Anybody Ideas On A Protos Machine?

[sandyt]

Hi,

Today I bought a sewingmachine from a guy. The same guy also had a neglected protos sewingmachine in the back of his shed. It is a needle and awl. I can't find any info of this machine. Does somebody know these machines? Are they any good for leather? I think it has needle feed. The pressure foot was up and didnt go down. Is this supposed to be or is it rusted in place?

Without the rust, it should look excactly like this.

Any info is welcome.

Sandy.

[CowboyBob]

Sandy,

It looks like a Puritan to me.It uses a single needle,cotton thread(needs to be lubed)but it makes a chainstitch meaning there's loops of thread showing on the bottom.These amchine are used for horse collars,footballs & once ib a while for boat anchors.

Bob

[Cobra Steve]

Hi sandyt. As Bob said, this machine is a chainstitch machine. You want a lockstitch, not this machine. A chainstitch machine is used on the top of dog food, or sugar, or other types of bags (and some garments, however this would be 2 thread chainstitch), where you can pull on the thread and it will come un-done. A lockstitch machine has a needle thread and a bobbin thread. Thanks, Steve

[CowboyBob]

You might need to oil it to get it to free up,the foot lifts up when the needle pulls the leather back,then comes down as the needle pulls out.These machine are fun to play with & will run pretty fast.

look here to see one sewing

[Cobra Steve]

Great video, thanks Bob! Steve

[CowboyBob]

I delivered a machine there about 10 yrs ago,it's a very interesting place.

[Cobra Steve]

Yeah, but can you play football?!?!? Steve

[sandyt]

Thanks Steve and Sewmun. It's clear to me now what kind of machine this is. Didn't know these machines at all.

Only now I realize there wasn't a bobin indeed. So the stich comes loose when the tread breaks somewhere? Thats's not good at all!!

But I am still curious though. I asked the seller to hold it for a week so I could think about it. So I will think about it. It's realy hard to not try a 'new' machine, haha... Playing with machines is fun. Just bringing a 'dead' machine to life is satisfaction enough most of the time.

So thanks for the info!!!

Sandy.

[amuckart]

Here's a video from Campbell-Randall's youtube channel showing one being tested. You can reasonably clearly see the loops on the back

Edited September 2, 2011 by amuckart

[CowboyBob]

No,but guess what they do @ this factory @ breaktime?

[sandyt]

I think you got the wrong link Amuckart. But the video below is the right one. Sewmun called it puritan? What does that mean? Anyway, after searching with that word I found that vid you ment. Thanks.

Sandy.

[CampbellRandall]

You might need to oil it to get it to free up,the foot lifts up when the needle pulls the leather back,then comes down as the needle pulls out.These machine are fun to play with & will run pretty fast.

look here to see one sewing

Bob:

That is actually a Union Lock-Stitch (made by Randall). All of the Wilson NFL footballs are made with the Union, while the general production balls are done on the Puritan (there should be another video with the Puritan).

They use the Union since the stitches are cleaner and pull tighter than a single needle machine can sew. Otherwise, the seams would bulge under pressure.

- Dan Naegle

[CowboyBob]

Hello Dan,

Oops I looked @ the video again alittle closer this time & seen the Union,it makes sense too that they'd need a stronger seam on the NFL balls.

Sandy, over here Puritan is the brand name.

Bob

[Wizcrafts]

I sew all of my heavy leather jobs on a Union Lockstitch machine. There is only one type of machine that is more awesome and that is a Campbell-Randall High Lift or Cyclone.

[Trox]

Protos 3 needle chainstitch sewingmachine

[sandyt]

Thanks Trox.

Now something else falls in place. A few months ago, I saw a youtube vid about a three needle sewingmachine. It had this excact sewing 'action'. Never did understand how the mechanism work with the bobin. But only now I understand. It had to be a chainstich machine also. It uses no bobin.

Sandy.

[Wizcrafts]

The Puritan machines (and Protos I guess) are used in the golf bag, luggage and rifle bag industries. The sewing I have seen uses waxed linen thread. It will not normally unravel and breaks only with great effort, or a Hyde knife.

[sandyt]

The Puritan machines (and Protos I guess) are used in the golf bag, luggage and rifle bag industries. The sewing I have seen uses waxed linen thread. It will not normally unravel and breaks only with great effort, or a Hyde knife.

Jeans also have chainstitches don't they? Is that the same stich? Or are there different types of chainstiches?

Sandy.

[CowboyBob]

Yes,there is different chainstitchs,on jeans they use 2-threads,there a looper underneath that has a thread on it.

Bob

[Wizcrafts]

There is a world of difference between the chainstitches made on a Puritan and those made on industrial garment sewing machines. The garment machines run cotton or polycore thread direct from the spools to the tensioners, to the needles. Pull the wrong way and the entire chain can unravel.

Professionals who use Puritan machines run 3 to 6 cord, left twist, Barbour's Irish linen thread through a liquid wax in the closed-top wax pot. After a while, the wax hardens in the sewn material inside the chain stitches. Once the wax hardens, the stitches cannot be pulled apart in a chain, unless one exerts tremendous pressure, or cuts them with a sharp Hyde knife. I know, because I have had to work on items sewn on Puritan machines, and only a sharp knife got those stitches apart. Some were over 50 years old!

If anybody has a Puritan that they just plain don't want, send it to me! I'll be your Huckleberry!

[vogue]

I have a Protos,chain stitch,no need bobbins.

It is almost same as Puritan machines.

Also uses same needles&awls.

Protos sews 1 or 2 or 3 raw stitching.

It is cheaper than Puritan.

matt