Members Sblof Posted July 18 Members Report Posted July 18 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 July 19 Members Report Posted July 19 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 July 19 Moderator Report Posted July 19 @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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