The Type Of Sewing Machine You Need To Sew Leather

[glennaycock]

Measure the diameter of the pulley on the motor. If it is over 2.5" buy a smaller pulley and belt. That adds torque. A speed reducer wheel system magnifies torque tremendously, but destroys all top end speed in the process. I had a speed reducer equipped Adler flatbed that only delivered a couple of stitches per second, at full speed. It was too slow for my liking.

...

A SewPro 500GR has built-in 3:1 reduction and will out-perform a standard servo motor of similar rating. See what the wattage and horsepower ratings are on your servo motor. My machine only bogs down when I stuff very dense leather under the foot and try to sew with a big needle and thick thread. Hand wheeling it usually helps.

A 1/2 horsepower clutch motor is still more powerful than a similarly rated servo motor. That will change as more SCR DC controlled systems are deployed. Those systems are very expensive at this point in time.

Eventually, your Consew 206 RB will run into other limitations that will prevent it from sewing dense leather projects. One limitation is the two pressure springs over the inner and outer feet. You may have them both screwed all the way down and find that some leather will still lift with the ascending needle. This causes skipped stitches. That machine probably has the toughest springs made for it. Your only option would be to find an extra heavy duty set of feet, with a wide inside foot (1/4"+). The wider the feet, the more pressure they exert on the material.

Machines that are built to sew harness, tack and saddles are usually equipped with extra heavy duty pressure springs and feet that are capable of holding down very thick leather (~3/4"). They also have very long needles that move much farther than the series 135x16 used in your Consew 206RB.

The motor is a 1/2-horse Consew CSM400. I ordered a 2-inch wheel. Just out of curiosity, is the handwheel normally difficult to turn? It's so hard it feels like the machine is binding, but if I tip it back so that the belt is slack it turns just fine. I wonder if it's just the servo motor or if the motor has a bad bearing. Do you know if there are larger handwheels available for the 206RB? I am also considering buying a reducer if the smaller pulley doesn't help, but the 500GR is only $50 more...

[Wizcrafts]

The motor is a 1/2-horse Consew CSM400. I ordered a 2-inch wheel. Just out of curiosity, is the handwheel normally difficult to turn? It's so hard it feels like the machine is binding, but if I tip it back so that the belt is slack it turns just fine. I wonder if it's just the servo motor or if the motor has a bad bearing. Do you know if there are larger handwheels available for the 206RB? I am also considering buying a reducer if the smaller pulley doesn't help, but the 500GR is only $50 more...

LOL!

The servo motor has a brake. You have to apply a tiny amount of pedal, with your toe, to release the brake. If the motor can be turned without releasing the brake, it will slip when you try to sew thick, or dense leather.

There aren't any larger flywheels made specifically for the Consew walking foot machines. I went through this with my National, which is a Consew clone. You might could kit bash a larger flywheel onto it, but no guarantees. Imagine the torque you'd get if you could fit the wheel or upper pulleys off a Singer patcher, or 132k6, onto a Consew or clone!

Go with the 500GR motor, rather than the speed reducer. Once reduced, always reduced. With the gear-reduction motor, you can still get a relatively quick stitch rate, when you need it.

[glennaycock]

LOL!

The servo motor has a brake. You have to apply a tiny amount of pedal, with your toe, to release the brake. If the motor can be turned without releasing the brake, it will slip when you try to sew thick, or dense leather.

There aren't any larger flywheels made specifically for the Consew walking foot machines. I went through this with my National, which is a Consew clone. You might could kit bash a larger flywheel onto it, but no guarantees. Imagine the torque you'd get if you could fit the wheel or upper pulleys off a Singer patcher, or 132k6, onto a Consew or clone!

Go with the 500GR motor, rather than the speed reducer. Once reduced, always reduced. With the gear-reduction motor, you can still get a relatively quick stitch rate, when you need it.

Doh! I knew it had to be something stupid like that. I didn't get any documentation with it, and the only manual I could download was hard to read. Thanks, Wiz!

[Corvus]

Thanks for these articles, they have really help to clear up some of my confusion about machines. I'm wondering where the Tippmann Boss machine fits into all this though.

[Wizcrafts]

Thanks for these articles, they have really help to clear up some of my confusion about machines. I'm wondering where the Tippmann Boss machine fits into all this though.

The Tippman Boss fits into your shop for short stitching runs (a hundred stitches, or so), or intricate stitching patterns that you can't control with a motor-driven machine, or on location at flea markets or craft shows. It is a great prototyping machine. It is not a production machine, nor is it meant to be.

Production machines for leather shops are stronger than upholstery machines and run slower. Slower speeds lead to less wear on the moving parts, less distortion of shafts inside bearings - due to lower heat generation, and less skipped stitches in your leather projects. Leather sewing machines have heavier pressor foot springs, beefed up pressor feet, larger feed dogs, longer needles, bigger bobbins and shuttles and usually, much bigger flywheels. The guides that keep the needle bar moving forward and backward are larger than the guides on upholstery machines. There is at least one brand of leather stitcher that uses a square drive system, where the needle bar is orchestrated to pull straight back and forward again, rather than the typical pivoting at the top. This causes the holes to be absolutely in line, even through 1 inch of leather. The Campbell-Randall and Union Lockstitch machines also feature square drive, but don't mention it in their ads.

[Corvus]

Thank you for your reply Wizcrafts, that helps too although in the end I've still got to try and make a decision on what I think I can use. Availability of this sort of machine seems not so good in the UK but maybe I haven't dropped on the right place to look as yet.

[Jin w]

What a great information. I have never sew leather but I do have Adler 267 triple feed walking foot industrial sewing machine that I use for other heavy duty sewing machine.

Jin.

I have finally managed to take a series of photos and reduce them enough to be able to post several in one reply. The following photos are from my National 300N heavy duty walking foot machine. Similar to a Consew 206RB, it is capable of sewing a little over 3/8", depending on the density of the leather and needle and thread sizes. It handles a range of thread from #69, up to #207 - bonded nylon or polyester. It takes series 135x needles from #14 (smaller available, but not recommended), up to #25, max. These photos show it with a #22 leather point needle and #138 Weaver nylon thread (messy), which was used to sew suede lined guitar straps and rifle slings.

This is a serious leather and vinyl sewing machine! I have replaced the clutch motor with a servo motor I bought from Bob Kovar, at Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines. It is geared down internally and has a 2" pulley. It produces the equivalent power of a 1/2 to 3/4 hp clutch motor and has a top speed of 1500 rpm. The motor draws no power until you apply the floor pedal to it.

One more thing, the bobbins on this type of walking foot machine are known as M style bobbins and are 1 inch in diameter. They have a higher thread carrying capacity than standard industrial machine bobbins.

Walking Foot sewing machine, with compound, triple feed.

More pressor feet (inner and outer sets) for a compound feed walking foot machine. These are known as 111 series feet, named after the famous Singer 111 walking foot machines, of antiquity (but still in service!). If there is a job to be done that needs a special foot, you can find one for any industrial machine that uses series 111 pressor feet.

Last, but not least, here is a close-up, left side view, of my Union Lockstitch needle and awl stitcher sewing about 50 ounces of hard belt leather. The top of the needle is barbed. The thread is fed into the barb through a thread guide and looper arm, that revolves around the lifted needle. The needle then goes down, where a revolving pickup point grabs the loop off the barb, under the throat plate, and carries it around the bobbin shuttle. This machine is capable of some very serious sewing! The photo shows it threaded with #277 bonded nylon, top and bottom, which is in the low range of the weights it can manage. I have sewn with #550 thread on a Union Lockstitch machine!

[Ferg]

[Does anyone know what brands/make of sewing machines Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines Sells?

ferg

[Mike Craw]

CJ1,

When you say "posted" do you mean on YouTube, Twitter, or on leatherworker.net?

Mike

[Wizcrafts]

CJ1,

When you say "posted" do you mean on YouTube, Twitter, or on leatherworker.net?

Mike

Mike;

Who are you replying to? Is this in the wrong topic?