! She was very scattered brained and busy with her sale and couldn’t provide me much info. I’m very aware I may be in over my head having this machine as my first but would be entirely grateful for ANY advice but here are a few questions I have. 1. The woman said I could only use the needles she gave me and I can’t even tell what they are. What type of needle/ thread weight should I use? Sewing two pieces of 3/4 oz leather together. 2. She gave me the oil she uses. How often do I need to oil it? She said once a month. 3. I see a lot about a smooth walking foot. I have to figure out if I have a rough one somehow. Tips? 4. Any advice is appreciated as I have been hand sewing for years and am completely new to a machine. Please be kind! Quote
Members friquant Posted Saturday at 02:00 AM Members Report Posted Saturday at 02:00 AM Welcome to the forum! How about some pictures of the Nakajima, and of the new motor? Quote In search of the perfect hundred-dollar servo motor with needle positioner. friquant. Pronounced "FREE-kwuhnt"
Moderator Wizcrafts Posted Saturday at 03:12 AM Moderator Report Posted Saturday at 03:12 AM @Sblof Your Nakajima 280L machine has been discussed on these forums, before. Here, here and here. It is a compound feed walking foot machine. It uses the common System 135x16 and 135x17 needles. It takes all manner of Singer 111 style feet. Most are smooth. It was a forerunner of the current Juki 1541. Quote Posted IMHO, by Wiz My current crop of sewing machines: Cowboy CB4500, Singer 107w3, Singer 139w109, Singer 168G101, Singer 29k71, Singer 31-15, Singer 111w103, Singer 211G156, Adler 30-7 on power stand, Techsew 2700, Fortuna power skiver and a Pfaff 4 thread 2 needle serger.
kgg Posted Saturday at 10:55 AM Report Posted Saturday at 10:55 AM @Sblof Just to add to @Wizcrafts info the 135 x 16 needles would be for leather and the 135 x 17 would be used for fabric. An example would be for using V138 thread sewing leather you would need to use 135 X 16 X (size of needle) so you would need 135 X 16 X #23 or #24 depending on the thickness and toughness of the leather. Here is a good chart for selecting needle size for thread size: ( https://www.tolindsewmach.com/thread-chart.html ) kgg Quote Juki DNU - 1541S, Juki DU - 1181N, Singer 29K - 71(1949), Chinese Patcher (Tinkers Delight), Warlock TSC-441, Techsew 2750 Pro, Consew DCS-S4 Skiver
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