patchmanphillip Report post Posted October 30, 2010 Hey people. Looked at a Singer centennial, 1957?, matt black finish with motor. Very smoothe operating. Has a long bullet type bobbin with a skinny spool. Will it sew leather (upholstery grade) ok? Model #ak 709149. Has a round top wooden case. Machine has a tag that says 100 years, 1857-1957. Any help would be appreciated. Guy wants $15 for it. Thanks, Patchman Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wizcrafts Report post Posted October 30, 2010 (edited) That Singer is in all likelihood a home sewing machine, with a drop feed and flat steel pressor foot. It probably does not have sufficient pull to feed and sew upholstery leather. You should be looking for an industrial walking foot machine if you intend to do any upholstery at all. Names to consider include Adler, Consew, Juki, Seiko, Pfaff, or a Singer 111w155. Several of our member-dealers sell these and other machines, like Artisan, Cowboy and Cobra. The difference is that the industrial walking foot machines have triple feed and a very big and powerful motor. This is what is needed to pull and feed heavy and thick material. A household machine is not designed to do that and will either bog down, skip stitches, vary the stitch length, drag apart multiple layers, or fail to sew a straight line. An industrial walking foot machine can sew with #138 bonded nylon or bonded polyester thread, which home machines cannot handle. Some can sew with even thicker thread, like #207, or 277+ (only big leather stitchers). Home machines are mostly limited to sewing with a maximum of #69 nylon thread, using a #110/18 needle. Edited October 30, 2010 by Wizcrafts Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
