South Forty Report post Posted February 22, 2013 New into the leather sewing, and have been "browsing" for a decent "starter" machine to sew light leather projects. I came across an ad for an older Singer Walking Foot Insuctrial Machine Model 314K7 . I've looked online, can't find any info on this machine- anyone out there know anything about it? Seems like a decent price to me, but the machines about 1 1/2 hour drive from the farm, and I'd like to know that it's capable of handling what I'm sewing before making the trek. I've attached the one picture that was on the ad. Thanks! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hauss Report post Posted February 22, 2013 Hi I am not a expert on sewing machine but that is not a unison or combo feed maybe some one else will chime in but I wouldn't buy it! and Welcome to the LW! Mike Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
South Forty Report post Posted February 22, 2013 Thanks very much! I guess my next question would be, being a beginner, and not having real "heavy Duty" projects I'd sew, what kind of machine is a decent one to start with? The topic of machines is vast I know, and most times I'm baffled by all the choices out there! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hauss Report post Posted February 23, 2013 (edited) Since You are in Canada probably the best thing to do would be to call Ron at Tech-Sew and check on a used machine it will be ready for leather here is his web site http://shop.raphaels...sewing.com/ he will help You out. Edited February 23, 2013 by Hauss Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jimbob Report post Posted February 23, 2013 Not a walking foot, not made to sew leather and most likly a house hold or smaller seamstress machine....need a Singer 111 or 211, Pfaff or Juki walking foot...call Tech-sew....they help you out!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Anne Bonnys Locker Report post Posted February 23, 2013 The 31 series are very solid machines and the 31-47 is a walking foot version. If the price is below $300 then it is a great machine for lighter work and also a wonderfully easy machine to pull apart and learn how machines work. It will easily sew 1/4" leather with #138 so this is a great machine for light work. Every workshop needs a range of machines and even Wiz who promotes the 441 style will tell you that a 31 is part of his workshop. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wizcrafts Report post Posted February 23, 2013 The 31 series are very solid machines and the 31-47 is a walking foot version. If the price is below $300 then it is a great machine for lighter work and also a wonderfully easy machine to pull apart and learn how machines work. It will easily sew 1/4" leather with #138 so this is a great machine for light work. Every workshop needs a range of machines and even Wiz who promotes the 441 style will tell you that a 31 is part of his workshop. Absolutely! Right now, it is converted into a roller foot machine. But, with a few minutes of screwdriver turning, it reverts to a normal presser foot/feed dog machine. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
South Forty Report post Posted February 23, 2013 Well thanks very much guys! The guy wants $400 for it. I took in a class at Tandy today, and the teacher there says he uses a Pfaff 145 in his shop for light work, which after seeing my projects thought would do just fine. I picked up my first side of leather today, a chap side, pretty excited to get working with this stuff, and got some good tips on burnishing edges. The biggest thing I'm doing is sewing about 1/2" strips of it into a rolled strap. Ken told me I was nuts for doing all this by hand, and told me I needed an Industrial Machine and a "Welting" foot? Any thoughts on where to pick up one of those? Also, when I got home today I cracked out Gramma's old Singer Model 15-88/89 Lockstich, and lo and behold it goes thru this stuff with ease. Any ideas on whether this one would handle this work daily? And whether I can pick up a welting foot for IT? Would save me a pile probably if I could use the machine I've already got sitting here! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
South Forty Report post Posted February 23, 2013 On a side note- We're headed to California at the end of March, if anyone knows of a machine like the Pfaff 145 out there- I'd glady lug one home on the plane! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wizcrafts Report post Posted February 23, 2013 Well thanks very much guys! The guy wants $400 for it. I took in a class at Tandy today, and the teacher there says he uses a Pfaff 145 in his shop for light work, which after seeing my projects thought would do just fine. I picked up my first side of leather today, a chap side, pretty excited to get working with this stuff, and got some good tips on burnishing edges. The biggest thing I'm doing is sewing about 1/2" strips of it into a rolled strap. Ken told me I was nuts for doing all this by hand, and told me I needed an Industrial Machine and a "Welting" foot? Any thoughts on where to pick up one of those? Also, when I got home today I cracked out Gramma's old Singer Model 15-88/89 Lockstich, and lo and behold it goes thru this stuff with ease. Any ideas on whether this one would handle this work daily? And whether I can pick up a welting foot for IT? Would save me a pile probably if I could use the machine I've already got sitting here! Your Grandma's Singer 15-88 is a straight stitch, low foot mount machine. There are welting/piping feet available for it. I bought a 1/4 inch piping foot for my 15-91 on eBay, several years ago. It cost me about $10. The same feet are used on all of the 15 class machines. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
South Forty Report post Posted February 24, 2013 Thanks Wizcrafts! Good to know this old machine might work just fine for what I'm playing with... I took a look on ebay and there are quite a few welting/piping feet there, all for around the $10 mark, which is great, so I have a next question: What SIZE welting foot will I need? What I've been working at now is to cut 1/2" wide strips of my leather, roll it over and sew, so do I need a 1/2|" welting foot or a 1/4" ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wizcrafts Report post Posted February 24, 2013 (edited) Welts, or piping have a rope-like cord inside them, to give a solid pipe result. If you use 3/16 inch diameter cord, wrapped with 1/16 inch thick leather, a 1/4 inch piping foot is a perfect match. If you try to sew with a piping foot and there is no cord inside the package, the material tends to simply compress flat, or semi-rounded. You may or may not know how a piping foot works, so I'll explain it. A piping foot has a rounded radius ground into one side of the foot, with the needle hole immediately next to the end of the radius. The rounded portion rides on top of the covered piping cord. If the foot has been properly matched to the diameter of the covered cording, the needle will hit very close to one side of the covered pipe. If the foot size is to wide, the needle is too far away from the piping. If the size is too small, the needle may go into the piping, rather than next to it. If you have a walking foot machine, your piping foot is made in two parts: the narrow inside radius foot and wide outside radius foot. The needle hole is inside the inside foot, to one side of its cutout area. Edited February 24, 2013 by Wizcrafts Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
