gottaknow Report post Posted January 23, 2013 We have secured a contract with the US Navy to manufacture leather welding jackets. The other day we recieved 6 pallets of 4-5 oz dyed suede. It's really nice stuff. I'll get some pics when I get a chance. We're now making jeans, Goretex jackets, some lycra goods, and some jackets. We have some say in how we construct the welding gear, the only spec we have to adhere to is using tex 69 Kevlar thread and the seams will be double stitched. I'll be deciding in the next few days if we use a 1/4" gauge double needle lockstitch, or my heavy Singer 300W's two needle chainstitch machines with a 3/16" gauge. I've done initial testing with both machines and they'll easily sew 2 ply of the suede. For the shoulder seams, I'll use our Singer 153K's with walking feet. We'll be leasing a 22 ligne snap machine for the detachable apron. This should be a fun project, but I've been putting in 10 hour days getting our jeans line up and running. I might be calling some of our sponsors here to talk about my needle needs. I have a decent supply of 135x16 wedge points in assorted sizes, but this suede is real "sticky". We haven't recieved our Kevlar thread yet, so I've been testing with bonded nylon. My first choice of machines will be the 300W's because there won't be bobbin changes. I sewed 4 layers without having to use the puller. We use the same machine when sewing heavy nylon webbing for tactical gear. The machines are beasts. Once I start setting up the leather line, I'll share some pictures. Regards, Eric Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billymac814 Report post Posted January 23, 2013 That's a big project! Where are you getting the Kevlar thread and can you buy it in smaller amounts if I don't need a ton of it? I repair a lot of boots for welder a who literally burned all their stitching out of their boots, that would be good to use for those repairs. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WinterBear Report post Posted January 23, 2013 That's a big project! Where are you getting the Kevlar thread and can you buy it in smaller amounts if I don't need a ton of it? I repair a lot of boots for welder a who literally burned all their stitching out of their boots, that would be good to use for those repairs. You might try the Thread Exchange. I know they sell 207 Kevlar in as small as 1oz spools. They also sell Nomex and spun Kevlar and Nomex thread. http://www.thethreadexchange.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gottaknow Report post Posted January 23, 2013 We buy most of our thread from A&E thread company in Mt. Holly, NC. I toured their factory years ago. It was amazing to see how they make thread. I attended a technical seminar which included a machine with a high speed camera mounted down by the hook. It showed the brutal thrashing that thread takes for each stitch. Amazing the abuse that thread takes, I'm amazed it doesn't all break! Regards, Eric Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billymac814 Report post Posted January 23, 2013 Thanks, ill check them out. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WinterBear Report post Posted January 24, 2013 Oh geez. Color me embarrassed. I just realized that I never did ask the questions I had for gottaknow. Blame it on "Wednesday brain". Anyway, you say "we". How many people are "we"? And once you get the prototype/pattern worked out, how many hours per do you expect it will take to make each one? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gottaknow Report post Posted January 24, 2013 Oh geez. Color me embarrassed. I just realized that I never did ask the questions I had for gottaknow. Blame it on "Wednesday brain". Anyway, you say "we". How many people are "we"? And once you get the prototype/pattern worked out, how many hours per do you expect it will take to make each one? We have about 50 people sewing right now. I've worked in factories of over 300. The operators are paid piece rate. I haven't look at the operation sheet for the jacket yet, but I suspect it'll be about 20 minutes per, not including cutting. We'll probably put about 6-8 people on it. The delivery schedule isn't that aggressive. Regards, Eric Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Anne Bonnys Locker Report post Posted January 25, 2013 I regularly have to point out to people that their cheap and nasty thread is causing them problems. One demo we did was with a Singer 103k treadle tailors machine. Using a good brand thread the machine ran perfectly but even at low speed the hook just constantly cut through cheap crap. We buy most of our thread from A&E thread company in Mt. Holly, NC. I toured their factory years ago. It was amazing to see how they make thread. I attended a technical seminar which included a machine with a high speed camera mounted down by the hook. It showed the brutal thrashing that thread takes for each stitch. Amazing the abuse that thread takes, I'm amazed it doesn't all break! Regards, Eric Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
